Page 11 of Ash
ChapterNine
Ash
The car wasn’t outside Lainey’s home down in the town, even with the vehicles covered in snow I would have been able to see that monstrosity amongst the other smaller cars. Which meant she was somewhere else. Somewhere I couldn’t make sure she was safe. Not that I could shift and just turn up at her doorstep naked in the snow. Even if she didn’t answer it might raise a few eyebrows from her neighbours.
Not knowing what else to do, I banked hard to the right. My giant leathery wings causing the trees below me to bed in the gale they produced. It was foolish to be seen so close to town, especially below the cloud bank but the rules could be damned. It didn’t matter to me whether I lost my commission or not. Lainey was in trouble I could feel it in the tightness of my chest. It had been what had woken me up. and I cursed myself for letting her out of my sight. I should have stayed at Leo’s leaving party. I should have manned up and dealt with the pain of being around someone who didn’t feel the same as I did.
Shoulda woulda, coulda….
There were loads of things I should have done differently in the last few months.
My giant wings flapping harder, I built up speed. Heading back up into the tree-lined hills. I didn’t know where she had been heading when she left our base, but I could guess. She would have taken the main road up as far as she could and then…
Would she be stupid enough to head out on foot to the tracks that would take her to the almost derelict cabins where she had been held by the dire wolves all those months ago? I didn’t want to believe it, but I knew deep down that the answer was yes. How many times had I seen her up there snooping around and looking for answers? Too many times to mention. It was dangerous enough when the weather was good but now?
It could be a suicide mission.
Shaking away my morbid thoughts, I narrowed my eyes against the snow that was blowing straight into them. Far below me, the road was barely visible. White on white, the only thing that gave it away was the tall trees on either side. Their ever-green branches were heavy from the snowstorm. Wind howling in my ears and blinking the snow out of my eyes to try and see better I slowed.
There was nothing below me, not even tyre tracks but that didn’t really mean anything. The snow was coming down so thick and fast that it would wipe out any trace of her within minutes. With every flap of my wings, my heart sunk a little bit more. There was nothing. No sign of her. doubt started to niggle at me.
Had I made the wrong choice? I didn’t know what really went on in Lainey’s life. Maybe she had headed to town to a friend? Maybe even a male friend? The thought made me open my mouth in a roar. The sound of it booming through the still air. Below tree trunks groaned.
I started to turn, planning to head back to town and that’s when I saw it. A glint of something down below. It was hidden, half in a ditch and mostly covered in snow. A tiny glint of light, like a mirror catching a beam of moonlight. There and gone in a second as the clouds overtook the moon again.
But I knew what I had seen. A wing mirror of a car that had crashed. Spiralling downwards I had already shifted into my human form before my feet had hit the ground. Not bothering with clothes, I tossed the pack I’d been holding in my mouth as I flew to the side and rushed forward. My bare feet crunching on the snow and leaving deep imprints.
The car was on its roof. One side crinkled like the metal was made of something much smaller. But it was one of our cars. There could be no doubt about that. Same as there could be no doubt that Lainey hadn’t just crashed. She had written the thing off, rolled it several times and landed in a shallow ditch.
Falling to my knees, I scrambled forward. Ignoring the cold that lanced up through my bare skin, I fell onto my stomach so I could peer through one of the shattered windows. Holding my breath, I broke the rest of the glass and gazed around. Dread filled me. The crash had been bad. so bad that there was a very real possibility that I might see the body of my dead mate inside. I mentally prepared myself for it even when I knew there was no way I could.
The car was empty.
The driver’s side was clear, the smallest amount of blood on the smashed window opposite me.
Whatever had happened here Lainey had crawled out and cut herself. Or maybe she had been bleeding before that. There was no way of knowing how bad her injuries were. Pushing myself to my feet, I turned in a circle. Scanning every which was for her. There was nothing. The snow was falling too thick for even my eyes to see more than a few feet. Looking for her was going to be next to impossible but I had to find her.
Cupping my hands around my mouth I yelled her name, over and over again. “Lainey.”
I might as well have been whispering it, the wind picked my words up and scattered them. Despair washed over me, because what chance did she have out in this storm alone and injured? If I didn’t get to her soon then she would die and that would be on me.
“Lainey?” I tried again, listening hard. And this time I quietened my mind and the dragon that was raging inside of me. I heard something that didn’t belong. The smallest of whimpers. Sleepy and weak.
I took off at a run, my feet crunching the sticks and pinecones under the snow, I headed into the tree line. “Lainey, keep making noise baby.” In this storm not even, my nose could help me. She had to keep whimpering even though I hated it. She was in pain. Scared and in pain and that was on me.
“Ash?” Her voice was a whisper.
Whirling about on my heel, I headed back the way I came.
“I’m here. Just hold on for me.” Panic was threatening to overtake me. it was making me blind.
“I crashed the car.”
My head snapped to the left and there she was. Her back propped up against a tree trunk. Her face was as pale as the snow around her, apart from the blood that had stained one side of her hair red. One hand tucked into her jumper to keep warm. The other lay on her thighs, I didn’t like the look of the way that arm was hanging. Skidding to my knees next to her, I titled her face up to meet mine. Her eyes were glazed, and her skin was icy.
“Hey, trouble.” I kept my voice light, but I was worried. She was hurt and cold. I didn’t think her injuries were life-threatening but the chill to her skin was worrying. “Fancy seeing you here.”
Lainey smiled weakly. “I think I got confused and….” Her eyebrows knit together.
“It’s ok, I got you. Put your good arm around me and I’ll get you somewhere safe so I can….”
“Ash?” she moaned as I lifted her into my arms. I tried not to jostle her too badly, but I knew it hurt her anyway. There was nothing I could do about that. A little pain now was better than the alternative.
“I know it hurts and I’m going to give you something to help with that as soon as I get back to my pack….” I started to walk back towards the room and the pack I had forgotten in my rush.
“Thank you.” She whispered her cold cheek coming down to rest on my chest. “But Ash, why are you here?”
“Looking for you.”
“And you decided to do that… Naked?”
