Chapter 22

22

HUNTER

My mind returns to the phone call from Jackson yesterday. It hovers over my head like a dark cloud. It is one of the reasons we are moving into the Lodge for the foreseeable future. I also couldn’t risk leaving my mate at home sleeping while I needed to work with Jackson. So she is tucked in on the third floor of the Lodge.

Even though Emma is asleep and I desperately want to climb into bed with her, I need to head down to the office to meet Jackson. Another site was found near the Sawmill with the limbs and bodies of various small animals. Thanks to our brilliant girl, I know what the animals are being used for.

As I push through the large oak doors, I see my dad sitting in the chair facing Jackson. I scan the room for anyone else while Jackson says, “Will is still with Holly at the clinic, so it's just the three of us this morning. Hunt, shut the door, please.”

I give my brother a nod and slide it shut as I head toward his desk, saying, “Emma may have given us a big clue as to what the bodies of those animals were used for.”

My dad and Jackson turned to give me their full attention as I proceeded to tell them how Emma used the raccoon to develop an antitoxin.

Jackson seems to stew on the information for a minute before saying, “So other people in the area are not only developing the poison that could kill us, but they are also creating the antitoxin, too. Then discarding the animals in the woods.”

“Yeah.”

“Fuck. What happened to Emma’s raccoon?” Jackson asks.

“He’s fine and going to be very fat. Emma continued to feed him snacks throughout the entire process. His name is Rocky ‘cause he’s a fighter.”

My brother nods, and Dad chuckles.

I ask, “So what’re you thinking Jackson?”

“I think someone knows about our kind. The information I pulled from my contacts in D.C. on Cole Peterson isn’t good. He graduated as a doctor last year. He has been working for a quaint lab in Anchorage, but the weird thing is there is no identification for the lab or what they do. In fact, we can’t even find the lab's location. My contact said a study was being conducted for the government, but he couldn’t confirm whether it was Cole or his lab.”

My brother pushes from his chair and paces towards the fireplace, leaning heavily against the mantel.

I say, “So you think he’s behind the murders and the disappearances? Why would he want Emma if he's after shifters?”

My dad answers first. “Who wouldn’t want Emma? I witnessed what that woman can do and did in the clinic last night. How talented she is…” Tears fill my dad's eyes, “She saved Holly, she saved Amy, and she can now save anyone who’s been poisoned.” My dad's voice cracks and the softness is welcoming. “Hunt, I was so wrong about bringing her here, you had the right idea deciding that, and I’m sorry I was such a grumpy ass about it.”

I stand quickly and pull my dad into a hug. “It’s okay, and thank you, Dad.” I breathe in deeply, letting his words sink in.

Jackson moves around his desk and sits on the edge before us. His large arms crossed over his chest as he takes a moment. Then he tilts his head towards the back of his office, “You guys moved in?”

“Yeah, I just brought her upstairs.”

“Good. She needs an escort until we figure out where Cole is. Dad’s right. She is brilliant, and now she has a mating mark—she’s one of ours. So she doesn’t leave the Lodge without a guard.”

The idea of another person staying with Emma has my stomach twisting, even though I know my brother needs me right now.

“Hunt, I want you to head down to the Sawmill and set up trail cams near the hiking trail and parking lot. We need to see who is coming and going from that area or where the animals are coming from.”

I give him a nod and push to stand. He grabs a box next to his desk and hands it to me. “See if Will can help you and have Holly moved to the Lodge. Dad, can you and Mom head back to the clinic and take care of things until Emma is able to? That way Trevor can also sleep?” My dad nods.

It’s been a week, and we are still living at the Lodge. Everything has settled into a very normal routine. Emma goes to the clinic every day. Amy is back to work, and Holly has also made a full recovery.

Emma’s warm body snuggles closer to my side, and I kiss her curly hair, smiling to myself, as I say, “I don’t know how I got so lucky.” She gives a tiny shrug, making me chuckle, “What’s your big plan for today?” I ask.

She hums softly. “Well, it's my first day off, so Holly, Charlie, and I were going to spend some time together. Maybe brunch at the bakery?”

A knock on the door interrupts us, “Emma, you in there?” Holly’s voice carries through the door, and I groan.

