3. Oria

3

ORIA

I t was the day after we arrived here at the safe house. Still no word from Gray, our phone calls going unanswered. The house was full of tension and I felt like Maxton was avoiding me. I hadn't really looked for him, but I had only seen him in passing. He wouldn't even look at me.

Ryder made us some lunch, but I couldn't bring myself to eat it. I was too nervous concerning Gray and the beautiful man who had been my cat since I could remember. The latter was not at the table with us, probably outside, avoiding me. I knew we needed to talk, but I hated that I couldn't remember anything. I was afraid of what he was going to tell me that would change my world so drastically, even more so than it already had. The last few weeks had given me whiplash.

"You need to eat, Blondie," Soren said, laying a hand on my back.

"I'm not hungry," I said, standing up, needing to do something. "Is no one worried about Gray?"

Soren's jaw flexed. "We are, but he has two days before we get nervous."

"Two days?" I wanted to scream. "We have to wait two days?!"

I couldn't do this, all this worrying, all these bad thoughts and the weight of the truth was suffocating me. For the first time since we had left the tower, I wanted to go back. My safety bubble was so enticing because I wasn't made for this life.

The door opened, interrupting my thoughts.

"I've spotted two men in the forest, and I think they might be looking for us," Maxton said, looking anywhere but at me.

"Shit, how far out?" Ryder asked, standing and taking his plate to the kitchen.

"They will be here within the hour," he said, glancing at me.

"We have wards on the place; we should be fine," Soren said, looking unsure.

"I don't think we should risk it," Maxton shook his head. "For all we know, one of them is a witch and can feel that sort of magic."

"I agree we have to leave, and we have to leave now," Ryder said, grabbing my own plate and putting it in some sort of container before Soren went upstairs.

They moved quickly and before I knew it, I had my backpack on as Maxton shifted into another wolf.

"Where are we going?" I asked, as we walked out the back door. "How will Gray know where to find us?"

"Once he finds no one here, he will find a way to call me," Soren said, not as confidently as I would have liked. "Our phones are charged, he will get in contact with one of us."

Leaving made me feel uneasy. My bond with Gray was strong and I knew that if something were to happen to him, I would feel it, but I longed to see and touch him.

"I know you don't want to leave, but we have to," Ryder said, catching up to us. "Gray knows what to do and he will do whatever he needs to come back to you."

Damn him for saying the right thing to ease my worry. Ryder gave me a small smile that hit me straight in the chest. He had been mostly broody with me, but Ryder's smile was like an aphrodisiac.

"Come on, we have to hurry, but keep an ear out for anyone close to us," Ryder said, slipping into his leader role naturally. "Maxton, run ahead of us."

Maxton nodded before running ahead of us.

"Soren, go with Maxton and loop around, staying behind us," Ryder said, putting a backpack on too.

"Take this with you," I said, taking two beads off my necklace. I whispered the incantation to activate them.

I threw them and he caught them with ease, disappearing without a sound.

"What else do you have in that necklace?" Ryder looked amused staring at it.

"Uh…" My words left my brain as his smile widened.

"Anything that can create an illusion?"

He led me away from the cabin.

"No, but that's a good idea to put on the necklace," I said, hoping to remember that.

"It would make this easier if we could fake that you went a different way," he said, walking fast so it was hard to keep up with him.

"What if we did use me as bait?" I panted, trying to keep up.

"Absolutely not," he growled.

Hell no, Blondie.

I rolled my eyes that they both had the same answer.

"It would make this easier if we could…"

Drop it, Blondie. Soren sounded menacing.

"I'm hoping Soren is in your head telling you how dumb that would be," Ryder said, looking over at me as I struggled to keep up with him.

"Look, it's a good idea and we wouldn't have to worry about them being on our tail," I said, before Ryder picked me up, making me wrap my arms around his neck and my legs around his torso.

It felt more intimate than I had expected, but he didn't seem phased by it. He held me up by my butt as he started jogging.

"You think I would risk your safety?" Ryder asked, not even sounding out of breath.

I rolled my eyes. Not Fair.

"It would give us time to wait for Gray," I said, still worried and irritated that they didn't even seem concerned.

"We have a plan," Ryder said confidently. "We know the drill and once he doesn't see us there, he will call."

"What if they are waiting for him? What if he is caught?" I asked, panic threatening to escape again. "Ryder, so many things could have gone wrong back there. What if?—"

"Hey, breathe," he cooed, and I didn't even realize how harshly I had been breathing. "It's going to be ok; your bond is still intact and if anything was wrong you would know it, so would Soren."

He ran a hand up and down my back in a soothing manner. The running, my heightened emotions and my exhaustion were catching up to me.

"As soon as we get somewhere safe, I can see if we can locate him, ok?" He squeezed me tight.

"Ok," I said, not used to a softer Ryder.

Now that I thought about it, he had been nicer, more protective and not so grumpy. I knew his love for Serena hadn't gone away, but maybe he was accepting the bond? Without thinking about it, I burrowed closer to him inhaling his scent. For a moment I could make myself believe he was mine and I was his.

He stiffened, clearing his throat, but he didn't push me away.

They aren't following, they have gone back. Soren's voice entered my mind.

