Page 80 of Escaping Wildfire

Olivia’s assistant pulled out her laptop and got to work pulling up the contacts as far as a 50-mile radius from where the girls were supposed to be picked up. From there, we found about 20 shifters and started calling. None had seen the girls, but they all agreed to keep an eye on them.

Cosmo was pacing inside my head, and it was giving me the worst headache. “You okay, man?” Jordan patted my back, and I just about jumped out of my skin.

“No, I feel useless right now. I can’t just sit here and do nothing for Gema. What if she’s out there hurt, or worse.”

I started pacing, mirroring Cosmo inside my head. The hours ticked by with no news, and Alpha had sent most of us away to sleep, but I couldn’t leave. There was no way I could sleep right now, and Cosmo was so agitated I could barely sit.

Around 3 am, we received a phone call from a female shifter who lived south of Wildfire. She had set out to search for the girls and had picked up on two unfamiliar wolf scents. She was calling to ask if there were any other shifters in the area that could help, and Olivia called up the three closest ones and sent them to the woman’s location.

Someone had brought up some coffee, and Cristian and Jordan returned around 4 am after their nap. We got them caught up, and they suggested I go get some sleep, but there would be no rest for me until my girl was found.

“Hey, just lay down on the couch here for a bit. Everyone else has at least had a nap. I know you’re worried about her, but she’s going to need you.” Jordan gestured toward the couch in Alpha’s office.

“It’s fine. I’ll just have some coffee, and I’ll sleep when we hear back from them.”

“Alright man, here, have a donut while you’re at it.” I did as he said, and we continued to wait for news. I tried distracting myself with phone games, but it wasn’t quite working. Someone pulled out a deck of cards, and we distracted ourselves with that for a while.

Finally, when it was nearing 6 am, and you could see the sun on the horizon, another phone call came into the conference phone. It was the same female from before, but this time she had some good news for us.

“We found the girls.”

“Thank Goddess,” Alpha Kedrick exclaimed.

“How are they?”

The woman on the line exhaled before speaking again. “They were in pretty bad shape from walking all night, and it looks like they fell while trying to get up the mountain, as they were both unconscious when we found them. It doesn’t look like they sustained anything life-threatening, but I’m sure they’ll need plenty of rest in the next few days before they feel like themselves again. We patched them up as best we could, but your guy has them. They’re on their way to Harvest Moon right now, and if their wolves rest up, I’m sure they’ll be somewhat healed by the time they get to you.

“Thank you for all of your help, Sable. We’ll be in touch.” With that, Olivia hung up the call.

Cosmo was still on edge, but he relaxed enough to let me sleep. It would be hours until the girls arrived at Harvest Moon, and the guys promised to wake me as soon as they made it to the border. With that, I felt peace knowing my girl had finally escaped Wildfire and was on her way to me. Just a few more hours before Cosmo and I confirmed her as our mate.

35 Reunited

NOAH

I passed out as soon as my head hit my pillow. I was beyond exhausted, but I would be up and wide awake in a heartbeat if someone told me Gema was here already. Cosmo was even more excited than I was, which I didn’t think possible. I kept having dreams about my last night in Cobalt Falls when Gema rode Cosmo as we ran through the forest. Everything about that night was fucking perfect.

I woke up on my own around noon and wasn’t able to get back to sleep. I got dressed, instead, and headed down to the dining hall. Everyone was already downstairs eating when I got there.

“Noah!” My brother, Felix, shouted excitedly. “They told us Gema was on her way, you guys got her out. I knew you could do it!” I set down my tray at my usual spot in between my two brothers.

“Yeah, she’ll be home in a few hours.” I smiled broadly at them, as I couldn’t contain my excitement.

“Have we gotten any more information from Olivia’s contact?” I asked the guys.

“Not yet, but they estimated they’d be here around 3 pm.”

“Is Gema okay?” Jasmine quietly asked.

“Yes, she was lost in the forest for most of the night and had a few scratches and bruises but nothing life-threatening.”

“That’s good.” She gave us one of her rare smiles. It was strange seeing the previously overly bubbly Jasmine lose all of her shine. Now and then, we’d catch glimpses of it, and right now was one of those rare moments.

“Hey, Noah?” Miles spoke up from my left.

“Yeah, what’s up?” I looked down at him.

“Is Wildfire going to attack Harvest Moon now?” He stared up at me with the same green eyes all the men in my family had.