door, grabbing my blades and holders and attaching them around my thighs. I waste no time running out the door, jumping the decking steps and heading for the gathering. I sprint, Runa helping me to reach the others as quickly as possible without question. I try to reach Kade through the link as I look around for any sign of Sam in the area, but he still has me shut out.
“No one has seen her,” Josh tells me when I reach him, Taylor, Seb, and Hudson. Their postures tense.
“She’s gone into the forest,” I tell them, and start heading toward the river we use to get water. “She’s only been out there a few times with her mom and Kade. She won’t have a clue where she’s going.”
“Why would she stay out there on her own anyway?” Taylor asks, searching the floor for any sign of footprints.
“Sybill doesn’t know. It’s not like Sam to do something like this,” I rush out. “She’s not inside the barrier, we would know.” Someone would have seen her if she was. “Fuck,” I mutter when we pass the lilk trees and reach the river, my eyes glancing everywhere trying to see if she’s here. She’s not, and there is no scent of her either.
“I’ll go right and see if I can see any tracks or pick up her scent,” Taylor tells me, and he speeds off.
“Josh, go across the river and search that side. I’ll follow it down. Seb, go further out to Josh. If you see Colten, tell him to go up the river and see if she went that way. I’m sure she’s only been as far as this so we should find her soon. She couldn’t have gotten far.” I scan the river, the banks and the ground around it, trying to see anything.
“Where do you want us to search?” Darius’ voice sounds behind me suddenly, making me jump. I didn’t even know he was following us. I’m surprised by his question, but with more people searching, we can find her quicker.
“Split your Elites up with mine,” I tell him, already moving down the side of the river. “If you see her, make sure one of mine goes to her. It will scare her off if an Elite does it.”
I rush forward, letting my senses roam free while Darius joins me. All I hear is the water from the river and sticks crunching underneath our feet. Not a single sound of another person can be heard. The forest is quiet, too quiet. I stop when the river splits off into two different directions and look at the bank, seeing if I can see any signs of her. I walk into the river and wade through the water, ignoring cool liquid splashing against me. Reaching the other side, I stand on the edge and look down, no footprints, no disturbed earth. I look up and down along the grassy ground and see nothing to suggest another person was here apart from me and Darius.
What if she fell in and got swept down river?
My head snaps to the water at the thought and panic really starts to set in. “Shit.” I jog alongside the river, checking the ground and the water for any signs of her. Darius stays on the other side, keeping pace with me. The longer we follow the river, the more I feel dread starting to set in. The river deepens and the water turns rapid down here, violent and deadly. It’s like a vice grips around my heart, squeezing it until I wheeze out a breath. Where in the Gods is she?
“Anything?” I ask Josh, hoping he picked up something.
“Nothing yet,” he replies through the link, his voice strained.
“Can she swim?” Darius asks from the other side of the river, looking at the water like I am.
“I don’t know,” I choke out, my throat tight at the thought of her not knowing how to swim. Why haven’t we been teaching the kids how to swim?
“Surely you would know if she can swim. She’s what, ten?”
“Thirteen, and I don’t know, Darius!” I snap at him, then come to a sudden halt when I hear a snap to the left of me. “Sam!” I call out, rushing toward the sound through the trees.
The scent of Kade hits me just before dark gray fur appears. I go to him, not caring about the fact that the last time he was in wolf form he was about to attack me. His blue eyes look between me and Darius, and I grip his muzzle in my hands, making him focus on me. “Kade, Sam is missing. She was last seen at the part of the river we use to collect water. She’s not been seen since. Have you seen her?”
“No.” He shakes his head, his ears standing up and alert as panic shows in his eyes. “Has she been caught up in the river?” He moves around me, lowering his nose to the ground and takes deep breaths, trying to catch her scent.
“I don’t know! Can you go on the other side of Darius and search that side of the forest? You’re faster with your wolf, and then you can meet up with us after you have searched there.” He nods, his eyes full of concern as he takes off, crossing the river and runs past Darius.
“Why aren’t you in your wolf?” Darius questions as we continue moving down the river.
“Why aren’t you?” I counter. If I could be in my wolf I would, but I can’t. I don’t need the fucking reminder of how useless I am.
“I’m keeping pace with you, and you told us not to approach Sam if we find her.”
“When,” I growl, glaring over at him.
“What?” His brows scrunch as he looks at me over the river.
“When we find her,” I tell him forcefully. “It’s not if we find her. It’s when.”
There’s no other option.
“How much further does the river go?” Darius asks. It’s the first time either of us has spoken in hours, too busy searching for Sam. The sun is slowly setting, and we are quickly running out of daylight. We have to find her soon.
