Can't Be Love

by Julie Trettel

  I nodded. “I understand.’

  We first headed to a house on the outskirts of the village. He explained this was where Yutu had been taken, one of his wolves. We started there because he was the last to disappear.

  Yutu’s young mate greeted us at the door. Her small house was packed full with worried loved ones.

  “Tulok, have you found him?” she asked, her eyes wide and hopeful.

  He shook his head sadly. “I’m afraid we have no new leads yet. This is Thomas of the Collier wolves. He has some questions.”

  “I do not know anything,” the woman sobbed, as three women surrounded her, offering comfort. “He was feeling restless and said he needed to go for a run. That wasn’t abnormal; he got like that often. I was sitting on the back porch and I could feel him getting closer. He was coming home. I know he was. There was a strange howl and then nothing. His spirit started slipping further and further from me. I ran out towards the forest where he usually runs, but he kept drifting away from me. I ran and ran, but he slowly faded away and I haven’t felt his connection since. Something happened to him out there. He wouldn’t just leave like that.”

  “She called right away,” Tulok added. “It was dark by the time we arrived, and a fresh snow overnight covered any tracks that may have been there.”

  “Trackers?” I asked.

  “I brought in two, but they turned up nothing,” the old man said.

  I nodded. “Can you point me in the direction you felt him heading?”

  “Yes, of course,” the young woman said, leaving her guests and ushering me outside immediately.

  We walked around the small house and down towards the woods. She seemed confident in her actions and the direction we were headed.

  She stopped suddenly about half a mile from the house, surrounded by nothing. “This was as far as I went. By the time I arrived here, I could no longer feel our bond, yet somehow I know he’s still alive out there. Please find him and bring my Yutu home.”

  “I’ll do the best I can,” I promised. I wasn’t a tracker and I didn’t know this area, so all I really could do was promise to try.

  I advised her to head home. I knew there were others waiting who would worry about her. She hesitated but agreed. I continued walking in a logical path through the woods. Not far from where she left me, I smelled a strange metallic odor. Channeling more of my wolf senses, I let him lead me to the source of it. Coming to an abrupt stop, I dropped to my knees and began pushing snow aside.

  Tulok caught up to me just as I uncovered a small needle. I held it up and sniffed, confirming what I already knew.

  “What is it?” I asked aloud.

  Tulok took the object from me and examined it. His eyes shone with fear. I was not accustomed to seeing an Alpha afraid of anything.

  “Tranquilizer,” he whispered. “Someone shot Yutu with a tranquilizer. They must have taken off with his body, but that would reaffirm everything his mate relayed to us. It’s the only thing that makes sense.”

  I nodded. “Yes, but who? Why?”

  “That, I am not sure.”

  “She said he continued to pull away from her, but that she no longer felt his presence a few yards back. Let’s continue on and see if we can determine where they took him. It couldn’t be far. If her story is correct, he would have been here when she heard his yelp. She immediately got up and came after him. She noted he was moving away from her the entire time. It took what? Maybe fifteen minutes to get to the spot she said she turned around at? If they were dragging him, she would have walked faster than they would have been moving. Come on,” I urged him.

  We walked through the woods, following a relatively clear path.

  “This is a small creek during the summer months,” Tulok said, breaking the silence.

  We continued to follow the creek, and within a short time it opened to a clearing.

  “A helicopter could easily land here,” I noted.

  “Yes, but we’ve not seen or heard any such thing in this area recently.”

  “You don’t think we’re far enough from the village to come and go quietly by air?”

  “No, I do not,” Tulok said.

  “Okay then, they have to be around here, somewhere. It will likely be dark by the time we pull enough people together to search the area, but tomorrow at first light we start here.”

  “It’s the closest thing to a lead we have. There will be many who will wish to assist in Yutu’s search,” Tulok admitted.

  “How close to here were the bear and the puffin taken?” I asked.

  “I am not sure. We will need to go and talk to their people to find that out.”

  “Now’s as good a time as any.”