Holly knocks again. I kiss Emma once more and move to get dressed. “Give us a minute, Hellsbells,” I say with a grunt.

I pull my pants up and watch Emma slide a beautiful sundress over her head. As the dress falls over her body, she slides her hands down her neck to my mark, her eyes flit to mine, and she bites her lip. Fuck. She's so perfect. “Keep looking at me like that, and I’ll have you back in bed.”

“Ha. You could try, Hunter ?” The teasing of the word Hunter has me stalking forward.

“You guys decent yet?” Holly says, “I look super desperate for attention, standing outside your door like a stalker.”

“Jesus Holls, could you be any louder?” She shrugs as she walks into our room. I’d say she has been better at not barging into our room, but I’m annoyed she interrupted my foreplay.

I continue my slow advances to Emma while she’s distracted by Holly and finally lunge, sweeping her up in my arms. Her legs naturally wrap around my torso. I kiss her soundly. “Got ya.”

Holly laughs. “So I would say get a room, but you guys are cute, and I like this side of you, brother.”

My head falls to Emma’s neck, “Holly, seriously,” I grumble.

Emma just laughs at her as I let her slide down my body, and her dress pulls up. I don't miss the opportunity to slide my hands up her sides to help her fix it.

“Hunter, stop.” Emma’s laugh is full as she shimmies out of my hold and approaches Holly, “So, what are you girls doing today?”

“Brunch at the bakery with Charlie.” Holly turns to Emma. “We haven’t decided past brunch,” she says with a shrug.

I nod. “Who is staying with you girls while you brunch?”

Holly shrugs again. That’s not the answer I was looking for, “I’ll ask Jackson if someone can escort you girls to the bakery.”

“Is that really necessary? You’re going to be with Will just down the street at the station, right?” Holly whines.

I grunt. “I’d feel better if you weren’t alone. We have a team of pack enforcers assigned to different sections of the town. Killian is the team lead for the small military unit, and I believe he is available today.”

Holly rolls her eyes, and Emma laughs at my sister's theatrics.

I push towards Emma as I say, “Holly this is serious, just because things seem calmer we still need to be careful.”

Emma must sense my frustration as she comes over and squeezes my arm. “We will take whoever you want to brunch, but they can’t sit at our table.” Her laugh is light. Her entire mood seems lighter. The stress of the last few weeks and solving the poison has seemed to help her feel more at peace. The bond has even settled where we can almost communicate with our emotions. It’s been fun to explore that side of our relationship.

I kiss her forehead and gesture to the door, “Fine, but I'm driving you to town, and we will be just down the street if you need anything.”

I walk towards the station once the girls are reunited, the old door creeks adding to the obnoxious bell that almost instantly makes my eye twitch.

“How’s everyone holding up at Casa De Lodge?” Will's voice distracts me from tearing the bell off the door.

I run my hand over my head and squeeze my neck. “It's been a lot. This entire thing has been a lot.”

His nod is sympathetic. I wish I could say his understanding makes me feel better, but it doesn't. Knowing Cole is still out there, that he may still have eyes on my girl, is fucking with my head. The soul-deep ache I had when I gave her a part of myself thirteen years ago, is nothing compared to the worry that thrashes inside my body now everytime I have to leave her.

I know our emotional bond is new, but I try to hide this worry from her, burying it deep in my chest with my beast.

Will clears his throat and shifts to the other side of the room. “Well, I cleaned off this desk and set up a large screen to go through this cam footage together. I think we have over fifty hours to sift through. I hope you brought some coffee.”

I lift the small to-go cup I got from the bakery and make my way over to sit in a dingy office chair. The first few hours pass with just animals: wolves, deer, and a few hikers. We watched the film at double speed, and as we started the fourth hour, I saw it. Two figures walk past the cam near the Sawmill, both wearing black with hoodies covering their heads. At first, it seems unassuming, but then they go into the sawmill.

“Did you see that?” I move to pause the video and rewind. The screen is fuzzy, but it's clear they are human. We don't have any technology to zoom in, so we can only see the silhouette.

Will stands. “Yep, I'll mark this down. Let's keep going and see if we can get a face shot when they leave.”

We don't see the figures leave after hour six. “Fuck, man. Who were those guys?”

Will shakes his head. “I don't know. Maybe they left a different way?”

