Page 68 of Saddle and Scent
If she's here, if she's this close, then where...
My eyes drop to the ground.
To the tall grass that hasn't been cut in probably a decade.
To the small clearing where someone might have been working.
To the flash of something pale against the green.
A hand.
A limp, unmoving hand barely visible through the grass.
"FUCK!"
The curse tears out of my throat as I break into a run, covering the distance in seconds that feel like hours. My heart is hammering against my ribs, every Alpha instinct I possess screaming in alarm as I drop to my knees beside her still form.
Juniper.
My Juniper.
Unconscious, soaked in sweat, skin flushed red from heat and exposure.
I'm scooping her up before my brain has time to process what I'm seeing, gathering her limp body against my chest with hands that are shaking despite my best efforts to stay calm.
She's so small.
When did she get so small?
I remember her being fierce and untouchable, all sharp edges and defensive fire.
But right now, she's just...
Fragile.
Human.
Vulnerable in a way that makes every protective instinct I possess roar to life.
"Bell," I whisper, shaking her gently. "Come on, Bell, wake up."
Nothing.
No response, no flutter of eyelashes, no sharp retort about my presumption in touching her without permission.
Just limpness and the terrifying stillness of unconsciousness.
I put two fingers to my lips and let out a sharp whistle—the sound we've been using to communicate across distances since we were kids. It carries across the property like a blade, cutting through the heat and silence with unmistakable urgency.
Wes and Beckett's horses react immediately.
I can hear the sudden change in their movement, the quick thunder of hooves as they wheel around and head in my direction.
They can hear it in the whistle—the note of panic, the call that means drop everything and come now.
I continue shaking Juniper, trying to wake her up, but it's like trying to rouse the dead. Her head lolls against my shoulder, and I can feel the heat radiating off her skin like she's burning up from the inside.
This is bad.
