Kat's POV:
The next morning I found myself sulking about the clinical room I'd been placed in. I had already tried leaving to find my son, but Callum - who for some odd reason seemed to have a sort of strange Kat finding sense tucked into his wolfy brain - knew exactly the moment I stepped foot out of the room.
So, here I sat. Looking at the same boring rock wall as I thought about my son. In the past few days, I don't think I really let it set in that he was actually alive and healthy. I covered my eyes as they began to water, relieved that what I'd been desperately hoping for, for the last five years had been true.
But it was a bittersweet moment in my mind. Skylar, that damn dog, had a point. I would never have been able to provide the life for Jason that these wolves did. Here, he was well fed, warm, and taken care of. An image of Jason cold, skinny, and tired entered my mind. I sighed as sadness filled me. I didn't want to admit it, but my son had done much better here than he would've ever done with me. And even if I did manage to leave here with him, I didn't think he'd last long out there. I'd had time to adjust and learn how to survive out there. My son never had to.
I shook myself, trying to get out of my depressed thoughts, and looked at the entrance of the room. There were no wolves standing watch. And Callum didn't seem to be anywhere in sight. Maybe if I made my escape from the clinic quickly, he wouldn't even know that I was gone.
Quietly, I slid out of bed. Walking toward what I considered to be the doorway of the clinic wing, I took a quick peek in either direction. Both sides of the hallway were clear, to my relief. I took a small step into the hallway. I suddenly felt a tiny rush of triumph. But that was quickly squashed when I realized I didn't have any clue of where to go.
I decided to go to the left. I tried to think of the way we'd gone when Callum had taken me above ground to clean up. I felt like some fresh air and real sunlight would do me good. The vents that let the light in just didn't do it for me, and it had to have been at least a week since I'd felt a breeze on my skin.
So, I wandered down the stoned hallway. I looked up occasionally to see if I could fit through any of the vents. It didn't look like any of them were going to work. I found myself growing agitated and paranoid. I couldn't stop looking over my shoulder, fearing that Callum would come barreling down the hallway. I started walking a little quicker, feeling as though the walls were closing in. My breath came in shorter gasps and it became harder to breathe in. I took a random turn and broke out into a run. I stop paying attention to where I was going or what tunnel I turned down as I fought for breath. A detached part of my brain told me this is what claustrophobia felt like.
I just so happened to look up as I raced down the passage and skidded to a halt. Almost directly above me was a small opening just barely big enough for me to fit through. It looked like it would still be a tight squeeze, but I didn't care about that as I jumped up to grab onto the side of the hole. I managed to pull myself up, almost getting stuck at my shoulders. But I got through up until I hit my hips. I thought I could wiggle my way out, and that worked. Up until I got my butt halfway through. I didn't think I could shimmy my way out anymore than that. That also meant, as I figured out, that I couldn't wriggle my way back down either.
"Oh, crap," I muttered to myself. Well, hopefully this couldn't get any worse. At least, that's what I was thinking when I saw a small pack of wolves roaming this area. I silently cursed to myself as I futilely attempted to wiggle my way out again. And then, mid-wiggle, I stopped as I felt hot shallow breaths on the back of my neck. The hairs on my skin stood up at attention. My hand gripped hopelessly for the knife I'd been stripped of. I slowly looked over my shoulder and felt the blood drain form my face. Bright, pale green eyes stared back at me.
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Callum's POV
I felt exhausted as I made my way down the corridor of rooms. I hadn't slept much the night before. The thought of having to leave Kat and not seeing her for a month or so had kept me up most of the night. But patrols had to be done soon, and my territory was too big to ignore that duty. I would never make fun of any of the mated males ever again.
As I made my way through the hallway, I stopped outside of Jason's room. Taking a quick peek in, I saw the small boy still sleeping as he cuddled up with a shirt I'd stolen from his mother's bag. I found it remarkable that he remembered her considering how young he'd been when Skylar had brought him home. Taking one of her shirts had been the only way I could get him to sleep in his room the last couple of nights. Jason had wanted to stay with Kat these last couple of days since she'd been admitted to the clinic for her concussion. I'd had to tell him that with her being in pain, she needed to be alone for awhile to get better and that I'd check on her for him. Which is what I was on my way to do, but I thought that Jason would want to go with me to see his mom.
