Laurie's Wolves

by Becca Jameson

  “Right. Forgot about that.”

  “But when she settled in at the hospital in Sojourn, the rumors died down. People sort of left her alone. And I’m not sure anyone around here fully realizes about Melinda, Trace, and Keegan. They just keep a lower profile in public.”

  “I suppose it would have helped if we hadn’t come down from the mountain that first day practically mauling each other.”

  “Even that might have been fine if you had run into anyone other than that particular kid working in the rental area. Caleb Parker is a member of the same church as that woman in there defending Brock—Hazel. Hell, Brock is too. And I think that other woman who defended you is also.”

  “Mary?” Laurie sat on the bench next to Sharon and pulled on her socks and the borrowed tennis shoes.

  “Yeah.” Sharon handed her a sweatshirt. “It’s cold.”

  Laurie blew out a breath as they both stood. “I wish I could simply hide somewhere until everything dies down.”

  “You can if you want. I’ll find you a secret corner.”

  “No.” She sighed. “Easier to keep busy and hold my head high.”

  “You’re stronger than I would be under the circumstances. I envy you that.” Sharon led the way out of the ladies’ room and back to the main area of the lodge.

  Corbin and Zach both rushed over when the two women walked in.

  “You okay?” Zach asked.

  Laurie nodded.

  “Laurie?” A small voice to Laurie’s right called to her.

  She turned to find Mary stepping into her space. “I’m truly sorry. I’ve been a bitch.”

  Laurie nodded, speechless.

  “I’d love it if you’d help me corral the kids for a game. They’re restless all over the room, and their parents are worn out.”

  “Do you work here?” Laurie asked.

  “No. I’m just trying to help. Several of the little ones go to my preschool.”

  “Okay.” She turned to face her mates. Both frowned at her, obviously not as quick to forgive. Or trust. “I’ll be fine.” She grabbed each of their forearms and gave a quick squeeze. “Go find something to do.”

  Before they could protest, she followed Mary across the giant room to an area where several smaller kids were running around screaming.

  “I really am sorry. When this is all over, we need to talk.”

  Laurie nodded at the woman. At least someone seemed to have found a grain of sense finally.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Zach stood against an inside wall of the great room in the lodge, arms crossed, watching his mate sleep on a mat on the floor. She’d been restless for hours, but finally she’d fallen asleep, and it was so peaceful watching her that he couldn’t imagine why he was in such a foul mood still.

  A few men had stayed in a back room with Brock when he regained consciousness. And that woman Hazel from the crazy church. Lucky bastard, because if Zach had set eyes on him again during the night, he might have started a brawl.

  It was bad enough the guy was inside the building. As soon as it was possible for people to leave, that jackass would be the first to go. And he wouldn’t be welcome to return in this lifetime either.

  “You okay, honey?” Zach’s mom set a hand on his shoulder and leaned against the wall next to him.

  “Yeah.”

  “I’m sorry the first few weeks of your mating are so crazy hectic.” She wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug.

  “I’m not sure it’s a coincidence.”

  She lifted her gaze as she released him. “You may be right. Your father and I have been discussing this. I don’t see how it’s possible for all three of my oldest sons to mate in threes and experience such high levels of angst without there being a reason. Something beyond our control and out of our comprehension.”

  “I agree.”

  “What does Laurie think?”

  “She left town because she believed she brought all these problems to the area as opposed to the other way around. I think she’s starting to see reason. She has a purpose. Not sure what it is, but I believe Fate brought her here to solve problems, not create them.”

  “How did you get to be so wise?” She patted his chest and smiled broadly.

  Zach’s father rounded the corner. “There you are.” He beamed at his mate and held up his phone. “I’ve had contact with the occupants of all six cabins. They’re fine, but good and stuck. The snow has finally let up. We need to send a team of men to dig them out.”

  “We’re going to have a lot of work to do on the slopes too,” Zach added.

