Page 11 of Howl For Me
Five Years Ago
Gavin blew out a deep breath stepping out of the rental car. He glanced over at Irvin and Elizabeth Jackson as they walked to the front of the car. They stood near the airplane’s crash site with shock on their faces.
It was an unusual request from them to see where the plane had gone down that had carried Damara and her friends, but it was something they all needed to see. His wolf refused to believe she was gone, taken from him.
His animal clawed at his chest, wanting to break free and go search for their mate.
“Are you sure you want to do this, Mrs. Jackson?” Officer Mayes asked as he approached them.
The local police department had been very kind and helpful in dealing with the families and the tragedy that had taken the lives of young women and the flight crew.
“I need to do this,” Elizabeth announced, her eyes locked in on the remnants of the plane that laid strewn across the ground.
Irvin wrapped his arm around his wife and led her forward.
Gavin moved to stand next to Officer Mayes, who was human. The humans were unaware of the supernaturals who lived and worked amongst them. The local police captain was a shifter, and that was why they were granted certain privileges that others wouldn’t have. This was a delicate case, considering that Damara and her friends were all shifters.
“It’s just sad. Were any of the dead related to you?” Officer Mayes asked.
“Their daughter and I were engaged,” he murmured as he watched Elizabeth cry out and Irvin catch her before she fell.
“I’m sorry for your loss,” Officer Mayes said.
“Thank you.” Gavin nodded before he moved away. He needed to walk around the wreckage and see if there were any signs of life that the humans wouldn’t have picked up on.
He carefully crept through the scene. His heart was pained, just thinking of the horror of knowing what she must have gone through. His mate and her friends would have been terrified knowing the plane was going down. The official reports weren’t back yet on what had happened, but the preliminaries were pointing to a faulty engine. Charred luggage, clothes, and parts of the plane were scattered everywhere.
He moved toward the main part of the plane that was still together. He drew in deep breaths, trying to catch any scent of Damara.
Nothing.
Unlike her friends, there was no body for the Jacksons to claim. According to the police department, they believed Damara’s remains may have been incinerated in the fire from the crash.
He refused to believe that.
Everyone’s bodies were accounted and claimed by their family members but hers. How could Damara be the only one to not leave any trace that she’d died or survived?
As he’d been instructed, he tried not to touch anything while he stood next to the remains of the plane. He moved inside what was left of the mangled aircraft. It had been torn apart, and some of the chairs remained, but most of it was left in shambles. He ambled through it, able to see the sky due to the roof being gone.
He sniffed and found a hint of Damara’s scent. He looked around and saw a spot of blood on the headrest of one of the passenger seats. He leaned in and got a whiff of the blood.
Damara.
She had been injured. But where was her body?
He walked from the aircraft, despair filling his body at the thought that he had lost his mate. His wolf demanded to be free. It wanted to howl at the moon in order to call for its mate.
He walked toward the Jacksons while they held each other. Tears marred both their faces when they turned to him.
“Oh, Gavin,” Elizabeth sobbed.
The older woman rushed to him. He opened his arms and enfolded his mate’s mother against him. Her body shook with sobs and he gathered her close. His eyes burned with tears as he held what he had left of Damara.
His mind told him she was gone, but his heart believed she was out there somewhere.
* * *
Brianna sat in the family room of the Greene home. Her wolf, for once, was silent. She could tell that her animal was comfortable around these people. It knew them, but she still couldn’t understand that if her animal recognized them, why couldn’t her human mind? What was wrong with her that she couldn’t get her memory back?
