Chapter 18

Devin dropped the bag beside Rayne’s shoes and shifted back. He dropped down to the floor. He was tired already and hadn’t even begun searching. He didn’t want to wait any longer than needed, but if he didn’t stop for a few and take in some food he wouldn’t make it. Shifting was hard on his man and the more he shifted back and forth, the more energy he consumed. Opening the bag, he pulled out some awful vanilla flavored nutritional supplement bars and ripped open the packaging. He’d prefer a large steak at this point, but didn’t have time for that, and he couldn’t very well find Rayne and offer her meat. She’d told his wolf she was a vegetarian, which at the time had been too ironic for thought, but he’d remembered at the last moment when he was packing a few supplies.

Devin stood up and dressed between bites. He hoped the nylon straps he’d brought would be long enough to tie to the canoe and hook over his shoulder, but wasn’t sure. Whether they were or not wouldn’t matter, between the lake and the rain, he was going to be soaked. Securing everything else back into the water-resistant bag, he looked once more down at her camera and stepped out the door into the rushing wind.

His shoulders hurt, back ached and he’d never been so wet in his life. Even the thought of a hot shower repulsed him right now. He’d made it almost to the shelter in roughly an hour. The wind was finally letting up, but the rain continued. His jeans were so wet, they were a few pounds heavier and he didn’t want to think about what would be chafed in the morning. He hadn’t thought to bring a flashlight, not that he needed one in the dark, but it would have allowed him to look further in the direction he was heading. If she wasn’t at the shelter, he wasn’t sure whether he was going to continue to drag the canoe along the shore or get in to paddle over each inch of the lake.

With the wind now lessened, he tried to pick up Rayne’s scent. The heavy rain made that hard. Each tree and plant seemed to ooze their own fragrance and it was dizzying trying to sort through them to find a trace of her. He trudged on, his shoes slipping every few steps. His thoughts kept shoving too many what ifs forward as he became wearier, but he managed to shake them off. She was going to be okay, maybe wet and scared, but otherwise fine. He had to keep positive or he’d lose it completely, and then he’d be no help to anyone.

Twenty more feet and he’d be there. Devin paused and stood there, suddenly aware that the rain had ended. He listened just to be sure. It was over, finally.

Devin hurried to the shelter, taking the strap from across his chest and flipping it over his head as he went. He wrapped it around a tree and ran the last few feet to the shelter. Pushing the door open, he half expected a greeting but was met with an empty silence. He stood in the small door and looked at the vacant space, she wasn’t here. Closing his eyes, he dropped his head down and tried to curb the anxiety that was choking him. Where do I look now?

He turned and walked back towards the canoe. When he reached it, he stared without a clue of where to look next. He would not think the worst, not until he’d searched each inch of the land around the lake. She was going to be just fine, he was going to find her. He looked out across the lake and scowled. When he’d spotted the canoe blowing adrift he had thought she was safe.

Turning back, he pulled the strap from the tree and a thought hit him. He spun back to the lake and looked over to the other end. He’d been in the shower building when he’d spotted it and the wind was blowing East over the lake, maybe more North-East. He turned and looked back towards the shore near the building, the wind had been pretty consistently gusting in the same direction, so that meant the canoe possibly came from the North-East side of the lake. He could be completely wrong, but it was the best idea of where to head to next. Tossing the strap into the canoe he stepped in and sat down.

The whole lake and area around it was silent now, only crickets could be heard, which increased his chances of finding her. When he was close enough to the shore line he could call her and if there were things such as the fates, they would make her hear him and answer.

Devin paused every few strokes and let the canoe coast silently through the water, while listening for any sign of something or someone not normally in the bush surrounding the lake. Limbs were cracking as things settled after the storm, making it hard to single out any particular sound. How long had she been out here? He tried to do the math to distract his mind as he paddled. He’d watched her play around near the shore for only a few minutes and then he’d gone back to the archives. Two cold cups of coffee later he looked out to see the clouds. Two hours, maybe and then two of pacing around the house like a lunatic. Five hours? Closer to six that she’d been out here alone, he guesstimated. Which would be about four hours longer than she’d be able to cope with, or was that him that couldn’t cope with it?

Devin sliced the paddle through the water with as much strength as he could find and headed towards the clearest area on the shoreline. “Rayne!” He bellowed and listened to it echo in the night. Pausing with the paddle in the air, he listened and looked. Nothing. He paddled several more feet and then called out again. He heard the sound of branches breaking, he didn’t know if it was something falling from the tree tops or something moving on the ground, but it was the first inkling of hope he’d felt, so he paddled with a new-found speed until he was running adrift up the shore.

Grabbing the strap, he snagged it on a log near the water’s edge and splashed with wide strides onto the shore. “Rayne?” He called out and then held his breath, waiting. More branches snapped almost straight ahead of him. He took a few cautious steps in that direction, allowing his wolf instincts to the surface just in case it wasn’t something he wanted to find.

Every muscle in his body tensed and he stopped. He’d heard...

“Here.”

He heard it again and wildlife didn’t gasp out words. Devin stumbled through some small bushes towards the one word whispered to the night. “Rayne? Stay where you are and talk to me so I can find you.” He wanted to charge through the trees to find her, but without sure direction he’d only be wasting his time. The wet smells of nature after the storm didn’t allow for him to pick up her scent.

“Here. I’m here.”

He heard more movement.

“Please.”

He headed towards the sounds of movement, having heard them better than the voice. Just as he was about to stop and call out to her again he saw a movement in the corner of his eye. He spun around and then stopped short. She was leaning against a large tree, with her head resting on her arm. He ran to her, almost sliding into her on the wet soil. “Are you all right?”

She leaned into his chest without speaking. Devin wrapped his arms around her cold, shivering form and tried to slow his heart enough so he could speak. “Are you hurt?”

She clung to his wet shirt. “Foot,” she breathed.

Without waiting for any further explanation, he scooped her up into his arms and walked back towards the canoe. Every muscle in her body was rigid and cold.

“Sorry,” she croaked in a voice that was raw.

“Shh, we’ll get you back to the house and fixed up.” He tucked her head under his chin as he trudged back into the water to set her in the canoe. Setting her in the middle of it, he yanked on the strap until it came free and tossed it into the canoe. Climbing in, he sat behind her on the bottom of the canoe and pulled her back into his arms, and then he remembered the blanket. Reaching around her, he pulled the bag closer, pulled the plastic bag from her shoulders and wrapped the blanket around her.

He had intended to wrap her in it and then get up on the seat to paddle, but as soon as he secured it around her shoulders she leaned into him again and he found he wasn’t able to move even that short distance away from her. He needed to be close to her right now as much as she needed to be close to him. Shifting without moving her more than he needed to, Devin knelt on the bottom and reached for the paddle. His legs wouldn’t like this, but if this is what she needed to make her feel better, then he had no choice.

She still hadn’t moved when he was half way across the lake, so he paused long enough to check on her. “How are you doing?” She rubbed her face into his chest but didn’t speak. At least her shivering had eased up a little bit. “I’ll have you in a warm bath shortly, hun. Just hang on.” Determined that he was telling her the truth, he forced his aching arms to guide the canoe towards the shore with as much speed as possible.