Circling back he sniffed the cab of the truck. He headed back to the tree line, pacing the natural fence that separated him from her. A flake of snow flew by. What the fuck was she doing?
Before he could figure out what kind of magic he was seeing, two massive wolves plowed through the undergrowth followed by several smaller ones.
Through their mental link he sent them images of Olivia, the urgency evident in his panic. They assembled as more of the pack arrived.
As alpha, they would come to him. They had to. Something Kurt envied.
One by one each took their turn at the truck, their noses hitting the air to match her scent. Confusion was the common thread in each of his pack-mates. Grouping in smaller heats they started out to find her.
Olivia shouldn’t be able to hide herself. He should have been able to find her no matter where she was. He should have been able to call out to her. No one was supposed to be able to deny his call, not even his mate. Yet, here she was. Gone.
Ethan took off to where he’d last seen her and followed the thread of instinct deep within him. Where the fuck was she?
He turned this way and that dodged treesand followed rogue prints that seemed to have lost their friends to heavy winds. A witch. Served him right. He knew somehow that if she didn’t want to be found, he wasn’t going to find her, but he sure as hell wouldn’t stop.
Ethan whimpered as he came to a ravine.
His wolf bayed his head back and forth, pawing at his muzzle. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
Had she crossed onto their land? He looked down the miles of the border and saw more of his pack. His feelings echoed through them. It had just gone from slightly complicated to a big pile of fuck in a goddamn shit lined gift-bag.
Chapter 13
Olivia sucked in air. Where was she? After leaving the truck there was very little clarity. She simply ran. She still didn’t really get how to be present when the wolf was there. Her wolf seemed to understand her, and yet Olivia didn’t realize what it meant to be an animal. Her soul seemed to whimper at the idea that she didn’t comprehend who she was.
Looking around taking in the darkness, she shivered. Too dark for the forest, too cold. Her eyes tried to adjust. She felt around, the dense cold of dirt shifting as her fingers scratched it.
Finally, her site grew used to the darkness. Stone surrounded her. Is this a cave?
This hadn’t been expected, although at the moment her mind was a fog of hurt and betrayal and sadness.
She sat up, her feet sliding on a gritty dirt like floor. Oh wolf, what did you do?
The wolf snuffed at that. Fine. What did we do?
She shivered. “No clothes. Right.”
Taking in what she could with her new-found eye-sight, she saw absolutely nothing. Something told her to stay down as she crouched and crawled, remaining lower than rock height. As she carefully took each step to avoid the sharp floor jetting out, a voice broke the drip drop of water echoing deep within the cave.
A flash of memory came to her. Foreign wolves chasing her flooded her mind and she suddenly remembered everything she’d seen. At first, she’d run from the hurt and the fear. Ethan’s words cut deep. He’d forgotten to tell her about another woman. That she remembered clearly. A tear pricked the corner of her eye as the stab of fear and anger and frustration surfaced. Finally, it had all made sense, she knew she loved him. Only it all didn’t matter now that she knew she wasn’t his first choice. Rubbing the heel of her hand across her face, she pushed at unwelcome tears. Could she be happy loving him even if he couldn’t ever love her the same?
She sniffed knowing she’d been there once before. Maybe she’d never loved her ex, but she knew she’d spend a lifetime always being a letdown to him. Look at how that all ended up.
Love sucked. True love really sucked. She suddenly missed the false love of her life. Fake love left you hurt but not broken.
Slipping along the damp floor she tried to get her bearings. All she ever wanted was to be was loved. She’d always wanted a family that she could love and protect. But Ethan had one already.
Why had his words hurt? The wolf within her seemed to know why. Because he was hers, and she was supposed to be the one to give him heirs.
Wiping the back of her hand against her cheek she stopped. He loved her. He couldn’t lie. What was her purpose now?
I really know how to pick them.
Her foot slid along loose gravel. Inching forward to the cave entrance she tried to listen to the wolf. But the darn girl just grumbled at her wallowing.
Yeah, well you don’t know what I’ve been through.
Voices echoed as two people came closer. Maybe it was Ethan. Her heart might have become Swiss cheese recently, but she knew deep within that he’d come for her. The wolf reared up, ready for the shift. Ready for the attack.
Olivia faltered and felt for him through the connection they shared. Earlier she’d done everything she could to shut him out. Maybe that had been a bad choice.
She shivered as fear crept in. Pushing out the invisible threads she discovered earlier, she searched. Anger. So much anger. Olivia sucked in her breath and threw up the mental shields. Holding her breath, she prayed that her instincts were wrong.
Someone had chased her, and that someone was now aware she was here.
Scanning the cave from ceiling to floor, she saw it through her wolf eyes. Scrambling from the entrance, she found the first crevice and pushed
