Page 77

“I love you, too. I meant what I told him… that I was selfish and greedy. I want both of you, all of you, forever,” she said.

“As long as you let us chase you every once in a while, you can have us anytime you like,” Van promised.

When the tent flap swung open, all three of them glanced upwards. The snowy owl, a ghostly white against the dark forest, swept out of the tent and disappeared into the darkness. Through the opening, she could see Eric lying motionless, his body twisted awkwardly on the ground. Her eyes shot upward, drawn to the thick, dark foliage of the tree above, searching for any sign of movement. The barred owl had vanished, leaving behind only the deathly silence of the forest.

“I vote that we hike out tonight and find a phone since we lost the satellite phones,” Peterson said, grimacing with pain.

A sudden flash of light, followed by the deafening whirring of a helicopter, jolted them into attention. They squinted, shielding their eyes from the intense light of the spotlight. Seconds later, government agents, clad in black, slid silently to the ground, their movements smooth and practiced. Jayden watched as a woman removed her helmet and shouted out an order.

“Secure the area.”

The woman walked over to them and nodded. “I’m agent Darlene Southpaw with the SBSI. Is Eric Singleton here?”

Jayden lifted her hand, her finger extended, and pointed at the tent, its canvas billowing in the down draft caused by the helicopter. Darlene turned and stared in that direction. The woman’s face betrayed a quick surge of emotion, a fleeting glimpse of something Jayden couldn’t quite place, before she turned to another agent, standing a few feet behind her.

“There’re two more bodies in the woods,” the man stated.

Darlene turned and looked at them. “I can have you airlifted out tonight or you can stay and go in the morning. Which do you want?”

“Tonight!”

The sheer force and enthusiasm of their unified voices brought a smile to the woman’s lips. Nodding, she gestured towards a waiting agent.

“Airlift them to the military hospital in Seattle so they can be taken care of,” she ordered.

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Who killed him?” Darlene asked.

Jayden looked at tent. “I don’t know. I didn’t see who it was.”

“At least, it is over,” Darlene murmured.

Jayden didn’t know what to say. Darlene’s words seemed to hang in the air. A sense of unspoken meaning lingered, making Jayden feel like there was more to the story. Something far more personal than the unfolding events of tonight, something that had touched this woman deeply.

Her throat tightened as Jayden watched the basket descend from the helicopter. As images from the past danced in her head, a surge of longing for home washed over her. Though her eyes were drawn to the moonlit mountain, her heart was elsewhere.

The sound of Peterson’s soft whimpers, combined with the feeling of Van’s wet nose against her palms, drew her attention downwards. She felt the warmth of the two wolves’ fur beneath her fingers, a reassuring comfort. No, her heart no longer yearned for the cold mountains. It belonged to the two wolves who had captured her wild instincts and filled the emptiness in her soul.

Epilogue

Pineminister Castle

Victoria, Canada

* * *

Isabella Wyland, feeling the weight of her age, slowly walked down the marble hallway towards the den. The rhythmic tap of her cane on the gleaming floor was a frustrating reminder that she was no closer to finding out the secret her brother held about the human world.

As she entered the sitting room, she was relieved to be greeted by the warmth of the fire. Sleep had eluded her, and she got out of bed shortly after midnight. Her attempts to reach Eric by phone were met with silence. He wasn’t even answering the bloody Operator.

Mid-stride toward the fireplace, she noticed the gray trousers and shiny shoes. Her anger simmered, and she could feel it building inside her like a pressure cooker about to explode. The thought of spending even one more minute this evening with her brother filled her with a lifetime’s worth of weariness. Her home, once a sanctuary, now felt overcrowded and suffocating, and she desperately craved a moment of solitude.

“I thought you had gone to bed hours ago,” she snapped.

“Tsk-tsk, Isabella. You are getting grouchier in your old age,” the man responded.

“Hyder? I thought—Eric insinuated—the house?—”