O’Malley moved slowly and methodically, not hurrying despite the time constraint she had put on their search. Hannah was determined he would be at the bar for the grand opening. It was only fair.
“We can go faster if you want.” Hannah caught her breath as O’Malley offered her a drink of water and an energy bar.
He shook his head as he passed the water bottle to her. “I don’t want to miss a clue.”
“Oh.” She glanced around then took a drink of water before asking, “A poker chip clue?”
He sighed and then came to her and sat down on the ground. She slid to a sitting position beside him, her tired, aching leg muscles grateful for the rest. “We know Karl was here. We know he didn’t make it to the village at the end of the main trail. Something disrupted his pilgrimage.”
“So, we’re looking for signs of that disruption.” She nodded and closed her eyes briefly. “We’re looking for a sign that Karl might have fallen or hurt himself in some other way.”
O’Malley didn’t answer as his jaw tightened. He took a bite of his energy bar and chewed thoughtfully before he took another drink. Screwing on the bottle cap, he stowed the water bottle in his pack and clasped his hands together as he waited for her to finish.
His silence bothered her.
“Would your cougar be able to pick up his trail?” Hannah stuck her hand into her pack and pulled out one of Karl’s T-shirts. “This carries his scent.”
“I can try but the weather would more than likely have washed any scent away long ago.” He looked at her and sighed at her pleading look. “Okay. I’ll try.”
“Oh, that look actually worked.” She grinned as she held out the shirt.
“I can’t refuse you. I am a lost cause.” He shook his head and stood up. “Okay, I’ll do it, but farther up the trail. This section is too difficult for you to climb without my help.”
“Oh, is it?” she asked.
“Yes, it is.” He inclined his head in the direction of the path ahead. “That’s the deal, take it or leave it.”
“You drive a hard bargain, O’Malley. No wonder you have been so successful with your bar.” She stood up, not wanting to admit how shaky her legs felt. He was right, there was no way she could climb this trail without him. The human him.
O’Malley led them higher up the trail. They both looked out for any sign that Karl had been here. They saw none. Disappointment set in, but Hannah told herself how unreasonable that was. He’d left the poker chips at particular places along the way. If there were none here, it simply meant he hadn’t seen the need to leave one. Nothing out of the ordinary had happened.
Ordinary was good. She paused and looked back down the trail. It was steep. Karl might have fallen, his body hidden amongst the rocks below.
“Here.” O’Malley stopped walking and followed her gaze. “I can go and poke around down there after I’ve shifted.”
Hannah nodded mutely. “Thanks.”
He nodded and shifted. Just like that, in a blink of an eye, the man was gone, and the cougar took his place. She stepped forward, patted him on the head then stroked his back. He rubbed his large head against her thigh, sniffing the T-shirt that belonged to Karl before he spun around on his hind legs and leaped away from her.
She was alone. No one else for miles. If something happened to O’Malley, she would have to find her way back to the village and ask O’Brian for help.
Hannah stood still, rooted to the spot for a few more minutes. She listened for the sound of the cougar’s paws on the ground, for any sound that might make her feel less alone.
Then as fast as he’d disappeared, he reappeared, his sides heaving as he slid to a stop before her. The air sparked and popped, and she prepared for the moment the cat would become a man once more.
More than that, she prepared herself for the bad news he had come to deliver. Why else would he have returned to her so soon?
As soon as he was human again, he swung his pack off his shoulders and stuck his hand in one of the pockets. “Satellite phone. Just in case.”
She snorted, a mixture of relief and excitement at having her mate so close. “Thanks.”
“Do you want me to show you how to work it?”
“I think I can figure it out.” She cupped his face with her hand, leaned forward, and kissed his cheek before he stepped back and shifted. Then he was gone once more.
Hannah couldn’t bear just standing there doing nothing. The trail up ahead didn’t seem too bad, so she shoved the phone in one of the side pockets of her pack, making sure it was secure before she set off along the game trail.
Despite the conditions underfoot and her worry for Karl, she could appreciate the beauty of the mountains. Harsh in places, there was also a beauty that could not be found anywhere else on the planet.
Not that she’d seen much of the planet. Hannah had barely been abroad. She’d barely been anywhere. After her mom passed away, it was as if she’d put a fence around herself both emotionally and physically. If she wasn’t careful, her life would have passed her by with nothing to show for it.
A glimpse of tawny feline fur out of the corner of her eye reminded her that was no longer true. O’Malley was in her life now and it had changed. Her world had opened up. She was determined to move to Cougar Ridge and live with him there. Although, he might have to accept her father into their lives, too. There was no way she could abandon him.
She sighed, inhaling the cool crisp air as a sliver of sun broke through the gathering clouds. Despite the intensely clear morning that had dawned on them, it looked as if there was a storm brewing. Would the flimsy tent protect them from such a storm?
Could O’Malley protect her from the storm brewing inside her, the one that would consume her when she had to leave the mountain and Karl, and perhaps accept she would never find out what happened to him? As the minutes ticked on and she grabbed a handhold and heaved herself up the trail, this was her greatest fear. It was also the most likely outcome.
