“That’s where we’re heading then.”
Sharon shook her head. “Not enough time. You’ll never make it there. The road is too windy, dark, and narrow. It’s not safe at night.” What she knew was that someone in her family needed to go. On four paws. Not two men in a car.
“Not planning to drive,” Isaiah commented. “Just show me the location on a map.”
Sharon’s father had climbed down from the car. He held a map he’d been intending to use to show the people at the meeting how close to home the fault line was located and the epicenter. Now, he spread it out on the hood of the car and pointed to the spot where the biology team was last known to be researching.
Isaiah nodded. “We’ll find them.” His voice easily carried over the roar of the sirens and the screams from the citizens.
Melinda glanced at Sharon. “I’ll go too.”
“What? With them?” Sharon’s father asked. “We can’t let you do that. It’s too dangerous.”
“It’s also necessary. I can feel it.”
Wyatt shook his head. “With all due respect, we can cover more ground alone. Stay with your family. We’ll take care of this.” He grabbed his brother’s shoulder and pulled him away from the group.
Both men turned around and jogged across the parking lot toward the base of the mountain. What the hell did they think they were going to do in the dead of night with no more clothes than they had on their backs and armed with nothing but determination? No human could run as far as they proposed, not even with an adrenaline rush.
Melinda glanced after them and then hugged Sharon briefly. “I’m going with them. I’m certain it’s what I’m meant to do. Let Cooper know where we’re going. I’ll speak to my mates and my mother along the way.”
Sharon jumped forward. “No. God no. Please, Melinda. Listen to yourself. It’s not safe. And we don’t even know who those men are.” She looked around. “Where are Trace and Keegan?”
“Trace is on call. Keegan is around here somewhere.” She narrowed her gaze. “Look, those two men? They’re not going to hurt me. Trust me. I’ve touched them both. I know there are a lot of unanswered questions, but I’m safe with them.”
Jackson stepped between the women and wrapped his arm around Sharon. “I don’t know how I could possibly know this, but I believe Melinda.”
Sharon turned her gaze to stare at Jackson, blinking back her confusion. Her heart raced. Her brother Trace was going to kill her.
It gave Sharon the slightest amount of satisfaction knowing how sensitive Melinda was to touch. Perhaps if she didn’t get an eerie vibe from the men, they were on the up and up.
Or perhaps the entire thing was a ruse to lure Melinda away from the group.
“I’ll tell Trace and Keegan as I go,” she called over her shoulder.
Sharon stared at her retreating back, finally flinching when her father spoke from behind her. “She’ll be fine.”
“How do you know?” She whirled around to face him.
His expression was stern with concern. For the community or Melinda? Was he simply telling her that to calm her? “I’m not sure. But I can say, although I’ve never met those two men before, I feel as though I must know their families. Like a déjà vu. They’re not human.” He said this last part with a lowered voice only she and Jackson could hear.
“Seriously? Dad? Are you listening to yourself? We would know if they were shifters.”
“I agree. If they were wolf shifters.” He met her gaze and held it.
Jackson gasped. “There are more than just wolves?”
Her father shrugged. “Can’t say for sure. But why is it so preposterous to consider the possibility?”
Sharon bit her lower lip. He was right. But why now? And why did Melinda have to take it upon herself to run off with them?
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Melinda ran as fast as she could to catch up with the two men heading toward a black truck in the parking lot. “Wait,” she shouted as she got close enough.
They spun around. Their faces were grim, hard lines of concern.
“Let me go with you. I know these mountains. You can’t possibly be as familiar as I am.” After all, she’d never seen them before this week.
Wyatt opened his mouth to speak and then stopped when Isaiah took his arm. “She should go with us. She’s right.”
Wyatt’s eyes widened. “Have you lost your mind?”
Isaiah shook his head. “No. I think I’ve just found it. Too many years in seclusion. Too many years of secrecy. And for what? We can’t single-handedly save the life of everyone trapped on this mountain. We aren’t God.”