Chapter 14
After a restless and sleepless night, I woke to find out that Ramsay hadn’t come home.
Fear gripped me in full now. My heart beat like a trapped bird. All I could think about was Ramsay, cold and alone, at the whim of whatever had happened to him that obstructed him from returning to us. I didn’t eat breakfast, since I was too nervous to keep anything down, and was out the door as soon as everyone else was ready.
“Shall I stay and guard the home, sir?” Crystal asked Eric as we set off.
“Yes,” Eric told her. “If we’re not back by nightfall, sent out a search party.”
Crystal seemed taken aback by this order. “If it’s this dangerous, maybe I should come with you.”
“No,” Eric said firmly. “If Ramsay returns on his own, I’d like for you to be here.”
Crystal frowned slightly but didn’t object. I hoped that was what really happened, and that Ramsay would be relaxing on the couch when we got home, grinning and asking where all of us had been.
Colton sensed my anxiety and stuck close with me as we shifted into wolf form, keeping his thick white fur pressed into me in an attempt to comfort me. But my anxiety was too deep-seated to properly relax. I knew I wouldn’t be able to calm down until I had my arms wrapped around Ramsay again.
“Did he tell you if he was going in any particular direction?” Eric asked.
“No,” I said, deeply regretting that I hadn’t pried at the time. “Just that he was running away from the shore, which isn’t useful at all.”
“It’s a start,” Eric said mildly. “We should split up. We’ll cover more ground that way.”
“No, we can’t,” I said, my chest hammering. “I already lost Ramsay. I can’t lose you both, too.”
“Ramsay isn’t lost,” Colton promised. He leaned his weight into me, which acted like the comfort of a weighted blanket. “And you won’t lose us, either.”
“Colton’s right,” Eric said a bit more gently. He paused and affectionately rubbed his cheek against mine. “We’re going to find him. Don’t worry.”
The determination in his growl helped my mood a little. I had to remind myself that Eric and Colton cared about Ramsay just as much as I did, and would do everything in their power to get him back. I had to have faith in them.
“Okay,” I said with a sigh. “If it’ll make this go any faster, then maybe we should split up.”
Eric hesitated, watching me intently. “All right. Matheson, you go inland, towards the shore.”
The way he said it made me think there was a hidden meaning behind his words. “Why?” I asked.
Eric’s amber eyes narrowed. “I don’t want you near the border with the humans.”
My stomach lurched. Everything I knew about Eric’s parents came at me at once, like a shocking cold wave. The mental image of Ramsay injured at their hands--or worse--was enough to make me tremble with fear.
“Matheson,” Eric said sharply. “Pull yourself together.”
I snapped my head up. He was right. I couldn’t let myself fall victim to fear. Not yet. I had to find Ramsay first, then I could do all the crying I wanted.
“Where should I go?” Noro asked. He’d been so quiet this whole time I’d forgotten he was with us. He was in his gryphon form again and towered over the three of us.
“You should come with me,” Eric ordered. “The pack will be suspicious if they see you wandering around on your own in gryphon form, and you won’t be able to keep up as a human.”
Noro nodded, ready to follow Eric’s decision. Part of me wondered if Eric wanted Noro with him to keep an eye on him, and if Noro knew that, he didn’t make a fuss. I suspected he was still trying to prove his comraderie to Eric and would remain biddable until he finally accomplished it.
“We’ll spread out,” Colton suggested, nodding at me.
When everyone had agreed on where to go, we split up. At first I wasn’t thrilled with Eric’s command to stay inland and close to the shore because it felt patronizing, but as I sped closer to the scent of water, I realized that maybe I’d have good luck picking up Ramsay’s trail in the last place I’d seen him.
I barely recognized my shortness of breath and the ache in my strained muscles as I bolted onto the sand, running faster than I ever had before. I raised my snout to the air, sniffing first, then sucking in deep gulps to survey the land. My heart flipped when I caught Ramsay’s scent.
There!
