Mr. Hendricks actually took a step back, his eyes dropping in deference. “We think she may have been thrown from the car. We need to send out search parties.”
I looked past the teacher where snow was still falling steadily, heavily. The temperature was forecasted to dip into the negatives tonight. If Maren was hurt or unconscious in the snow, she might not have much time left.
9
Remy spun around, his eyes already searching the crowd. His mouth tightened when his gaze landed on Katy, who was still dancing and laughing with Ainsley. A second later he looked down at me.
“Dante’s still upstairs. Can you get him? I’ll grab Katy and shut the party down.” He barely finished the sentence before he was moving past me to get to his sister.
I turned and headed for the stairs. The music died by the time I was halfway up them, a few dancers complaining loudly at the sudden silence. Once at the landing, I looked at the open and closed doors wondering where Dante could be.
Thankfully he stepped out of a room down the hall a second later, rubbing the back of his neck. He frowned when he saw me, his hand falling to his side.
“What’s wrong?”
I took a deep breath. “There was an accident. Maren’s missing.”
It was a little scary how fast Dante went from relaxed to intense, his already sharp features hardening as he ran down the hallway, brushing past me and hurrying down the stairs as I followed behind as close as I could.
“We need to go look for her now!” Katy yelled shrilly as I reached the bottom.
Remy was holding her by the shoulders, half comforting, half holding her back from running out the door. Mr. Hendricks had come inside and was talking to Dante. The group of partying teens had gone eerily silent.
“Move!” A sharp voice snapped, and the crowd parted for Tate and Ryder as they came in from the backyard.
“Someone said Maren was in an accident?” Tate demanded, coming up behind Dante as he spoke quietly with Mr. Hendricks.
I made my way through the quiet group of teens until I was at Katy’s side.
“Remy, we have to go look for her,” Katy urged, her voice teetering on the edge of hysterical. She yanked on his arms uselessly, trying to break free as Rhodes and Larkin came up behind her.
“Shh,” Larkin soothed, stroking her back gently.
Remy’s eyes cut to me. I didn’t need to shift to read his mind.
I gave a short nod, wrapping my arms around Katy’s waist as he let her go and stalked back to where Dante, Ryder, and Tate were furiously talking with Mr. Hendricks.
Katy turned to me, her dark eyes huge against her pale face. “Skye—” Her voice broke as she whispered my name, my heart squeezing at the despair in her expression.
“We’ll find her,” I promised quickly, praying to anyone listening that I could keep that vow.
A sharp, ear-piercing whistle made the entire room flinch in tandem. Seconds later, the remaining Brooks Ridge pack emerged from the crowd and swiftly followed their alpha out the door.
Katy jerked against me, ready to follow them.
“Listen up!’ Remy barked, turning around and commanding the attention of the room. “There’s been an accident. One of us is missing. We’re sending out scouts from each pack to track her. Five minutes until we move out.”
Remy’s gaze caught mine and he jerked his chin at us. Like a trained unit, the four of us moved to him, following him outside and down the stairs. Seconds later, the rest of our pack joined us.
“Remy—” Katy started.
He held up a hand to silence her. “You’re coming with us,” he told her, his dark eyes sympathetic as he watched her.
Katy gave a sharp nod, squaring her shoulders as she shored up her resolve. Her skin was almost ashen, but there was no missing the determined glint in her eye.
“Larkin, can you and the twins take the rest of the pack back to the cabin? Once we know anything, I’ll call you and let you guys know. Make sure everyone sticks together,” Remy told her, his gaze moving back to where Konnor and Kyle stood off to the side.
“Of course,” Larkin said, her eyes going from me to Rhodes.
“Will, Rhodes, and Skye are coming with us. Let’s go!” He turned and started moving quickly through the snow, back towards our cabin.
The majority of the pack followed Larkin inside while I went with Remy and the others to where the truck was parked around the back.
