Page 60 of The Wolf I Sworn To Hate

“Reality is so far away. It is a completely different world on this mountain, especially since we are snowed in.” Sean paused. “I’ve finally admitted to myself that Xyla is my fated mate. Who knew that a man could have two in his lifetime?”

Sawyer pawed at the snow. “I’m glad that you let yourself fall in love again. What are you going to do about Elliot?”

“I know. I will tell Xyla how I feel and let her decide between me and her father. I won’t pressure her or guilt trip her.”

“I hope, for both your sakes, that she chooses wisely.”

Sean rubbed against a tree to scratch an itch on his back. “Me, too. I won’t put a time limit on her. If she says no now but comes to me in five or ten years, I’ll welcome her with open arms.”

“You’re a patient man.”

“I am pretty terrific, aren’t I?” Sean tilted his head back and howled.

Sawyer chuckled. “Wow, just wow.”

“They should have the roads cleared pretty soon and we do have to get back to reality. Have you made your final decision about whether you’re staying in Angel’s Creek or reupping a term in Doctors Without Borders?”

“I’m going to stick around. I know that I’ve made a difference in the world, and I know that millions of people in this world still need help. However, I’m ready to take care of myself and my needs now. Does that sound selfish?”

“No, not at all. You’ve done more for the people in this world than a lot of people have and didn’t expect a pat on the back, recognition, or anything other than the satisfaction of knowing that because of you, another person lives.”

“You should be a motivational speaker.”

Sean laughed. “I am. Remember, I own a bar. I motivate people all day long. Let’s head back. I want to talk to Xyla today.”

As they trotted toward the resort, Sean heard Xyla’s voice in his mind. “Sean, please save me.”

“We need to hurry. Something is wrong.”

They ran as fast as they possibly could to their cabin, shifted, dressed, and raced to the main building.

Elliot rushed up to Sean and punched him in the face. “What did you do to my daughter?”

Sawyer grabbed Elliot and slung him across the room. Elliot slammed into the wall and hit the floor with a loud thud.

Sean wiped the blood pouring from his nose. “What in the hell is going on?”

Elliot got to his feet and screamed, “Xyla is missing and it’s your fault. You killed her.”

Edward ran up to Sean and looked at him worriedly. “Xyla left right after breakfast. She said she was going to our cabin to get a puzzle for us to work on. She hasn’t been back since.”

Sean and Sawyer went back outside. There was no sign of her.

Sean’s stomach dropped and his heart caught in his throat. “This isn’t good. We have to find her. I heard her calling for help in my mind.”

They hurried to their cabin, stripped, shifted, and ran back out. Sean and Sawyer sniffed the air, trying to catch her scent. The problem was that it was everywhere.

“The freshest scent seems to go toward her cabin,” Sean noted.

They cautiously approached her structure and saw where there was another set of prints coming from the tree line and met at the cabin’s front door. Following them, the two wolves came to a spot in the woods where the new set of footprints turned into bear tracks and Xyla’s prints disappeared.

Xyla’s scent was infused with fear. Sean looked down and there were a couple drops of blood in the snow.

“Bear shifters have her,” Sean growled.

Sawyer sniffed the tracks and the air. “We know the shifters – Darren and Tristan.”

“How did we not pick up on that?”

---