Though it’s the last thing I want to do, I groan as I heave myself off my bed and mutter, “Fine. Let’s find her.”
Relief washes over him, but it’s short-lived due to the nature of his anxieties. “Thank you.” He spins around, and together we walk through the house. We slip on some shoes and thin jackets, and then we’re stepping outside through the house’s back door.
Both my brother and I lift our noses in the air, our intention to see if we can smell her in the breeze. If we could, it would make things so much easier. We’d have a direction.
But I don’t smell anything, and neither does my brother. He says, “I’ll go this way. You take that way.” He points east off the patio then west, and he doesn’t wait for my response before he goes off in search of her.
He’s worried. He’s a man on a mission. I can’t say I’ve ever seen him like this before.
Fuck. We need to find that omega.
I set off in the direction he said. I wouldn’t say there’s a pep in my step, but I do walk with an urgency I’m surprised I feel at all. These mountains have more danger than you’d think: bears, wolves, sometimes even mountain lions. And if it’s mating season for the elk? You don’t want to run into any of them, either.
For some bizarre reason, the thought of finding her injured and bleeding is not a good one. I might be mean and cruel sometimes, but I’m not someone who wishes harm upon others just because. I don’t particularly like the idea of stumbling across her like that.
I have to find her, for Asher.
I pick up my pace, walking with more of an urgent tick in my step. Every few seconds I inhale deeply, hoping to catchher scent in the air. I don’t know why I assumed I’d find her immediately; this isn’t the movies. You don’t just stumble across someone in the forest out of the blue. Searching a place like this takes time and old-fashioned hard work.
And I don’t even have my phone. My sense of direction is pretty good, but there’s always ample opportunity to get lost in these mountains. All the trees look the same. Everything blends in together. Honestly, I don’t know why Asher would let Jessica run off by herself, anyway.
What was he thinking?
I’ve never had to search for anyone in these woods before. It’s a new feeling, this concern, this anxiety. Asher’s worry over her must’ve rubbed off on me when I wasn’t paying attention.
I walk and I walk and I walk, and then I walk some more. I do a whole lot of walking, a whole lot of looking, and I don’t see her anywhere, nor do I smell her. It’s like she’s gone, vanished out of thin air. I hope my brother is having better luck in the direction he chose.
Remember when I said time was weird? Yeah, it’s still very much weird, because by the time I decide to turn around, it feels like an eternity has passed. My plan is to go back to the house, charge my phone for a few minutes, then set out again in a different direction. Maybe grab something from Jessica’s room so I have a better idea of her scent.
Not that I’m saying I can track her like a bloodhound, but… well, she can’t wear that scent-blocking cream all the time. Something in there has to smell like her.
I emerge from the wood line. My brother and I must’ve been on the same wavelength, because he comes out from his side of the woods just a few seconds after me, and when he sees I’m alone, his shoulders slump and he drags his hands over his face in pure regret.
He’s my brother. I love him, I do. I don’t like seeing him this upset.
We meet twenty or so feet in front of the patio’s steps, and I tell him, “Don’t worry. We’ll find her. Let me charge my phone for a few minutes, and then we can go out again—” I don’t even get the chance to finish that sentence when the wind whips around us, carrying a faint peppermint scent.
Jessica.
Both my brother’s head and mine turn to watch the omega in question stroll out of the house, holding a glass of water. She’s perfectly unharmed, not a scratch on her body anywhere. She wears one of my mom’s old jackets, along with her hiking shoes.
“Everything okay?” she asks.
Asher and I exchange a quick look before we head toward her. She stands at the top of the steps, and Asher stops halfway up, gazing up at her as the relief washes over him. “Where were you?”
She points behind her. “I was getting some water.” When Asher continues to stare at her, she awkwardly offers him her glass. “Want… some?” A few moments pass before she adds, “You look out of breath, like you were running.”
“I—”
I can tell my brother is at a loss for words. Clearly we weren’t as good at traversing this forest as we thought, or Jessica went in a completely different direction than we assumed. Either way, I step in and say, “We were looking for you.”
Her brows furrow. “Why? I said I was going for a walk.”
“Yeah, but that was two hours ago!” Asher exclaims, his frustration evident.
“Was it? Dang. I didn’t realize.” She drags her amber gaze between my brother and me, and thanks to the sun shining over our heads, I’m able to see the small flecks of gold in their depths.
I never knew she had such pretty eyes.
