Page 17 of Breathe Again

I just glared at her. “Where is she?”

“We don’t know. She took off about an hour or so ago,” Clara said.

“She has a favorite spot she likes to go to sit and think about things,” Ruby said quietly. I thought maybe she was still in shock over it all. “How long have you known she’s your mate, Cole?”

I stared at her, knowing the fight had already left me. I sighed. “I’ve known since the first day I laid eyes on her.”

They all seemed a little surprised to hear that.

“Wow, that’s a long time,” she said.

“Yup.” There was an awkward silence between us as we stood there on the sidewalk in the middle of town. “Well, okay, then. I’m going to try to find her.”

“Do you want me to show you the spot she goes to?” Ruby offered.

I shook my head. “No, I know where it is.”

“Oh,” she said, seeming surprised by my revelation. “Well, if she’s not there, then check the stables. Sometimes she takes her horse out for a ride when she’s really upset.”

I flinched, knowing I was the cause of her being upset this time. “Thanks.”

Elizabeth’s spot was within easy walking distance from her apartment. I jogged the whole way, suddenly anxious to see her. It was empty. I called out to her, but there was only silence.

I headed over to the stables. Thomas and Zach were there, along with the old farmer I remembered as a kid, Dalton Draper. They were looking over a horse, and I almost bypassed them to go to the stables, but the truth was, I didn’t have any idea what horse was hers and whether it was gone or not.

“What happened with you and my sister?” Thomas asked as I approached. He seemed combative and I put my hands up in peace as I approached.

“I haven’t seen Elizabeth in over an hour. We argued, and I left. I was just looking for her. Ruby said she sometimes goes for a ride when she’s upset, but I’m not sure what horse is hers. Can you tell me if it’s here?”

Zach and Thomas shared a look I didn’t like.

“Did you hurt her?” Thomas demanded.

My hands balled into fists. Future Alpha or not, I was seconds away from knocking out his teeth.

“I would never hurt her.” The realization hit that I had done just that didn’t sit well with me. “Physically,” I added for clarification. “If that’s what you’re insinuating.”

“You sure about that? Because this is Lizzy’s horse, Cole—it came back without her and it’s covered in blood.”

My entire world seemed to fall out from beneath my feet. I turned and looked at the horse as if in a trance. I touched the spot of red running down its side and brought it to my nose. Taking a deep sniff, I knew without a doubt it was hers. My body shook violently and through the fog threatening to suffocate me I heard Zach speaking.

“Thomas, take a step back, slowly. Cole could never hurt your sister, not physically at least.”

“Look at him, Dad. He’s losing it. How do we know he didn’t go off on her, too? He’s not safe.”

I couldn’t control the rage building inside me. All I could think was that Elizabeth was out there somewhere and she was hurt.

“Son, he couldn’t have done this because he’s her true mate,” Zach said.

“Shit,” Thomas said. “Cole, man, you’re losing it. You’re sprouting fur. You have to calm down.” He let some of his Alpha power flow over me, but all it did was heighten my fear for my mate.

My wolf exploded from me. I vaguely saw my tattered clothes falling to the ground around me. I sniffed the horse to catch her scent.

“Holy shit! Did you see that?” Thomas exclaimed.

“He’s always had a strong tracking sense, but in this state there’s no telling how he’ll react if she’s truly in trouble. Shift. We need to follow him. It’ll take both of us combined to control him if it comes down to it,” Zach told Thomas.

When I turned and took off, running towards the open fields, their two wolves followed off my flanks. I sniffed the ground, quickly catching the horse’s scent, but more profoundly, the smell of Elizabeth’s blood. It was stronger the further along I ran, more of it in places. Where the hell was she?

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