“We should just shift and run,” Katy said, frustration lacing her tone as Remy and Rhodes worked to clear the snow from the SUV.
“They’re miles away,” Will told her, brushing snow from the windshield. “It’s snowing like crazy. Fastest way is to drive there.”
I stepped forward, helping them clear the rest of the snow from the truck with my bare hands until they ached.
We all quickly climbed wordlessly into the car. I snapped my seatbelt into place as Remy shifted the car into drive and started forward, the chains around the tires crunching across the snow.
Glancing over my shoulder, I exchanged a worried look with Rhodes, who quickly wrapped a supportive arm around Katy’s thin shoulders as she shivered.
None of us had bothered getting our coats before we ran out the door, the mix of fear and adrenaline keeping us warm until now.
“How far away?” Will asked, his eyes already focused on the world outside the cab as he squinted to see through the darkness as more snow fell heavily around us.
It took several minutes before we pulled away from the large front gates of the school, joining several other SUVs and trucks heading down the road to where Maren had crashed.
“Mr. Hendricks said a couple miles outside the grounds,” Remy answered, his knuckles white around the steering wheel as he tried to go as fast as possible without sliding off the road. There were easily twenty miles between the front gates of GPA and the outer edge of the boundary lines of the property.
I exchanged a look with Remy. He was doing the math, too. It would take us longer than anyone wanted to get to where the accident was, but driving would still be better than trying to run through snow up to our bellies if we shifted first.
Katy leaned forward. “Hurry up, Rem.”
“I’m going as fast as I can,” he replied, jaw clenched.
The wipers on the windshield furiously tried to keep the snow from blocking his vision, but it was a losing battle. The snow was too heavy and too dense for him to drive more than thirty miles per hour.
I reached across the consol between us, letting my hand rest on top of his rock hard thigh as he drove. A small shudder rippled down his body, but he relaxed a fraction at my touch. I stroked my thumb against the rough denim of his jeans absently as I tried to keep my thoughts positive.
The drive took forever between the tension in the SUV and the blinding snow outside. All the terrain blended together in a world of white snow, pitch black darkness, and the red glow from the taillights of the caravan of trucks we were leading into the night. Several times Remy had to ease off the gas as the truck started to slide.
“We’re almost a mile out,” Remy murmured, not needing to raise his voice to be heard amongst the silence. “When we get there, everyone shift. Katy and I will take one direction, Skye, Rhodes, and Will the other direction.”
His eyes cut quickly to mine and he tapped his temple. I nodded. We would still be able to communicate if one of us found Maren.
As we rounded the corner, bright red and blue lights lit up the sky around us.
“Fuck,” Remy swore, the leather of the steering wheel protesting under his unforgiving grip.
“What?” I asked as we pulled up with other vehicles.
“Cops,” he said with a sigh. His eyes lifted to the rearview mirror and he slowly shook his head.
“No!” Katy yelled, already trying to scramble over Rhodes.
Remy twisted in his seat with a grunt. “Katy—” He managed to push her back into Rhodes before she could reach the front of the ca
b.
“Fuck you!” Katy hissed, fighting against Rhodes with everything she had.
I spun around in my seat, stunned to see how completely out of control Katy was. Her dark eyes were wild with fear and anger. “Katy, stop!”
“Calm down,” Rhodes said gently, wincing when her nails caught his forearm and drew blood.
I reached out for Katy as a fisted hand knocked against my window. With a gasp, I whirled around, stunned to see a man standing next to me, a wide brimmed hat covering his face as a gust of wind whipped more snow around.
My window slowly lowered as Remy pressed the button, his shoulder rubbing mine as he leaned across me.
“Deputy,” he greeted in a level voice.
The deputy ducked his head closer to the window, his cold blue eyes sweeping across all of us before landing on Remy. “You kids need to turn around and head back to the school.”
“We just came from there,” Remy said calmly, almost nonchalant. “A friend of ours is missing. We came out here to help look.”
