Page 10

The first light of dawn emerged through jagged peaks, revealing the aftermath of last night’s vicious storm. The mountains stood sharp and dark, their edges brutal against the bruised sky, where heavy clouds still hung. White tipped the peaks and spread down the mountains to the flowing Yukon River. Even with a storm having cleansed the area, the stench of burned wood and destroyed flesh fill ed the morning.

Vero had searched through the night, but with the smell of the fire clogging the air, he couldn’t catch his friend’s scent. Now he stood in front of the lodge noting the damage. They’d built it in less than a week, so they’d probably be able to rebuild that side in a few days. Well, if the y had supplies.

The whir of a helicopter filled the air and he paused, stiffening as he saw Silas land in the helicopter area closer to th e edge of camp.

Liam and Collin jogged up, both bruised and moving slowly, their green eyes determined. “All of the buildings have been searched, and we just ran the length of the forest to the south. Found nothing,” Liam said. At least Vero thoug ht he was Liam.

The other one nodded. “Liam climbed several trees. My left leg is still healing.”

So, Vero had guessed correctly. Good. Liam had a gash above his right eye, distinguishing them. For now, anyway. Vero pinched the bridge of his nose. “Okay.” He glanced uneasily at the icy river that flowed too smoothly. “We may have to dive.”

“I’m up for it,” Paxton said, walking out o f the building.

“You’re not going anywhere,” Vero protested. “I don’t know why I have to remind you all the time that you’re the fucking king.”

One of Paxton’s dark eyebrows rose. “Hunter Kayrs is my family just like you,” he retorted. “I’m goin g to find him.”

The helicopter’s blade silenced and Silas jumped out before reaching in the back for seve ral large bags.

“At least the surveillance cameras have arrived,” Vero muttered.

The lodge door opened again and Lyrica walked out, wearing jeans, a heavy coat, and tall snow boots. She brought him a cup of coffee. His heart warmed, even though the chill of losing Hunter wouldn’t quite leave him. The guy had t o be somewhere.

“I can help you search,” she said, her hands encased in thick mittens.

“No, I need you to interview everybody again,” Vero ordered. “Everybody who attended speed dating first. I know they all ran outside when they heard the explosion, but I want to know who saw Hunter last. Wh ere did he go?”

There wasn’t a doubt in Vero’s mind that Hunter would have headed right for the explosion, especially since his cousins lived on that side of the house, and yet he remained nowhere to be seen. Vero hadn’t even thought about him until he could take a breath.

Paxton’s face darkened. “He would never have left Hope inside like that. Something ha ppened to him.”

Silas jogged up, his eyes a mellow red as he grunted when he dropped the camera materials gently on the porch. “What happened? It looks more like an explosion tha n just a fire.”

“It was,” Paxton said curtly. “Did you get everyth ing we needed?”

“I did.” Silas looked around. “Is everybody all right? Was anybody hurt?”

Lyrica leaned closer to Vero, probably without knowing it. He liked that she sought sh elter from him.

He shook his head. “We don’t think so, but we can’t find Hunter. When you flew over the camp, did you see anythi ng suspicious?”

Silas scratched his chin. “No. All I saw was white snow and the aftermath of a storm. It looked like the wind whipped a few trees bare. That’s why I couldn’t come back till this morning.”

Paxton glanced at the now silent helicopter, which was far beyond anything the humans had yet to invent. “Maybe we should look for him from the air. We’ve searched everywhere in camp, every building, every vehicle, every possible hiding place.”

Vero’s gut hurt. Hunter fought brutally well, and yet he’d disappeared without so much as a whisper. Who could have managed that? How many people would it have taken t o get him away?

The door opened yet again, and Hope walked outside, encased in a thick, long, black puffer jacket, a hat on her head. “Who needs coffee? I have more brewing. We’ll bring out a pot in just a minute.” Worry pinched her face, which had gone pale. “Nobody’s found Hunter?”

“Negati ve,” Vero said.

Paxton slipped his arm over her shoulders. “We’ll find him, Hope. I promise.” He glanced at the twins. “However, you two need to get her out of here. Go to Realm headquarters.”

Instantly all three protested. “We’re not going anywhere,” Liam snarled, “until we f ind my cousin.”

“Agreed,” Collin said, his voice low.

Hope nodded vigorously. “We can’t go home without him. We don’t know where he is, Paxton. You have to understand that.” Her lips pressed in to a firm line.

Vero looked at them, wondering what that kind of loyalty felt like. He thought he and his cousin had had loyalty, but he’d been wrong. His cousin, who was now dead, had known about Vero’s lineage for years and had never said a word. Had never told Vero that he even had a brother. It had been as much of a shock to him as it had been to Paxton.

Paxton looked over at him. “What do you say? We take the helicopte r up and look?”

Vero nodded. “Yeah.” Guilt filtered through him. He hadn’t really talked to Hunter since discovering his spying on the Kurjan nation the day Paxton became their king. Should he feel guilty? He didn’t eve n know anymore.

“We’ll go too,” Liam said, standing shoulder to shoulder wi th his brother.

“No.” Paxton looked at them, his face unyielding, no give in his voice. “I need you to keep an eye on Hope. Protect her and Lyrica. I promise if we see anything, we’ ll call it in.”

Collin’s face hardened in front of their eyes, but he no dded. “Agreed.”

Vero fought the very real urge to place a kiss on Lyrica’s nose and instead shoved his hands in his pockets and started walking toward the helicopter. His heart hadn’t mended all the way from the wooden shard, and one of his knees still felt out of joint, but he’d healed the internal damage he had sustained from the explosion.

