"Who's watching her Alec?" Greyson lodged the phone between his ear and shoulder while he pulled his shoes on. She would be released immediately, and he would spend the following days begging for her forgiveness. Not that it was deserved. He should have trusted his wolf. The Alpha inside was tormenting him with his howls to claim his mate.
"David." His steps faltered when he reached the door, one hand rested over the handle but did not push it down. That couldn't be right.
"David joined the search for the missing hunter an hour after you left. Clark's wife went into labor, he dropped from the search. David asked to take his place. He told me nothing about watching Marie." Alec's silence unnerved him.
"Greyson...you have to get over there now. If she was a hunter...Damn it! We've done worse to hunters before, David probably thought she'd be fine."
"What the hell did you do Alec?! " His Alpha power tore through the connection and nearly brought Alec to his knees.
"I only told David that she was tied up, to release her in a couple hours. But we left all the windows open in the cabin... I only planned it to be a couple hours. If David had known, I'm sure he wouldn't have left. Hell, he may have even let her go before --" The thunderous growl of his Alpha silenced anything more he would have said.
"If she is dead, you would do well to not return here." He severed their connection when his hand tightened the phone within his fist, The cheap plastic shattered and rained on the floor at his feet. The doors already damaged hinges could not take another attack and easily ripped from the frame when he pulled it open. It was no matter to him, as soon as the night's frostbitten air touched his flesh, his wolf took charge, transforming through the air as he leaped from the porch.
The beauty of his slick brown fur cut threw the white snow, kicking small blizzards of it up behind his enormous paws. He crossed the mile to the cabin in mere seconds, howling sadly when he noted the windows still open and no light visible from within. Both ears perked to pick up some remnants of life. But there was none. The remaining trek towards the door was slower, his head hung low with soft whimpers, afraid of what he might find within.
But wouldn't he have felt something? Some sort of pain or the remaining slip of connection between them severed?
He felt nothing.
This alone moved him forward with new conviction, using his snout to push the door open and walk inside. Nothing, there was nothing here. The chair where she had been tied was empty, loosened rope sat in a heap around the legs. She had escaped. But how?
He didn't care to figure that out at the moment. He needed to find her. There was no way she'd be able to survive in the forest in these conditions. There was little relief when he noticed she stripped the bed of linens and took the flint that had been sitting on the hearth. She was human; she would die out there alone.
The air still held her faint scent, leading him to one of the back windows. He only took a couple sniffs of the windowsill before he jumped through, easily tracking her steps through the snow. Something ticked in the back of his mind; his human side trying to draw his attention but his wolf was too far in control, frantically searching for his mate. How far could she have possibly gone? Was she still alive? A soft whimper tore at him just thinking about the possibility that she wasn't.
His wolf tracked her for several hours. She must have escaped shortly after Alec left to have come this far in. That worried him even more and drove his paws harder into the ground. At one point her track suddenly stopped, forcing him to circle the area several times before picking it up again. It was an odd break, nearly 12ft in difference from one set to the other. Not long after the split he caught sight of fire glow. Moving closer allowed him to catch her scent and the faint sound of her heartbeat. She was alive!
The high emotions from finding her gave his human enough push to pull his wolf back and shift. Steam rose from his naked chest revealing the true heat of his body against the winter bite.
"Marie?" When he did not receive a response, he knelt beside her and gently rolled her to her back. She was very pale, her skin cold to the touch, eyes closed tight with no hint of movement. His fingers gently caressed the curve of her smooth cheek, trying to urge some response from her. Nothing came, and he nearly wept into her hair as he gathered her close.
If she wasn't already suffering from hypothermia, she would be soon. No time was wasted in lifting her limp frame, holding him close to the natural heat of his flesh while he started back to their camp. He wasn't sure how long he'd been running with her but soon enough felt the reconnection of his mind, link back to his pack. They were close.
Doc, Veirae...come to my house. I need your help. Marie is ill.
Before, he had left the care of Marie to Veirae, Doc's assistant, but now that he knew who she was, he wasn't taking any chances. Given the Alpha command, he knew the two would be waiting at his cabin and anxiously approached it, shoving the door open with his shoulder. Some of the men must have replaced it while he was out. Strangely enough, this sort of thing was common amongst them. Destroying objects was easily done when your wolf was trying to take control.
Doc?
Upstairs Greyson. Bring her to your room.
He easily took the stairs two at a time, rushing into his room to gently lay his mate down on the bed. "Step back and go get dressed while I look at her."
There was hesitation from the Alpha. He just found her, was very close to losing her and he wanted him to leave? "No"
"With all due respect Alpha, I did not ask you. Lingering like that will only get in my way. Now go..."