Page 22 of Betrayed Mate

I waited for the sulfur smell, but it never came. The bastard wasn’t lying. Worse, I’d made him recall his own loss. “I’m sorry. I didn’t—”

He lifted a hand. “Don’t apologize. You did nothing wrong. We’re all trying to get answers, and we’re going to have to relive a lot of painful memories in order to get there.”

He was right, but that didn’t mean we couldn’t be upset about it.

A few droplets of rain hit my face. Soon, all traces of scent and potential signs of movement would be washed away, so we’d best hurry. Not bothering to speak, I spun and headed in the direction of Shadowbrook. I could still see the paw prints from Briar and me, along with a set of footprints. No wonder the shifter hadn’t been able to catch us. “The person hunting us remained in human form.”

“Strange for them not to shift.”

Another round of thunder rolled, but this time, it sounded closer. I picked up my pace to a jog. The rush of the river alerted me that we were getting closer, but the rain came down a little harder.

If Gage and I were pack, I wouldn’t hesitate to shift so we could move faster. But we weren’t, and if we were both in animal form, we wouldn’t be able to communicate effectively.

When we reached the steep hill that led down to the water’s edge, both of us were panting. I skidded a little on the muddy mulch due to my flip-flops, so I kicked them off. My bare feet dug into the cold, moist mulch as I carefully made my way down to the rocks. The water was running even quicker than it had been two nights ago, and it had risen higher on the embankment. I glanced at the rock where Briar had hit her head and saw a dab of dried blood.

I had the strangest urge to touch it, but I kept my hands by my sides. “She hit there.”

“That’s a nasty edge.” Gage wrinkled his nose and stared downriver. Rain now fell steadily.

I didn’t know what I’d been hoping to find here. My knees grew weak, and I wanted to curl into a ball and wake up from this nightmare.

“Let’s head back to the road,” Gage said, taking my hand, his warmth pushing away some of the cold I’d started feeling again.

My toes tightened around the sharp rock so I wouldn’t budge from this spot. The last thing I wanted was to return and see Mom or Dad with their throats ripped out.

A sob lodged in my throat as their faces flashed inside my head. I needed to go back to my house and get pictures of them and snag my phone so I could listen to the last voicemails they’d left me. I refused to give Reid the power to prevent me from remembering their faces and voices.

“We need to go, Ember. Staying out here isn’t doing us any good. We need to regroup so we can decide our next steps.”

Even though I knew he was making sense, my heart didn’t want to hear the message. Leaving here made things more final… something that I couldn’t get back.

If Briar wasn’t here, that meant something had to be preventing her from meeting me here. My legs wanted to give out. The Blackwoods must have her somewhere.

Rain pelted us, and I shivered. However, I didn’t move from my spot.

He bent down and lifted me into his arms, and then he took off up the steep hill.

Even though he was a stranger, I didn’t care. Someone was holding me, and that was all it took for the strangled sob to come out. I buried my face in his chest, falling apart once again. He cradled me to him, pausing only once to bend and retrieve the flip-flops I’d dropped.

For a minute, I pretended that Fate was crying along with me for everything we’d lost.

Light flashed through my closed eyelids as thunder crashed. The storm was upon us, conveying exactly the way I felt inside. I was angry, sad, and broken, needing solace in the chaos of the storm swirling around me.

Gage didn’t miss a beat, hurrying back toward the town.

“I need to go inside my house,” I stated, trying and failing to keep my voice steady. “I need pictures and my cell phone in case Briar tries to call me.”

He sighed. “I don’t think that’s wise.”

“I’mnotasking. It’s the first house in the neighborhood, on the right.” I lifted my head, not caring if tears and snot streamed down my face. I allowed my wolf to rush forward, emphasizing my intent.

His eyes widened and he tilted his head back. “Got it. I’m talking to the others now.”

I wanted to say more, but I kept my mouth shut. I chose my battles, and it wasn’t worth having one now if they didn’t try to keep me from my house.

Gage’s footsteps held steady, and before long, they rang against a more solid surface. We’d made it to my driveway. He didn’t pause, and I didn’t raise my head, not wanting to see the disaster around us.

When a door opened and the smell of home hit my nose, I lifted my gaze. He breezed through the kitchen, and I glanced into the living room and saw the blanket Mom always used while sitting on the couch heaped on the floor. The television flickered, though there was no sound. Dad must have muted the television instead of turning it off before running out to face the threat head-on.

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