Page 6 of Grey
Reaching into her bag for her phone, she didn’t feel it in the side pocket. She pulled the backpack in front of herself and searched inside, then frantically patted herself down. She whispered harshly, “No, no!” It must have slipped out as she’d walked, maybe when she’d tripped over that exposed root and nearly taken a header into a tree.
“This is not happening,” she groaned.
Now she couldn’t even use the compass to get back to her cabin or the phone to call the police for help.
Hell, she hadn’t even thought to pack a flashlight!
The sun was dipping lower by the minute; the deep amber light that had dappled the ground before now turned to shadows that stretched toward her. She looked behind her where the river was covered in shadows. If she went back, what if she went the wrong way? But if she kept following the river, what if she never ran into any sign of life?
She put her backpack on her shoulder and looked around carefully. She was a smart woman, and she wasn’t helpless. If she followed the river, eventually she’d come across someone. And once the sun set, maybe she’d be able to see the lights of a farmhouse and could follow that.
She wasn’t crazy about spending the night alone in the woods, in the freaking dark, but she didn’t really have a choice.
“Well, Eleanor,” she said loudly, “if you are the sort of ghost who leads people to help, I’m taking suggestions.”
She waited, her breath held, and heard nothing but the bugs and birds as the sun set.
Well hell.
Okay, she had to keep going. She hadn’t started her life over in Little River to be lost forever in the woods. She’d walk until she was tired and then she’d find a place to settle for the night. But hopefully—hopefully—she’d find help before she needed to sleep, because camping out in the dark without supplies was not on her bucket list.
The woods felt bigger and darker as she walked along the river, listening to the rush of the water. As the sun set completely and the moon came out, her eyes adjusted so she could see some of what was around her. It made her walk more slowly, though, so she didn’t trip and fall. The last thing she needed was to get hurt and not be able to walk.
She was so in over her head right now. No one knew where she was or that she was planning to just take a couple-mile walk in the afternoon to look for local legends. No one would miss her until Monday.
But she wasn’t going to panic, because Tatum wasn’t the sort of girl to panic. Not after the lifetime of hardships she’d endured.
She looked up at the sky through the trees, and then she focused on the darkness ahead of her.
I hope I make it home safely.
Grey tossed from one side to the other, then rolled to his back and groaned as he rubbed his eyes. It wasn’t that he wasn’t tired, because he was. But he just couldn’t get comfortable and he couldn’t fall asleep. Frustrated, he grabbed his cell and looked at the screen.
It was only eleven p.m.
He’d only been trying to sleep for an hour, but it felt like a lot longer.
His stallion let out an impatient whinny in his head.
Once more, he wished he could actually speak to his shifter nature, but all he ever got were feelings. And the strangest feeling he had right now was that he needed to be outside.
Giving up after a few more minutes of his bossy stallion urging him to leave the house, he dressed in jeans and a T-shirt, then tucked his phone into his back pocket.
The house was quiet. Grey silently moved through the house and out the front door, nearly running right into Crew, who was still on patrol.
“I heard someone moving around,” Crew said with a low voice. “What’s up?”
“Can’t sleep.” He rubbed his chest. “I’m not sure what’s going on, but my stallion wants me outside.”
Crew hummed but didn’t say anything.
“What?” Grey asked.
“I’m not sure, but if your stallion wants you outside, then that’s where you should be. I can turn the pasture lights on. Do you want to go for a shift and run?”
Grey planted his hands on his hips and looked around. They were underneath one of the motion-sensitive floodlights at the front of the farmhouse, and because of the brightness, all he could see was darkness beyond the spill of light.
“I don’t feel like shifting, I feel like going for a walk.”
