Anticipation, his dragon told him. Change is coming.
Kelos pushed the door open and entered the club. He was ready for change. He was ready to meet his mate. But then he’d been ready for years and still, she had evaded him.
Chapter Two – Amber
“Are you sure he’ll help us?” Margie peered through the windshield, her nose wrinkled, as Amber parked the car down the street from Shawn’s house.
“Yes.” She forced herself to sound more confident than she was. Amber hadn’t seen Shawn for three or four years, their paths had led them in different directions after they’d shared an apartment while Shawn was studying medicine.
Margie glanced over her shoulder at the two children asleep in the back seat. “I’ll stay here with the kids while you go speak to him.”
“Margie, I don’t like leaving you here on your own.” Amber ducked her head and peered out of the car window. It was late and the town was pretty much deserted. Except for the wolf brazenly walking across the street.
“I’d be more worried about getting out of the car and walking down the street.” She pressed her lips together, her mouth forming a straight line. “This isn’t right. None of it is right.” There was a hint of desperation in her voice.
“I’ll be okay,” Amber assured her sister-in-law.
“Yeah, because that wolf is really a man.” Margie sighed and rubbed her forehead with her fingertips. “It’s not right.” She stifled a sob and took a deep breath as she composed herself. “I sometimes think this is all a bad dream and I’m going to wake up and none of it is real.”
“I wish that were true.” Amber leaned forward and hugged Margie, trying to offer her comfort. There was nothing else she could do. Amber didn’t have the power to press reset and send Margie back to her normal life. “I really do,” she whispered in her ear.
“But it’s not.” Margie took a shuddering breath, fighting to maintain her composure.
“No, it’s not.” Amber pulled back and reached for the car door handle. “I’ll be back as soon as I can. I’ll leave the keys in the ignition. If you have to run, run.”
“Amber…” The desperation and fear in Margie’s voice made Amber’s heart ache. But she had to go.
“Don’t worry about me. Just get the children to safety.” She fixed Margie with a hard stare and received a nod of agreement. “Good.”
Quietly opening the car door, Amber slipped out into the night, grateful that the streetlights in Cougar Ridge were dim and thinly spread out. Still, she stuck close to the edge of the sidewalk, making use of the added shadows cast by the walls and fences that edged the front yards of the houses.
Amber took a long steadying breath. What if Shawn had moved? They hadn’t been in contact for some time and he could easily have moved out of town. She closed her eyes, not allowing herself to look into the pit of despair that yawned ever wider in the back of her mind. Without help, she didn’t know how she was going to guarantee Margie and the kids’ safety.
Lifting her head, she straightened her shoulders as she reached Shawn’s house. Taking a quick look around, she wished she had shifter senses of her own so that she could tell if there was anyone out there in the shadows watching her.
Amber rolled her shoulders, forcing herself to relax and stepped onto the driveway. The house was in darkness. Either the occupants were in bed or no one was home. Guilt at having to wake Shawn at such a late hour pricked her conscience but they’d driven a long way and they couldn’t spend the night in the car.
Striding toward the door, she raised her hand and knocked without pause. Taking a step back, she waited. No one answered.
Damn it. She took another step back and looked up at the dark windows, wishing she could see inside. Was Shawn in there? Was he sleeping?
She stepped forward and knocked again, harder this time. Still no answer.
Panic gripped her and she inhaled deeply, forcing air into her lungs as she fought the rising fear that threatened her. Panicking would help no one.
What to do? Amber stepped sideways, avoiding the pretty flowers in the border under the window. Feeling like an intruder, she cupped her hands to the downstairs window and peered inside. The light from the streetlamps was too dim to illuminate the room, but she was certain she could see a photograph of Shawn and Jane on a shelf to the right of the window.
At least she’d gotten the right house. Shawn still lived here. So where was he? Vacation maybe? Or perhaps working a night shift at the hospital. If Shawn wasn’t in, they would have no choice but to find a hotel somewhere and hope they weren’t found.
Amber jumped and ducked down beneath the window at the sound of a vehicle approaching.
Nervously lifting her head, she watched for the headlights of the vehicle to pass on by. They didn’t, instead, they slowed and came to a stop outside the house.
Amber cursed under her breath and glanced around, she needed somewhere better to hide. She also needed to warn Margie that she might have to make a run for it and leave Amber behind. Crawling on all fours, she placed her hands down on the cool damp earth, shuffling along the ground until she was partially hidden behind a small conifer tree.
As she turned around and faced the driveway, she felt for her phone in her pocket. Carefully sliding it out, she tapped the screen, keeping it hidden behind the evergreen shrub as the screen lit up. Her finger hovered over Margie’s face as she hesitated, waiting for the owner of the vehicle to make his next move.
“Are you all right, Kelos?” Shawn’s voice reached her from the street,
