A Twist of Fate: True Mates Generations Book 1

by Montgomery, Alicia

  “You’re such a head case today,” she said, walking over to the first slope. “Well, forget about whatever’s bothering you. Let’s go!” Isabelle pulled her goggles over her face, planted her poles onto the snow and then pushed herself off. Zac huffed and then followed the younger woman down the slope.

  The resort’s intermediate course was challenging, even for an experienced skier like himself. Isabelle didn’t seem to have any trouble navigating the steep slopes, zooming down with ease. When they reached the bottom, Isabelle insisted they head up again right away to the more difficult runs. He had to admit, he was having fun, and it had been years since he’d done anything so exhilarating. It was almost like having the freedom to shift and run in his wolf form as he pleased. When was the last time he did that anyway? Too long.

  Though he was enjoying himself, Zac knew that they couldn’t stay too long. The dark clouds were already coming closer, and flurries had built up around them as they did their last descent. Zac told Isabelle it was time to head back.

  “But we’ve only done a couple of runs!” she whined.

  “Isabelle, I told you I can’t stay too long. Besides,” he pointed to the gray skies in the distance. “I think that guy at the rental place was right. There might be a snowstorm coming.”

  “Oh, boo!” She made a face. “I’m going one last time on the double black diamond course. You can join me or not, but if something happens, then you’ll have to explain to my father, your Alpha, why I was alone.” She marched off in the direction of the ski lifts.

  Zac considered letting the brat just go off on her own, but he knew if anything did happen to her, he would no doubt feel guilty. With a deep sigh, he followed behind her.

  “I knew you’d cave in,” Isabelle said as he sat down on the lift chair. “All this snow … this last one is going to be great, I know it.”

  “One last run and then we’re headed inside, okay?”

  “You’re so grumpy and serious, Zac.” She rubbed his arm. “C’mon, when was the last time you had fun?”

  “I have plenty of fun.” The chair lurched forward and he grabbed the side to prevent himself from falling over. As they ascended up the mountain, he couldn’t help but wonder about Astrid. The physical exertion helped keep his mind off her, but when it was quiet like this, his thoughts drifted to her.

  “Ready?” Isabelle said as they neared the top of the most advanced slope in the resort. There was no one else there, and the snow was now whipping around them.

  “I think we should take the lifts back, Isabelle.” There was a feeling in his gut, and it wasn’t good.

  “Don’t be a sissy!” she taunted. “C’mon!” With a loud whoop, she pushed herself off and disappeared down the mountain.

  Zac let out an exasperated sound and put his goggles on. He followed her down the mountain, zooming down the powdery slopes at top speed. The wind was really coming in fast now, blowing snowflakes around him. Good thing Isabelle was easy to spot in her hot pink ski suit, so he was able to follow, but she was so fast that eventually, he could no longer see the bright blur in front of him.

  They had done this run a couple of times now, so he knew the course well enough. However, he knew there were a few dangerous curves, even for seasoned skiers, plus the weather seemed to get worse and worse by the second. The bad feeling in Zac’s gut grew and he bent down lower, trying to pick up speed. When he heard the loud whump sound behind him, he knew he was in deep trouble. That sound meant only one thing: snow dislodging from the side of the mountain. An avalanche.

  Chapter Twelve

  “I hope you weren’t too bored.” Adrianna closed her laptop and put it away in her bag.

  “What? Nah, I’m fine,” Astrid replied. “Thanks for letting me hang out. And I never knew the restaurant industry was so … uh …”

  “Dry?” Adrianna finished with a smile. “Tedious? Dull?”

  She laughed. “Okay fine, I did find myself drifting off a couple of times.” When she woke up that morning, she really didn’t know what she was supposed to do today. There was nothing else to do at the resort but ski, which she hadn’t done since she was a kid.

  So, instead of staying in her room bored out of her mind, she asked Adrianna if she could tag along with her during the conference. Honestly, she wasn’t sure what to expect, but it was just one long and boring talk after another.

