Before long, the ferry appears.
With nervous shivers running through my entire body, I board along with the betas. Bram exchanges a few words with the captain. I catch the man giving me a crooked look, but soon enough, we pull away from the dock.
Bram steps closer to me and says,
"I am almost certain Salt left the island using the ferry. He probably clung to the hull somewhere," he adds, leaning slightly and gesturing toward the side of the vessel. "If that’s the case, he most likely got off near the small harbor we use. The problem is that the road from there does not lead directly toward the city. It first heads toward the state road and only then loops back toward the city. Salt might have gotten confused, especially since you didn't originally arrive from that direction. The question is whether you will be able to guess which way he went. I doubt that even with an alpha’s sense of smell you can handle this. You are not bloodhounds."
"Some of us have even better senses," I reply calmly. "And I have my own methods. Give me those three hours."
"As agreed," he says. "Not a minute more."
As we sail, I get lost in my thoughts.
For some time now, I’ve had this conviction growing inside me, with an increasing sense that Salt and I are not just random mates, but… True Mates. Though I rarely let myself dwell on it. It comes in brief flashes, sudden bursts of "yeah, we are," and then I go back to living like nothing’s happening.
Today, this quiet voice in my head whispers that I will be able to find him. In a way, I can already feel him at the edge of my awareness, a faint, delicate thread of energy that seems to point the way.
They say True Mates always know where their other half is and can find each other unerringly, even from the other side of the world. I choose to believe that somehow this will be true for us.
Every cell in my body feels wound tight like a tiny string when we reach the small harbor. My eyes sweep along the shoreline, and I immediately understand the exact dilemma Salt must have faced if he ended up here.
There really is a road near the harbor that appears to head deeper into the forest, while the city lies to the left of the port, hidden beyond a wall of trees at least two or three miles wide, if not more.
I jump down the gangway onto the dock and notice that all the betas are following me.
"Are you planning to come with me?" I ask suspiciously.
"Of course," Bram says. "I honestly doubt you will convince Salt to come back that easily."
"You do not know that."
"I think you will appreciate having an extra argument," he replies. "We will see how it plays out. If there is no need, we will simply wait."
"Fine," I mutter, casting him a wary look.
"So where to, bloodhound?" Bram adds with a crooked smile. "Sniff, sniff."
"Oh, you are hilarious," I say dryly. "Jealousy, jealousy, you betas are made of it. Alrighty. We are going left, into the forest."
"Are you sure he decided to push through the swamps? It is full of alligators. Only a madman would try that."
"Salt wants to get to the city at any cost. He is probably looking for some kind of transportation. I doubt he chose the gravel road leading deeper into the forest, especially one with very little traffic."
"You think he risked forcing his way through—"
"Yes," I cut in. "I know it."
"Suuure," the beta says mockingly, then adds, "but I am only going as far as the point where it starts getting dangerous. I am not risking myself or my men."
I say nothing. We move on.
It is already getting hot, but it also means the forest is bright. I look around, listening not only to the sounds of the woods but to myself. Something is guiding me, pulling me forward like a thin, hard string. I have no doubt where I should go. Every step feels certain; every step brings me closer to him.
My Salt.
"Wow," Bram says at one point, watching me. "You really do not hesitate at all."
"I have always had good intuition," I mumble vaguely, not about to explain the whole True Mate thing.