“Not far. We’re nearly at the edge of the forest, coming up to the Unforgivable Sea.”
Kade and Josh haven’t found any sign of Sam in all the time we’ve been looking. Not a single trace. How could she have just disappeared? The only explanation, which is one I don’t want to think about, is that she’s got caught up in the river. But it’s calm where we collect water. It doesn’t become violent until you travel further down, sweeping you into its current and not letting you go.
“The edge of the forest?” Darius wonders, looking around to keep an eye out. I don’t know why he’s helping me, I would have thought he wouldn’t care. But here he is, helping us look for her.
“Yeah. The river opens up more toward the end of the forest. Its current goes to the crest of a waterfall between an opening in the cliffs that goes over into the Unforgivable Sea. That’s where the forest ends. It’s the only way out of the valley apart from climbing up the cliffs that surround us.”
“When I was on the top of the cliffs, I saw the Unforgivable Sea from where I stood, but I thought the valley would slope down into it. Not just stop abruptly.”
I glance over at him as I answer, our pace now a walk since my energy is fading. He doesn’t look the least bit out of breath, his movements still strong. I’m panting slightly, my walk is more pained with my whole body aching. “It just stops,” I tell him, shrugging. “The only way to get to the sea is down by the waterfall, and no one survives it. The cliffs cage the sides of the water, so you can’t walk near the waterfall and try to climb down that way. Before the cliffs cage on either side, there are two statues facing each other on opposite banks. Their hands reach out to one another across the water, their stone faces sad, pained, and desperate. Apparently two lovers died there, swept away by the rapids and into the Unforgivable Sea. The female fell in, and the male dove in to try to save her, but he was unable to get to her and they went over the edge. We call it Lovers Rest.
“The statues were built as tribute to them, but also as a warning for others to be careful. We have unfortunately had some who have used that warning as an invitation.” I swallow hard at their memory, at my memory of standing there and ready for it all to end. “When life gets too much for so long, they come here and give themselves over to the waters, finding peace the only way they can, in death.” I don’t know why I told him that last bit. Maybe exhaustion, or maybe to make sure he understands that down here is dangerous. Deadly. I just hope Sam didn’t come this way.
He’s quiet after my words, his green eyes searching my face until I look away from him, feeling too raw and not wanting him to see the failure on my face at not saving the ones who chose the sea. I never know when people sneak around to go to the end of the forest. I saw no warning signs in the people we lost. No cause for me to be overly concerned. I should have looked more closely. I should have known they were hurting so badly they would choose death over life. I should have seen something.
I stop dead in my tracks.
Is this what Sam chose? She couldn’t handle her memories anymore and came out here? She had been withdrawn, and Sybill said she’s been quiet. Am I going to find her scent at the edge of the river as she enters the water to be swept away? I squeeze my eyes shut, feeling tears well.
“Rhea?” Darius asks, his voice low, a question in his tone. “What is it?” I snap my eyes open and pick up the pace again, not answering him. I need to know she hasn’t been there. I need to know she hasn’t chosen this.
The trees get thinner, the river opening up more and the current picks up speed, causing me and Darius to be further away from each other as we push forward. I clear the trees on my side of the river and my eyes instantly go toward the crest of the waterfall, seeing nothing. The statues in front of the base of the cliffs haunt me with the reminder of how many people have lost their lives here.
“Sam!” I shout, rushing forward into the open area and stopping at the edge of the water, turning in a circle looking for her. “Sam!” I stop spinning and stay still, my senses open to listen for any noises, anything that could be her. Nothing. Nothing apart from the rapids and the mess of emotions running through me. I’m happy she isn’t here, but hurting because we still haven’t found her.
Where are you, Samantha?
Wait. I tilt my head toward a sound and look over at Darius who is doing the same. His dark head turns forward until it stops, and I follow his gaze to the female statue on his side of the river.
He walks forward slowly before stopping ten feet away from it. That’s when I hear it, a whimper. My breath stalls in my lungs as I go toward the edge of the bank, walking along as far as possible to the water until I’m parallel with Darius.
“Sam,” I call out gently, and a small cry reaches my ears. My breath whooshes out of me when I recognize it as Sam, and I move to the male statue on my side, my eyes never leaving the female one. “Kade, we have her. She’s at the female statue at Lovers Rest.” My eyes flick to Darius as he stays in his spot, watching me and not moving any closer.
