Then get thinking, his snow leopard told him. I don’t want to live another hour without seeing her, let alone a day, a month, or a year.
Rift opened the truck door as Aiden parked in front of the truck stop. We’ll need to be patient. We can’t make her want us in her life. We need Belle to make up her mind to let us in.
I suppose you’re right, but I don’t like it, his snow leopard grumbled.
So you keep saying. Rift held the door open, and Elise slid across the seat and got out.
“The air is so clear.” Elise turned around, her chin tilted up as she took in the dense pine forest surrounding them. “I can smell the sun on the pine trees.”
“I think I might go for a run.” Rift’s appetite was never as big as his bear shifter brothers’, but after meeting and losing his mate within the space of an hour, it had completely disappeared.
“Do you want one of us to come with you?” Caleb slipped his arm around his mate’s neck, reminding Rift of what he’d lost.
“No, you go eat. I’d like some time on my own to think. Maybe you could grab me something to go?” He backed away from the others.
“Sure.” Caleb placed his hand on Rift’s shoulder. “We’ll work it out. You’re not alone in this.”
Yet as Rift nodded and backed away, he felt very much alone. How could his brothers know what he was going through when they had their mates by their sides?
“Thanks, Caleb.” He took a shuddering sigh. “Thank you all. I’m grateful to have such a wonderful family to support me.”
“We’re all here for you.” Aiden grabbed him and pulled him into a bear hug. “Just don’t shut us out.”
“I won’t.” Rift glanced toward the cool shade of the pine forest surrounding them. “I just need to run and clear my head.”
“Go.” Aiden patted his chest as he let his brother go. “We’ll be waiting for you.”
“Just don’t be too long,” Flora called.
“I told Valerie we’d be back in Wishing Moon Bay before dark,” Aiden added.
“I’ll be back before you’ve finished eating,” he promised.
They watched him as he jogged down the road, and then crossed into the forest on the opposite side. He could feel their eyes on his back. Full of sympathy, full of understanding. His breath caught in his throat and he swallowed down a sob.
This should be the happiest day of our lives. His snow leopard itched to break free and run like a shadow through the forest.
It still is the happiest day, Rift replied even though happy wasn’t what he felt at all. We met our mate, at least we no longer have to search for her.
Yes, we met her, but we don’t exactly know where she is. She gave us her cell phone number but where does she live? How will we find her? His other side snarled in anguish. If she doesn’t want us to find her, we might never see her again.
We must believe in fate. We must trust in fate. With that, Rift let go of the world around him and disappeared, to be replaced a couple of seconds later by a stunning snow leopard who leaped forward, running through the undergrowth, with twigs and branches snagging at his fur.
The creature ran on. His stride lengthened as his muscles bunched as he climbed uphill, running as if his very life depended on it.
Using his shifter senses, he weaved in and out of the trees, always keeping a fix on the location of the truck stop. He didn’t want to get lost in this strange wilderness. The others didn’t need the worry about searching the mountain for him.
On and on he ran, his heart pumping blood through his veins as he strained to climb a steep section of the forest. All around him, life carried on as his snow leopard’s stealth kept him hidden from the creatures that lived in the forest.
Birds called to their mates, small mammals searched for food to take home to their offspring, while Rift’s snow leopard ran on alone, aware of the long, lonely life that stretched ahead of him if he didn’t figure something out.
Perhaps he could ask Oscar to track Belle down. Then he could visit the town where she lived and arrange to accidentally bump into her.
His snow leopard chuffed and shook his head. That’s the worst idea I’ve ever heard. Belle’s a smart woman, she’d see right through any trick like that. We’ll need to be smart if we don’t want to appear like a stalker.
Rift let go of the image of himself walking along the street as Belle and her children were coming toward him. He let go of the image of their eyes meeting and a small smile curving her lips. But he could not let go of the image of her beautiful face, worry lines creasing her mouth and the haunted look in her eyes.
Yet when he’d left her as they’d driven away from the house, everything had seemed fine. They were packing the last of Reggie’s things away and then they would leave, go back to their old life.
Without him.
Yet a nagging doubt in the back of his mind warned him all was not right. Was there something she hadn’t told him?
Why would she tell us anything? His snow leopard leaped over a thick fallen tree trunk. She doesn’t know us. She certainly doesn’t trust us. It was there in her eyes.
Maybe she just doesn’t trust men, Rift mused. Her father and uncle were bad men, and the father of her children has walked out on them.
His snow leopard snarled. What if that’s what’s keeping us apart?
Rift’s heart hammered in his chest. I never thought about that at the time. Belle might want the father of her children back even though he’s hurt them and let them down. She might still be in love with him. Surely fate wouldn’t be that cruel.
And yet we believe that fate is cruel enough to show us our mate and then let her walk out of our lives.
Rift’s mood lightened. Which means we will find a way back to her. We will find a way to make her part of our lives. One day, she’ll wear our ring on her finger.
She will. His snow leopard’s energy levels shot up and he flattened out, running fast, covering the ground at a sprint until they broke out of the forest and into the open mountainside.
