by Sophie Stern
“Evelyn,” I say, and burst into the cabin.
“Who’s Evelyn?” Alex asks, but I ignore him and look around. Everything looks normal. Everything looks like it’s in place, so what’s with the smell? What was she afraid of? And where did she go?
Then I catch a second scent: a distinctly male one, and my blood runs cold.
“Fuck!” I cry out, shoving my fist into the wall.
“Dude!” Alex says. “What the hell is going on? Who’s Evelyn? What happened?”
“She came in the middle of the night,” I say, breathing heavily, but I’m already getting ahead of myself. Where would he have taken her? How did he know where she was? Why did he come? Why isn’t there evidence of a struggle?
I never should have left her. I should have kept myself under better control. I should have been stronger, braver, wiser.
I should have been fucking smarter.
Now Evelyn’s gone and the only person I have to blame is myself. Perfect.
“Okay, so someone came in the middle of the night and got scared, is that it?” Alex looks confused, as if I’m not telling him the whole story.
I need Alex’s help. Fuck, I need everyone’s help: my bothers’, my friends’, Jason’s. Everyone. Anyone who can help me locate Evelyn: I need them. This means I’m going to have to stop panicking and start talking.
Breathe.
Breathe.
I just need to breathe.
“Evelyn is a human who came in the middle of the night. She needed a place to stay. Edwards found her in town, looking for a place to stay, so he sent her here.”
“Why did she need a place to stay?”
“Her ex-fiance hit her.”
Alex lets out a breath of air and I know he’s thinking what I am: that Dustin is a fucking piece of shit.
“We spent some time together.”
We spent time together and she was perfect. Amazing. Sweet. She was everything I’ve ever wanted in a woman and now I might lose her because I was so dumb I had to go run. I had to shift. I couldn’t control myself and now Evelyn is paying the price.
“It’s not your fault,” Alex places a hand on my shoulder, and I nod, appreciating the touch. “You think he came for her?”
I absolutely think he did, but I’m still confused about something.
“I don’t know how he found her. She said she didn’t use her credit cards.”
“Did she use GPS to get here?” Alex raises an eyebrow, and then it hits me. I’m such an idiot. Maybe being in tech isn’t for me. If she used her phone’s GPS to get here, those are stored on her account. If Dustin is the asshole we all know he is, he could have easily logged onto her account from a smart phone and seen where she was going.
And if she input directions from Edwards to our farm while logged in to her account, it would have been simple for him to figure out where she went. Fuck. Maybe he didn’t even need the GPS. Maybe he has a secret tracking app on her phone in the name of safety. I don’t know.
All I know is that he’s obviously here and he’s got Evelyn.
“She’s the one, Alex. She’s the one for me. I need to save her.”
Alex looks me up and down, and for once in his life, the sarcastic cat doesn’t have anything bad to say, doesn’t have anything snarky or mean or quick-witted. Instead, he simply gives me an agreeing nod.
“I’ll get your brothers,” he says. “We’re going to find her, man. We’re going to find her.”
***
“So let me get this straight,” Wyatt says, crossing his arms over his broad chest. My oldest brother is always in control. He’s like me. He doesn’t let his guard down the way Carter does: not that Carter’s the picture-perfect example of Mr. Right. It did take him his entire life and most of his 20s to finally admit to Savannah Bertrand that he loved her. Now they’re happily married and raising their son together, but it took a long time to get there.
Wyatt is more like me.
Wyatt is careful, but when he finds what he’s looking for, he goes after it. He went after Hope and I’m going to go after Evelyn. I’m going to save her. I have to.
I’ve only known her for a few hours, but already, I can’t imagine my life without her happy smile and her sweet personality. Already, I can’t imagine going back to my empty world.
“You saved a girl,” he says.
“Edwards saved her, technically.”
Wyatt raises an eyebrow and Carter rolls his eyes.
“Not the time for modesty,” Carter says.