  Adam nodded. “I already have several guys lined up to make their way to the upper lodge and get the snow groomers going. If we run all four of them for a few hours in the early morning, we should be able to open at least the west slopes by about ten. Assuming it doesn’t start snowing like that again.”

  Zach looked at his watch. “We should probably get up there then. It’s already seven o’clock.”

  His father nodded. “I agree. I’ll gather the men.”

  Zach stared at his mate again for several seconds and then glanced around, looking for Corbin. He didn’t readily see him. “Corbin.”

  “Yep.” Even through their connection, he sounded tired.

  “I’m going to the upper lodge with some men to get the slopes open and dig out the guests in those smaller cabins. They’re trapped.”

  “I’ll come with you.”

  “No. Stay here with Laurie. She’s sleeping finally in the middle of a pile of kids.”

  “I saw that. I’ll make my way in that direction.”

  “I’ll touch base with you in a while, then.” Zach pushed off the wall and headed for the front doors to meet up with the others who would be heading up the mountain.

  »»•««

  When Laurie woke up from her spot on the floor, she cringed at the crick in her neck and the tingling in her left arm, which had fallen asleep under her face. She sat up and looked around. Most of the children were still asleep—not surprising considering the hour they had finally succumbed to exhaustion.

  She pulled herself to standing and glanced around the room. Many of the adults were gathering their belongings and stuffing them into backpacks. The room was bright from the sun beating in through the wall of windows facing the slopes. She couldn’t believe she’d slept that long. As she scanned the room for her mates, she spotted Corbin sitting on one of the sofas near the fireplace, rolling the kinks out of his neck.

  She grinned as she picked her way through the throng of people toward her mate. “Where’s Zach?” she asked as she eased onto the couch next to Corbin.

  “He went up the mountain about four hours ago to help dig out the stranded guests in the cabins.”

  Laurie lifted her face to glance out the wall of windows facing the slopes. She shivered and rubbed her arms, though it wasn’t cold next to the fire at all. “What time is it?”

  Corbin sat up straighter. “Almost ten. The snow stopped a few hours ago. The roads just got cleared. People are starting to leave. But others are going to start arriving. The conditions will be awesome up there today with all that powder.”

  Laurie stood rooted in her spot, still staring at the slopes. She wrapped her arms around her body and then flinched when the lift in her line of vision jerked to life. She inched forward slowly, toward the windows.

  “You okay, babe?” Corbin’s voice behind her sounded farther away than it should have.

  Drawn as if she were a magnet, she climbed over people and their belongings to get to the windows. She couldn’t take her eyes off the lift. Two men were working feverishly at the bottom, one on each side of the seats, knocking the snow off the black leather as they went by. A line of skiers had formed at the bottom already.

  Laurie’s heart beat rapidly. She swallowed hard. Something wasn’t right. The world around her was oblivious, but she knew something was off.

  “Laurie?” Corbin set a hand on her back, making her
nearly jump out of her skin. She ignored him and squinted at the base of the mountain.

  There. Behind the ski-lift operators.

  She dropped her arms and ran full out toward the glass door. As she shoved through it, she kept her gaze on the black aura. It was completely formed and hovering among the machinery that operated the lift. No one seemed to notice a thing.

  But Laurie did.

  “Shit,” Corbin muttered at her back, racing along behind her.

  Carlie and Adam stood at the base of the lift talking to the men who held brooms and were using them to beat the snow off the seats.

  Laurie lifted her gaze up the mountain. Nothing looked out of place, but she knew in her gut it wasn’t safe to get on that lift. She ran faster.

  “Carlie,” she yelled as soon as she thought she would be heard over the machinery and the chattering of skiers.

  Adam turned around first, his hand on his mate’s arm. He frowned as he met Laurie’s gaze. Both of Zach’s parents stepped toward her, meeting her several yards from the lift. “What’s the matter?” Adam asked.