  Tulok started to turn back, but we heard some yells and cheers nearby.

  “What is that?” I asked.

  He shrugged. “Perhaps we should check it out.”

  We followed the voices, sensing no danger. It wasn’t much further until the creek opened up to the river. A group of young puffins were sledding down the hill on their stomachs. Three boys stood at the top of the hill laughing and cheering them on.

  “What’s going on?” I asked as we approached them.

  They looked at me, then to Tulok. They relaxed when they recognized him.

  “We’re just playing around. Jimmy made it all the way to the river from here. It was awesome!” one of the boys enthused.

  “That’s pretty impressive,” I admitted, seeing how far it was still to the river.

  “Who’s that, Tulok?” the youngest of the boys asked, pointing to me.

  “This is Thomas, future Alpha of the wolves of Collier Pack. He’s here to help in the search for Yutu and the others missing.”

  The boy sniffed and wiped his coat sleeve across his nose. “Lyle was taken, too. He’s my cousin.”

  “The missing puffin shifter?” I asked, and the kid nodded. “I’m real sorry to hear about your cousin. I’m going to do everything I can to help find him.”

  The kid launched himself at me, wrapping his arms around my waist. “Thank you.”

  “Hey,” I said, trying to lighten the mood. “Maybe you could help me out with something.”

  “Me?” the kid asked with curiosity.

  “Yes, you. Can you tell me where your cousin was when he was when he disappeared?”

  The boy sadly shook his head. “He was heading here to go sledding. We were supposed to come with him, but my friend’s chores weren’t done yet, so my other friends and I stayed back and helped him. Lyle wasn’t here when we arrived. He should have been, but he wasn’t. His friends”—the boy pointed down to Jimmy and the others in puffin form—“showed up a little after us. No one was all that worried, but he didn’t come home that night. Or the next. Or the next after that. Then we got word that Samson, one of the polar bears, was also missing. That happened almost a week ago. It’s like they just vanished.”

  “I promise you, kid, they didn’t just vanish, and we’re going to get to the bottom of this. Did any of you see or hear anything odd? Maybe a helicopter?” All three boys shook their head no. “Okay, well, do me a big favor. Keep your eyes and ears alert for anything or anyone strange in this area. And whatever you do, stay in groups. Do not go out alone, anywhere, until we get to the bottom of this. Promise?” They all nodded this time. “Good. There’s safety in numbers, and I don’t want anything happening to any of you.”

  I had always had a soft spot for kids. It was clear from the looks on their faces that I had frightened them, and that certainly wasn’t my intention. I needed to do something to lighten their mood or I knew it would weigh heavily on me the rest of the day.

  “Hey, I think it would be best if I knew for sure that you kids could handle yourselves out here, so I’m going to need to see your best snowball.”

  They all looked at me like I was crazy, but quickly got to work making the best snowball they could and proudly showed me.

  “Okay, now, I need to know you can do more t
han just arm yourself. I’m going to need to see those snowballs in action.”

  Before I could get out anything further, three snowballs came flying my way.

  “Oh yeah?” I asked. “That’s how it’s going to be? I was going to say let me see you take out Jimmy and his friends, but if that’s how you want to play, it’s on.”

  I ran behind a large boulder and quickly began making snowballs. I peeked over the top only to be whacked in the face with one. Squeals of laughter sounded from all around. I lobbied a few blindly over the rock. When things started to quiet some, I took off after them, my arms loaded down as I lobbed one snowball after the other. Out of nowhere a puffin slammed into me and we collapsed to the ground.

  “Get him!” one of the boys yelled as three puffins pinned me down, and the boys each chucked snowball after snowball at me. I got free and tackled two of them to the ground, tickling them as the third jumped on my back. I stood, taking all three kids with me, only to have the puffins grab hold of my legs. I made roaring sounds and walked around, probably looking much like Frankenstein, as Tulok just stood by laughing at the scene, no help whatsoever.

  That’s when I felt her. My mate. I looked around and across the river stood Lily with Amka and Karis, watching us. I felt her happiness through our bond for the first time and I started hamming it up with the kids even more.