There the snow leopard stopped. He lifted his head and scented the air. Rain was coming. It was time to turn around and run back to the others. It was time to eat. Time to prepare.
When they got back to Wishing Moon Bay, he’d look for a bigger place to live. When Belle came back into his life, he wanted to be ready to make a home with her.
What if that home is not in Wishing Moon Bay? His snow leopard had a point.
Our home is where she is, Rift said, and yet he couldn’t help but feel a twinge of disappointment.
He’d move wherever his mate wanted to be. It made sense that she wouldn’t want to leave her life behind. The children would have school and friends, they wouldn’t want to be uprooted to live in a strange town.
Yet there was a twinge of regret, a longing to raise his family in the town he knew so well. He’d dreamed of showing his children the wonders of the town, he longed to teach them about the people who lived there, the shifters, the witches and the warlocks, the fae.
He wanted his children to grow up alongside his brother’s children.
Let go of the future, his snow leopard told him bluntly. Look at the world around us. Look at its beauty. Wherever we are, wherever we live, we will find that beauty. And if we must live elsewhere, we can always visit Wishing Moon Bay on weekends and vacations. It will always be our home.
Rift nodded. It’s just a place. Our family will still be our family.
And we’d have a mate.
If she called.
Chapter Seven – Belle
“I’m sorry. I know that ever since Reggie’s death, it’s like there’s been a black cloud hanging over us.” Katrina stared straight ahead, she’d been in her own world ever since they left the house.
“It’s not your fault, Mom. We don’t get to pick our family, do we?” Belle patted her mom’s hand.
“No, we don’t.” Katrina turned to her daughter. “Will you promise me one thing?”
Belle sighed. “Does this promise involve a certain snow leopard shifter?”
“It does.” Katrina straightened up and grasped Belle’s hand. “You are his mate.”
“So he said.”
“But I don’t think you were listening. I don’t think you understood what he meant. You and Rift are meant to be together. That’s how shifters work. They have this bond, and they know who their mate is. They know deep down in their soul who they are meant to spend the rest of their lives with.” Katrina looked at Belle with tears in her eyes.
“Did Nathan tell you he was your mate?” Belle winced at her mom’s pained expression. “I’m sorry.”
“No, you have a right to ask...” She took a shuddering breath. “No. He didn’t.”
“I’m sorry.” Belle glanced at her mom. “I didn’t mean what I said back at the house. I know Nathan hurt you.”
“You were right, though. I have a terrible taste in men.” She rubbed the backs of her hands across her eyes. “But it is different for you and Rift.”
“How do you know so much about shifters?” Belle glanced in the rearview mirror, she didn’t want the children to hear them talking about Rift shifting into a snow leopard. Thankfully, they were both engrossed, Jack was playing a game on his phone and Rosie was reading a book about princesses. Belle smiled softly, she loved her kids so much. She’d do anything for them. They were her life.
“Like I told you, after what your father said and then after he died, I did some research. I found a bar where shifters drink and that’s where I met Nathan.” She inhaled deeply and looked down at her hands.
“Did you love him? I mean really love him?” Belle asked.
“Nathan?” Her head jerked up.
“No. My dad. I know you left him but that doesn’t mean that you didn’t love him. We’ve never really talked about it.” Belle glanced in the rearview mirror and took a left turn. The road snaked along the side of the mountain, weaving through dense forest before they joined the highway on the other side.
“I loved him. At the time I was completely smitten. He was larger than life and he treated me well. At least at first. Then he slowly eroded my self-confidence. He’d ask me if I put on weight. He told me my clothes didn’t suit me or that my friends had been talking about me behind my back. He...” Tears trickled down her cheeks and she sniffed loudly and searched her purse for a tissue.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked.” Belle chewed the inside of her cheek as she fought to control her emotions. She’d never know Murray. She’d always wondered what her life would have been like if her mom hadn’t left him. Would he still be alive? Would he have taken a different path?
As she side-eyed her mom, she was grateful he hadn’t been a part of their lives. Katrina was the best mom she could ever have hoped for. Kind, caring, and supportive. Things would have been so different if Murray had been a part of their lives.
“No, it’s good that you know about him. He is part of you.” She glanced out of the window. “Am I a terrible person?”
“Mom.” Belle reached for her mom’s hand. “Why would you say that?”
“Because...” She lowered her head and covered her face with her hand. “Because the day I learned he was dead, I felt relief.” She let out a long, shaky breath.
“You were free.” Belle squeezed her mom’s hand. “I think anyone would have felt the same way.”
“I mourned for him. I mourned for you. I think...I hoped that your father would one day change and realize what he was missing out on. When Reggie went to prison, I thought that might be the catalyst that brought us back together. But instead...” Katrina blew her nose hard. “Look at me crying over something that happened so long ago.”
“Memories live on through us,” Belle told her. “And Reggie dying has brought them all to the surface. But now that the house is cleaned out, we can move on again.”
“Can we?” Katrina’s eyes slid sideways, and she looked at Rosie’s reflection in the side mirror.
“Yes.” Belle’s jaw tightened.
“Sometimes the ghosts of the past haunt us no matter what we do.”
