Page 21 of Fire Bear

The group exchanged uncertain glances. A young man with a sunburned nose spoke. “I saw him Thursday morning, but not since then.”

“I just remembered,” an older man said, looking up from his work. “Late Thursday afternoon, I saw him heading toward the orchard’s southern fence. He looked like he was checking the cameras.”

“Thank you, Gerald. We’ll go check it out,” Eliana said.

Ash and Eliana stepped outside. Eliana grabbed her phone and opened an app. “This is the security feed,” she explained.

For a long time, there was nothing but trees in the changing sunlight. Then Mateo walked into the view at 4:55 PM on Thursday. He glanced down at his phone with a worriedexpression before looking up at the dark woods, his shoulders tense. A second later, Mateo climbed over the fence, heading into the forest.

Eliana replayed the clip as if hoping to find more clues. The woods’ shadows offered no answers. She lowered her phone, exchanging a troubled look with Ash.

“Let’s check the woods,” Ash said.

They walked through the orchard, passing rows of carefully tended apple trees. The neat lines eventually gave way to forest and rougher terrain before they reached the southern fence. Ash rested a hand on the top rail and glanced at Eliana.

She nodded curtly and climbed over. He followed, feeling the boards tremble under his weight. Once on the other side, they paused, scanning the area. Tall pines dotted the slope, while a faint birdcall pierced the stillness.

They moved carefully, stepping over brittle patches of scorched grass. Together they pushed into the forest and found the ground was scuffed and gouged, and a few broken branches were scattered around.

“Look,” Eliana said quietly. She knelt and reached for a scrap of cloth snagged on a small branch. It was a bright green color, just like the orchard’s work shirts. “This is part of our uniform.”

Ash crouched beside her, inspecting the torn cloth. Anger simmered inside him. “Something happened here.”

Eliana gripped the fabric, worry filling her eyes. “We have to find him.”

Ash wished he had an immediate answer. Instead, he stood and surveyed the area. The hillside sloped upward intothicker vegetation. They advanced slowly, following the signs of a scuffle. Broken branches, bent grass, and disturbed soil suggested a person had been dragged or pushed through the brush.

The day’s heat pressed down on them, sweat gathering at the back of Ash’s neck. He heard Eliana’s labored breathing, though she never slowed. They continued until they found a shallow ditch, almost hidden by ferns. Leaves and dirt were scattered around. Ash paused, looking for footprints or more scraps of cloth.

Suddenly, Eliana froze. “Ash,” she said, her voice tense. “Look here.”

He hurried to her side. She pointed to a small device in the soil, partly covered by wet leaves. It looked like a phone. Ash bent down, using two fingers to lift it and brush away the dirt.

It was cracked, its screen splintered from corner to corner. He turned it over.

“Somebody dropped this. Could it be Mateo’s?”

Chapter

Fifteen

“I’m goingto call my sister, Ivy,” Ash said. “She knows the best people at the Bright Institute for Shifters. If anyone can retrieve data from that phone, it’s them.”

They finally reached the edge of the orchard, and the farmhouse came into view. The house itself looked deceptively peaceful, its windows glowing in the midday sun. He removed his phone from his pocket and scrolled through contacts until he landed on Ivy’s number and dialed.

“Ash? What’s up?” she answered.

“Hey, Ivy,” he said, trying to keep his voice calm. “I’m at Eliana’s orchard. There’s been a development. Her apprentice, Mateo, has gone missing. We found a phone near where he was last seen. I was hoping you could get one of the techs to hack it.”

Ivy did not hesitate. “Bring it to the Institute. Marta is especially good with phone encryption. When can you get here?”

Ash glanced at Eliana. “We can leave in a few minutes. Is that okay?”

“Sure,” Ivy replied. “I’ll meet you in the lobby. Let me message Marta so she knows we’re coming.”

“Thanks, Ivy,” he said, relief seeping into his tone. “We owe you.”

“You’ll owe Marta,” she said with a laugh.

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