Chapter 23: Dean

23

DEAN

A s we hit the lakeshore, I see two men, arms looped around a third shifter’s back, carrying him across the finish line. The younger wolf’s ankle is obviously broken, and it will need to be realigned before the healing process begins. It’s going to hurt like hell.

Pale-faced, with thin lips pulled back in a grimace, the youngster draws in a sharp breath as they slow to a stop, every movement jostling his damaged leg.

If these are the first across the line, carrying this man between them, they obviously didn’t complete the full course.

“Alpha, this is Alan. He’s from the Moon River pack. Got into a spot of bother on the rocks.”

As the two men, brother’s I’m guessing, get him to take slow deep breaths, I commit their race numbers to memory. They sabotaged their own chances of getting through to get this stranger back safely. No easy feat in stormy weather and on tired legs.

These are exactly the kind of people we’re looking for.

Technically, they should be out, but rules are made to be broken.

“Jax? Take Alan to the med bay. Get Maggie to come and help. I don’t care what she’s doing. I’ll command her if I must.”

The brothers are exhausted from carrying him back at speed, getting him help before the bone resets in the wrong position.

“She won’t say no to this,” Jax says, looking vaguely disgusted at how Alan’s foot is bent at a sickening angle. He waves over Beckett and gestures for him to duck under Alan’s shoulder so he can help take his weight. “Come on. We’ve got him.”

DEAN: And tell her I want to talk to her when she’s done.

Jax and Beckett seamlessly take over supporting him as the other two wolves let go, standing straight to stretch out their sore backs and catch their breath. Alan grunts, sweat beading on his forehead, as Beckett and Jax bring him to the top of the hill where a golf cart should be waiting to carry him to the sick bay.

“Good luck, Alan,” one calls after him, supporting their fallen comrade. “We’ll see you in the bar later to drown our sorrows.” Alan’s competition is over, and the men think theirs is too. One rests a hand on the other’s shoulder and gives it a squeeze, clearly disappointed, but knowing it was the right thing to do.

DEAN: Lynn, where exactly were they on the course when Alan got injured? They said rocks.

There’s a long pause while Lynn gets the information I need.

LYNN: Past the bridge, on the loose rocks that run down the side of the waterfall.

Slippery, unstable and wet. A shortcut perhaps, but a dangerous one. Alan’s learned in the most painful way possible, that speed is not always the most important thing.

“I appreciate you bringing him back. You could have left him or waited for someone else to come along. Instead, you ruined your own races to get him back here. I’m sure Alan is grateful. Re-breaking and setting that ankle again would have been horrible.”

Both men nod, waiting for me to drop the inevitable, but I don’t. Nor do I offer them a do-over. Instead, I’ll reserve judgement until I see how many return in one piece and under the cut off time. Temporarily, I’m distracted from obsessing about where Jamie is and how she’s doing. But Alan’s injury shows just how dangerous it is out there and my wolf starts to pace, wanting to know she’s safe.

I clear my throat, hoping I look and sound calmer than I feel.

“Why don’t you go wash up and get something to eat, but don’t go too far. I’ll find you later.”

Eli and Dash, according to their race numbers, exchange a glance and stand tall, taking my offered hand in turn. Each man meets my eye with a business-like nod and moves on, taking my suggestion as an order. They don’t argue their case, understanding that I’m choosing not to give them a verdict now for a reason. The race is still ongoing, and nobody has completed the course yet.

I’ve got other things to deal with first, and I appreciate them not making a scene and fighting with me about it. That alone adds to the chances I’ll let them stay.

I turn back to the lake. It looks choppier than before, a stiff breeze whipping up the surface as dark clouds roll in. Things are about to get interesting for those still out on the trail.

“That was pretty selfless,” Maya comments, sidling up beside me and standing at my shoulder. “It seems like they should be rewarded rather than eliminated.”

I smile. Maya’s always been the bleeding heart to my stoic exterior. I knew she’d immediately take up their fight.

“They didn’t complete the course.”

Maya merely blinks at me, knowing full well that’s not what I really think.

“Maybe I’ll take it into consideration when I’m preparing the list for the next round.”

Maya grins and nods. “See that you do.”

When a strong gust blows a flag loose and it hits the water, it floats on the surface until a gentle wave washes it up on the shore. Branches whip around us, the wind picking up fast. There’s a noticeable drop in temperature as a heavy cloud blocks the sun and plunges us into darkness.

“It’s going to get rough out there,” Maya observes, looking at the black horizon and the rain sweeping in from the distance.

“It is.” Everyone out there is going to get soaked. “You should go inside. I don’t want Nathan giving me shit if you catch a cold.”

My thoughts go to the rope bridge, an interesting prospect at the best of times, but an even tougher challenge in strong winds and with a downpour hampering visibility.

Jamie was one of the last to leave. She’ll have to endure the weather for the longest amount of time, and the bridge could be a problem when she gets to it.

For a second, I think maybe she’ll turn back and quit. Then she’ll be gone. I won’t have to deal with this intense longing anymore if I don’t have to see her.

That’s what I’d like to think.

Instead, what I really think is there’s no way in hell she won’t attempt to cross. I saw how determined she was.

A crack of lightning splits the sky, and a deluge of rain hits us. Maya runs for cover right as a deafening rumble of thunder fills the sky, coming from everywhere around us. The storm is right on top of the lake, right on top of the course. The course that I made purposefully difficult to separate the wheat from the chaff.