“You saved a girl,” Wyatt repeats. “Fell in love with her over the course of a few hours, freaked out and had to shift, went and ran around in the woods for a little while, and now she’s gone. Did I miss anything?”
“Her ex-boyfriend is an abusive asshole. I think he took her.”
“Any evidence?” Carter asks quietly. He’s always been the soft-hearted one. Yeah, Wyatt’s soft for Hope, but she’s the only one who gets to see his tender side. Carter would serve his heart up on a platter if he thought it would make someone happy.
“I smelled him.”
“Good enough for me,” Wyatt says. “Where should we start?”
“That was Edwards,” Alex says, rejoining the group. He shoves his cell phone in his pocket. “I asked him about any stray cars.”
“Stray cars?” Now it’s my turn to look confused.
“You know,” Alex says. “Like a stray cat, but a car.”
“That doesn’t even make any sense,” Wyatt juts in.
“Honeypot is a small fucking town, man. If anyone knew is hanging around, even if they’re lurking, he’s going to notice the damn car.”
“He’s right,” I say, and Alex shoots me a grateful look. I’m not sure what’s been going on with him lately. He and Selena, Savannah’s twin sister, have been seeing each other. Sort of. Maybe they’re just sleeping together. I’m not really sure. Either way, it’s got Alex all tied up in knots and he’s more edgy, tired, stressed.
I feel bad for the cat. Not only does he have plenty of work to do around the ranch, but he’s trying to manage a relationship, too. Wyatt and Carter make it look easy. Alex and I are more realistic.
“What did he say, Alex?” I ask.
“He was at home, asleep. He’s going to rouse the crew, though.”
I’m itchy from standing still for so long. It’s only been about half an hour since I noticed Evelyn missing, but it feels like forever. She must be so scared. Fuck. She must be so afraid. She’s brave as hell and she’d never admit if she was actually nervous, but I feel like I’ve known her forever.
I feel like she’s meant to be mine.
Dustin doesn’t deserve her. He didn’t take care of her. She should be my bride, instead, my darling.
“Where would they go?” Carter asks. “If this guy is as tricky as you say, he’s not going to just take off. He’s going to be smart about what he does, where he goes. He’s going to try to be unnoticed.”
“What about Hampton’s Farm?” I ask. It’s an abandoned farm not far from our ranch. To my knowledge, no one has lived there for years, but the farmhouse still stands. My brothers and I used to sneak in there and play in the house as cubs, but the thought of anyone taking Eve there freaks me out.
Fuck, Evelyn. Where is she?
My inner bear threatens to come out again. He’s lingering at the surface of my consciousness, waiting to take over, waiting to turn me, waiting for me to let him in. I’m about to lose control again, but this time, there’s no way I’m going to actually be in control of my bear. I’m already spiraling, already falling.
Evelyn made me feel alive, special, wanted, and useful. For the time in my life, I felt useful. I felt needed. I felt like nothing in my upbringing mattered.
“There’s no way,” Wyatt says. “He’s not from around here and unless he happened by it on his way, he wouldn’t know it’s there. No, my bet is on town.”
“I’m going to go wake the girls,” Carter says. “I�
�ll get Mom and Dad up, too. It’s early, but fuck sleeping in. They can get up and help us search. The more scenters we have on the case, the better.” He turns and runs toward my parents’ cabin, ready to fill them in on what’s been happening.
I run through everything Evelyn said about Dustin, everything she told me about him. He always tried to isolate her, but couldn’t completely. She was too strong, untamable. He pulled her away from her family and friends, but she never stopped hoping things would change. She never broke.
He wanted to take her away from everything she knew, he wanted to make her his. He wanted to claim her, mark her. A guy like Dustin isn’t going to be heading back to South Claw. Not tonight. Maybe not ever. If he thinks anyone will report Evelyn as missing, he won’t head back until he’s sure she’ll go along with his lies, until he’s sure she’ll play her role as the good girlfriend and say they were on some romantic rendezvous together.