“I don’t believe in ghosts.” Belle fixed her eyes on the road. There was no point trying to figure it out now. She pressed her fingers to her temple, a slow dull thud brought the threat of a headache and she wanted to get them all home before it became too bad.
She glanced in the rearview mirror once more. She couldn’t ignore the twinge of apprehension when she noted the same vehicle had been following them for the last few miles. It had been behind them when they turned onto the mountain road and it was still there.
Belle closed her eyes briefly and took a deep breath. She was seeing monsters where there were none. This road was well used, it cut across the country, taking a good half an hour off the alternative route that went around the mountains.
“Are you okay?” Katrina picked up on her unease.
“Yeah.” Belle rubbed her temple again. “I have a headache coming on.”
“It’s been a stressful day.” She leaned closer. “It’s not every day you meet the man you’re supposed to spend the rest of your life with.”
“Mom,” she hissed and checked to see if either of the kids were listening. Thankfully, they weren’t.
However, as she switched her gaze to check on the vehicle behind them, she noted it was slowly closing the distance between them.
Belle inched her foot down on the accelerator, not enough to be noticeable but enough to maintain the distance between them and the vehicle behind.
However, the other vehicle kept closing in on them. Belle rolled her shoulders, trying to keep calm. She needed to think clearly. Was there any other road they could turn off and head toward a town? Anywhere where there were other people. If someone were after them, the best thing they could do was stay in plain sight of lots of people.
She mentally pulled up the map. As far as she could recall, there were no towns until they got to the other side of the mountain. Sure, there were houses dotted along the route, but it was risky to try to get help there.
Belle also didn’t like the idea of taking trouble to a stranger’s door.
Focusing on the road, Belle eased her foot down farther on the accelerator. The road wasn’t wide enough for the other car to pass so as long as she kept going, they should be safe.
If there wasn’t anything, or anyone, in front of them. What if this were an ambush and as she rounded a bend, she’d find an obstruction that might send them crashing off the road?
Cold sweat prickled along her spine as her mind raced around in circles, trying to figure out a solution. Had Rift and the others been part of something bigger? Something more sinister?
She let out a long breath. She was overreacting. Why would anyone want to ambush them? The guy behind was in a hurry, that was all. She should just pull over and let him pass.
“Belle.” Katrina looked over her shoulder. “What’s wrong? And don’t say nothing.”
“I think the car behind us is following us. But I’m overreacting.” She checked the mirror again. The vehicle, a truck, was so close she could see the faces of the occupants.
Katrina glanced in the side mirror. “They’re pretty close.”
“When the road widens, I’ll pull over so they can pass.” She checked the rearview mirror again.
“What if they’re trying to get in front so they can make us stop?” Katrina turned around in her seat and stared out of the back window.
“Why would they?” Belle wasn’t the only paranoid person in the car.
“I don’t know.” Katrina turned back around and clasped her hands together in her lap, but her eyes kept drifting toward the side mirror.
“Mom?” Belle glanced at her mom’s pale face.
Katrina didn’t answer.
“Why would you think anyone would try to make us stop? I don’t think they’re trying to carjack us. This thing is far too old to be worth the trouble.” Belle tried to
lighten the mood, but it didn’t work.
“A couple of weeks after Reggie left prison, I got a visit. They said they were from the authorities, that Reggie hadn’t attended some meeting or other. I told them I hadn’t seen or heard from Reggie since he left prison.”
“I thought you didn’t know Reggie had left prison?” Belle flexed her hands on the steering wheel, her palms were sweating. This had been a day for shocking news, and it wasn’t over yet.
“I didn’t want you to worry about it, not when you were dealing with Landon leaving.” Katrina glanced at the children on the backseat, but they weren’t listening. “It just didn’t seem important since Reggie hadn’t bothered to contact us.”
“Okay, anything else you’d like to share?” Belle glanced in the rearview mirror once more, her fear growing.
“No, they left and that was it.” Katrina shrugged.
“But now you think it’s something to do with the guys in the truck behind us?” Belle’s heart hammered as she forced herself to stay calm and focus on the road ahead.
“I think...” She turned in her seat and stared out of the back window once more. “I think one of the guys who came to the house is in the front of the truck.”
“What?” She gripped the wheel tighter as panic filled her. “Are you sure?”
“No.” The lines around Katrina’s mouth deepened. “But...”
“Okay, we’ll just keep on driving. Like nothing is wrong.” Belle blew out a slow breath, fighting her rising panic as she checked on her children in the back seat.
The truck was closer now. Too close.
Her car would be no match for the truck’s bull bars if they tried to run her off the road.
She swallowed hard. If the truck rammed into the back of her car at the right speed and angle, she’d lose control and likely smash into a tree, or worse, go over the edge of the road and roll down the mountainside.
“What can they want?” Katrina asked. “I didn’t have any contact with Reggie for years.”
“I don’t honestly know, Mom. But they’ve been following us for a while. What better place to ambush us than here where no one will see?” Belle prayed someone else would come by. Perhaps they would catch up with another car. She unconsciously pressed her foot down harder on the accelerator, the whites of her knuckles showing as she gripped the wheel.
The Snow Leopard's Love Page 5
