His leave was nearly up. In less than a week, duty would reclaim him, and everything about this magical stretch of borrowed time would have to be redefined. He needed to talk to her, to stop dancing around the truth of what would come next. Once he returned to his life as a bonded male, things would change.
He knew his people. For all their powers and supposed wisdom, they could be cruel.
Beth had every right to decide if she wanted to walk into it.
And should she decide that life wasn’t for her? Then he would step down from it. From all of it. He’d rebuild himself here with her. It would be hard, but not harder than being away from her.
So yes. They would figure it out.
Not now. Now, in the stillness of night with her tangled around him, it was only for him.
When her phone buzzed and rang on the nightstand, his first instinct was to silence it and guard her sleep. But he knew better.Beth wouldn’t thank him for shielding her from what she might need to face. Because nothing good ever came by a phone call at this time of the night. She stirred on her own after the second ring, brow furrowing as she pushed herself up on one elbow. “What... what time is it?” she murmured, voice rough with sleep.
“A little past three,” he said, reaching for the phone and passing it to her.
She took it without thinking, her fingers brushing his. “Yeah?” she answered groggily.
Gael could hear the voice on the other end—high, breathy, and laced with confusion.
“I... I think I’m lost.”
Beth snapped fully awake, her posture tightening like a pulled string. Her aura flickered, the soft golden undertone sharpening with alarm. “Ann? What happened?”
“I’m not sure, I... my head hurts so bad.”
The slur in her speech set Gael’s nerves on edge. Something was obviously wrong. He felt Beth’s worry spike like a flare in the dark.
“Are you safe? Can you tell me where you are?”
“Yeah, um, I’m outside. In the forest. I can see... lights, I think?”
Gael reached for her arm, his touch gentle. “Tell her not to worry,” he said quietly. “We’re coming.”
She nodded, and the fear in her eyes echoed in every fiber of his body. He swallowed down a hot pulse of anger rising beneath his skin, calling for him to protect her and punish whoever scared her. This wasn’t the time for fury. Beth needed steadiness, not fire. So he exhaled slow and even, and the only outward sign of his temper was the way his jaw clenched.
He got out of bed and began pulling on his clothes. Beside him, Beth moved quickly, phone still pressed to her ear. “We’re coming. We’ll be there as soon as possible.”
“Tell her not to move if she’s safe,” Gael said as he pulled on his shirt.
She relayed the message.
“I think I am. No one is here. No one is here and... I don’t know, Beth. I don’t know.”
Beth’s voice was gentler now, but no less urgent. “We’ll get to you.”
“Okay. I think I’ll nap while I wait...”
The call disconnected.
Beth’s swearing was hard and vicious under her breath, then turned to him. “How are we going to find her? She’s by herself and something’s not right. Ann doesn’t do drugs, she barely even drinks.”
Fully dressed now, he took her hand as they stepped outside. “We’ll find her.” The night temperatures hadn’t yet turned cruel, but they were starting to bite—cold air already whispering its warnings. Mist curled around their feet, and the swollen moon painted the world in silver and secrets.
The forest never slept.
It watched. It breathed. It remembered.
Gael dropped all his shields, the ones that dulled the constant pull of the land beneath his feet, and opened himself to it completely. Earth magic surged in his chest, powerful and attuned. “She’s not alone,” he murmured in a voice laced with power. “The forest is alive, and the forest protects.”