  Laurie was out of breath. “You can’t send skiers up there!”

  “Why not?” Carlie grabbed Laurie’s arm to steady her. “Honey, what’s the matter?”

  Corbin set his hand on her back. “Babe?”

  “I don’t know.” She stared past them at the lift where the black aura still hovered. While she watched, it sucked in on itself and disappeared.

  She shuddered.

  “Laurie?” Corbin rounded to her side and grabbed her chin. “What is it?”

  “The spirits.”

  “I saw it. What does it mean?”

  “No idea. But my gut tells me not to send skiers up the mountain. Not now. It’s not safe.” She shifted her gaze to Adam.

  He crossed his arms and tapped his lips with two fingers.

  “Adam?” Carlie turned toward him. “We have to listen to her.”

  “I know.” His shoulders slumped. He blew out a breath. “Who wants to tell the skiers?” He didn’t wait for a response. His question wasn’t meant to be answered. He owned the resort. He would handle it. Instead, he turned around and took quick strides back to the base of the lift.

  Laurie remained where she was with Corbin and Carlie and watched as Adam spoke to the operators who lifted shocked faces as he passed them both and reached for the large red button behind them to shut down the lift.

  He turned toward the line of skiers and lifted a hand. “Can I have everyone’s attention?”

  The group inched closer, their voices lowering to a manageable level of chatter Adam could speak over.

  “I’m sorry. But we’re going to have to delay opening this morning.”

  People groaned. Several shouted questions.

  “Why?”

  “How long?”

  “The snow’s perfect.”

  Adam continued, “I’m not sure how long. My groomers are working as fast as they can, but they aren’t quite ready at the top yet. Please be patient. I want everyone to have an enjoyable day, but safety comes first. I know you’re all anxious to hit the powder. Why don’t you come inside for a bit, and I’ll see if I can get some more details on how much longer it will be.”

  Grumbling skiers turned away from the lift and stacked their gear against several of the closest ski racks. Most of them remained outside, staring up at the mountain with their hands shadowing their eyes.

  Laurie felt awful for them. She could see the exact same thing they saw. Perfect conditions. Excellent weather.

  But her instinct still screamed at her not to let anyone get on that lift.

  “What should we do?” Carlie asked.

  “I don’t know,” Laurie mumbled. She met Carlie’s gaze head on. “I don’t know,” she repeated.

  »»•««

  Zach lifted his face toward the sky fifteen minutes later and shook his head in disbelief. How could it possibly snow any more than it already had? The average monthly snowfall for the resort in December was typically about twenty inches. He was pretty sure they had exceeded that level in the last week—over half of it last night.

  Whatever Mother Nature was trying to prove, She was speaking loud and clear. She just wasn’t making any sense.

  Did She want something? He’d gladly hand it over if he knew what it was. He was getting the feeling She wanted a human sacrifice or something. And frankly, he had a few people in mind he would gladly offer.

  He smirked and plunged his shovel back into the bank of snow again. The other three men helping him dig out the cabin were working as quickly as he was. At the rate they were working, it would take them the entire blasted day to get to every cabin. They had been working four hours and they were only on the third cabin. They needed more hands. The snow was packed in tight. Even if they only made a path to the front door of this one, they were going to be exhausted soon. None of them had slept much.

  A noise made him lift his head and turn toward the rising sun. The snow groomers were hard at work clearing the slopes above them. They were almost done. The slopes looked amazing. A small part of Zach envied the first skiers who were going to enjoy this gorgeous day while he worked his ass off digging out trapped guests.

  But something was off.

  A loud crack sounded. And then another. The groomers were still moving. He could hear them clearly. They had no idea there was any other noise in the area. The machines were too loud.

  The other three men righted themselves.

  “What was that?” one of them asked.

  “No idea,” replied another man.

  Another sharp sound, like ice breaking.

