Page 19 of Knot a Chance in Hell

My mind wandered to what happened yesterday and this morning. My heat triggered, Kodiak devouring my pussy, and waking up next to Ezekiel. Plus I couldn’t forget Silas being an ass. This wasn’t at all how I imagined meeting a compatible Alpha, or even Alphas, would go. I would have to call my friends when I got back and talk through everything with them.

I approached the next hill and stopped. It was far more steep off the road. The snow would have me slipping and sliding down on my butt. Turning, I couldn’t see the road any longer. How far had I gone off it? It couldn’t have been that much.

The tree I was using as a marker was still ahead. I could go around the steep part, and it would still be shorter than taking the road.

Pushing onward as it started to snow, I wrapped my scarf tighter and covered my mouth and chin. Big and fluffy flakes floated lazily down. No more chattering on to the dogs. It was time to get home.

It took me an hour to get to the tree, but there was still more hill ahead. I leaned against it, breathing heavily after climbing up the slippery slope, and narrowed my eyes at my surroundings. “This was the tree… right?” I was no longer certain. “I need a map.”

I plucked my cell out of my zipped coat pocket. No signal.

Holding it up and slowly spinning, I still couldn’t get a connection.

“Shit.” Panic was starting to well up inside of me. I was alone, out in the middle of nowhere…

“No. I haven’t gone that far from the road.” I refused to let myself freak out. I was smarter than that. I didn’t need a map. “I can just turn around and follow my tracks back to where I started.”

Except farther down the hill, I couldn’t see my tracks anymore. The snow had been falling steadily, and only my newer tracks were still visible. On top of it, the wind was starting to pick up with a hiss of snow through branches.

A choked cry escaped me.Be calm. Be calm, Nicolette.

I closed my eyes and pressed my forehead to the tree and took in several deep breaths. “We’re fine. Everything’s fine.”

Positive attitude. I truly couldn’t be that far from the road. Also, I was on an island. It was maybe ten miles from the east coast to the west, and I was closer to the east than the west. That much I did know. Plus, the main road circled the entirety of Mitkof Island.

“See? Everything will be okay.” Opening my eyes, I straightened. The wool of my hat stuck a bit to the bark of the tree. The torn and shredded bark. Theclawedbark.

Bear!

I shrieked and scrambled backward away from the tree only to fall on my ass.

The dogs were fast by my side barking at… What?

I frantically looked around. A chilling gust blew snow in my face, making it difficult to see. My breaths came in gasps and my heart threatened to break out of my chest. Nothing. Snow, trees, and more snow.

But the tree was a sign that there was a bear around. A very big bear by how high it clawed the trunk.

I was lost in the woods with no way to protect myself. It was cold and starting to storm, and it would be dark in a few hours. Tears streamed down my cheeks.

Screw a positive attitude. I was well and truly fucked.

CHAPTER ELEVEN – Silas

Out in the woods, we barked at each other all day. The tension caused by the Omega fucked our focus and kept us out longer than expected when a branch nearly fell on Kodiak. I hated this. Everything was good until Nicolette came into our lives. Now it was all screwed.

My campaign to drive her away only became more urgent, especially since I had wanted to sweep the food off the table last night and fuck her right there. Her fire was sexy and that scent, damn. No way was I going to let her into my head. I had to up my game. All the way back to the cabin, I planned on what I could do to scare her off and keep my distance from her.

“Honey, we’re home!” I threw all my dirty stuff on the floor as soon as I opened the front door and tracked mud into the house. The blustering wind blew snow in. Let her deal with that. Ezekiel and Kodiak gave me dirty looks, but too bad. I was saving them from the home-wrecking redhead.

No Omega greeted us. The dogs didn’t even come barreling to the door.

“Nicolette?” Ezekiel called, and then whistled for his dogs as he took off his boots by the door.

Kodiak pushed past us and marched in, mud and snow dirtying up the floor. “Hello?” He hurried down the hall to her room and came back even faster. His eyes looked wild as his jaw worked back and forth. “She’s not here. Where is she?”

“I don’t know.” Ezekiel was fast putting on his boots again and out the front door. His yelling made my heart start thumping, and to help ignore it, I went to the fridge and grabbed a beer. He ran back in, chest heaving. “She’s not outside. No fresh tracks.”

“Where the fuck is she?” Kodiak stormed down the hall again, checking all the rooms as Ezekiel rushed to the opposite side of the house. Each of them shouted the Omega’s name.

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