Page 2 of Rhett
His accusation couldn’t be further from the truth.
Laziness wasn’t my problem. It was fear.
I’d already failed as the protector of my sister, Maggie; there was no way I wanted to add a fated mate to my list of failures.
CHAPTER2
NOVA
I drove into a tunnel cut through the mountain, slowing inside the dark passageway with the beams of my headlights guiding me.
Several times during my long drive to Black Forest Ridge, Alaska, I’d contemplated turning around and heading back in the opposite direction. But I couldn’t, not after I’d found the letter from my estranged father with detailed directions on how to reach his mother.
After forty years of letting my imagination connect the dots about my absent father, I needed answers about why he’d abandoned me. And if traveling to a place that was on no known map was the answer, so be it.
So distracted by my thoughts, when I exited the tunnel, I didn’t see the crisscross lines made of white lights shimmering in front of my SUV until it was too late.
“Oh shit!” I pushed my foot down on the brake pedal firmly, but my vehicle sped up instead of stopping, barreling me right through the light show.
Loud popping sounds echoed around me, and a weird pulse of energy skittered along my skin. My heart raced. I slammed on my brakes, but my SUV kept sailing down the road.
Abruptly, the bright white lights vanished, and my vehicle screeched to a stop.
“Holy hell. What the fuck just happened?” With trembling fingers, I put my vehicle in park. My SUV had no power. Gripping the steering wheel, I screamed, “Why!”
Blowing out a breath, I glanced around the deserted, heavily forested area. “Okay, Nova, get your shit together.” I grabbed my cell off the passenger’s seat. “No signal. Great.” I scanned the massive clearing surrounded by a thick forest. I had two choices—wait here for help or find help.
It was getting late.
There was no way in hell I wanted to sit in my SUV at night with no cell phone signal.
“Time to go.” I grabbed my handbag and hopped out of my vehicle. Glancing inside my vehicle, I saw my backpack tucked on the floor of the passenger’s side. I contemplated taking it with me, but I didn’t need the extra weight, not when I had no idea how long I’d have to walk to find assistance. “Aren’t small towns supposed to have low crime?” I murmured. It was a deserted road, so I decided to take my chances by leaving my backpack behind.
I locked the doors out of habit despite the fact that my front windows were down and couldn’t be rolled up due to the lack of power.
I took off, walking along the rutted stretch of dirt road, admiring the surrounding lush green landscape. Something about the scenery called to me.
Glancing at my cell again, I saw I still had no bars even after over thirty minutes of walking. There were no cars on the road and no people in sight. The stillness of the Ridge was unnerving. If I didn’t find civilization soon, I’d be stuck outside at night without shelter, surrounded by a forest full of God knows what kind of dangerous predatory animals, which was never a good situation.
Stopping in my tracks, I was contemplating going back to my SUV for shelter when a rustle in the bushes caught my attention. I inhaled sharply and prepared to run when I saw a tiny flash of black fur in the underbrush.
I squinted at the object.Is that a feral cat?
A head popped out with dark eyes, pink nose, brown mask, and white chin.
It was a ferret.
I grinned when it wiggled out of the bush. The furry creature with a cone-shaped nose, thin tail, and long, pear-shaped body with short legs and long claws stared up at me.
“Oh my God, aren’t you the cutest?” I gushed even though it was unusually big. “What the hell have you been eating? I hope not humans.”
The ferret stuck its nose in the air, sniffed, then its eyes widened. It backed away from me.
“I won’t hurt you,” I promised, stepping away from it.
The ferret made adook-dook-dooksound.
“Adorable.” I took its photo, and it blinked at me while making an odd little clucking noise, then squiggled its way down to the stream to drink.
