The need to find Lucas clawed at me, but I quickly stripped out of my coats and secondary scarf. I kicked off my boots, then rushed over to the sofa and hugged Callum on the side not currently occupied by his boyfriend.
‘I’m so sorry,’ I whispered into his warm neck, my cheek brushing his beard.
Rustling and thumps announced the arrival of Louisa and Errol. It seemed they had the same harsh revelation as me as soon as they stepped into the cabin. Seconds later, more arms joined mine around Callum, with more whispered apologies.
‘You didn’t know storms do this to me,’ Callum murmured. His heartbeat was fast, as though the bodies pressed around him and the music playing from Aster’s laptop and the generator humming outside weren’t enough to shut out a single drop of rain that hit the roof and walls of the cabin. He flinched at a clap of thunder.
‘You didn’t come here for storm-induced-snuggles?’ Aster piped up from where he’d been caught up in the tangle of limbs around Callum.
We eased back. I sat on the arm of the sofa, my shins pressing into Callum’s side. Errol stood and rounded the back, his handslanding on Callum’s shoulders. Louisa settled at his feet, leaning her head on his knees.
I glanced at Aster. There was no way of explaining why we’d come here that wouldn’t upset him. ‘Lucas is missing.’
‘What?’ Aster reeled back from where he’d been pressed to Callum’s side, his eyes wide with fear. ‘Where the fuck is he?’ He looked at Callum. ‘Find him,’ he demanded.
Aster seemed to realise what he’d asked immediately after the words tripped out of his mouth. He burst into tears, his hands slamming into his face.
‘It’s either leave my best friend out in the cold and rain where he could have been eaten by a lizard or bitch-slapped by a dolphin, or ask my boyfriend to locate him during a storm he’s terrified of.’ His voice was muffled by his hands, but he was in a room full of werewolves. We caught every word. ‘I didn’t bring Lucas to Doughnut so that he’d force me to choose between the two people I love most in the world.’
Callum frowned as he gently pulled Aster’s hands away from his face. ‘Of course you don’t have to choose.’ He rubbed his thumbs across Aster’s cheeks, catching his tears. ‘I’ll find him.’
The answer wouldn’t have been different if I’d asked, but I was glad Aster had been the one to request this of Callum. He’d known Lucas the longest, had been his best friend for most of his life. Callum would always do what was asked of him, but it had to be easier to do it for his boyfriend rather than for member of his pack who was disproportionately anxious about his lost housemate.
Because Lucas was alright, wherever he was. He had to be.
Please.
Callum took a deep breath, and we crowded around him again. Errol bent to press his forehead into Callum’s hair as Aster plastered himself to his chest. Louisa wrapped her arms around his legs and I lowered my head to his shoulder.
Long moments passed. Callum tensed and the fear flowing from him deepened. I pressed close and squeezed my eyes shut against the tears threatening to spill over.
This had to work. It had to. It had to.
Callum’s thick brows were lowered when he took another breath and opened his eyes. We moved back as one, and I couldn’t tell if the look on his face was because of the storm or what he’d discovered.
‘He’s in the northern part of the island. I think he’s sleeping?’
‘You think?’ The wild panic that had been sparking off Aster since I’d told him why we were here spiked.
Callum gripped the back of Aster’s neck. ‘He’s alive. He’s in a goat hut.’ His forehead creased. ‘But something’s wrong. His heartbeat is elevated and his breathing is harsh.’
I rushed over to my discarded coats before Callum finished speaking. I pulled the damp fabric over my arms, zipped it tight around my front.
‘We’re coming with you.’ Louisa tugged on her boots beside me.
I looked between her and Errol, his bulk made even more impressive by thick layers.
‘Thank you,’ I whispered.
Aster had used the space we’d vacated to sit sideways across Callum’s lap. My packmate’s head was buried in his shoulder.
‘We’re not coming,’ Aster said, his voice strained. ‘My magic is pretty ungovernable, and Callum can’t go out in that.’
It was a mark of his love for his boyfriend that Aster didn’t ask it of him. It was a mark of the trust he put in me, Louisa, and Errol that he would leave us to find his best friend.
‘Please bring Lucas here,’ Aster pleaded. ‘I need to know he’s okay.’
I nodded, then hauled the door open. The wind rushed in, followed by drenching rain.