“Sam, sweetheart. Are you alright?” Another cry. “I’m going to come round and get you, okay? I won’t be long, just… just stay where you are. Please.” I see a flicker of movement behind the statue, and her head peeks out from behind it. My heart breaks at the sight. Her eyes are red from crying, tears running down her face, and she’s shaking, her body jolting with every tremor. When she sees me, her face crumples, and she starts to move out from behind the statue toward me. “Stop!” I shout, my voice a screech of panic when she doesn’t realize how close she is to the water. It’s splashing up against the edges a few feet from her, the current fast and deadly. She stops, her body jolting at my harsh tone before she moves back to behind the statue. I hold my hands up at her. “Sam, you need to stay there, okay? It’s dangerous.” I gulp and move my eyes to Darius, who’s moved a little closer, slowly as if to not startle her. I look between him and Sam, wondering what’s for the best when Kade’s wolf breaks the tree line on Darius’ side.
Thank the Gods.
Kade slows until he’s standing beside Darius, who looks down at him briefly. Darius steps back and away from him, letting him go to her. Kade moves slowly toward the female statue, emitting a gentle growl as he pads toward it. Sam’s eyes move from mine as she peaks her head around the female’s legs at the sound, her tears coming in full force. She maneuvers herself on her knees and grips the side of the stone as she leans around it to see Kade coming. She suddenly stands on shaking legs, and I let out a cry of distress, my stomach dropping as my feet hit the edge of the bank, hand reaching out as if I can grab her and keep her safe from falling.
She doesn’t fall though. She grips the stone and moves around the legs until she’s running and heading straight for Kade, her eyes locked on him. Sam throws herself at him, her face burrowing into his neck. When I hear her sobs, I drop back on my ass. My breathing picks up, short, shallow pants coming from my tight chest. My fingers tremble as my vision waivers in and out, and I put my head in my hands, trying to calm down. She could have fucking fallen in. She could have been swept over the edge into the Unforgivable Sea, and I wouldn’t have been able to grab her. I wouldn’t have been able to reach her and keep her safe. She could have been lost to us.
I shake my head and squeeze my eyes shut, the vision of it happening replaying over and over again through my head. A soft touch on the back of my neck has more tears forming in my eyes with how gentle it is. How did he even get across? Hands reach for my waist, and then I’m being picked up, cradled against a solid chest as his scent starts to calm me. I breathe it in deep, and the sound of the river gets quieter, the thoughts of her falling in fading. I move my hands from my face and my gaze lands on Darius, his face so close to mine as he carries me away from the water’s edge. My breathing slows, my body shakes less as I stare into his green eyes that are grounding me, not blinking for a single moment as I take in deep breaths and slowly exhale, copying his own.
He watches me, looking over my face until he stops when he notices the wetness in my eyes. He places me down onto my feet gently, keeping one hand on my waist as if to keep me steady, as he brings his other up to my face. I don’t move as he runs a finger softly underneath my lower eyelash, collecting a tear there, and my breath catches. He examines my tear intently, his eyes squinting as it runs down the side of his finger before he brings those light-green eyes back to my ice-blue ones. The world stops at the look of determination etched on his face. When he speaks, it’s soft, but with demand.
“The only tears I want to see in your eyes, little wolf, are the ones I put there from pleasure,” he murmurs, a frown appearing on his face. “I don’t like to see them otherwise, it makes me… angry.”
“Angry?” I whisper, stunned and confused by his words.
He nods, looking at the wetness on his finger. “Yeah, angry, because something else caused you to shed tears, and I prefer to cause them as you scream for me and me alone.” He puts his finger in his mouth, and I watch in rapt attention as he tastes my tear, his eyes capturing mine with a look I’m not sure I understand. “So don’t shed a tear unless you are on my cock, Rhea.”
I blink, and then eventually come out of my stupor. “Listen, asshole.” I try to keep my voice hard, but it comes out choked as I bring a finger up and poke his chest, ignoring the smirk that spreads across his damn kissable lips. “None of my tears belong to you. They’re mine and mine alone, and when they come, it will be of my choosing.” With a huff I turn on my heel, clearing my throat and ignoring him as I make my way to a safer spot in the river where I can cross. His body heat caresses my back as he stays close, forever my shadow babysitter as he chuckles.
“Keep those eyes open, little wolf, and have them on me,” he says, and I look over my shoulder at him. I have no idea what he means by that, but the seriousness of his tone sets me on edge.
I continue on, I need to get Sam back home, and we have a long walk ahead. I haven’t got the energy or patience to deal with his ass right now, but at least I’m calmer now than I was before.
And that’s all because of my enemy, who I won’t thank.
Because then things may start to shift between us, and I will have no idea what to do about that.
