Within seconds, my head grew dizzy, confusion clouding my grasp on reality. I half-heartedly tugged at the arms restraining me, but I struggled to remember why I was fighting. I sucked in gasping breaths, but instead of pulling in fresh air, I continued breathing in whatever was on the cloth.
My vision blurred, and my eyelids blinked slower and longer, until I could no longer keep them open. I slumped, almost unconscious, and my captor lowered me to the ground. He musthave assumed I was already out. I fought to focus on what was happening. I needed to open my eyes. I needed to fight back.
I felt him step over me as I struggled to clear my pounding head. I heard him doing something, but I couldn’t tell what the sounds meant. Then there was a faint fizzing. A subtle, almost imperceptible sound like soda bubbles rising in a glass. The door slammed.
A sharp, acrid scent reached me. My eyes watered and my throat burned. I coughed, suddenly struggling to breathe. I forced myself to open my eyes, and my gaze fell on a bucket in the middle of the room. A bottle of cleaning vinegar was laying empty on the floor next to it.
Realization cut through the haziness in my brain. He had dumped vinegar into bleach. I had to escape before the fumes killed me.
I alternated between wheezing and coughing. Yanking off my shirt, I balled it up and covered my mouth. It wouldn’t stop the gas, but it might slow my exposure long enough for me to make a plan. I stumbled to my feet and lunged for the door.
I twisted the knob and pushed the door, but it wouldn’t open. It banged against something blocking it from outside. I threw all my weight against it, but it wouldn’t budge. My body was now wracked with coughing and uncooperative.
I gave up on the door. If I could open the windows, the ventilation would help. But my eyes couldn’t focus enough to locate them. I tried desperately to remember the placement of the windows in the room. There must be one on the same wall as the door. I placed a hand on the wall, both for support during my coughing fits and to search for a window. I slid it along the wall as I willed my feet to move.
A deep series of coughs had me dropping my shirt on the ground, and I fell to my knees as I reached out with my hands tofind it again. The burning in my throat increased. A painful sob burst out. I was running out of time.
NINE
Ethan
“I’ve identified two trails to track.” Luke pointed toward the barn and then back toward the cabins. “The cabin trail is likely from this morning, but to be safe, we should split up and follow them both.”
“Someone should stay at the house in case he comes back,” Declan said. “Luke, I’ll go with you and Austin. We’ll check out the barn trail. Ethan, you and Gabriel check out the cabins. He might have gone home. Mason can stay with Mae, Chloe, and Hannah.”
Gabriel and I nodded at each other and moved back toward the cabin trail. I turned, wanting to reassure Hannah that Jonah would be all right. “Hannah, don’t worry. We’ll find…Hannah?”
She wasn’t there.
I spun around, searching for her. “Where’s Hannah?”
“Would she have gone to look for Jonah?” Gabriel asked.
I shook my head. “Not on her own. Not now. Not after the target she put on her back.”
Declan’s brow furrowed. “What are you talking about?”
“There’s no time to explain. I need to find her.” I leveled a stare at all my brothers. “Jonah’s mine, and I’m trusting you to bring him back safe.”
“You can count on us.” Calm certainty replaced Austin’s usual lighthearted charm. “Go get your mate.”
Not bothering to strip, I let my shift come over me. I could track her better in my bear form.
I quickly picked up her trail, the scent of lilac and vanilla still fresh from her recent disappearance. It led me back the way we came. Maybe she did go after Jonah, thinking he returned to their cabin. But I didn’t believe she would have done that without saying something.
Gabriel followed behind me in human form, Jonah’s scent leading the same way. I didn’t wait for him to match my speed and quickly pulled away. When I reached Hannah’s cabin, her trail split. One led to the door, the other one toward where we were earlier. She appeared to be retracing her steps, but was she following her path from the morning or this afternoon?
Gabriel jogged past me. “I’ll check out the cabin.”
He tried the door, but it was locked. I left him there as he knocked, waiting to see if anyone would answer. My bear snorted in confusion as the trail led us straight to the little cabin we recently left. Why would she come back here?
Another scent caught my attention. The one from the break in. Last time I smelled it, it led away from the little cabin. This time, it went straight to the door. My bear roared, not liking the suspicious scent mixing with that of our mate. I started toward the door, then picked up another trail leading around the cabin.
Hesitating, I followed the new path. If the saboteur was nearby, I needed to know. I didn’t want to be surprised. Rounding the corner, I caught sight of someone darting around the back, too quick to identify them. I raced after them, a growl rumbling through my body.
Just as I reached the back wall, they stepped out, swinging a board at my head. The sound of the wood cracking echoed through the air. I shook my head, the blow surprising me, but not nearly powerful enough to do any damage to a bear’s skull. I stood up on my back legs and bellowed, swiping at the man and sending him flying into the cabin wall.
He cursed, dragging himself back to his feet and stumbling backward, trying to get away from me. I advanced, anger racing through my veins. He fumbled at the back of his belt and pulled out a hunting knife, waving it in front of him just as I lunged forward. The blade sank into my fur, the sharp bite of pain only fueling my fury.
