Page 13 of His Reluctant Mate

Joe knelt beside the ruins, picking up a piece of charred equipment. “There’s nothing left,” he said, his voice heavy with defeat. “Whoever did this wanted to make sure no one could contact the outside world.”

Kallik’s eyes narrowed. “You are being hunted,” he said, his tone grave. “They knew we would come here.”

Melinda felt a wave of fear wash over her. The destruction of the village wasn’t just a coincidence—it was a message. Whoever was behind this wanted them isolated and vulnerable. She looked at Joe, her heart aching with the realization of how dire their situation had become.

“We need to keep moving,” she said, trying to keep the tremor out of her voice. “We can’t stay here.”

Joe nodded, rising to his feet. “She’s right. We have to find another way to get the word out.”

Kallik’s gaze was steely. “There is another village, further north. It will be a longer journey, but it’s our best chance.”

“You shouldn’t feel obligated to continue with us,” Joe said.

Kallik waved him off. “I had friends and family here. Whoever it is that has done this, I will stand with you. The old adage ‘the enemy of my enemy is my friend’ applies here. Those who did this are my enemies.”

Melinda swallowed hard, the weight of their predicament pressing down on her. They had no choice but to press on, despite the dangers that lay ahead. As they set out once more, the wind howling around them, Melinda couldn’t shake the feeling that they were being watched. Every shadow seemed to hold a threat, every gust of wind a warning.

She glanced at Joe, finding a measure of comfort in his presence. Despite the fear gnawing at her, she knew they had to stay strong. The mission was more important than ever, and they couldn’t afford to fail. Had they been in their animal forms, they would have been able to travel in their shifted forms, but with Kallik guiding them, they were forced to remain as their human selves.

With Kallik leading the way, they moved deeper into the wilderness, leaving the destroyed village behind. The journey ahead would be fraught with peril, but Melinda steeled herself with a fierce determination. They would survive this, and they would make sure the truth was known, no matter what it took.

CHAPTER 8

JOE

Joe trudged through the howling storm, his eyes squinting against the biting wind that carried sharp flakes of snow and ice. The arctic wilderness was unforgiving, and the blizzard had only made their journey more perilous. Kallik, who had been leading them for hours, was visibly slowing down. The elder’s breath came in ragged gasps, his strength waning.

Joe moved closer to him, placing a reassuring hand on Kallik’s shoulder. “Let me take the lead,” Joe said firmly. “You need to rest.”

Kallik nodded, too exhausted to argue. He fell back, allowing Joe to forge ahead. Joe’s protective instincts flared to life. He had to ensure their safety, especially Melinda’s, whose quiet determination and resilience had become a beacon of hope for him. His mate was afraid—of those who had attacked them, of those who had murdered her colleagues, of those who had destroyed the village and of all the other things they had no way of predicting. And yet, she moved forward, never doubting her purpose, never seeming to look back, and always able to focus on what was needed. He could respect that, and truth to tell, he found it kind of sexy.

As they were entering a mountain pass, the terrain became more treacherous with each step. The narrow path was flanked by steep, snow-covered slopes that looked ready to collapse at any moment. Joe’s senses were on high alert, every muscle in his body tensed for the slightest sign of danger.

Melinda was close behind him, followed by Kallik, who was struggling to keep up. The storm seemed to press in on them from all sides, reducing visibility to just a few feet. Joe glanced back at Melinda, meeting her eyes. There was something in her expression—an urgency that went beyond the immediate peril of their surroundings.

Suddenly, Melinda’s head snapped to the side, her eyes widening as if she sensed something Joe couldn’t. She caught his gaze again and mouthed a single word: “Avalanche.”

Joe’s heart skipped a beat. He didn’t question how she knew. He trusted her instincts, especially in this moment. He knew that Arctic foxes were in tune with the Earth’s magnetic and electrical fields, and he was certain an avalanche would set off all kinds of alarm bells in both. He turned sharply to Kallik. “We need to move, now!” he shouted over the roar of the wind.

Kallik looked inscrutable, which Joe was beginning to think was his normal expression. Joe grabbed Melinda’s hand, who reached out to grab Kallik, helping him to follow. They scrambled up the rocky path, moving as quickly as the deep snow would allow. The sound of the avalanche began as a distant rumble, growing louder with each passing second. Joe’s mind raced. They needed to find shelter, something to protect them from the oncoming deluge of snow and ice.

He spotted a cluster of large boulders ahead, their dark shapes barely visible through the swirling snow. “There!” he shouted, pointing. “Get behind those rocks!”

They reached the boulders just as the avalanche thundered down the slope, a wall of snow crashing toward them with terrifying speed. Joe pushed Melinda and Kallik into the narrow space between the rocks, covering them with his body as the snow roared past. The ground shook with the force of the avalanche, and for a moment, Joe feared they would be buried alive.

The avalanche hit with a deafening roar, a white tsunami that consumed everything in its path. Joe felt the impact like a physical blow, the force of the snow pressing against his back, threatening to crush them. He tightened his grip on Melinda and Kallik, using his body as a shield against the onslaught. The sound was overwhelming, a cacophony of grinding ice and roaring wind that drowned out everything around them, even the sounds of his own comrades dying in Afghanistan.

The pressure increased, snow seeping into the crevices of their shelter, threatening to bury them. Joe could feel the cold seeping through his clothes, a numbing chill that sapped his strength. He braced himself, muscles straining, as the avalanche continued its relentless assault. If push came to shove, both he and Melinda could shift, and hopefully be able to help Kallik.

For a fraction of a moment, it seemed as though the world would end in this icy cataclysm. The weight of the snow pressed down on them, suffocating, oppressive. Joe could barely breathe, each gulp of air a desperate struggle. He could hear Melinda's and Kallik's labored breathing, both clinging to him and each other as the avalanche continued to pour over them.

Then, as suddenly as it had begun, the roar of the avalanche began to subside. The deafening noise dwindled to a distant rumble, and the pressure against Joe's back lessened. He cautiously lifted his head, snow cascading off his shoulders. They were still alive, miraculously sheltered by the boulders that had taken the brunt of the avalanche’s force.

Joe’s heart pounded with adrenaline, but there was also a nagging suspicion in his mind. The timing of the avalanche had been too precise, too deliberate. He couldn’t shake the feeling that it had been triggered intentionally.

“Everyone okay?” he asked.

Kallik nodded, still catching his breath. “We’re safe, thanks to you,” he said.

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