  Still, she probably would have gone stir crazy inside her room all day, especially after last night. I can’t believe I almost told him about that incident. It seemed like a long time ago, but the memory of it still made her cringe. Good thing it was only Deedee who witnessed her embarrassment.

  “So, did you want to have dinner later?” Adrianna asked as they left the meeting room. “I did set up a few one-on-one meetings before five, but we could meet at the restaurant, say around six?”

  “Sure.” Not that she had plans. And since Zac had left that morning, she should be sticking to Adrianna, at least until they were back in New York. “How about—”

  “Miss Anderson!”

  They both turned around at the sound of the voice. “Keith?” Adrianna said as the Lycan guard approached them.

  Keith Johnson had a scowl on his face, which only deepened when he spoke. “There’s been an accident on the slopes. Please come with me.”

  “Is it Isabelle?” The panic in Adrianna’s voice was evident. “Oh God, is it the mages?”

  He shook his head. “No, Miss Anderson. She’s all right. It’s Mr. Vrost.”

  “Zac?” Astrid couldn’t stop herself. “What happened? Tell us right now!”

  “Mr. Vrost and Miss Anderson were out on the slopes, apparently,” he began. “And there was an avalanche. Miss Anderson made it down, but no one’s heard from Mr. Vrost since.”

  Her heart stopped for a second as she listened to Keith relay the story, and then began to pound against her chest. Oh God.

  “But Zac was supposed to go home this morning,” Adrianna said. “I don’t understand.”

  “He cancelled his flight,” Keith answered. “Anyway, we should go to the resort manager’s office. Miss Anderson is there.”

  Astrid’s entire body felt numb. All she could think about was Zac, buried under a ton of snow. His Lycan body would allow him to survive for a few hours in the cold, but they weren’t invincible. Without shelter, he could still freeze to death if the temperatures went down enough.

  “Astrid? Astrid?” Adrianna’s face was grave with concern. “Are you all right?”

  “Yes, I’m … Zac, he …” She swallowed the lump growing in her throat. Her head was spinning, but she needed to stay calm. “Let’s go find out more.”

  Keith led them to the manager’s office, where Isabelle was already sitting down in one of the chairs, sobbing uncontrollably. “Adrianna!” She jumped up and ran to her sister. Adrianna enveloped her in a hug, whispering soothing words in her ear.

  “Now,” Adrianna began as she led Isabelle back to her chair. “Explain what happened.”

  As Isabelle told the story of what happened that morning between tears and sobs, Astrid listened intently. According to the younger woman, they had been out on one last run on the double black diamond course when the storm started picking up, then she heard the rumblings of the avalanche. She thought Zac was just behind her and she barely escaped the deluge of snow that had covered nearly half of the course.

  “I swear, he wasn’t far behind,” Isabelle cried. “I just thought …”

  Astrid’s inner wolf howled in anger and fear. Stupid, selfish Isabelle! But there was no time for blaming now. With each minute that Zac was out there, his chances of surviving were getting smaller and smaller.

  “We have all the ski patrol and rescue workers out there looking for him and other survivors,” the resort manager said. “We’re doing our best.”

  Astrid looked out the window. It had grown darker in the last couple of minutes and the snow was not letting up. Their best wasn’t good enough. She p
ulled Adrianna aside. “Call your dad. And my dad too.”

  “I’m already on it.” Adrianna held up her phone.

  “Good.” She turned and headed out the door.

  “Wait, Astrid, where are you going?”

  “I’m going to try and find him.”

  “What?” Adrianna grabbed her arm. “Are you crazy? You could get lost too!”

  “I can’t just let him …. I mean, if he …” She bit her lip, trying to swallow down the burning tears in her throat. Think! She took a deep breath. “Keith,” she called to the guard. “You have your tracker with you?”

  “Yes.” He pulled back his suit sleeve, revealing a thin black band. All members of the Lycan Security Team wore special bracelets that expanded as they shifted and contained a GPS tracking device.

