Page 21 of Heart of the Hunted
"Well, what are you waiting for?" Donovan said. "Stop walking further along the pass with us and head back now before she gets too much of a head start on you."
Amberly stopped walking. "He's right. You could have caught up with her in the time that's passed since we noticed she wasn't with us."
"I know," Natalia said. "But I didn't want to turn back until I knew you two were happy to carry on without me."
"Well, we're not happy," Amberly said. "But since we can't change your mind, we'd rather you head back as soon as possible, so you can catch back up to us quicker."
"Okay," Natalia said. "I'm going."
Natalia hugged Amberly and then Donovan.
"Stay safe," Donovan whispered in her ear.
"I will,” she whispered back before letting go.
"Right," she said. "Stick together, and when you reach the other side, find somewhere safe to stay until I catch up with you. If I'm not back in a week, move on without me."
"No," they said in unison.
"Yes," she countered. "You know the rules. You can't ignore them because it's me."
"Yes, we can," Amberly said.
"No, you can't," Natalia said. "We can't have one rule for one and another for everyone else."
"She's right, Amberly," Donovan said. "As much as I hate to agree with her, she's right."
"Fine," Amberly gave in. "But you best be back in time."
"I will," Natalia told her. "Right, I best get going. Don't forget, one week."
"We will," Donovan assured her.
"Good. Now get going. It'll be dark before too long," Natalia told them.
"See you soon, Natalia," Amberly said.
"Take care," Donovan said as he hooked his arm with Amberly's and walked away.
Natalia watched as they headed further along the pass. When they walked around a bend and vanished from view, she took a deep breath and turned back around.
She wasn't looking forward to searching for Bella, especially not on her own. But she couldn't leave her behind, and she refused to risk anyone else's life, so she had no choice. Natalia had to do this, and she had to do it alone.
Fingers crossed I find her soon,Natalia thought as she retraced her steps.
If not, then she would have no choice but to give up and join up again with the rest of the group. That wasn't going to happen until the last possible minute though.
Natalia guessed she had a couple more hours of daylight to search for her, then she needed to find someplace safe to spend the night. If Natalia hasn't found her by then, she'll restart the search first thing in the morning and spend the whole day looking before following after the others.
Bella best not have gone too far.
She didn't want to spend too long away from the rest of the group. Not only that, but the weather over the mountain was getting worse by the minute. Natalia didn't think it was going to be safe to travel through the pass if she left it too much longer.
With that thought in mind, Natalia picked up the pace. If she could find Bella before nightfall, then they could be back on the pass no later than mid-morning tomorrow.
The rest of the group would still be on the pass at that point, so if they were quick enough, they could catch up before they reached the other side. That would be the best scenario, but Natalia had a feeling it wasn't going to be so easy. Especially if she had to convince Bella to go with her.
Natalia didn't yet know what she was going to do if Bella still refused to go with them by the time she found her. If that was going to be the case, then Natalia would have to travel the pass on her own, which wasn't the wisest idea but what else could she do.
Either way, Natalia needed to find Bella to make sure she was okay.
