Page 72 of A Wolf's Wound
My door opens a little, and Shadow slips in.“Is Ryder asleep?”I ask him, and he nods.
“Okay.We’re going, then,” I tell the raccoon.He watches as I quickly pack up and zip my bag closed.
I need to be alone.I need to be somewhere where I don’t have to worry about Ryder or another member of the pack popping up.I need to think through whether I really want to pursue a future with Ryder.If there’s a way to do that without becoming a mindless bride, or falling in love with him if he’s not sure I’m really his mate.
With Shadow at my heels, I walk quietly through the cottage.I carefully open the front door.To my relief it swings open without making a sound.
The day is sunny and quiet.I stand on the front steps for a minute, face tilted to the sun, listening to the silence.“It’s going to be okay,” I tell Shadow—and myself.“I promise.”
Chapter 41
Ryder
Iburstoutside,prayingshe hasn’t gotten too far, and at least my car is still there.“Hannah!Shadow!”I yell.
One of the guards comes running around the side of the house.“Everything okay, Ryder?”
“No,” I say sharply.“Where are Hannah and Shadow?”
“They’re not inside?”
“If they were, would I be asking you where they are?”I say, trying to control my temper.“They’re gone.Didn’t you see anything?”
“N-no,” the guard stammers nervously.“But I just started my shift a few minutes ago.”
“Call your superior, and tell him what happened,” I snarl, yanking open my car door.“I want a full report about this.”
The guard nods vigorously, fumbling for his phone as I roar back up the road to the main house.
Inside I find my brothers around the kitchen table.“Hannah’s gone,” I say shortly, and they all look at me.
“What do you mean?”Thomas asks.“Where did they go?”
“I don’t know,” I growl.“And the guard on duty had no clue either.He said something about a shift change.”
Michael shakes his head, his expression stormy.“Shift change doesn’t mean wander around and leave people unprotected!”he says.“Ryder, we’ll find her.”
“I want every available shifter here, immediately,” I say, and Gavin nods.
While we wait outside for the shifters to assemble, I pace back and forth, too wired to stand still.If Hannah and Shadow left on foot, I don’t think they could have made it back to the city already.The most likely route they took was through the woods along the edge of our property.Unless Hannah wanted to try and hitch a ride back, in which case they’re on the main road.
Not knowing which route they took is making me feel even more frantic.In my mind’s eye I see the forest and road, both arcing away from our property.Right now they both feel like impossible distances, plenty of space where Hannah and Shadow could get lost.
No, Hannah’s too smart to get lost.She knows woods and forests from growing up in the Blackwood pack.I remind myself that she’s capable and strong.
But how good would all of her smarts be against a maniac with vengeance on his mind?That’s what’s really worrying me, that no matter which route they chose, they picked the one where this creature is lurking.
“Okay!”Gavin says when everyone’s finally gathered before us.“Hannah and Shadow are missing.It is of the utmost importance that we find them immediately.”
“We don’t know where they went,” I jump in.“I want teams in the forest and on the main road.But we also need teams searching all of the side roads and combing every inch of this property.”
The shifters nod in assent.“How long have they been missing?”one of them asks.
“About six hours,” I say.I know I wasn’t asleep for longer than that.“Maybe less.”
“Could they be in a building on the property?”someone else asks.
“That’s a good thought,” I tell him.“I don’t anticipate that they would have stayed here.But we can’t afford to leave any stone unturned.I want teams going through every building and checking every room.”