They knew Karl was alive when he climbed the trail. What happened to him after that was a complete mystery. With no clues to follow, they could spend the rest of their lives searching the mountain and still never find him.
Hannah’s boots scuffed over the rocks and she sought to find a foothold in another large stone slab. She found a small indent and dug her toe into, scraping her knee as she clambered up and over the obstacle. When she finally conquered it, she knelt on the ground to catch her breath and a sense of accomplishment swept over her. She tilted her head back and looked up at the sky and laughed. A deep belly laugh that erupted into tears.
Tears of laughter, tears of joy, mingled with tears of frustration. Yet as she stared at the sky, her eyes fixed on that slim sliver of sun that pierced the thick clouds to shine down on the Earth below.
There was always hope, always a ray of sunshine if you knew where to look or were willing to let it shine down.
“I found the rest of the chips.” O’Malley in his human form stood farther up the trail with a handful of chips in his fist.
“Just the chips?” Her voice was hoarse as she stood up, wiped her eyes, and went to him.
“Yes. They were in a pile, all together.” He opened his fist and showed them to her. There was no doubt they matched the others they had already found.
“And Karl?” Hannah already knew the answer. “No sign?”
O’Malley shook his head. “If there was any sign of him, it’s gone.” He reached out for her hand and she slid hers into his before he pulled her up to stand next to him.
“Where?” Her throat constricted and the word came out as a squeak.
“It’s not an easy place to get to.” His jaw tightened.
“Do you think he fell down there?” Panic gripped her. Was this where Karl had met his fate?
“If he did, I don’t know how he’d have gotten out. And there lies the puzzle. My cougar could spring out without too much trouble but climbing out in my human form would be tricky. The
sides are very steep.” He turned to look up the trail. “Come on, we should move. There’s a storm brewing and we need to find shelter.”
“Is there such a thing in a place like this?” Hannah looked around them wondering if Karl had been faced by a storm or injury, or a wild animal.
“There’s a section of cliff a little farther along the trail. Just before it joins the main section. We should be able to find shelter there even if it’s just a shallow cave.” He tipped the poker chips into her pocket before he kissed her cheek. “We won’t stop looking.”
Hannah nodded, unable to answer. If Karl had lost the chips, had he also lost his life down there? A wild animal might have carried of his body…or bones. Was she wasting even more of her life by continuing to search, by continuing to hold on to hope?
They reached the cliff as the sky overhead darkened and the sliver of sunlight was finally swallowed up by the clouds. O’Malley’s expression hardened and the tension in his jaw was obvious to someone who had spent the last couple of days staring at him far too often.
“It’s going to be a bad storm, isn’t it?” she asked.
“I think it is.” He continued along the edge of the cliff, ducking down to look for a safe place for them to shelter. Occasionally he moved closer, leaning down to place his hand on the rock face before moving on.
They were running out of cliff. They were running out of time.
“We’ll have to pitch the tent.” O’Malley turned to face her, his expression anguished before he smoothed it out. “We’ll go back a little way and pitch it in the most sheltered section of the cliff.”
“Why don’t you shift and go and find somewhere better to shelter and I’ll stay here?” Her suggestion was met with a short laugh.
“I am not leaving you here. We’re in this together. If I need to, I’ll shift, and my cougar can cover you with his body and keep the worst of the weather off you.”
“I thought cats hated the wet.” A splatter of rain hit the back of her jacket, a warning of what was to come.
“For our mate, he’ll cope.” O’Malley grinned but it wasn’t his usual charming expression. This was forced, as if he were trying to make her believe everything was going to be all right.
“Okay. Let’s pitch the tent.” A gust of wind buffeted her, and she took a couple of steps forward.
“Wait!” He put up his hand and raised his head as if he were sniffing the air. “There’s someone close by.”
“Someone? Karl?” Her heart pounded and her breath came hard and fast. “Where?” She turned in a circle, looking all around them.
“Along the trail.” His eyes locked with hers. “Stay here.”
He ran forward, shifted in midair, and kept running back the way they had come.
“O’Malley,” she whispered.
If anything happened to him, she’d never forgive herself.
As she waited, she conjured up images of a hunter with a gun who might shoot the cougar as a trophy. Or maybe it was a truly wild mountain lion who might take on a creature he saw as a threat to his territory.
Or perhaps it was O’Brian and Elvie come to warn them about the coming storm?
All these questions raced through her head as she stood there waiting. Waiting, just like she had been waiting for news of Karl for weeks.
Hannah took a step forward and then another. She was done waiting, it was time to face life head-on and take back control.
She just didn’t know if she was strong enough to do that. But she sure as hell wasn’t going to let O’Malley face danger alone. They were mates and mates stuck together through whatever life threw their way.
Chapter Seventeen – O’Malley
He could sense them moving up the trail. Four. Four what? His cougar tried to focus on them, but his attention was pulled away by the nearness of his mate. She was coming this way.
Damn it, O’Malley cursed. He had to protect her.
His cougar ran down the trail toward the approaching animals. They were cougars. Just like him.
Shifters, his cougar hissed.
