After She's Terminal The Alpha Regrets (Elaine and Lucas) novel Chapter 111

Chapter 111

Farriet set her keys down, kicking the door shut behind her. “Elaine, I’m back!” she called, pulling her coat off as she walked into the living room.

“Elaine?”

Harriet went through the kitchen then walked to the garage, opening it up. Elaine’s car was still gone.

She hummed softly under her breath, pulling her phone out to check her messages. No texts, no missed calls. If Elaine had gotten to the top of mountain, or even if she was just headed back, she would have sent at least a text, right?

Harriet tried calling her. Nothing. Sent a text. Nothing.

She began to worry.

Harriet paced back and forth in the living room, waiting to hear any word from Elaine but as time ticked by and there was no response, she pulled up the only number she could think of. And called.

Liam was sprawled out on his couch, a bag of chips beside him, scrolling endlessly through a list of movies on the TV. He exhaled slowly, groaning at all the rom–coms that kept popping up.

His phone started to buzz.

He glanced down at it, and immediately his brow knit together. Harriet was calling? He tossed the remote aside and picked up his phone.

“Hello?”

“Liam! Have you heard from Elaine lately?”

Liam frowned, resentment starting to build. “No.”

“She went on a hike earlier today. Was supposed to be back before I got home but…she’s not here and she’s not answering her phone.”

That got his attention. No matter his resentment for being turned down, if Elaine was trouble…

“Where?”

“Raven’s Point.”

“And you let her go alone?” Liam asked, standing up and running to get his keys. He was the only one who knew of Elaine’s condition. If she had an episode and was somewhere on that mountain.

“She’s plenty capable! I didn’t think anything of it.”

“Well you should have!”

Liam hung up, running out the door. It wasn’t Harriet’s fault, he knew that. Elaine was stubborn in her own right. She should have known not to go alone, especially with her illness.

He practically jumped into his car and was pulling out before he had a chance to second–guess himself. Raven’s Point. He had to make it to Raven’s Point.

The drive felt agonizingly slow. Liam’s car slid to a stop at the trailhead. He got up, spotting Elaine’s car. So she was here And she hadn’t come back down the mountain. Fear rippled up through him.

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+20 BONUS

There were so many different trails to the top, and what if she’d fallen off the path somewhere?

Pe shoved the feeling down, instead bringing himself to focus. Panicking wouldn’t help Elaine now. Liam strode forward, halfway there the change took him. Quick and efficient. His wolf trotted up to the vehicle, taking in the familiar scent. Lilac and fresh rain.

He inhaled deeply, then turned to the trail. The scent was several hours old, but he still caught it. He took off at a run, following the smell. Each stride grew longer, more desperate. Even the steep incline that followed uphe mountain did not slow him by much. He ran until his lungs burned then kept pushing.

The scent was growing stronger now. He picked his way through the uneven terrain near the top of the mountain, slowing down. Wolf ears pricked forward, nose to the ground.

Then he heard it.

A soft breath was all it was, but it might as well have been louder than thunder. His canine hearing picked it up instantly and he ran forward, rounding a patch of pine and rock. He came to a stop. 1

There she was.

Elaine sat before a cliff, knees pulled up to her chest. Just… breathing. Her gaze glued to the horizon.

Ir an instant, he was back to his human shape, straightening his muscles that were stiff with tension.

She didn’t often let herself feel this way, but everything seemed so hopeless. No matter what she did now, there was no changing the future. A future that was coming to an end.

Liam didn’t know what to say.