I walked into his room. I took a seat on his bed and lightly gave him a little shake. "Hey sleepyhead. Wake up, we're gonna go see your mama," I said softly. I smiled down at him as he started to stir. It always amazed me how much I loved this little human being. I'd never been one for kids, but when Skylar had brought him in as a scared tiny baby everything changed that day. He'd been curled up with his face hidden against Skylar's chest. When he looked at me with his big watery blue eyes, his lower lip quivered at me and he stuck his arms out in my direction. He wanted me to hold him. Ever since then, he's been attached to my side.
I helped him get dressed and we walked down to the food area. I grabbed him an apple and then we started down the hallway to the clinic wing of my den. But the closer we got the more that I felt something was wrong. In the times I'd gone to see her before, her scent always got stronger the closer to her room I got, and while I could still smell her lingering scent, it wasn't strong and new like it should be. Before I could tell Jason to hang back and wait for me to see if she was okay, he ran forward and rounded the entryway. His face fell and he looked at me. Dread welled up in the pit of my stomach.
"She's not here, Uncle Callum," he said in a small sad voice. I walked up to where he was standing and saw her empty cot. Doc was nowhere to be found either.
"You wait here. I'll go find her." I sat him down on her bed and called for a nurse to come watch him.
I dashed down to the anteroom, where I knew most of the males would be prepping for the upcoming patrol.
"Everyone, split into groups and search the area. Jason's mother has gone missing." I wasn't to keen on telling them that the human woman was my mate. I knew some wouldn't take it well. I wanted to wait until after Kat was turned to tell them anything about my relationship with her. For now, they just knew that she was Jason's mother.
I didn't wait for the patrol group. I shifted and leaped down the hallway, towards the tunnel that would take us topside. I knew she didn't know where to go from the clinic room. There was no way she could. Especially being blindfolded when she was brought in.
I didn't slow as my toes touched soil. I propelled myself forward as I hoped to change her scent. I didn't find anything that smelled like her. I didn't think I would, I knew she didn't know her way around.
I slowed to a trot as I got farther away from the den's entrance. She couldn't be far, but I still worried that maybe she had managed to find her way out. She was smart. she'd have to be to survive out here for so long. But I put those thoughts out of my mind and stuck my nose to the ground. I found our scent mingling together from the other day. I had to admit, I liked the combination.
I followed that scent back to river, hoping that if she did happen to come this way her scent would be stronger. I trotted along the river, alternating between shoving my nose in the dirt and scanning the trees. She had to be here somewhere. I couldn't even fathom her being gone. And the thought of Jason having just been reunited with her, just for her to disappear again? Well, it broke my heart.
I continued for maybe a mile up the river. Just as I was about to turn back and head for a different route, I heard a grunt off in the distance. My ears shot toward the noise and my feet automatically followed. I didn't have to go to far into some brush when I saw the top half of her body struggling to pull her out of a small hole in the ground. I watched her arms strain as she pushed at the ground hard and felt all the tension and worry leave my body. Only to be replace with annoyance. She didn't need to be afraid of us and she didn't need to run. I already knew she would be accepted as Jason's mother. And the rest would accept her with time.
I walked up behind her and saw her stiffen as she felt my breath hit her neck. Her hand made some strange gripping motion and I wondered what she subconsciously grabbed for. My head tilted as she slowly turned toward me. Her eyes widened as they made contact with mine. Recognition flashed across her face and she relaxed. We stared at each other for a moment, and then she sighed.
"I'm stuck," she said in an embarrassed tone. I couldn't help but bark out a yelp of laughter at the defeated look on her face. Her brow furrowed and she made a half-hearted attempt at slapping me.
"Will you please help me out?," she grumbled.
I yapped my agreement and started pawing at the ground close to her butt where she was stuck. I didn't want to get to close and have her think I was just trying to touch her but, even though I wanted to. But I needed to get in there to make some room for her to squeeze the rest of the way out. I tentatively pulled at the dirt. When she didn't say anything, I dug more aggressively. I got purposefully too close and my toes brushed her butt and she jumped. She shot me a dirty look and I swear I felt the daggers. I just gave her a wolfy grin and continued to dig. After a couple of minutes and working diligently , she was able to lift herself out of the hole. She let out a sigh of relief. I, on the other hand, was still annoyed with her. She had some explaining to do.
As she stretched out on the ground and breathed deeply, I walked over to her and stuck my snout in her face. She stared up at me, and I felt myself get locked into her beautiful green eyes. If I had been in my human form, I would have kissed her. As the though crossed my mind, I leaned into her. She surprised me when she wrapped an arm around my furry neck, and I layed down next to her. I could have sat there with her forever. I realized in that moment, that if this woman would ever allow it, I would change her and make her my mate in every way I could. And come hell or high water, I would make her fall in love with me.
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