Next to him, his brother limped just enough for Vero to notice. “You want to fly or want me to fl y?” Vero asked.

“How’s your head?” P axton murmured.

Vero rubbed a lump behind his right ear. “It’s good. Vision’s still a little b lurry, though.”

Paxton looked sideways at him. “I’ll pi lot the craft.”

“Fair enough.” At this point, Vero didn’t real ly give a shit.

The fact that they hadn’t been able to find Hunter or even a hint of him didn’t look good. The guy could fight. And disappearing without a word, well, that just didn’t make any sense.

Vero cleared his throat. He had a question and he didn’t like it, but he had to ask it. “I’m not saying that it has happened, but if somebody killed the King of the Realm’s son, I take it this newfound peace we have is over?”

Paxton’s jaw stiffened. “Nobody killed Hunter.”

All right, so they’d go with denial. Vero could be as nonlogical as the rest of them. “All righty then. Let’s hop in the helicopter. I’m sure we’ll spot h im right away.”

“We’d better,” Paxton growled, opening the pilot side of the s ouped-up craft.

Vero limped around the front and jumped up into the passenger seat, fastening his belt and shutting the door tight. The thing would be soundproof the minute Paxton started up the rotors and they’d have no need for headphones. Vero made sure his knives remained securely sheathed down his legs, with his gun at the bac k of his waist.

The helicopter started up silently and Paxton easily lifted them into the air. “What do you think?”

“Let’s follow the river.” From their position, it ran northwest before taking a sharp west turn in Alaska and emptying into the Bering Sea.

Paxton banked left. “You think he fell i nto the river?”

“I think if he was being attacked and he was outnumbered, he dove into the river.” It’s what Vero would have done. He wouldn’t allow himself to conside r alternatives.

“Agreed,” Paxton said, his jaw hard. The male no doubt worried about Hope and how she would take Hunter’s death.

Vero would mourn his friend later if they found him without his head. For now, he worried about his nation. Peace was tenuous, and if somebody in his camp had killed the future leader of the Realm, then peace had been ve ry short-lived.

They remained silent as they followed the river north and Vero kept his gaze peeled to the white ground beneath them, looking for any hint of the soldier. Only brush trees and wildlife filled his gaze. Nobody large enough to be Hunter. They continued for another twenty minutes.

“Do you think he would have floated this far? ” Paxton asked.

Vero nodded. He’d lived in various parts of Canada his entire life, and he knew how far one of these rivers could take a body. “Yes. Plus, it was a hell of a storm last night. The water would have been rushing fast, even be neath the ice.”

His gaze caught on something up ahe ad. He pointed.

“What is that?” Paxton banked the helicopter le ft and lowered.

“I don’t know. You see what I’m seein g?” Vero asked.

“Yes, but I can’t tell what it is. It mi ght be a deer.”

Whatever it was had stopped halfway between the river and a bend, snarled in a lo w-hanging tree.

Vero squinted to see better, his heart rate kicking up. “I think that’s a boot.”

Paxton leaned down. “Maybe.” He looked around. “There’s a flat area right there.” He f lew even lower.

Vero could barely make out the shape of a hand. His gut clenched. “We have a body,” he said. “I see a large hand.” He didn’t recognize the boots, but when was the last time he had noticed a nybody’s boots?

Paxton circled before slowly lowe ring the craft.

“You stay he re,” Vero said.

“Not a chance.” Paxton cut the engines and jumped out.

Vero shook his head. Keeping the leader of the Kurjan nation safe was becoming a pain in his ass. He opened his door and dropped out, sinking to the top of his rib cage in snow. His body heated the mass and he kicked his way through with Paxton at his side. It made a lot more sense for Paxton to get behind him since he was already creating a trail, but Pax doggedly moved forward with him. Vero was much too stubborn to step behind his brother. As they neared the river, they both increas ed their speed.

A scent hit Vero. Hunter, the smell of forest and snow. He launched into a run, barreling through the snowdrifts, as Paxton did the same. Getting closer, Vero skidded on his knees toward Hunter’s legs.

Hunter lay face down with his boots submerged, one caught on a rock. Dread filled Vero’s chest and he gently started to rip branches and even a small log out of the way.

“Is his head attached?” Paxton asked, his voice low as he tugged the boot fr ee of the rock.

“I can’t tell yet,” Vero said, his gut cramping. He lifted the last of the branches to see Hunter’s thick black hair caught on even more branches. “I see his head,” he said, leaning up, feeling around Hunter’s neck. Blood instantly coated his hand. That was good, though. He was still p roducing blood.

Relief blew through Vero as he looked closer. “He’s got a neck and head wound.” In fact, it looked like a knife had gone through the side of his neck almost to his spine. Vero fe lt for a pulse.

Paxton jumped over Hunter and crashed on the other side, helping to remove the rest of the brambles. He peered in. “His neck is still half attached. It’s not a death strike.”

“No, but it was close.” Vero shrugged out of his jacket and tore off his shirt. The jacket was too heavy, but he could bind Hunter’s neck with a shirt and at least keep his head on his body. Blood instantly filled the material as the wind whipped against Vero’s bare torso. He didn’ t feel a thing.

Paxton leaned in. “Tha t’s too close.”

“Agreed. It looks like they got about half of his neck. My guess is that he dove into the river and let the current bring him out of danger. He’ll be out for a while healing, but he’s not going to die.”

“We’ll see,” Paxton said. “We don’t know the rest of his injuries.”

As long as Hunter’s head remained halfway attached to his body, he would live. “Roll him over and we can carry him back to the helicopter.” Vero took a deep breath. “Hunter, I have no idea if you’re even remotely awake, but buddy, this is going to hurt.”