  Zach’s body crawled with fear. He knew that sound. He’d heard it once before. He dropped his shovel and screamed, “Avalanche.”

  The other three men twisted to look at him.

  “Run. Fucking run for the backside of the cabin.”

  They all four scrambled to get to the cabin. It was half buried in snow itself, but at least the side facing down the slope would be a small protection against the deluge of snow that was sure to come crashing all around them in just a few seconds.

  Zach was the farthest from the cabin. It wasn’t an easy task trying to free himself from the hole he’d dug and climb over the fresh powder to get to safety.

  A loud roaring filled his ears—like a freight train barreling toward him. When he lifted his gaze up the mountain, he could see why. A wall of snow was tumbling full force in his direction. He didn’t have enough time. He glanced at the cabin, noticed his other three men were almost there, and stopped in his tracks.

  Think. He couldn’t decide the best course of action. He was trapped. On instinct, he grabbed his shovel out of the hole he’d been digging, flipped it on end, and jabbed the handle into the snow. His hope was that the blade would stick out of the powder and help his people know where he’d been buried.

  And then he took two strides to the closest thick tree trunk, jumped behind it, and wrapped his arms around the thick bark.

  Please God…

  At the last second, he called out to his mates. “Avalanche. Not gonna make it. Love you both.” He took one more peek at the wall of snow heading his way, grabbed the trunk with all his strength, and closed his eyes tight.

  He tucked his face down inside his slightly unzipped coat, hoping for a few minutes of air when all was said and done.

  And then the snow hit him so fast he didn’t have time for another thought.

  He held tight to the trunk, but the force was too much. In a moment, he was shrouded in total darkness. He lost his grip and fell backward, tumbling with the snow for several yards.

  He couldn’t breathe. The air was ripped from his lungs.

  Just as suddenly he stopped, his head slamming into something.

  And then nothing.

  ∙•∙

  Corbin stared in horror as he lifted his face up the mountain, realizing immediately what was happening.

  “What is it
?” Laurie asked. She grabbed his arm, squeezing it hard.

  He couldn’t hear the telltale roaring of the avalanche yet, but he knew in seconds it would follow the giant plume of snow lifting into the sky at the crest.

  “Jesus,” Laurie muttered as they both helplessly watched the wall of whiteness plowing down the mountain from near the upper lodge.

  She flattened a hand over her mouth and gasped. A loud sob escaped her lips. “No,” she screamed.

  Corbin grabbed her by the arm and tugged her against his body. He buried his face in her shoulder and let out cry of angst.

  “No,” she said again, her shoulders slumping. “No.” She shook her head back and forth. “Zach,” she screamed through their connection.

  Corbin shouted into his head also. “Zachary.”

  “Avalanche. Not gonna make it. Love you both.” And then nothing.

  Laurie shuddered in Corbin’s arms.

  He wrapped his body around hers and held her tight.

  “This can’t be happening.” She shook her head again, back and forth without stopping. “This can’t be what Fate had in mind for us. I can’t believe it. I won’t.” She stomped her foot.

  Adam stepped up behind them. “Lord.”

  Corbin lifted his face from Laurie’s shoulder and met Carlie’s gaze. He swallowed.

  She shook her head the same way Laurie had. “Oh, God.”

  “I’m sorry, Mrs. Masters.”

  “No.”

  “We’ll find him.” Laurie tore herself from Corbin’s arms and ran toward the ski lift. “Come on,” she shouted. “Let’s get up there.”

  “Laurie.” Corbin raced toward her and grabbed her by the arm.

  “Don’t. We need to hurry. Every second counts.”

  “It does. And we’re going up, babe. But we need coats. Gloves. Hats. Boots.”

  She glanced down at her sweatshirt and jeans and nodded. And then she turned to race toward the lodge. “Let’s go.”

  In minutes, Corbin sat on the lift with Laurie at his side. She gripped his hand as they stared down at the devastation.

  “How will we find him in all that mess?”