Should we stay? I replied.

No, they might come back with more people. We can find a place to hole up and figure out a plan.

Since leaving the mountains, all I seemed to do was run, hide and make a new plan. Anger coursed through me, hating that nothing was going as planned.

"Soren said they are going back from where they came from," I said, my anger making me tear up.

"Ok, we can't stay, but we are close to Duckleberry Fin," he said, looking around us. "Once we settle in, we can worry about Gray."

I hated how calm he sounded. I was ready to lose my shit.

"We will get Gray back if it's the last thing we do, Oria," Ryder said, holding me a little tighter as Maxton and Soren ran with us too.

I hadn't even been out a week and I was already exhausted. This felt like one big giant mistake.

We ran until we came across some cars. Ryder broke into one that had a long box in the back, messing with some wiring until he got it started. Soren helped me get into the back seat, helping me put on the seatbelt, but Maxton looked like he wanted to run instead.

"I can run," he said, just standing by the door.

"Get your ass in the car, Catzilla," Soren snapped, getting into the front with Ryder.

I couldn't keep a straight face that Soren still called him that.

"You can't run as fast as this truck, so get your ass in before the owners come back and realize we stole their vehicle," Ryder said.

Maxton looked at me before getting in the back seat of the truck with me, not happy. Ryder took off in the truck as Maxton grabbed onto Soren's seat. He closed his eyes and a visible shiver coursed through him.

"Please tell me we don't have to stay in this thing for long," Maxton muttered.

"About an hour," Ryder said, messing with some buttons that turned on cold air in the truck.

Maxton grew pale. My body reacted before I could think about what I was doing. I put my hand on his shoulder, trying to ease him. His eyes snapped open as he turned to look at me. His baby blue eyes captured my attention. He was a beautiful man, there was no doubt about it. Completely opposite from the twins and Ryder. While they were all tall, dark and handsome. He was light in the darkness.

He looked like one of those Greek statues I had seen in books, except Maxton looked like he could kill you in one hit. He was bigger than the other guys, but he had a tenderness about him. This was the man who had comforted me for years.

I took off my seatbelt sliding over to him, wrapping my arms around his massive one and held onto his hand. He was stiff against me, but I leaned my head against his shoulder offering all the comfort I could.

He didn't relax for several minutes, then slowly, he leaned back into the seat as I stroked his forearm admiring it. Maxton was like a drug easing my anxiety and my worries, lulling me into sleep.

The sound of doors slamming shut woke me up abruptly. I sat up straight, looking around with my heart beating extremely fast.

"We are safe," a deep voice said, and I looked over to see a serious Maxton.

"Where did they go," I said, trying to keep the fear out of my voice.

"They were going to get us a few rooms to stay in," he said, turning to me.

I felt the bond with Soren, and I knew he was safe, but not having Gray with me had made me jumpy.

"You're safe. Gray is safe," he said, opening his arms and I didn't hesitate.

I threw myself into his chest as he wrapped his big arms around me. He was still my friend, my companion, my rock. It was like a dam breaking and everything I had been holding in rushed out of me.

"Oria," he said, his voice full of pain.

"Why is it so hard?" I cried into his shoulder.

"It's never going to be easy; you have a beautiful gift and the world is so corrupt, but you, my Sol, are the light in the darkness, the one who gives us hope for tomorrow," he said, holding me tighter. "The world loves to snuff out the good. Don't let this dark world pull you under, my Sol. You shine bright."

I pulled away from his embrace to look at his face. He was serious, but I also saw his vulnerability. Those weren't the words of a man who was my guard.

Mi sol.

My sun.

"Max," I whispered.

"Sol," he replied with so much emotion.

I hated that I didn't remember him, it felt like I was missing a piece of me, an ache in my chest made me wonder even more about our history. The door suddenly opened, crushing whatever moment we were having.

"Blondie—"

I glanced behind me. Soren took one look at my face, his expression grew dark.

"I really hope you didn't make her cry," Soren growled.

"No, he didn't, I just?—"

More tears fell down my face.

"Blondie," Soren's face softened, but quickly hardened when we heard talking coming close to us. "Do you have another charm you and Max can use?"

Invisibility? I questioned, in case anyone was near us.

He nodded.

"Yes," I said, pulling my necklace out, grabbing onto a stone.

"Use it on both of you, now," he said, looking over my shoulder at Max.

"Uh, you're going to have to?—"

"I know," he said, scooting close to me.

He lifted me up as I powered the gem, getting us out of the car easily. I expected Soren to growl or say something, but his brows furrowed like he was confused. We followed him inside the place walking up some stairs, thankfully not running into anyone.

We walked into a room that was relatively small. I deactivated the gem when Soren closed the door.

"One bed?"

I noticed it as Max questioned it.

"That's all that was available," Soren said, sitting on a chair in the corner. "Ryder has gone to get food for you and after, we should get some rest."

"How are we going to find Gray?" I asked.

"I don't know but I'm hoping he calls us soon," Soren said, worry lacing his tone.

My heart clenched as nervousness settled in.

"We will find him," Maxton stated confidently.

"We better," I said, because I needed more time with my mate. I didn't think a lifetime would be enough either.