That’s what I meant. O’Malley couldn’t fight them all. He knew his limitations.
What if they don’t want to fight? His cougar had a point. Perhaps if he turned around and went back up the trail and moved out of the way with Hannah, then these four shifters might just move on.
A snarl carried on the wind told him it might be too late for that. They knew he was here.
O’Malley stopped and waited for them to approach. He’d chosen the section of the trail where Hannah had climbed over a slab of rock. It would make it difficult for them to come at him as a group. One at a time, he might have more chance of fighting them off.
Perhaps we should just talk, his cougar suggested.
O’Malley had never been the aggressor. When he served with the Special Forces, he always preferred to a situation with words rather than weapons. His cougar flexed his claws, reminding O’Malley they were the only weapons at his disposal, aside from his teeth and so talking might be a good idea.
But shifting into his human form would render him weak and vulnerable against four large cats.
He could see them now. Heads down, one of them was sniffing the ground, following a scent. Hannah’s scent.
This is a fight we cannot win, his cougar told them.
O’Malley knew he was right but as Hannah ran toward him down the trail, his need to defend her overrode caution. He would fight to the death to defend his mate.
“O’Malley.” Hannah was close, she slid down the trail and landed on her bottom before scrambling to her feet. “Oh.” She saw the four cougars and stopped trying to rise to her feet. “Well, this is unexpected.”
She was right, there had been no signs that other animals used the game trail, but then these cougars moved with a lithe graze on light paws that probably left no mark on the ground. Their scent would be carried away within a day of them passing through here.
O’Malley’s cougar backed away. Partly as a sign he didn’t want to fight, partly to be closer to Hannah. Surely, they would realize he was just trying to defend his mate.
The cougars continued with their approach, only now, instead of sniffing the ground, the lead cougar has its head in the air with its mouth open a little. With its eyes fixed on Hannah, it approached.
O’Malley bared his teeth, his tail twitching like crazy but he didn’t move as the cougar drew closer.
At the bottom of the slab of rock, the cougar stopped and leaned forward, sniffing loudly.
“Karl.” Hannah took the T-shirt off her backpack and held it out to the cougar. “Do you know where Karl is?”
The cougar looked up at Hannah with unblinking eyes for a long moment before it leaped up the slab of rock. It turned its head and looked straight at O’Malley before inclining its head toward the top of the trail.
“We should follow her.” Hannah got to her feet and despite his misgivings, O’Malley followed the first cougar, with Hannah behind him and the other three large cats keeping up the rear but leaving enough space that they didn’t appear to be a threat.
His cougar kept his senses locked on the other cats. They knew the situation could change in a heartbeat and a threat could materialize out of nowhere.
But the cougar ahead just seemed intent on getting to its destination. It hurried forward, only slowing when it realized Hannah was struggling to keep up.
They walked for a mile or so over difficult terrain accompanied by gusts of wind and an occasional shower of rain.
The storm was advancing. O’Malley and Hannah had to put faith in the small group of shifters. If the cougars were not leading them to shelter, then Hannah would be in danger.
O’Malley’s human side wanted to burst free and demand to know where they were going and if it was safe, but there was no time for discussion as the clouds darkened. It was as if night had come in the middle of the afternoon.
At last, they reached flatter terrain and the cougar turned
her head and looked at the two strangers following her. There was something in her expression. Maybe fear as she sighed and strode forward, across a grassy plain flanked by a high cliff. Then she turned sharply and walked toward the cliff. Was she leading them to a cave?
When they reached the cliff, she ducked under the rock, it was a tight squeeze and Hannah would have to get down on her belly and drag herself under the rock.
O’Malley stopped and shot her a warning look. He intended to go first and check that it was safe, but a loud crack told them the storm was about to throw its might down on them and there was no time to lose.
He went first, his cougar sliding under the rock with relative ease. Although, the confines of the rock above their head left them with a definite sense of unease. It wasn’t a natural habitat for a cougar. A cave should be large with room to stretch out.
But the low section of rock was short, maybe one whole of his body length. When they had passed under it, instead of finding themselves in a cave, they were back out in the dim daylight, surrounded by wooden cabins and the scent of wood smoke.
“Wow.” Hannah raised her head as she made it through the small gap. Scrambling forward, she stood up and dusted off her hands and clothes as she looked around.
Faces turned to meet them but the cougar who had led them here was gone.
O’Malley shifted and went to stand next to his mate. He reached for her hand as they stood side by side. A few people came out of their homes to stare at the newcomers, all looking unsure and O’Malley was ready to shift back into his cougar form and fight if he had to.
Surely, we were not brought here to fight, his cougar said.
Then why were we brought here? O’Malley glanced sideways at Hannah as she gasped and let go of his hand.
“Karl!” She took a faltering step forward as a man and a woman came out of one of the cabins.
Karl Norton hung back by the cabin as a woman approached them. Only the man in the doorway wasn’t the Karl Norton O’Malley had served with. There was something restful about the man. Gone was the intensity that had caused friction between the two men. Instead, Karl looked almost serene.
O'Malley: Summer (Shifter Seasons Book 7) Page 12