Page 64 of A Raven Reformed

“I can’t just do nothing, Ash. She’s my wife.” He’d sent her fleeing out into this. Cold like he’d never felt before trickled through his veins.

“I know,” Ash said. “We’ll find her, Michael.”

“How, Ash? How exactly are we going to get her back? We don’t have the faintest idea where she went.”

Michael stared into the impenetrable fog, willing his eyes to see farther. The muddled voices behind him didn’t form words in his brain as his feet began carrying him away from them. He had to find her. That was the only thing that mattered.

“Belle!”

Suddenly, two sets of strong hands gripped his arms, snapping his brain back into the maelstrom that surrounded him. Patrick and Isaac began pulling him toward the house.

“What are you doing?” He tried to pull his arms free.

“Just get him inside,” Ash instructed.

“Come on, boss. Don’t make this any harder than it needs to be.” Isaac’s features were contrite as he spoke, but neither man loosened their grip.

“Ash, you bastard!” he shouted, digging his heels into the ground. It made no difference. He fought them every step of the way, but in the end, they got him inside and pushed him, bodily, into a chair.

They all stared at him like he was a caged animal. Not that he could blame them. He felt like one. After locking the door, Ash stood, tapping his cane on the top of his shoe before eventually crossing the room and crouching down in front of him.

“Michael,” he said quietly. Michael’s lungs felt as if they might rupture from his rapid, gulping breaths, but it still wasn’t enough. He needed more air. No, he needed Belle. His lips began to tingle, and dizziness grew inside his head.

“Michael,” Ash said again. He pressed a hand firmly against Michael’s chest. Its steadying warmth slowly pulled him out of the disorienting haze of panic. Ash inhaled slowly and deeply and blew the breath out gradually. Michael automatically emulated him and together they repeated the exercise three more times.

Michael still wasn’t capable of words, but he managed a nod, which Ash understood to mean he wouldn’t fly into a rage or try to flee. With a gesture from Ash, the hands holding Michael in place were gone.

“We have to do something, Ash. I don’t give a damn about the fog or the cold. I have to find her! She’s out there, lost in the cold, while we sit her twiddling our goddamned thumbs.” He got to his feet and strode for the door, but of course it was bloody locked. He slammed his fist against the hard surface.

“If you don’t unlock this door, Ash, I swear to all that is holy, I will kick it down.”

“Michael,” Ash’s voice was quiet, and it irked him all the more. “Do you really think we’re going to just sit here and do nothing? Of course we’re going to go after her. I already have lanterns being prepared so we can start a search. But if you go off half-cocked, you’re just going to create more problems.”

Michael released a long sigh. Ash was right, of course. And Michael should have known he already had a plan in the works. This was Ash, after all.

Michael closed his eyes, pulling himself together. He nodded his agreement to cooperate.

“Good.” Ash clapped him on the shoulder. “Let’s go find her.”

ChapterTwenty

Belle forced herself to keep moving. Hours had passed, and the fog had only grown thicker. Her lips, nose, and fingers were all long since numb. She just had to keep walking. Eventually, she had to stumble her way to that great monstrosity of a house. How could she not find it? How could she have gotten so lost?

She hissed a cynical laugh as she rubbed her hands up and down her arms. She’d criticized Michael for running off when things got difficult, but she did the same thing. Not just now, either. When Michael had appeared in her life, the first thing she’d done was run away to find Isaac.

Isaac, who’d always been so kind to her, and she’d repaid him by getting him sacked. Somehow she would make that right too. She just had to find her way back to that bloody house.

Unfortunately, she had no idea which direction she was going, or which direction she should be going. She could be walking in circle after circle after circle, for all she knew. Darkness was beginning to fall, and with it, fear wrapped around her chest. It was as if light was the only thing keeping her panic at bay.

More than anything, she wanted to just curl into a ball on the ground and hide from what was happening. But she couldn’t hide from the cold. She had to keep going. But what if she didn’t make it home?

She shook herself. She couldn't think that way. She had to make it home. She needed to feel Michael’s arms around her, to tell him how sorry she was. She needed to tell him she loved him.

“I love you, Michael.” She whispered the words, wishing desperately that he could hear them.

Suddenly, something began to appear through the fog. Although, it wasn’t the first time she’d thought that, but this one wasn’t disappearing. It was definitely some kind of structure. She hurried toward it, stumbling over a large branch that had fallen. It turned out to be some stables. But not the ones for the big house. This building was small and dilapidated.

She made her way inside the rundown, wooden structure. It was abandoned, and she couldn’t see a house that may have accompanied it. It had to be better than nothing, though.

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