Chapter 18

LEXIE

Anne and Nancy hadn’t been joking about the steepness of the mountain. It was truly one of the hardest rides of my life, but I didn’t think of turning back once. We needed to find Markus. My mate was in trouble and I was up to the task.

Ollie took his time on the ascent, sniffing trees and looking for Markus’s scent, I assumed. His pace also gave me time to catch up.

Toni’s bike was truly fantastic. She’d been right to say it was one of the few machines that would be able to handle this terrain. Some of the inclines were so steep, I had trouble staying on the bike.

Amidst all the worry though, pleasure at being back on a motorcycle simmered beneath it all. I’d forgotten how much I loved to ride. But the going was hard. I rode through muddy ditches, navigated steep cliffs and slipped between dense foliage.

I kept up with Ollie, though my heart ached with fear for Markus and my arm muscles screamed due to the strain and lack of recent practice.

When the wind began to blow so hard I could barely keep the machine upright, I started to freak out a little. That was the first time I began to doubt whether I had what it took to make it to the cave. Then the heavens opened up and the only thing I could be grateful for was the helmet visor that kept the rain off my face.

I pushed my fear down. We were almost there. I could feel Markus’s need growing the nearer we got to him. We couldn’t turn back.

After a particularly steep section, Ollie ran over to me, panting hard. I yelled out to him, screaming over the noise of the storm and the bike. “Keep going! Get us to that cave.”

Ollie barked and charged ahead. We kept going and then finally, Ollie pulled up outside the entrance to a cave. Large and black, with sharp, rock edges defining the space.

Relief soared through me. We’d done it! We’d made it.

Please let Markus be here. And please let him be okay.

I dismounted and pushed the bike over a large rock, forcing the machine those few final feet. Then finally, I reached the mouth of the cave.

As soon as I was out of the rain, I parked the bike against the wall at the cave’s entrance, and pulled off my helmet. “Markus?” I called out.

Silence answered and my heart sank.

I was soaked, though my leather jacket had luckily kept my upper body a little bit dry.

Ollie shook out his fur coat by the edge of the cave, then shifted back, his human body dripping wet.

He shook his hair and brushed it back off his face. “I’ll get dry. You check for Markus.”

I unzipped my jacket and pushed it off my body, sweat covering my face.

“Markus?” I called again, this time directing my voice into the depths of the cave.

I couldn’t see a thing, and I stupidly hadn’t thought to bring a flashlight with me. It wasn’t night yet, but with the cloud cover and the rain, it was almost pitch dark inside the space.

I crept forward, blinking my eyes to adjust to the dim light.

I gasped as a man lying in a sleeping bag on the floor became visible. “He’s over here!” I called out to Ollie, rushing forward to press my hands to Markus’s face. Burning hot. That wasn’t good, even if a wolf shifter did run hotter than a human.

Markus was shaking and sweaty, clearly in a fever state.

Ollie came over, wrapped in a blanket. He knelt by his brother’s side. “What’s wrong with him?” Worry laced his voice.

I had to see Markus better. The bike!

“I’m going to turn the headlight on so I can see him properly. We need to make sure he’s not injured.”

I raced over to the motorcycle and repositioned it before turning on the ignition and flicking on the headlight.

The whole space was lit up as I grabbed my backpack and rushed back to his side.

“Let’s unzip him. I want to check if he’s cut or bleeding.”

I unzipped the sleeping bag as Markus shuddered, his teeth chattering. “He’s got a fever,” I said to Ollie. “He’s shaking like he’s cold, but he’s sweating.”

Of course, the one thing I didn’t buy was a damn thermometer.

I put my hand to his forehead, and he was burning up. “Fuck, that’s hot.”

I checked over his body and couldn’t see any wounds or blood. “Okay. No external injuries. Good. Let’s get some water and Tylenol into him.”

With Ollie’s help, we managed to sit Markus up and force some water and fever-reducing medication down his throat.

I found more blankets and got him out of his soaked sleeping bag, wiped him down with water using the bandages, and wrapped him in blankets again.

When he was as comfortable as I could make him, I walked over to the mouth of the cave and stared out into the forest. The rain was still coming down hard. It was a wall of water, and I found myself grateful for the fact that Markus had chosen somewhere high and dry to hide.

We’d be screwed if we were somewhere low on the mountain.

“What are you thinking?” Ollie asked, walking up beside me, still wrapped in a blanket.

“Ah... just that we’re lucky to be so high, really.”

Ollie put his arm around me. “You’re a true optimist, aren’t you?”

I smiled, not able to laugh at a time like this, and cuddled into Ollie’s warmth. “I brought my phone. Do you want to call your mom?”

He sighed and kissed the top of my head. “Probably a good idea, if we can get reception. But no one will make it up here tonight. I think we’re gonna have to camp out.”

“I agree. I’ll check out that chest and see what other supplies I can find.” I pulled my cell phone out of my fanny pack and handed it to him. “I just wish I’d brought a flashlight.”

Ollie took the phone and pointed at the bike still providing the only light in the cave. “Check out the side bags on the bike. Toni’s a hiker. She might have some stuff in there.”

“Great idea,” I said, and walked over to the motorcycle while Ollie texted his family to let them know what we were up to.

“Oh my God, Toni, I love you,” I whispered, staring down at the contents of her bags. There was a large flashlight, which I picked up and turned on. “She does pack well.”

There were energy bars, packets of candies, bottles of water, a change of clothes and matches.

I turned off the motorbike, not needing the headlight anymore, and Ollie trotted over. “You got everything?”

I ripped open an energy bar and handed it to Ollie, then grabbed one for myself. “Yeah. Eat while I unpack.”

The clothes were way too big for me, but fit Ollie enough so he was a bit warmer.

I spread out the extra blankets next to Markus’s shaking body. “Let’s get some sleep. I’ll give him more water through the night.” And Tylenol every four hours, if I woke up that often, which I would.

When I pressed my hand to Markus’s cheek, he was still warm, but not as hot. “I think he’s a little better.”

“He’s not shaking as much,” Ollie said, sitting on the ground beside me and studying his brother. “Come on, sweetheart. Lie down.”

“I better take these pants off.” They were still super wet and now that I was slowing down, I was cold.

“Please do,” Ollie said, a wicked smile in his voice.

I rolled my eyes in the dark, even though he couldn’t see it, then peeled the cold leggings down my legs and pushed them to the ground.

My underwear and socks were next, and although I was technically colder now, I’d be better able to warm up out of the wet gear.

My tank top and bra were dry, so I climbed under the blankets with Ollie, shivering hard. “Well, th-th-this is romantic.”

He chuckled and rolled on top of me. “I’ll warm you up. Just give it a minute.”

Ollie was heavy, but I clung to him, loving the reassurance of his body heat and heartbeat against me.

And slowly I began to warm up, the cold seeping out of my bones and letting my muscles relax. Ollie must have felt it because he slid off me, rolled us both toward Markus, and spooned me from behind.

I reached out for Markus, touching his rapidly cooling skin. Relief crashed over me. “You’re not allowed to leave me, you understand?” I whispered to Markus. “I need you both.”

I rearranged Markus’s blankets, shuffled a little closer to him, then fell into a fitful sleep sandwiched between the two precious men.

Every hour I woke to check on Markus, my back aching from the rock mattress we were sleeping on. I force-fed my sick mate more water and Tylenol, praying for the first rays of light to peek over the forest and the rain to ease so we could go home.

But the night stretched seemingly forever, and Markus still didn’t wake up, and the rain beat down relentlessly outside, like it would never stop.