Page 99 of Lost Girl

"We don't have time to figure it out! She's gone!" My pulse rampages beneath my skin, stomach convulsing almost violently.

What part of that doesn’t he understand?

"I doubt she's gone already, brother. The sun isn’t even fully up yet."

I shake my head resolutely, biting back the burn welling in my eyes. "She is, trust me. I canfeelit."

Soren hits me with that dubious brow, giving a little shake of his own head. "I don’t know, man. How would Wendy find her way out of here on her own?"

“She wouldn’t. She had help,” I throw back, and again I’m met with nothing but doubt.

"Who the hell would help her this early in the morning?"

"Tinksley.” Her name leaves a metallic taste in my mouth. “She’s the one who brought her here and probably the only one willing to take her back.”

Now he’s looking at me like I’ve lost my entire mind, and who knows, maybe I have. “I’m gonna have to disagree, Tav. That apology was likely for show. I don't think Tinksley would go out of her way to help Wendy at the ass crack of dawn."

"She's gone,” I drone, breathing through the storm of realization. “You read the note, it’s there in black and white. What part of that don't you get? I feel it, right here in my fucking heart, man. The warmth I felt when she was here, it's gone, too."

"T, c'mon, don't do that. We’ll find her. We’ll get the boys and head out stat. With all of us out, we’ll cover more ground."

“Dragging them into this is pointless. Wendy isn’t in Rosewood anymore, I’m telling you.”

“Don’t say that, Tav. For all we know, she’s at the beach, or in town, or at the lake. She could literally be anywhere.”

“She’s. Not. Here, man! How many times do I have to repeat that to you for you to understand! My girl is gone!"

“Breathe,” he reminds me, unfazed by my outburst. “You need to breathe. Look, if it were Kimi I’d be spazzing out, too, okay? But you gotta get a grip on it, brother. Reign in the rage. Nothing good comes from a fire this erratic.”

And yet, erratic is exactly how I feel. Every part of me is either dizzied by the abrupt turn of events or asphyxiated by each emotion briskly taking its hold.

“Why the fuck would she fucking do this?” My voice cracks anew as I sink to my haunches, hands fisting my hair.

“Because she’s scared. What she’s going through—what she’s gone through—it’s a lot,” Soren relays softly, dropping down in front of me. His gentle hand meets my shoulder, providing what’s meant to be a grounding squeeze.

But it does nothing. I’m far from grounded in this moment.

"She had me,” I grate. “She had me and she fucking knew it."

“And that could very well be part of what has her so scared. Your relationship evolved almost overnight, Tav. Think about it. That’s a lot for anyone.”

I know he meant well by what he said, is speaking nothing but the truth, but it plucks a nerve. Ahugenerve. “Overnight? The fire was there all along, building and building into a goddamn forest fire from day one, when I found her in that dungeon. The minute those pale blues met mine, she had me, and I didn’t act on it. I waited and waited and waited.”

“Exactly, and you probably had her, too. Put yourself in her shoes and think about how that would make her feel amidst her less than ideal situation. You tried taking it slow until slow wasn’t working anymore, and then you both jumped in headfirst. There was no going back after that, only forward.”

“So then why did she go back!” I spring onto my feet. “This is bullshit! This is fucking bullshit! Afraid or not, she had me!”

“Tav, breathe,” Soren demands, rising to full height.

Something about his tone and the way his chin lifts as he holds my stare flips the switch.

I have to get out of here.

Throwing the note to the ground, I take off for the front door, ripping it open with the most volatile growl I’ve ever heard resound from my chest. Then I’m springing into the air, clearing the porch as I make my shift, paws touching down on the grass. I’m bolting after that, weaving around my people and their homes en route to the edge of the forest.

Even in this form, tears blur my vision, but I shake them away. I don’t have time for this. I don’twantto have time for this, don’t want this shit in my head. The ache in my chest. I just want my girl.

Want her to still be here so I can tell her everything is going to be okay and that she. Has. Me.

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