Page 129 of Marked

He circled a couple places with a marker. One was the location where Ollie’s truck had been found, the other was the campground where Cameron and I had stayed. Then, to my surprise, he handed the marker to me.

“Show us the areas you think we should be looking at.”

I only hesitated for a second, wondering why he was trusting me implicitly, before bending low and making marks.

“This is a lake we visited. Here’s a hiking trail that she might remember. This whole corridor here leads back to Toronto,” I explained as I circled the locations. “That’s it. Those may be theplaces she’d head back to. It’s the best I can think of. She’ll either be at these locations, or she’ll be somewhere along the waytothese spots.”

“You heard the man,” JC said to the group. “Nate and I will take the area closest to the campground. Everyone else, pick a spot and head on out.”

Several men came forward and took photos of the map with their phones before grouping up to create search parties. I had to admit, it was impressive.

“Let’s get out of here,” JC said to me. “They’ll sort out who’s going where.”

I had a sneaking suspicion that the reason JC wanted me alone in his truck was to give me the lowdown on what he expected of me. As we drove out of the parking lot, I braced myself for the threats. He’d tell me that if I started acting feral, he’d have me put down, and that if I undermined his authority, he’d make me wish I was dead. Maybe he’d even accuse me of bringing all this drama to his doorstep.

Clenching my fists on my thighs, I tried to stay focused. I’d take any load of shit he wanted to dump on me if it meant having help finding Cameron.

“Look,” JC said quietly as we pulled onto the highway.

Here it comes, I told myself.

“This is a pretty dangerous situation we have here. Kinda volatile, actually. I’m not sure what your relationship is with this Cameron woman, but I want you to keep it on the down-low until we figure out what’s happening. I don’t want you getting caught in the crossfire of what might be some shady shit. All right?”

When he glanced at me, there was no malice or anger in his eyes. He wasactuallyworried about my safety. It touched me in a way I’d never felt before. Shifters were inherently suspicious of lone wolves, and I hadn’t anticipated this reaction from analpha, of all people. He was treating me like an equal rather than a nuisance or some plague he had to deal with. If this was really how the man was, I could see why Ollie respected the guy.

“Sounds like a plan to me,” I said.

JC held a hand out to me, keeping his other on the wheel. “You keep your head down and play this thing the right way, and I’ll do everything I can to make sure you and Cameron make it out of this alive and well.”

I looked at the offered hand for a beat, completely thrown by the entire interaction. JC wasn’t treating me the way every other powerful alpha had treated me in the past. Maybe my preconceptions and past dealings were throwing my expectations off-base.

After only a moment’s hesitation, I reached out and shook his hand. “I think I can do that.”

JC nodded and put both hands on the wheel. “Let’s go find our lady.”

“Yeah,” I muttered, and gazed out the window.

If Cameron was out there, I’d find her. I had to. If it weren’t for me, she wouldn’t be in this situation to begin with. The shame of what had happened stained me, and my wolf wasn’t letting me forget it.

33

Cameron

Mud still caked my body, but the rain had done a good job washing a lot of it away. My assumption that the wet earth had covered my scent caused me some terror as the clods of dirt washed away. At one point, I even stopped at a muddy puddle and smeared more over my body, making sure to coat myself as well as possible.

As I ran through the forest, I had the distinct sense that I wasn’t a powerful shifter but a rabbit or a squirrel running from a predator. After an hour of running, I finally allowed myself to relax a bit. If Rick was going to find me, he probably would have by now. Tension still racked my body. Every muscle, from my lower back to my thighs and up to my shoulders, ached and screamed for rest.

I rushed out of the forest into a clearing and sank to my knees, heaving in breaths and allowing the rain to wash down across me. My legs and arms trembled from the exertion. There was something different about running for pleasure or exercise versus running for your life. You pushed yourself harder thanyou thought you ever would, and now my body was paying the price.

At the back of my mind, I could hear my mother’s voice, telling me to be careful like she used to when I went out in Zamora. Back then, neither she nor I could have thought anything was more dangerous than the gangs and cartel members who roamed the streets. Little did we know, Iactuallyneeded to worry about a filthy rich man chasing me through the wilderness of Canada.

Thinking of my mother brought a single sob, heartsick and agonized, tearing at my chest. Falling forward with my hands on the wet moss, I cried. With the rain beating down on the back of my head, I was a child again. I wanted my mama. I wanted her to hold me, protect me, and take away all my fear and worry.

As quickly as it started, I shoved the emotions away. Lifting my head, I ran a muddy arm across my filthy face, wiping away the tears.

“Focus,” I muttered to myself, and memories of my mother’s words came back, echoing through my mind as though she were right there with me.

“Mija, you are stronger than you should be,” she’d told me when I was in high school. “It’s my fault, I know. I’m sorry, my girl.”

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