Now, knowing Jamie is out there, I wish I’d left it alone.

“Get out of the rain, Dean!” Maya yells, waddling as fast as she can back toward the shelter of the packhouse. I wave her on but make no move to follow. When I don’t do as she asks, she throws her arms out in exasperation. “You’re a glutton for punishment.”

Jamie’s face enters my mind, and I have to agree. The sneaky rogue has done nothing but antagonise me since she got here. She represents everything I shouldn’t want and is here to blow my family wide open.

I ignore Maya’s jab, and her exasperated huff as she leaves me behind. I should make sure she gets back inside okay, but I can’t force my feet from where I’m standing. Alan’s injury isn’t all that’s wrong. I can feel it in my gut. There’s more to come.

In the eerie silence that follows the thunder, I hear a faint rhythmic pounding in the distance. The first runners are making their triumphant return.

Playing the part of the perfect host, I stay in place, shaking the hand of each person that crosses the finish line, mentally counting how many have returned.

Members of my team are already checking off names and numbers on their clipboards and recording their times.

Even though I know it’s unlikely Jamie will be anywhere near the front given she started at the back, it doesn’t stop my heartbeat from picking up with each new arrival that turns the final corner. And my disappointment when it’s not her.

As wolves start appearing from the direction of the starting line, my chest tightens. These are the wolves that decided it wasn’t worth it. As I suspected, Jamie isn’t among them. Even if it takes her all night, she’ll keep going until she finishes the course.

And deep down, I know I’ll be standing here waiting.

My concern deepens with each returning competitor that isn’t her. Is this the start of an obsession, like the one that consumed my father?

“Is there anyone left on the course?” I ask a strong wolf who’s one of them who turned back. I’m surprised to see him among the group. Things must really be bad out there.

Startled by the question, he shakes his head. “No. When I got to the bridge and saw it was down, I started turning people back. I’m the last.”

“The bridge is down?” I repeat slowly, scarcely believing what I’m hearing. Beckett and I checked every inch of this course over. It would never have failed in just a bit of wind. A lightning strike perhaps?

Joel nods, face pale and drawn. It’s been a long night, and there are lots of disappointed shifters eager to get warm and dry.

“Did you see anyone else?”

I wave over Lynn, who’s directing dripping wet shifters back to their accommodation and telling them where to go for a warm meal.

Exhaustion must be making him groggy because he seems unsure, giving me something between a nod and a shake of his head.

“Thanks for bringing everyone back,” I say, shaking his hand before I tip my head toward the departing wolves, indicating he should join them. “Go and get some food and a hot shower.”

Joel is potentially another wolf I should let through, regardless of the outcome today. He made sure everyone knew not to continue and stayed at the back, making certain they got home safe.

I file his name and race number away for good order.

“Send someone out to the bridge to meet me as soon as this dies down. And ask them to check along the course for anyone who might have taken cover.”

LYNN: Sure thing, boss.

Lynn gives me a salute and returns to marking off the wolves, most now shifted so their fur can protect them against the icy rain, and not even caring that turning into their wolves means automatic disqualification.

And still, there’s no sign of Jamie.

Where is she?

She’s fast. She must have made it over the bridge before it collapsed.

But as more and more wolves cross the line, collapsing into the dirt with exhaustion and checking their times to see if they’ve made it, a sinking feeling takes hold in the pit of my stomach.

When Wyatt turns the corner without his sister in tow, I fight the panic rising inside me. In this weather, he’d never have left her behind.

“Wyatt, where the hell is Jamie?” I demand, striding right up to him and getting in his face, not giving one fuck about the strange looks I’m getting.

“Is she not here?”

He frantically scans the waiting wolves, many of whom never made it around but have remained to cheer on their returning friends.

“Maybe she turned back,” someone suggests, and Wyatt looks at me. We both know she didn’t.

“No, she’s still out there,” I say firmly, trying not to let the fear inside me take control.

Wyatt looks at the competitors in their animal form and nods, not panicking but starting to get really worried. “I can’t link her, she’s too far away, but I can still feel her. She wouldn’t take cover outdoors in this. She hates… she’d have shifted and run home.”

I nod, his reaction confirming my own gut instinct.

Something’s very wrong.

“I’m going back out there,” Wyatt says, turning to head back out on the course.

I reach out and grab his shoulder.

“No, I’ll go. I know the course like the back of my hand. She’s probably just hiding somewhere from the storm, and I’ll be faster on fresh legs.”

Wyatt doesn’t look convinced, but there’s no room for arguing.

“Callum, this way,” I yell, yanking off clothes as fast as I can to make the shift into my wolf a bit more straightforward. Callum does the same, and in no time, we’re standing naked in a storm, ready to go back out in the pitch-black forest, looking for a needle in a haystack.

Lynn is there immediately, cajoling an unhappy Wyatt into sitting on a log and taking a sip of water. He doesn’t want to be left behind, but until he refuels, he’ll be too slow out there. We set off, moving against the tide of shifted animals and bedraggled humans flowing against us.

DEAN: She’s at the bridge. I can feel it.

My beta nods before shifting and standing still as someone straps a length of rope around his torso.

DEAN: And Callum, when we get there, don’t touch her. I’m warning you. I’m barely in control right now.

Avoiding his penetrating stare, I take off, plunging into the dark forest at top speed.