  Lily

  Chapter 19

  Visiting with Amka and Karis was fun, but my spirits lifted and I felt happiness in a whole new way when we reached the river. They had told me it was breathtakingly beautiful, but that wasn’t it. My mate was nearby, and I was feeling him on a whole new level. It was a little similar to the first time my wolf recognized him . . .before I knew it was Thomas and things got more than a little weird.

  I looked around at the natural beauty surrounding me, and directly across the river was a group of puffins playing. Judging by the man and three boys in the middle of a snowball battle with the puffins trying to join in, I assumed they were all puffin shifters.

  The man’s laughter rang out across the open air and it made my entire body tingle. Thomas. I looked a little closer at the scene. They were still some distance away, but I could clearly see my mate attempting to walk with three kids on him, and dragging a couple of puffins trying to ride on his feet. It looked like such silly fun, and so unlike Thomas.

  “He’s always been so wonderful with children,” Amka commented.

  “He has?” I asked.

  She chuckled. “Yes, child. Thomas will make a wonderful father to your pups someday.”

  My pups? I thought. I tried hard to picture Thomas goofing off with our children as he was with these young boys. My image of Thomas didn’t fit that picture at all, but the obvious evidence in front of me said otherwise. That warm tingling feeling washed over my skin again.

  “That, Karis, is the look of true love,” Amka told her granddaughter.

  I snorted. “True love? Yeah, sure. Let’s be real, this can’t be love. That’s Thomas.”

  “Thomas, the only man your heart will ever covet,” she said with certainty.

  I sighed. Was it true? Was I falling in love with Thomas Collier? I let the thought sink in, waiting for the disgust to follow, but this time, it didn’t. What did that mean?

  “I must be heading back now to start dinner for Tulok,” Amka said.

  “Do you mind if I stay? I think I need a walk to clear my head.”

  “Of course. But keep Karis with you. She knows these woods very well.”

  I nodded, accepting her terms.

  “What’s it like?” Karis asked dreamily as we walked along the river bank.

  “What’s what like?”

  “Falling in love. Feeling the call of the mating bond.”

  “I don’t know how to describe it. If it was anyone else I’d say, amazing; life changing; pure happiness.”

  “Anyone else? I don’t understand,” Karis said.

  I shrugged. “I haven’t always liked Thomas. Okay, I called him the biggest douchebag on the planet and channeled all my hurt, anger, and pain towards him, even though I hadn’t seen him since we were kids. I was so shocked to discover he, of all people, was my true mate. I didn’t handle it very well. It’s still sort of sinking in.”

  “He’s a really good man, Lily,” Karis assured me.

  “I see that now. I wasn’t really giving him a chance.”

  “And now? Oma is right. You look at him with love in your eyes.”

  I sighed. “Maybe.”

  Seeing a series of rocks, I asked her if we could cross the river safely. She told me we could, and like two little girls we skipped across the rocks to the other side. It was a carefree, beautiful moment, and I knew the only reason I wanted to cross the river was to get back to Thomas. I was ready to face the facts. Thomas was my true mate, and he had somehow earned my heart along the way. I didn’t want to fight it anymore. I had already told him I was all in, but this time I truly, without a doubt, felt it in my heart.

  Karis chatted on as we walked. She told me about how excited she was to be going to the ARC. She confessed she’d never been outside the village and couldn’t wait to experience the world.

  No sooner had I opened my mouth to tease her about maybe finding her own true mate there than a loud pop rang out from the woods. I felt a sting of pain, and then as if from a far distance, I heard Karis scream. Another pop sounded, but I reacted quickly despite the heavy fog trying to pull me under. I jumped and covered the girl with my body, taking the sting of the second hit.

  “Lily! Lily!” she yelled.

  “Shh,” I said calmly. “They’ll be coming. Crawl to the river’s edge and hide behind that boulder. Cover yourself in snow. When it’s safe, you run. Karis, you run away from here as fast as you can and get help.” My words were coming out slower. My whole body felt like it was cast in cement. “Go now!” I managed just before the darkness pulled me under.