“We already know about the accident and the missing girl,” the man replied firmly, his jaw set. “The department is already here, and we’ve called in state help. We’re working on sending a team out for her.”
“With all due respect, sir,” Remy went on evenly, “we know this land and might be able to help.”
The deputy squared his shoulders. “The last thing we need is a bunch of teenagers getting lost out here, too.”
“You don’t understand,” Katy started from the backseat.
“Sweetheart, why don’t you go back and wait where it’s warm and safe? I promise we’ve already called in the best in the state to look for your friend. The middle of a storm is no place for you kids to play hero.”
“We aren’t going anywhere without our friend,” Katy snapped.
The deputy’s eyes narrowed. “Honey, I wasn’t offering a suggestion. You kids turn this car around and go back to the school, or I can assign another deputy to drive you to the station where you can wait for your parents to come and collect you. They’ll have to personally sign each of you out of our custody.”
His lips quirked into a thin, condescending smile. “I hear you all attend a boarding school, so it might be awhile before your parents sign for your release.”
“Understood,” Remy said quietly. “Thank you.”
The deputy tipped his hat and started back towards the flashing lights as I wound the window back up.
“Fucking hell,” Rhodes muttered.
“Remy, we need to get out there,” Katy urged, reaching up to grab his arm.
“We can’t.” Remy pulled away and put the truck in drive, turning around slowly and heading back for the school. The rest of the cars followed.
“What the hell are you doing?” Katy screamed, reaching for him again, but Will and Rhodes pulled her back. “Maren is back there!”
My heart was pounding in my chest as I touched his shoulder. “Remy.”
His hands flexed around the steering wheel. “The locals are there. If we try to interfere, they’ll arrest us.”
“Then pull over, and we can shift!” Katy snapped, still struggling.
“And have a bunch of armed normals shooting at wolves in the dark?” He shook his head. “We can’t. I’m sorry, Katy.”
“No!” Katy yelled, tears in her eyes for the first time since she heard Maren was missing.
My stomach dropped as I swallowed hard. “Katy, they’ll find her.”
Her furious eyes glared back at me. “You don’t know that!”
“I’m sorry,” Remy repeated, his eyes fixed on the road—or lack of road—in front of us as he drove. The convoy that had followed us out was now behind us on the road, everyone trailing Remy back to the school.
“If Maren is hurt, I’ll never forgive you for this, Remy,” she threatened, her voice shaking as hard as she was.
He sighed softly, but didn’t speak.
“Let go!” Katy shrieked, finally pulling away from Rhodes and Will. She pulled her knees up to her chest, sobs tearing through her body as she cried.
Again, I reached across the console for Remy, needing to touch him.
The second my fingers touched his leg, he dropped a hand and caught mine in it, squeezing so hard I felt my bones grind together.
He was clinging to me like I was a lifeline.
I swallowed my own tears, squeezing him back, and feeling just as helpless and frustrated.
10
A knee digging into my back woke me up the next morning.
With a small groan, I turned in the bed, almost toppling off the edge as I looked back at the two other bodies sleeping with me.
It had taken hours for Katy to settle into a fitful sleep. Even now, her mouth was in a hard line and her brow creased as she slept in the middle of the bed. Larkin slept on her other side, the three of us squeezing into the queen sized bed in my room in the cabin.
Katy had refused to speak to Remy since we made it back. Once we got inside, she walked upstairs and slammed the door. It took over an hour for Larkin and I to convince her to open the door for us.
It took another two hours for her to stop crying, followed by nearly an hour of us trying to keep her from going down to look for Maren on her own before Remy firmly told her he would sleep in front of the door so she couldn’t leave.
Which led to another ninety minutes of screaming and crying before she finally passed out right before dawn.
I sat up, slowly easing out of the bed so I didn’t wake them before tiptoeing to the door and slipping out of the room. I was exhausted and definitely needed a shower. My clothes from last night felt gross against my skin, but we had all fallen asleep in whatever we had been wearing the night before.
