5
FIVE
My love for Wesley had snuck up on me. Upon first meeting, I’d considered him a cantankerous curmudgeon. We’d bonded fast. He missed his daughter, my mother, and said he saw a lot of her in me. He wasn’t too fond of my dad, who he believed stole my mother away. They’d made amends, though.
For me.
If left to his own devices, Wesley probably would have hated my father forever. I would never pretend that my father was perfect — not by a long shot — but he was a good man. He just didn’t understand the paranormal stuff. He hadn’t wanted me to move to Moonstone Bay. He’d fought my intentions, and when he lost he turned pouty. Things changed after he visited and we talked everything out. He even understood why I was staying, and he’d come to terms with it.
My love for Aurora, Booker, Lilac, and Galen had been much quicker. Sure, Galen irritated me during our first meeting — he was so bossy — and there had been a split-second when I’d beenattracted to Booker. Things happened as they were supposed to, however, and my love for Galen was all encompassing.
That didn’t mean he couldn’t still irritate me.
“What’s your plan?” Galen demanded as Booker looked over Wesley’s four-wheelers.
I glanced over at him, taking in the rigid set of his shoulders and the hands he had planted on his hips. I recognized his bossy stance well.
“We’re going to look for Wesley,” I replied. “I should think my plan is rather obvious.”
“But you don’t know that he’s out there.”
“If he is I’m going to find him.”
Galen growled and turned his back to me to pinch the bridge of his nose. That was his “calm down and count to ten” stance.
Booker abandoned the four-wheeler and put his hand on my arm to stop me when I moved toward Galen. I had no idea what I was going to do — other than make things worse, of course — but I was keyed up and ready to fight.
Booker gave me a soft head shake and then moved closer to the best friend he would never claim because of some macho game the two of them insisted on playing. “What do you expect her to do?” he asked Galen.
“We’re starting the search here,” Galen replied. “One of Julian’s security guys is a world class tracker.”
“Aren’t all shifters world class trackers?” Aurora asked blandly. “I mean, that’s a dog thing, right?”
If looks could kill, Galen would have struck her dead with a single glare. “Are you trying to give me an ulcer?” he growled.
“Not last time I checked, but I can add that to my to-do list.” Aurora was unflappable. She knew how to read her friends.
“Stop talking to me,” Galen barked, his eyes moving back to me. When he spoke again, he used his most reasonable voice, which only further irritated me. “Hadley, don’t you think we should search the immediate grounds andoutbuildings first?”
“We’ve already searched them,” I replied.
“Okay, but we’ll do a more thorough search.”
“He’s not here. I would feel if he was.”
Galen cocked his head, curious. “You can feel him? Magically?”
Explaining this to him wasn’t going to be easy. “There is a certain recognition when I’m close to people I care about,” I replied. “I feel it for you … and Booker.”
Booker smirked. “Your girlfriend is feeling me.”
Galen didn’t look at Booker before punching him in the shoulder.
“It’s not a conscious thing unless I really concentrate,” I continued. “I can’t find him here.”
Galen eyed me for several seconds. He didn’t ask — he wouldn’t — but he was wondering if my lack of contact signified that Wesley was dead.
“I don’t feel he’s dead,” I volunteered, relieving his pressure. “I know I can’t know that, but I don’t feel it and I have to follow my instincts.”