  When I awoke, all my senses came to full alert. It was dark, except a few lights along what I assumed was a wall. I tried to stand, but the ceiling was too short. I felt around as my eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness. Cold metal. Bars. I felt all around me, my heart sinking as I battled not to vomit. I was in a cage like an animal.

  “Hello?” I called out. “Is anyone there?”

  “It won’t do you any good,” a man’s voice replied. “They won’t be back till morning. At least I assume morning since they already brought us our dinner.”

  “Who are you?” I asked, my voice sounding stronger than I felt.

  “Yutu,” he replied.

  “Yutu? You went missing a few days ago. Thomas and I were sent here to find you. Amka explained it to me while we were delivering baked goods to her neighbors.”

  “Well, you found me,” he said with no humor in his voice.

  “Hi, I’m Lyle. I’m here, too. I’ve been here the longest. All the cages were empty when they brought me in. Samson arrived the next day, and Yutu a few days later. Now you.”

  “Who are they?” I asked.

  “Don’t know,” Lyle confessed. “Humans for sure. They’ve been taking blood, and meals come regularly. Aside from the cramped quarters, it hasn’t been that bad in here. But there are cameras everywhere, so watch what you say and do. Got it?”

  “Understood,” I said, knowing he meant don’t talk about being a shifter and do not, under any circumstances, shift.

  “Might as well try your best to get some sleep. Nothing’s going to happen till morning anyway,” Yutu said.

  Sleep eluded me throughout the night as I memorized every inch of the cage holding me captive, and the patterns of lights throughout the room. Time lost all meaning.

  I must have started dozing off at some point because suddenly the room came to life. The lights turned on, the whirring sounds of machines seemed louder, and the smell of food made my mouth water even before my eyes fully opened.

  I was surprised to see several men standing around starin
g at me. They were all in white lab coats and seemed fascinated by my addition to the other shifters. Surprise registered strongly on the face of the man in the back. He shook his head as if trying to convey something to me, but I didn’t know what he was trying to say.

  “That’s a great catch last night, Kent,” one guy said.

  “Thanks, Trevor. She’s mighty pretty,” Kent replied.

  The man at the back of the room rubbed his eyes and looked to the ceiling. “Seriously? Do you idiots have any idea what you’ve done?”

  Everyone got quiet as all heads turned towards him.

  “What?” Kent asked.

  “That’s Lily Westin! Her pack will stop at nothing to find her. Give her the memory serum and get her out of here.”

  “Dave, calm down man. It’s all good. The snow fell last night. No one can track her here,” Trevor assured him, with more confidence than he had a right to.

  I snorted before I can stop myself. “I’m happy to see my reputation precedes me. You clearly realize my family has the connections, resources, and tenacity to find me. And they will. Of that I’m certain. So, run your little tests, and play your little games quickly, because they’re coming for you. Every single one of you will pay for this.”

  I knew I shouldn’t provoke them, but sometimes things just had a way of popping out of my mouth before I could assess if they were things that should be said or not. Most of the time I didn’t care. And if it wasn’t for the challenge written all over Trevor’s face at my bravado, I wouldn’t be caring now.

  “You’re certain no one saw you take her?” Trevor asked Kent.

  Kent’s face blanched white. “Well,” he stalled.

  “Did someone see you or not? It’s a simple question,” he said, raising his voice.

  “There was a girl with her. She got away.”

  “What?” Trevor yelled, slamming down the folder he was carrying onto a nearby desk. Papers went flying.

  This seemed to bring more attention to the room as the door opened and Jacob Winthrop walked in. Jacob was Madelyn’s guardian. She had lived with him for eight years, and he’d practically raised Oscar. He was family. My breath hitched as I fought back the urge to beg for his help. I knew Jacob would get me out of this. I was going to be okay. I looked up and watched him turn a little green as he shared a look with Dave, who subtly shook his head at me.