Page 73 of A Wolf's Wound
“What should we do when we find them?”a third shifter asks.
Gavin and I both start to speak at the same time.He looks at me and nods.“You take this, Ryder.You’re in charge.”
“Thanks,” I tell him.“When you find them, call me first and give me your location.Then contact all of the teams and send out your coordinates.”
“Do we need weapons?”someone asks.“I mean, are we assuming they’re in danger?”
“Yes,” I say grimly.“We are assuming that.Hannah and Shadow came here in the first place because she’s being stalked by someone.That threat is still very active.”At that, I become too choked up to say anything else and bow my head.
“Thank you for your hard work,” Gavin says, stepping forward and putting a hand on my shoulder.“We know if we work together, we’ll find Hannah and Shadow and be able to protect them from harm.”
“Are you okay?”Thomas asks me as Michael and Gavin enter the crowd, assigning different teams to different areas.
“Not really,” I admit.“I’m worried as hell, man.”
“Me too,” he says.His words aren’t reassuring, but it is nice to know that everyone else is taking their disappearance as seriously as I am.
Underneath my fear is a hot thread of anger.How could Hannah just take off like this?Doesn’t she know how dangerous things are right now?What is she trying to prove?Doesn’t she realize how unsafe she is now?
I can’t imagine why she would just leave, especially after what happened in the cottage.Sure, I know I fucked up with the whole “mates” thing, but surely it couldn’t have beenthatbad!How could we go from having sex one minute to her running away the next?
I don’t understand what could have happened between then and now to spook her so badly.I know she wasn’t threatened in the cottage; that would have woken me up for sure.And the gap between when one guard left and the other came on wouldn’t have been long enough for someone to get in undetected, even if the alarms somehow failed.
Which means she left voluntarily.I’m glad none of my brothers, and none of the shifters, asked about that.If I’m wrong and we’re mobilizing all of this force to search for someone who doesn’t want to be found… No, I can’t think about that right now.
As angry as I am with Hannah, I have to admit that I’m just as mad at myself.She would have only left under her own power if she was upset with me.I must have done something or said something to make her need to leave.Could it really have been the mates conversation?Did I hurt her?Does she regret sleeping with me?I don’t know what it is, but I’m already feeling guilty as hell.
“Let’s go!”Gavin calls, running back to me.“We’re taking the eastern route through the forest.”
We jump back in my car and race to the forest line.Other cars are dotted along the boundary, too, as more shifters fan out through the woods.Gavin and I get out of the car and head into the forest, moving quickly but thoroughly to scan our assigned area with care.I don’t see any evidence that they’ve been here, though.
We keep moving, not talking or even looking at each other.I study the ground, the trees, and the bushes, hoping to catch a glimpse of Hannah’s hair or Shadow’s tail.A few times I think I see them, but it’s just shadows and light dancing across the forest floor.
Every so often I look out at the forest, trying to refocus my eyes and thoughts.But every time I do, I’m gripped by the realization of just how huge the forest is and how much distance there is between the compound and the city.And how small Hannah and Shadow are.
After an hour we’re still moving quickly, but it’s difficult to maintain any optimism.I can tell by the slump in Gavin’s shoulders that he’s having similar dark thoughts.
Then a scent tickles my nostrils, and I freeze.I recognize this scent.I sniff deeper and a jolt of fear mixed with rage runs through me.It’s the stalker.He’s here.
Chapter 42
Hannah
Thankstoaridefrom a friendly woman heading into town, Shadow and I make it back to the apartment without any problems.Two shifters are hard at work on installing our new door, so I just dart into my room to drop off my bag before leaving again.
Now Shadow and I are sitting at an outdoor table at a café near the center of the city.It looks out on a park, and the pleasant sight of people walking around and kids playing in the grass has greatly improved my mood.
I sit long enough that the park begins to empty out.Looking at my watch, I see it’s the early afternoon.People must be going back to work and kids back to school.I idly think about going to the office, even though I told Melinda I was taking a couple of days off.
Before I can make up my mind, a guy walks over.He smiles at me, and I give him a tight smile back, neither rude nor encouraging.“Hi,” he says, stopping near my table.“Mind if I sit down?”
“Sure,” I say and hold out my hand.“I’m Hannah.”
“Hi, Hannah.Who’s this guy?”he asks, nodding at Shadow, who’s dozing in his chair.
“This is Shadow.”
“It’s nice to meet you both,” he says politely, putting his coffee cup on the table.