  “Good. Give it to me.” The guard hesitated, but when Adrianna nodded, handed it over to Astrid. “Now, I’ll go out and search for Zac in my wolf form. You can keep track of me via the bracelet and then send my dad or Cross after me.”

  “Why don’t we have Keith go out and look for him?”

  “I’ll be fine,” she said. “Look, the mages aren’t after me or Zac. We’ll be fine, but if they do know you’re here and unprotected, they might seize the opportunity. You need Keith here.”

  The other woman looked defeated. “I don’t like this.”

  “You don’t have to like it,” Astrid said. “But you can’t stop me.”

  “Astrid,” Adrianna began. “I know that you feel—”

  “I should go,” she interrupted. “Let’s not waste any more time. Trust me, I can take care of myself. I can always poof myself away from danger.” She didn’t bother waiting for Adrianna to stop her, but instead, walked away with a determined stride.

  Although her wolf wanted her to rush out now, she knew that she had to have some sort of plan in place. Okay, first things first. She walked around the resort until she found people wearing ski patrol and rescue team gear, heading toward the “employees only” area of the resort.

  Aside from just teaching her how to fight, her former Lone Wolf uncles also taught her and her cousins other useful skills from their less-than-savory pasts. Her mother and three uncles had been raised by a former master thief who trained them in various skills, after all. Her Uncle Killian, for example, could break into any bank, safe, or secure location. He had told her that the best way of getting into any place you weren’t supposed to be in was to look like you belonged.

  She found another group of rescue workers hanging around the lobby and made a beeline for them. As she passed by, she casually bumped into one of the guys playing on his phone. “Oh, excuse me! I’m so clumsy.”

  The young man caught her arm and helped steady her. “No worries, ma’am,” he said with a bright smile. “Be careful.”

  “Oh, I will!” She waved at them before turning away, his badge in her fingers. She clipped the badge on her lapel and headed toward the “employees only” area. The rescue workers were already gathered in the middle of the room as an older man stood on a dais in front of a map. Astrid saw a reflective vest lying on one of the chairs and she snatched it up and put it on as she made her way to the front.

  “… here,” the older man pointed to a spot in the map, “is where we think our guy may have been caught in the avalanche. It’s halfway down the double black diamond course. According to our witness.…”

  Astrid listened for a few minutes, squinting her eyes at the map to commit it to memory. Looks like her study sessions with Uncle Quinn were paying off. As the man began to rattle of more specific instructions, she backed out of the room and made her way outside, to the large rear patio that had a view of the slopes. During the day, this patio was filled with skiers for the apres-ski activities, but now it was completely empty.

  She looked up the mountain, thinking of the daunting task ahead of her. It had grown much darker since she last checked, but her Lycan vision would help her see in the dim light. The snowstorm was slowing down too, and now only soft flakes fell down from the sky. Hopefully, she wasn’t too late.

  “Don’t think like that,” she hissed to herself. “Just find him.”

  She trudged out into the snow, into the line of trees just off the main outrun. When she was behind the trees, she quickly stripped her clothing off, hanging them from a low branch. She shifted into her wolf form almost too quickly, her animal eager to take over and start looking for Zac. It had barely landed on all fours when it took off, up the mountain.

  This was stupid, she thought as her she-wolf ascended up the steep slope. Oh God, what had she been thinking? How would she even know where to find him?

  Her wolf let out a yelp and growl, as if to say, “Shut up! I know what I’m doing!” She shrugged and allowed it to take over their body, keeping herself small and quiet inside the wolf’s body.

  While she already possessed the enhanced senses of her animal even in human form, it was even stronger in animal form. She could hear and smell everything. She also didn’t feel tired, despite the energy it took to ascend the mountain. Her she-wolf seemed doggedly determined and single-minded in its mission.

  Eventually, they reached the spot where the rescuers had said that Zac could have been caught in the avalanche. The full moon was bright above them and the snow had completely stopped. Where would they start looking?

