Page 125 of Scent of Home

I stare at him, trying to convey what I need. He gets me, he should know what I want.

He looks at me, and he nods. He opens his mouth and takes up the call where I’ve left off. “LOCKE!”

“LOCKE!” I echo.

Erin gets to her feet and goes to the water’s edge. “I can feel him.”

Shane explodes upwards. He cups his hands to his mouth. “LOCKE!”

I focus on Erin and get to my feet, trailing after her. In the dark, Finn wades back into the water, his face white in the spotlights. People explode into action, racing up and down the banks, dragging poles through the water.

Erin walks along the river’s edge like a bloodhound. I reach out and grab Shane’s hand and drag him with me. His fingers are as cold as mine. But he moves with me. I keep an eye on Finn as we move closer to the water.

Erin gets more and more agitated. Her head shifts back and forth, and then she turns and walks downstream.

She ignores everyone, refusing people’s condolences, refusing their sympathies. Her face is cold and hard. She is hunting.

I follow after her, staying right on her heels. We walk for a long time. I can no longer see the town, and only a handful of people are still with us, their torches scanning the river and banks.

“Do you hear that?” Shane asks suddenly.

I cock my head and listen hard, desperate to hear the sound. It’s almost inaudible, but I hear it less in my brain and more in my heart.

“Omega purr,” I whisper and lunge past her, jogging along the river bank. Where? Where is he?

I follow the sound until I see him lying broken on the bank of the river. He’s crawled out of the water. He’s alive.

He’s alive. His song cuts off with a cough. It doesn’t matter, I’ve found him.

“Locke! Oh, fuck, oh, shit. HELP!” I scream.

Shane and Finn appear beside me with blankets. We bundle him up, and I carefully lift him into Shane’s arms.

“I can’t run,” I admit reluctantly.

“I’ve got it. I’ve got him,” Shane promises.

I step back, letting my hands slide from him. Erin grabs Locke’s head, whispers in his ear, and then steps back. I watch as she swipes an angry tear away.

“Erin?”

She shakes her head as people turn and head back, lighting the way for Shane, Finn, and Locke.

I go to follow them but pause when I see Erin. She turned away and wandered a half a dozen feet further down river. She’s looking at something not far away. I walk up to her and follow her gaze.

Delilah is lying there, her eyes wide. She mouths ‘help me’, but Erin just stares at her.

“Erin?”

“Go away, Bray. You don’t want to see this.” Erin’s voice is colder than I’ve ever heard it.

“Erin,” I whisper.

She looks up at me. “Leave, Brayson.”

When I don’t move, she sways slightly. “I drowned Dezzi’s office when he cheated on me. Destroyed his car. I paid to have his house trashed. I have a dark side to me, Brayson. A very dark side. I don’t want you to see this part of me.”

“Erin, I love all of you, dark or otherwise.” I reach and wrap my hand around hers.

---