I perched on top of him, my head resting against his heaving chest as we both came down from our highs. Our sweat-dampened skin made my position slippery, but I couldn’t move. Didn’t want to move. His heart beat fast against my ear, slowing gradually. As did my own.
I must have slept, because when I next opened my eyes, the sun was high in the sky. Declan was spooning me from behind and I hummed at the feel of his solid body holding me tight. I would have been happy to stay in bed with him all afternoon, but I was also itching to hold my camera. I loved taking pictures when I was happy and my body was loose like it was now. The shots I took always turned out better.
Careful not to wake Declan, I slipped out of bed. He was more relaxed than when he was awake, and I didn’t want to disturb him. Plus, he’d probably object to me going off on my own. The last thing I wanted to do right now was fight. He would have to get used to my independence. Protecting me was one thing but stopping me from living my life to the fullest would never happen.
I wrote a quick note and left it on the bed where my head had been only minutes ago, then pulled on my clothes and grabbed my camera. The lighting wasn’t ideal, but I could get the lay of the land. Then I’d know where to go when the light was right. I wouldn’t be gone long. I might even return before Declan woke.
SIX
Declan
The bed beside me was cold when I woke. A piece of paper crinkled beneath my arm as I felt the sheets where my mate should be. Opening the note, I gave a frustrated sigh.
She went off on her own again.
I wanted to go after her, but she wouldn’t welcome my interference. We needed to come to an understanding. At the very least, she needed to tell me where she was going—and I needed to get her a radio. Then I could stay in contact with her and make sure she was okay. The way the ranch was situated between cell towers, almost the entire spread had at least minimal coverage, but there were some areas that required radios for communication.
I had a quick shower and dressed before heading to the barn. I wasn’t expecting all my brothers to be there, but they huddled in front of the stalls, looking serious. Not one of them teased me for disappearing in the middle of the workday. A sure sign something was wrong.
My first thought was Chloe. Panic welled, and I strode over to them. “What’s going on?”
“Someone tampered with Havoc’s gate.” Ethan wasted no time filling me in. “The lock was missing.”
My blood turned to ice. “Any chance one of us forgot to put it back on?”
Gabriel shook his head. “The only time we open the gate is if we need to move him. We haven’t done that in weeks. We were trying to figure out the last time we saw him in his pen.”
“I saw him this morning on my way to find Chloe. If the lock were missing then, Havoc would have come after me.” My suspicions about the issues we’d been experiencing the last month came together. I could no longer view it as a coincidence, and if it was intentional, that meant someone was causing trouble on our ranch. Guilt flashed through me that I hadn’t followed up when Chloe told me the gate was left open. If I had, Chloe wouldn’t be out there alone. Unprotected.
“I need to find Chloe.”
“Did she go off on her own again?” Mason’s brow furrowed. “All the ATVs are here. And no horses are missing. She couldn’t have gone far.”
“Whoever did this is gone for now.” Luke crossed his arms. “I picked up a faint scent near the pen and followed it out to the road where it ended. There were tire tracks driving away.”
“I won’t take that chance.” My bear rippled beneath my skin. “My mate is alone on the ranch, and someone wants to cause us harm. She could be a target.”
“She’s your mate?” Ethan cursed, standing up straighter. “We’ll help you find her.”
My brothers nodded, their faces grim. We headed outside to pick up her trail. Luke, our best tracker, shifted into his wolf form and led the way. The rest of us followed on horseback, giving him room to do his thing. When we reached the west pasture, he stopped, ears perking up as he sniffed in a widening circular pattern.
Luke shifted back, jogging over to us, his lips tight. “Her trail ends here. But I also smell the same scent I smelled near Havoc’s pen.”
I vaulted off my horse, rushing to the spot he showed. My heart pounded, and chills raced over my skin. The faint scent of chocolate and citrus teased me and had me looking for her, but there was nothing in the distance except the water tank and trough. My brothers were spreading out, trying to catch a hint of where they went.
The dirt showed signs of a struggle, but there was no blood, easing my tension, though only slightly. Chloe wouldn’t have gone without fighting, something that struck both pride and fear in me. My mate was tough and smart. She would be okay. She had to be okay. I rubbed my chest, unable to soothe the ache that had settled there.
Austin jogged over. “I found tracks from an ATV, but the ground here isn’t great for leaving trails. Unless Luke can pick up their scent, we can only guess what direction they headed.”
Luke shook his head. “I’ve got nothing.”
I bit off the words that almost flew out of me. It wasn’t Luke’s fault. If he couldn’t pick up the trail, no one could. But I wanted to insist he try harder and find a scent to follow, even though I knew it didn’t exist. My bear was fighting for control, insisting we find our mate. But I needed to keep a level head. Make a plan. Something my animal half was making it hard to do.
“We’ll split up.” Mason’s quiet voice came out commanding, and I saw the soldier he used to be. His gaze surveyed the landscape, pointing each of us in a different direction. “Declan, the ATV tracks led that way when they disappeared. That’s where you go. We have the radios if anyone finds anything.”
He gave me a hard stare. “No running in without backup.”
I said nothing, but if he thought I wouldn’t immediately go to Chloe’s rescue if I found her, he didn’t fully grasp what it was tohave a mate. Before Chloe, I might have said the same thing, but now that I’d met her, I’d allow nothing to get between us.