  The she-wolf snapped its jaws, as if telling her to be silent. It perked up its ears, straining to hear something—anything. Astrid closed her eyes, focusing on Zac. Oh, Zac. She wished things didn’t end the way they had last night. Wished she’d let him kiss her one last time—

  The wolf’s yelp snapped her out of her thoughts as it dashed up over the mound of snow. She wasn’t sure what set off her wolf, but when she concentrated, she heard it—the sound of breathing somewhere underneath the snow. Her animal circled until it settled on a spot, then began to dig. Giant paws clawed at the ground, pushing piles and piles of ice away. The breathing began to get louder, then there was a cough and—

  Zac!

  A hand popped up and the wolf’s mouth opened to grab a sleeve. It pulled with all its might, dragging Zac’s body out from under the ice. The wolf whined as it licked his cold face. His skin was freezing and his breathing was labored, but other than that, he was alive. Thank God!

  The temperatures were still dropping, however, and his clothes were probably soaked through. She had to get Zac somewhere safe and dry.

  In her Lycan form, she was larger than the average gray wolf, but Zac was tall and heavy. But she had to try, so she made her wolf dig under his body and prop him up on her back. With the added weight, she didn’t trust her strength enough to make the descent down the slope without slipping and having them roll all the way down. They would be better off taking the rocky path through the trees slowly, stopping to rest if necessary and maybe even finding shelter in a low branch until rescue came.

  As they made their way to the dense thicket of trees, she heard a sound from high above them. Oh, no. It was that distinct sound of packed snow breaking apart. There would be another avalanche. There was no luxury of time. They had to leave now.

  Think, Astrid.

  Unless Zac woke up, she would have to drag him down, hopefully before the avalanche caught up to them. What to do? If only she had her father’s powers.

  No, there’s always a solution. That’s what her uncles and mother taught her. Find a way.

  She pictured the map back at the resort in her mind. It showed the main paths of all the courses, which led to the outrun. Near the red X where they had marked Zac’s possible location was something … what was it? Searching through her brain, she didn’t know what she was looking for, but knew it was important. Something handwritten in faded ink.

  Old ranger’s cabin.

  If her bearings were correct, there was a cabin not far from where they were right now, due east. Well, it’s now or never. Let’s go!

  The she-wolf mustered all its strength to carry
Zac on its back and slogged through the snow. Faster, faster! There was another loud whump sound from behind them and then the ground shook. The wolf whined, but kept on and soon she saw the building in the distance.

  Yes!

  They pushed on, the wolf moving as fast as it could, and Astrid cheering it on. They were a few steps away from the door when she heard the snow descending on the mountain. It’s okay, she told her wolf, I can take it from here. You rest.

  She’d never shifted back to human form so fast in her life. Using the last bit of her strength, she grabbed Zac and hauled him up, dragging him through the door of the cabin and dropped him on the floor with a loud thud. As soon as it shut behind them, the walls shook as mounds of snow fell on top of the cabin. They were trapped, but at least they were safe. She let out a sigh.

  The interior of the cabin was sparse. It had a single room, a fireplace in the side, a stove, plus a table and chair pushed up against one wall.

  Ack! She looked down and realized she was naked. There was a closet in the corner and she dashed across the room, yanking it open. There was a flannel shirt hanging inside and she quickly grabbed it and put it on, not minding the musty smell. There was also one sleeping bag inside and she picked it up, unrolling it as she dashed back to Zac.

  Kneeling down, she unzipped his jacket and pulled it off him. He was breathing more evenly now. Good. Lycan healing would stop him from getting hypothermia, but just in case, she took off his wet shoes, socks, and shirt. She supposed she should take his pants off too, but she settled for unbuttoning the fly.

  God, she was exhausted. Using the last bit of her strength, she curled up against Zac’s chest and threw the sleeping bag over them like a blanket, then closed her eyes.

  * * *

  When Astrid regained consciousness, a feeling of disorientation swept over her. For one thing, though her vision was blurred, it was bright. She thought she had dreamt the whole thing. Where was she?