He lifted the water he’d left beside the blanket, poured the ice bath over his face, and then shook his head to sling the water off.
Now he was awake. He snatched his shirt off the ground and pulled it on, ready to hunt Alifair.
Yelling her name could put her in danger if she had been captured.
His hands fisted with white-knuckle fury.
Someone was going to bleed.
He suffered a heart-stopping moment of worry over tracking her, then realized she wore the scent of their bonding. He dropped his head back, staring up at the lightening sky, and said a prayer of thanks that he’d marked his mate.
Where should he start looking?
In the ruins.
As the light began to grow and spread ahead of sunrise, he noticed a large patch of cleared dirt that looked out of place. He’d been all over this area last night and had not seen that. When he stepped close, he squatted down to read something written in the dirt.
Bosse–
I’m sorry for making you sleep hard. I had a nightmare about you being captured, and I can’t let that happen again or for you to be killed. I am shielding myself with a spell that should make me invisible. Freeing Rez is my last duty to the clan. I will do my best for the other woman as well. Please forgive me for leaving like this, but your life and safety mean everything to me. I will always love you.
Your mate.
He struggled to draw a breath. Tears burned his eyes.
What had she done? He couldn’t live without her. He read it again, looking for a clue to find her, but the only thing that stood out were the wordsFreeing Rez is my last duty.
Alifair didn’t expect to survive.
Chapter 40
Alifair quietly cursedevery branch and rock that made her stumble.
She scratched the thought of getting the hang of being in the woods. She was not a shifter or a mountain girl.
Riding the horse up this inclined slope had been far easier than climbing it on foot. Yesterday, she hadn’t noticed how thin the air was, but right now, it felt like an elephant had a foot on her chest, cutting off her oxygen supply. Pausing to catch her breath, she wiped the sweat from her forehead.