I walked next door to Remy’s room, not surprised to see the bed hadn’t been slept in. He was likely sleeping in the living room by the front door so Katy wouldn’t try to leave and go search for Maren on her own.
As fast as I could, I grabbed a change of clothes from one of the drawers I used in his room to stash clothes in before using the attached bathroom to take the world’s fastest shower and brush my teeth.
I walked barefoot downstairs, my long hair still damp against my back.
Remy and Rhodes were already awake, both of them turning to look at me from where they were quietly talking on the couch as I came downstairs.
With a grim smile, Rhodes got off the couch. “How’s Katy?”
“Asleep,” I replied, shaking my head. “Larkin’s still with her.”
Rhodes gave an absent nod, rubbing his jaw. “I’m going to take a quick shower,” he said as he walked by me.
I looked at Remy, who looked absolutely exhausted, still wearing his clothes from last night and sprawled on the couch. His hair was completely disheveled, and I had a feeling he had spent much of the night stabbing his fingers through it.
Silently, I walked across the floor until I was in front of him. I didn’t hesitate as I lowered myself onto his lap, straddling him and wrapping my arms around his neck.
His arms came around me immediately, pulling me tight to his body as he hugged me. A bone deep shudder rippled through him, his breath coming out in a heavy sigh as he relaxed around me, nuzzling into the crook of my neck.
I stroked his hair, my fingers tangling in the short strands as his hand smoothed up my spine.
His lips pressed lightly against the fluttering pulse in my throat, then moved to the underside of my jaw. I tilted my head, claiming his lips with mine in a slow, lingering kiss that was definitely more comfort than passion.
But still made me shiver and crave more.
Pulling away, I smoothed his hair back from his forehead. “Any news?”
His dark eyes looked solemnly up at me. “Dante texted me an hour ago. Tate’s a mess. There’s no sign of Maren. The cops did what they could, but the snow was coming down too fast for a real search effort.”
“The guards you had around the perimete
r didn’t see anything?”
He shook his head. “No. They were on the school grounds. The accident happened almost four miles outside the main gates. We’ve reassigned some of them to help look for Maren. Ryder is out there with them now. He’s their best tracker. Dante brought Tate home to force her to get some rest, but then he’s going back.”
My eyes slid shut for a second as I digested the news. “Katy’s not going to take this well.”
“I can’t blame her,” he murmured, looping his fingers through the belt loops on my jeans and anchoring me to him.
“What do we do now?”
He sighed again, this one laced with frustrated bitterness. “Not much we can do. Not with the cops all over the place. Sounds like they’re calling in the National Guard to help search, but we got another foot and a half of snow last night. At this point they’re expecting a recovery, not a rescue.”
My stomach churned and flipped at the thought. “But Maren might be okay.”
“Maybe,” he allowed softly. “Dante got a look at the car. The windshield was shattered, and so was the passenger window. If she was thrown from the car …”
I shook my head, not ready to consider that. “But they would have found her. She couldn’t have gone that far.”
“Depends on if she woke up and was disoriented. Maybe tried to walk away on her own? In that snow, injured? She could have collapsed somewhere. It snowed another foot last night.”
I shifted on his lap, my fingers curling into the soft cotton of his shirt. “Shifters can take a lot more than humans. She could still be out there, alive.”
I knew better than most did that shifters had a much higher tolerance for pain and injuries, and we healed a lot faster. It was something that was counted on by my old pack who was quite content to use and abuse omegas any way they wanted.
But it took a lot to actually kill one.
I had taken a header off a cliff and came back from it. Maren could absolutely be fine after a car accident.
“You’re right,” Remy agreed. “But it’s the cold that’s the biggest issue. If she was able to shift, she might be able to stay warm enough until we can get to her. But if she’s not, then hypothermia is a real issue. We’ll be sending out search parties until she’s found. We just have to be careful about it.”
Prey (Blackwater Pack Book 2) Page 8