Feeling the frustration of the day, I said, “Let's take a break. I'm going to call my girl and see how she's doing.”

“Sounds good. I'll go grab some food from Nan’s be back soon.”

Stepping out into the sun is a nice reprieve from the suffocating space we are working in. I walk around the corner of the building, down the alley, and towards the parking lot near the back. I don't want to be interrupted, and if I stand in front of the building, someone will want something. I don’t have the patience for that shit today.

The phone rings and rings and rings, and with each unanswered ring, the anxiety seems to tick up. Why the fuck didn’t she answer? I try her again. Still no answer. She should be with Holly, so I try to call her.

Holly answers on the second ring. “Holly, where the fuck is Emma, and why isn’t she answering her goddamn phone?”

“Wow! Hey, alpha male much? Geez. She was just in the other room.”

I grab the back of my neck and pinch it hard. I’ve been trying to control my instinct to protect Emma. It’s hard knowing some sick fuck might still want her. Breathing in, I tell myself she's safe. She's doing her job. She's safe.

My wolf surges forward and lets out a low growl. Protect. I hear you, buddy, but we can't just lock her away.

“Hello? Hunter?” Her soft voice fills my ears and instantly relaxes the carnal part of my brain.

“Hey, sweet girl. I was missing you. I got worried when you didn't answer your phone.”

“Oh, right. I’ve been so busy, and my phones silenced. Holly and I are just at the clinic." The relief knowing she's at the clinic and that Killian and Trevor are there allows me to take a full breath. She’s exactly where she needs to be, being who she was meant to be.

“Good! That's great..” I swallow the emotion clogging my throat. “I'll be at the clinic in a few hours to get you, okay? Is Killian still with you guys?”

“Yep, he’s still here! And are you sure you want to pick me up? I can get a ride back with Trevor?”

“Yeah, wait for me there. I love you.”

“Love you too, Hunter. See you in a few hours.” There's a brief pause before I finally hang up. I am so fucking lucky to have such a strong, beautiful woman by my side.

“Where the fuck did you go?” Will shouts from the alley.

“I'm coming.”

We eat lunch and spend the next few hours reviewing the different recordings. By the time we finish most of them, it's nearly eight. As we walk out of the station, the sky has turned a murky gray. Knowing I’m about to see my girl has me hustling to my truck.

Will calls out to me as we head towards our vehicles, “I'm going to go replace that cam near the Sawmill with the live feed one. Maybe something will turn up? I'll see you tomorrow.”

“Yeah.” I don't even make eye contact. My mind is stuck on one thing—seeing my girl again.

Will chuckles at me as I slide in my truck and shift gears.

The drive from the station to the clinic is only a few minutes, but I feel a growing unease. The sky is darker. The clinic parking lot only has Amy’s car in front. Odd. Where’s Trevor's truck? Emma texted that Holly and Killian headed back to the Lodge around five but that she would wait for me with Trev.

My heart rate picks up as I try to open the front door, but it's locked. Fumbling with my keys, Amy pushes it open.

“Hey, Hunt, what’re you doing here?” I glance to the side. Am I missing something? Is this a fucking joke?

“I'm here to pick up Emma.” My voice laced with a growl.

Her eyes grow into saucers. “She didn't tell you? They got a call about someone who went into anaphylaxis, and they went to check on them. It was a few hours ago.”

I barely let her finish before I’m jogging back to my truck. “Where?”

“It was near the edge of town by Sawmill Road.”

I'm sliding in my truck now. I watch Amy pull out her phone and try to call Trevor. He doesn't pick up. “Oh no.” She whispers, “I'll call Jackson for you, okay?”

“Fuck. FUCK!” I beat the steering wheel as I peel out of the parking lot. My hope is Jackson is already there. I try to call Emma’s phone repeatedly as I speed through town. It doesn't even ring before going to her voicemail.

This can't be real. I throw my phone into the dash, and the screen lights up with my brother's name on top.

He says, “Brother? I need you to stay calm. I'm a half mile from Sawmill Road.” There's a loaded pause.

My heart stops.

The following words rip a mangled cry from my throat.

“Trevor’s truck hit a tree. He is stable.”

“Emma?” The croaked word has me ready to shift.

“She's not here,” he says.