“Why not you?” Trace asked.
“Don’t have clothes.”
“How did you get there so fast with two humans?” Keegan asked.
“You will not believe it when I tell you. But let’s save it for later.”
“Are you safe, Melinda?” Keegan’s thoughts were filled with alarm.
“Very. Trust me. I’ve never been safer. Now, tell me where we need to head next. Who else is on this mountain?”
Trace gave an exasperated sigh. “You’re really going to run to another location and rescue more stranded people?”
“Until I can’t run another pace from exhaustion or because active lava is in the way.”
“Okay.” Trace hesitated. “Fine. Hikers. Die hards who wouldn’t come down when the earthquakes started. Camping. About a half mile to the west and a quarter mile down the mountain. At least that’s what they declared when they left the lodge. My dad is here with a list of who he knows is up there and where he thinks they are.
“A lot of people from both Sojourn and Cambridge are helping get to everyone who lives on the mountain, but sending them to find people without specific addresses is like looking for a needle in a haystack. Some of them are in range of the sirens. Others might not be able to hear the warnings. In either case, they won’t necessarily descend just because they hear a siren. They’ve been experiencing earthquakes for days.”
“I can scent them.”
“I know, baby. That’s why I’m going to direct you.”
Keegan interrupted. “Please be careful, hon. You mean the world to me. Don’t do anything heroic that will get you killed.”
“Oh, trust me. I’m in good hands. Nothing’s going to happen to me up here.”
“I can’t wait to hear the details of this saga.” Trace’s voice trailed off, and she cut the connection just as Wyatt and Isaiah returned.
“Done,” Wyatt said. “They were already packing up after that last quake. They don’t have communication, but they were concerned. They’re heading down as we speak. Who’s next?”
It was still weird speaking to any living being telepathically who wasn’t shifted, a mate, or a female relative. Weirder was knowing these two were actually bear shifters with powers that far exceeded her own.
She turned around to face the direction they would head next, almost stumbling when she found a spirit hovering yards away. Even in the darkness, she could easily make it out. There was just enough light from the moon and stars to help guide them.
Wolves didn’t need much light, but she had no idea how well bears could see.
Speaking of bears… Both men had shifted behind her and now flanked her. “It’s one of yours,” Wyatt communicated. “I say follow it.”
“One of mine?” She tipped her head to one side to face him.
“The spirit. It’s a wolf spirit. Ours are a lighter shade. The brown ones. Yours are black.”
“Are you kidding me?” She had never known this tidbit of information, either. She’d always assumed the spirits she and the rest of her people witnessed where wolf guides.
On the flip side, she’d seen a variety of spirits that varied slightly in color, never thinking anything of it. There had been six hovering around the fracking site. Three were black. Three were brown. The brown ones were larger.
She shuddered as she faced the black aura in front of her now. One of mine…
Interestingly, she’d often thought of the spirits as seeming to coalesce into the form of a bear. That’s how she thought of the auras at times. Other wolves described them as such also. Coincidence?
She shook her head to clear her mind and took off behind the spirit. “Trace is communicating with me about the location of hikers. Do you two mind covering some more ground tonight?”
“Of course. That’s what we’re here for. We can keep up until there’s either no one to save or the volcano forces us down the mountain.” Isaiah remained to her left and two paces behind.
Melinda followed the black aura at a quick pace. The aura moved in front of her at exactly the same rate. It knew. It was guiding her on her terms.
It didn’t take them long to reach the next destination. The aura stopped moving, shimmering in front of her and seeming less agitated than she’d ever seen. More like excited. Invigorated at the prospect of saving lives.
Without a word, the bears shifted and trod up to the tent on the side of the mountain.
She reached out to Trace while she waited for them. “Trace? We found the hikers. Who’s next?”
“Melinda? How did you find them so fast?”
“I have a guide.”