Chapter 11
In the Light of Day
Serenity woke the next morning and looked into crystal blue eyes, causing her heart to skip a beat. “Good morning,” Ryland murmured, pulling her into a kiss. She pressed into him, her body wanting more.
“I’m sorry, but we need to get moving. We can pick up later.” Ryland moved his lower half away from her, and she could tell by the sheets that he was fighting the urge to continue.
“You are right. We need to get out of here and let someone know about the poachers.”
At the last word, Ryland tensed. “Yes. I need to get to a working phone before they move on. We also need to get you to a hospital,” his eyes looked at her body under the covers, “although at this point I think it is mostly as a precautionary measure than a necessity.” He swallowed and quickly slipped out of the bed.
Serenity smiled at the way his face flushed a little. It would have been impossible to imagine that look when she had first met him. “Alright.” She pulled the sheet over her and stood up to collect her clothing. “Maybe there is a car nearby.”
‘There isn’t one with fuel in it. I’ll change back into the bear and you can ride me until we get to the cabin.”
“Sounds good to me.” There was a tone in her voice that indicated she wasn’t thinking the same thing he was.
He turned to look at her, a look on his face showing that if she kept going, he was going to find it very difficult to focus.
“Sorry,” she murmured. “But you will need to shift again, won’t you? I can’t walk up to strangers with a bear.”
“I plan to keep going. You can get to safety because the family is a good family. They won’t be up here much longer because they leave when it snows. They can get you into town.”
“Why can’t you join me?”
“I have a few other things I need to take care of. We have been looking for the camp for a while. I had hoped to spot it on the trip, but it was not supposed to be quite like that.”
Serenity couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed because he had said that he was there because he had promised to be. Now it made sense why that was the case. He had promised to take care of the shifters, so he needed to be there. Hiding her disappointment, Serenity nodded. “Okay. If you need to go, then I will have them take me to the hospital.” She wanted to ask him when she would see him again, but she didn’t want to make him feel like she was trying to track him. “I’ll text you when I get out. There is no doubt they will keep me for at least a night since I won’t be able to explain half of what has happened.”
Ryland gave her a feeble smile as he picked up his clothes. “Yes, thank you. I trust you to say what you need to without hinting at the… other stuff.”
She laughed, “If I said that you were a bear, they would lock me up.”
He handed her his clothing as he said, “There I think you are right. Not an enviable position.”
Serenity couldn’t help but smile at him. “Don’t worry. I have a much better reason for not talking about it. I mean, people have always thought I was a little off in the head, so that’s not much incentive for me.”
Ryland’s smile was genuine as he looked at her. “People are fools.” Still naked, he stepped up to her and gave her a long kiss. When he pulled away, he stroked her head, then turned and offered his back. Serenity let him lift her from the floor. As soon as she was on his back, he moved to the door and opened it. Once they were outside, Ryland shifted and took off.
The trip to the cabin took until early afternoon. Ryland took her as close to the house as he could manage. Serenity tried to hand him his clothes, but the bear simply shook his head, indicating that he had no way to carry them. “I’ll hold them for you,” she murmured, then leaned over and kissed the top of his head.
Ryland rubbed his head against her breast, startling her. He gave her a sly smile, and Serenity nearly got lost in his large, blue eyes. Then he turned and moved off into the woods. Favoring her uninjured leg, Serenity moved to the front door.
“Hello?” she called.
A head poked out from around the side of the home. “Hello.” An older looking man was peering at her. “Oh my! Are you hurt?”
The flurry of activity over the next 30 minutes made it impossible for Serenity to see if Ryland had stuck around to make sure she was safe. The old man was at the cabin with a middle-aged couple, and they were all fussing over her. They insisted she take a shower and have a good meal before they took her into town. The shower felt amazing, but then things got complicated.
As she was eating, the family was preparing the truck and getting ready to leave. They had left the TV going, and the news was one, something she generally tried to avoid. The anchor was talking about some actor recently disappearing while taking a break from work.
“No word yet on his whereabouts, but the group that was with him said that he jumped out of the raft to save someone. No word has been heard from either of them since.”
“It’s a strange story, but maybe…”
Serenity had stopped eating as soon as she heard what sounded like a familiar story. Her head turned to face the screen, not wanting to believe that the story was related to her own experience. There on the screen was Ryland and some actress. They were standing at the top of a building sharing a kiss. Her heart plummeted.
…her knowing who Alaric is and not Ryland tells you everything you need to know about her.
We aren’t going to ruin this for him.
Other things started to drop into place. He had spent 10 years in California, and he didn’t like cities, but he didn’t completely avoid them either. He went when work required it.
Ryland had looked familiar because even someone who was wrapped up in a highly competitive school couldn’t avoid seeing images of the man.
Promise you won’t try to own me. You won’t become jealous.
Serenity ran a hand through her hair, cursing her stupidity. He had tried to warn her, and she had not listened. Now she was beginning to realize just what she had been asking of him the night before and why he had been so reluctant. Acting was not what he loved, but it was what he did to protect the other shifters. It provided power and more control over his own life, as long as he could stay out of the eye of the paparazzi. It was why he didn’t live in the town and why he wasn’t around much.
Burying her head in her hands, Serenity felt that she had gotten exactly what she deserved for having given in to base instinct instead of focusing on what was important to her. Her mind was already starting to calculate how to get back to the east coast so that she could put everything behind her.
“I never should have tried to search for happiness. It has never worked out in the past. I should have been content.” Feeling foolish and lost, Serenity rose and began cleaning her dishes.
The woman stuck her head into the kitchen. “Just leave those in the sink and we’ll take care of them later. Everything’s ready, so let’s get you back to town.”
Serenity looked out the kitchen window into the woods where Ryland had disappeared what felt like a lifetime ago. Her heart sank as she turned and carefully made her way to the door.