Page 54 of Can't Be Love

I lifted the lid to the tray and inside the lid was a note. It read, “Patrick’s been notified. Help’s on the way. Just sit tight and keep quiet. They’re watching.”

I pretended to look at the food while I read it, and carefully set it down on the floor of my crate, certain no cameras would pick up anything suspicious. I wanted to cry in relief, but instead I ate and tried not to show any emotions. Lyle was right, the food was good.

I didn’t know if I should remove and keep the note or leave it. When a new guy I hadn’t seen before came to pick up the tray, I pretended to want the banana I hadn’t eaten and discreetly grabbed the note and fruit at the last minute.

“I might want it later,” I said with a shrug when I caught him looking curiously at me.

I didn’t mention a word about the note to the other shifters. I didn’t really know who I could trust, and Dave had said they were watching. Did that mean they were listening, too? I wasn’t willing to take the risk.

I still didn’t know what to do with the note, though. It was small, and paper. After a while of sitting there with too much time to think, I started freaking myself out. It was still in the palm of my hand, because I was terrified they’d see it on the cameras.

Paranoid someone would eventually find it, I did the only thing I could think of. Remembering some old spy movie I’d watched with my brothers, I opened my banana, and somehow, without drawing any attention from even Samson, who was watching me, I managed to get the paper in my mouth and took a bite of fruit, swallowing them both down.

I couldn’t let myself think about how gross it was that I’d just eaten paper. Fortunately, it wasn’t as hard to swallow as I’d feared it might be, and I was relieved to have all evidence gone.

Patrick was on his way and he’d bring the whole cavalry. I just needed to be patient, keep my mouth shut, and wait. Too bad patience wasn’t a virtue of mine.

Or keeping my mouth shut.

Thomas

Chapter 20

I was still smiling when I saw Lily and Karis round the bend in the river. I was so busy watching my mate that the kids pummeled me with snowballs, causing me to lose my balance and fall back into the snow.

With the battle back in full swing, I continued to play with the boys as Tulok stood by laughing. Suddenly the easy banter came to a crashing halt.

“Upa! Upa! Help!”

On full alert, Tulok and I turned in all directions, looking for the cry for help. Along the water’s edge, crawling on her hands and knees was Karis.

I wouldn’t have believed the old Alpha could move so fast had I not seen it with my own eyes.

Karis was crying hysterically. “They took her. I’m so sorry. She saved me, but I couldn’t save her.”

The hair on the back of my neck stood up as anger and panic began to rise within me.

“Karis, where’s Lily? I saw her walking down the river with you. Where is she?”

I didn’t mean to raise my voice, or for my Alpha power to flow from me, but I was freaking out and unable to control it. When I went to advance on Karis, demanding she tell me, Tulok intervened.

“Knowing you are a mating male, I will look past your overstep of power, but this is a warning, Thomas. You need to rein in your anger and tone down your Alpha power.”

I fisted my hands at my side and took deep, calming breaths, trying to do just that.

“I’m sorry, Thomas. I’m so sorry. They took her. They took Lily,” Karis cried.

The boys started to cry, and their fear was evident. They were all looking around for the impending threat.

A large snowflake landed on my nose as I looked up into the sky. I remembered hearing several times that the others were taken just before a major snowfall and therefore they were unable to track them properly.

“Snow is coming. I have to find her before it does. Please Karis, show me where they got her. I need to hear exactly what happened,” I begged her.

She was still on her hands and knees, crying.

“Rise, child. We must try and help,” Tulok told her.

“My ankle, I think it’s sprained, possibly broken. We had just crossed the river no more than half a mile back. Lily wanted to come and join in the snowball fight. She looked so happy, and then there was a pop and she had a funny look on her face. She collapsed. They shot her. They went to shoot me too, but she used her last bit of strength to throw me down, twisting my ankle in the process, but she used her body to protect me. She took the shot meant for me, too. She told me to run and get help, so I did, for as long as I could stand the pain, and then I crawled the rest of the way. You have to go. You have to find her. Follow my tracks back before it’s too late.”

---