He kissed my temple, hugging me a little closer. “I trust you.”
“I love you,” I murmured, then continued. “He was running and he fell off this ledge. He broke his leg, but he found somewhere to hide. Whatever was chasing him didn’t leave, though. The last I saw, it was sitting there waiting for him to come out.”
“So he’s been trapped in the woods for a day and a half with a broken leg? If it was a wild animal, it probably would have lost interest and left by now.”
I shook my head. “It didn’t feel like an animal, either. Not a natural one, anyway. I don’t know what it was, but Landon was terrified. He can change into a coyote.” I still struggled to process that one, but the more immediate danger made that detail somehow the less important thing. “There wouldn’t be any animals in this area that he’d be too scared of, I bet. This was something else.” Even just thinking about the shadowythingchasing Landon made my skin crawl. “Donovan?”
He hugged me closer. “Yeah?” I could see the questions in his eyes, but he kept it in check and I loved him even more for it.
“I’d… I’d know if the thing got him, right? I wouldn’t have seen him like that if he were…” I couldn’t say the word. It was like saying it would manifest it, make it real.
“We’ll find him,” Donovan promised, and I didn’t miss how neatly he avoided answering my question. Then again, I wasn’t altogether sure I wanted a straight answer.
“I should call Ori and let them know. I got a text earlier saying they hadn’t found him, either.”
“I’ll call Will and let him know what happened, if that’s okay? I’ll find out if he’s heard anything about a group going out in the morning, but with this snow, it’s not likely. I’m guess you want to go out and look, anyway?”
He knew me so well.
“Yeah. I think I could find it. I’ll tell Ori to bring some help in case that thing that was chasing Landon is still there.”
As much as I wanted to stay in Donovan’s lap until the last of the cold dissipated, finding Landon was more important. I hadn’t expected to actually see anything with whatever this ability I had was, but I couldn’t waste this chance. With one last kiss, more to embolden myself than anything, I got up and helped Donovan to his feet. He went to the kitchen and I went to the bedroom in search of my phone, each of us getting to work to find Landon as fast as possible.
***
Looking back, I should have known better than to stop at Buns ‘n’ Roses for food and coffee.
Ori had immediately agreed to come help us look, promising to bring backup. Knowing Landon had fallen off some kind of small cliff, we reluctantly decided to wait for sunrise before venturing out.
Donovan and I spent a few hours adding things to the backpack of supplies Donovan had readied yesterday, then he’d just held me in his arms on the couch as we waited for the first weak traces of sunlight to appear on the horizon. It’d taken awhile for the shock to wear off, but curling up against Donovan had gone a long way toward helping. It’d also given us both some time to come to grips with the reality of what I’d seen. Hearing from Ori that shifters were real was one thing. Seeing it happen to Landon in excruciating detail was something else entirely.
Now I stood at the front counter of Buns ‘n’ Roses, staring down my best friend and rapidly losing ground.
“I asked you a question, Alex,” Raina said, eyebrow raised. Ashley and Rachel, catching the tone of her voice, had quickly made themselves scarce. Well, they’d ducked over to the other end of the counter, pretending to be busy organizing the coffee machines. Hopefully, they were out of earshot.
“Technically, you asked me two questions,” I reminded her, risking life and limb in an attempt to throw her off the scent. “You asked why we were here so early and why we needed six coffees to-go.”
“Do you have any idea how lucky you are that I love you?” she asked. She crossed her arms over her chest, fully prepared to wait all day. I couldn’t even pretend I was holding up the line to move her along. This early, with snow blanketing the town, the dining area was deserted.
“Alex, we have to hurry,” Donovan murmured in my ear. “Let’s just tell her so she’ll let us leave.”
Donovan clearly had no idea who he was dealing with. He was right about one thing, though: Raina wouldn’t let us leave until she knew everything.
“Fine.” I leaned in closer, motioning for her to do the same. “I was able to use my ability and find roughly where Landon is. He’s still alive,” I added quickly when her eyes went wide. “But we’re going to meet up with some people that can help us get to him before it’s too late.”
“I’m going,” Raina said immediately, just like I’d known she would, but instead of being prepared with a clever comment to keep her here, I replied with the very worst thing I could have possibly said. I blamed it on the shock of everything that’d happened.
“No, you should stay here. It’s too dangerous.”
I wanted to recall the words even as they were leaving my mouth, but it was too late. Raina’s dark eyes narrowed and I quickly leaned back, hoping to dodge the worst of her wrath.
“It’s dangerous,” she repeated. “And yet you’re going out there anyway, probably completely unarmed.”
“Not completely,” Donovan protested, but she shushed him with a quelling glance.
“Who else is going? There are six cups here, so clearly you trustsomeoneto go with you.”
“Fuck,” I whispered. We were supposed to be meeting Ori soon, and we were running out of time. I shared a look with Donovan, silently asking what we should do. The likelihood of whatever had chased Landon still being there two days later was small, but not impossible, and I didn’t want to put my best friend in danger. On the other hand, Raina had latched on now and wouldn’t let us leave easily.