No, he’s going to take her somewhere secluded, somewhere he can get to quickly from here, somewhere they can hide in plain sight.
“Oh my dragons,” I say, and all eyes turn to me. “I know where he’s taken her. I know where they are.”
Chapter 10
Evelyn
I count silently to a hundred in my head, then back down to zero, then up to two hundred. Then I repeat the process again and again, trying to stay away. I think of every word, every touch, every precious moment I spent with Micah. I think of everything he told me. I think of the way he made me feel.
I don’t know if I’m ever going to see him again. I don’t know if my car is still in his parking lot or if Dustin took it, trying to make my abduction look like I just continued on my journey. All I know is that there’s no way for Micah to find me, no way for him to track me, no way for him to figure out that Dustin took me to the place that started it all.
It’s genius, really: hiding at an old motel. Jason made it seem like this place has been under construction for so long that no one even really notices it anymore. I wonder why it shut down, why it’s no longer in use. If I had to guess, I’d say this place used to be busy all the time. Despite the situation I’m in, I hope that someday, this little motel is booming again. I hope the owner gets everything in order and is able to turn this into a wonderful place for visitors to stay.
But mostly, most of all, I hope I don’t fall asleep.
I can feel Dustin’s eyes on me, but I keep mine closed. I’m in a weird position and my body hurts from staying still for so long, but I refuse to let him know I’m awake. I refuse to talk to him. I refuse to acknowledge what he did to me: what he’s doing to me.
He’s hurting me.
Again.
More.
What the fuck is wrong with me that I ever thought a man like Dustin could love anyone? Forget the curves and the homely appearance: he was never interested in any woman, much less me. It has nothing to do with my looks. Dustin is just insane.
“I know you’re awake,” his voice tears into my thoughts, and my breath catches, giving me away. I tried so hard to keep my breathing even and normal, hoping he wouldn’t notice.
I feel the hard point of his finger shove into my forehead, and my eyes open instinctively. He’s staring at me, glaring. His eyes look black, evil. I don’t open my mouth, don’t say anything. I just look at him.
Dustin isn’t even six feet tall. He’s much smaller, physically, than Micah. He has a smaller presence, too. I get the feeling that Micah really lights up the room when he’s in it. Dustin doesn’t. Dustin slinks around the corners, hiding in the shadows. He behaves at parties the way he behaves in life.
“I bet you’re wondering how I found you,” he sneers, sounding proud of himself. I keep my eyes open, but take a deep breath. In and out. In and out. I have to keep breathing. If I panic, if I can’t focus and I stop breathing, he won’t save me. He’ll just hurt me more. He’ll just get mad I inconvenienced him and his plan for me, whatever that plan might be.
I don’t see any horrible implements of torture, so I have a feeling I know what he’s got planned. We are in a motel, after all.
I don’t fear for my life. I probably should, but I don’t. Dustin is a grade-A asshole, but he’s not a murderer. He’s not going to kill me. No, he’s just going to take the thing I refused to give up to him while we were dating. He’s going to take what I claimed I wanted to wait for marriage for.
He’s going to take my virginity.
I’ve never had sex before. It’s not a religious thing or a prude thing. I just always really wanted my first time to be special, magical. Don’t most girls? I think most girls get over that idea by the time they’re finished with high school, but somehow, I never did. Somehow, I kept hoping I’d find someone who made me feel like I could fly.
And then I met Dustin.
I never wanted to have sex with him. Weird, right? Everyone assumed we were sleeping together since we lived in the same place, but we weren’t. We were waiting. We were waiting and it was because I wanted to: not because he agreed with me.
I can see that my leaving pushed Dustin over the edge.
“Answer me!” He says, poking me again in the forehead, hard.
“H-H-How did you find me?” I manage to ask the question, but why am I stuttering? Oh, fuck, am I shaking? I realize that I’m more afraid than I thought I would be. I’m more scared than I should be.
