Page 46 of Escaping Wildfire
I went over to the walk-in closet where I hid the phone and handed it to Larkin. “Do you have a charger for it?” I asked as he turned it over in his hand. “Yeah, it’s the same one as my phone.” He walked to the living room, came back with a charging cord, and plugged in my phone. “You can call as soon as it’s back on, but we’ll stay in the room with you while you talk.” I nodded in understanding. I was really going to get to talk to the boys in just a few minutes.
I felt sick and excited all at once, and my hands started to sweat. I wish I could tell Jasmine about this, but I promised Larkin and Nora I’d keep their secret. The phone was taking what felt like forever to charge, and I kept my eyes on the green circle as it swirled around the zero percent. Once it hit one, Larkin started the phone up and waited for the phone to load before handing it to me. “You said your brother, right?”
“Yes.” I had debated between calling Noah or Cristian, but I thought that I would immediately burst into tears as soon as I heard Noah’s voice, so Cristian was the safer option between the two.
“Go ahead and call then.”
I pulled up my brother’s contact and waited as the phone rang. There was no response. It was mid-morning by now, so I wondered what my brother could be doing. “He isn’t answering, can I try another number?” Larkin nodded, and I dialed Noah’s number, but he also did not respond. My heart sank, and I feared the worst.
‘It’ll be fine, it’s early, maybe they’re in training and don’t have their phones on them.’ Amora attempted to calm me down.
‘That’s a good point, you’re likely right.’ I took a deep breath and clutched at my phone as it continued to charge, and I continued sending up my prayers to Moon Goddess that the boys would respond or call back.
NOAH
We had taken to our places in the Harvest Moon Pack quite easily, but Alpha Kedrick still treated us like privileged rank trainees. He said he wanted to keep our skills sharp for when we took back Cobalt Falls. Sometimes, I had the energy to believe him that we’d get our pack back, but today was not one of those days.
This morning, Alpha Kedrick had us study the territory maps. He wanted us to know where the territories of every shifter type were located by memory as we were still looking for the cat contact and were considering scouting the different territories for a cat shifter who held rank.
Alpha Kedrick went to help with training this morning as we had gotten a few wolf packs to send members for training. Gamma Isaiah and Luna Ellis needed the extra help, so he let us use the conference table in his office to study.
We were quizzing each other on the territories, as we heard Cristian’s phone buzz. He didn’t even look at it before shutting off the ringer. “Ignoring calls? Have you been giving your number out again?” I raised my eyebrows at him in question.
He ran a hand through his hair and sighed, “No, I learned my lesson the hard way, one-night stands don’t get my number.” He shook his head and winced before continuing. “I might have left my phone unattended at dinner a few nights ago, though…and Evie texted herself my number. She’s been calling…and texting ever since.” He looked away and cringed at his negligence with his phone.
Jordan clapped his hands as he laughed at Cristian’s predicament. “That’s hilarious, so she’s been trying for a booty call, or what? She sure did move on from Noah quick enough.” He pointed at me.
“She probably figured our boy, Cristian, here’s a sure thing.” I laughed along with Jordan as I clapped Cristian on the back.
“Hey, I haven't touched her.” He raised his hands in surrender.
“Yet.” Jordan cut in.
Before I could say anything else, I heard my phone buzz from the other side of the table where I left it, but it stopped before I picked it up.
“Holy Shit!” I stared at my screen thinking my eyes were playing tricks on me. “Gema! It says Gema just called.”
“What!?” Jordan came over to look at the screen, and Cristian fumbled to get his phone out of his pocket.
“Do you think it’s really her? Should we call back?” The three of us stared at each other contemplating our next move when Cristian’s phone started ringing again.
“It’s Gema.” He stared at his phone, transfixed.
“Answer it!” I yelled.
He took a deep breath before hitting accept and holding the phone up to his ear. “Hello.”
“Cristian!?” My wolf hearing allowed me to hear her shaky voice on the other end of the line. It’s really her.
“Put it on speaker.” I rushed over to his side as he clicked on the speaker.
“Gema, how are you calling us? Where are you? Are you okay, are you safe?” He said it all in one breath.
“I’m at the Wildfire pack house, they’re keeping me locked up here, but I’m safe. They aren’t hurting me.” Relief washed over me at the sound of Gema’s voice, and Cosmo started prancing around in my head for the first time since Gema was taken.
“I made some friends, and they helped me call you.”
“Are the others safe? Jasmine and Jade?” Jordan asked.