Dustin isn’t who I thought he was.
He’s a stranger to me.
My mom always warned me about strangers when I was a kid. She always said not to get in cars with strangers, not to take candy from strangers, not to talk to strangers. What happens when the stranger is someone you know, though? What happens when the stranger in your life is someone you thought you could trust? What happens when the stranger is someone you thought you loved?
What happens then?
Dustin starts pacing back and forth in the room, and I once more focus on my breathing.
Maybe Micah will find me.
Maybe not.
I want to think he’ll come save me, rescue me, take me away from all of this. I want to believe he’ll realize I’m missing, that I never would have run from him. I want to believe he knows I see him for who he is. He’s different. He’s not the same as Dustin, not the same as anyone else I’ve ever known.
“You gave me all your passwords,” he says with a sneer. “It wasn’t hard to track the addresses you were putting in. You stopped for gas and used your GPS to find a gas station. That was my first stop. I was probably only an hour behind you at any given point. And then when you went to that fucking farm, I knew. I knew it was time for you to come home.”
His voice sounds different. He sounds creepy. He sounds messed up.
“You thought you were going to be able to get away from me?” He laughs darkly. “Stupid fucking Evelyn: always the dreamer. You are never, ever getting away from me again.”
He sounds like the façade of good-boy Dustin is gone. He’s not the boy-next-door I thought he was. He’s not anything like the person I thought he was. Me leaving might have been his breaking point, but now he’s so far gone I don’t know what he’s capable of.
And with the realization that the Dustin I knew has vanished, I start to feel really, truly scared.
And I start to cry.
Chapter 11
Micah
There’s a dim glow coming from inside the motel room. I can see the edges of the light shining through the crack beneath the door. A human might never notice it. A human might think he’s covered his tracks.
But I’m no human.
“He’s in there,” Alex says from next to me. “I can smell him.”
“What’s the plan, boss?” Wyatt says from my other side. I look at him and raise my eyebrow. Boss? Wyatt’s never called me “boss” in my entire life. “She’s your girl, Micah. We do this your way,” he says, as if that explains everything.
As if that makes what’s happening okay.
I take a de
ep breath, focusing on staying calm, but my bear is right back beneath the surface. I can’t shove him to the back of my mind anymore. Not when my mate is on the line. Not when this is my only shot at saving her.
I can fucking smell Evelyn in the motel room. I can smell her fear, her anxiety. We need to get in there now, but we need to do it delicately. That’s what always happens in the movies, right? You call in the cops, you call in the hostage negotiators, you call in all the specialists. You talk the bad guy down from the ledge, careful to make sure he doesn’t hurt the girl.
That’s how this works, right?
Well fuck that fucking shit.
“Here’s the plan,” I growl, and then, for the second time in one night, I shift without shedding my clothes. I can hear the sound of the fabric tearing as I change into my bear form, and I run forward, bursting the door down.
“What the hell?” I hear my brother say from behind me, but Alex is all about it.
“Fuck yeah!” He hollers.
When I see what’s inside the room, I growl again. Dustin Fuckface has Evelyn pinned to the bed. She’s on her back with her wrists bound in front of her. Her legs are spread and he’s trying to take her pants off.
Not on my watch.
Not my mate.
Not ever.
Dustin looks up at me and I throw my body at him. He screams in surprise, but I can’t stop, won’t stop. He doesn’t get to do this. He doesn’t get to hurt Evelyn.
He never gets to touch her again.
We tumble into the wall beside the bed, the one that leads into the bathroom. Only now we’re in the bathroom, surrounded by plywood. Dustin cries out and I know he’s injured. His arm is bent at a weird angle and the smell of urine fills the air. He’s wet himself.
“Please,” he’s crying now, and I realize he’s probably never seen a bear this close before. The fucker thinks I’m going to kill him.
Please.
Death is too good for him.