Laurie's Wolves (32 page)

Laurie lifted her face to glance out the wall of windows facing the slopes. She shivered and rubbed her arms, though it wasn’t cold next to the fire at all. “What time is it?”

Corbin sat up straighter. “Almost ten. The snow stopped a few hours ago. The roads just got cleared. People are starting to leave. But others are going to start arriving. The conditions will be awesome up there today with all that powder.”

Laurie stood rooted in her spot, still staring at the slopes. She wrapped her arms around her body and then flinched when the lift in her line of vision jerked to life. She inched forward slowly, toward the windows.

“You okay, babe?” Corbin’s voice behind her sounded farther away than it should have.

Drawn as if she were a magnet, she climbed over people and their belongings to get to the windows. She couldn’t take her eyes off the lift. Two men were working feverishly at the bottom, one on each side of the seats, knocking the snow off the black leather as they went by. A line of skiers had formed at the bottom already.

Laurie’s heart beat rapidly. She swallowed hard. Something wasn’t right. The world around her was oblivious, but she knew something was off.

“Laurie?” Corbin set a hand on her back, making her nearly jump out of her skin. She ignored him and squinted at the base of the mountain.

There. Behind the ski-lift operators.

She dropped her arms and ran full out toward the glass door. As she shoved through it, she kept her gaze on the black aura. It was completely formed and hovering among the machinery that operated the lift. No one seemed to notice a thing.

But Laurie did.

“Shit,” Corbin muttered at her back, racing along behind her.

Carlie and Adam stood at the base of the lift talking to the men who held brooms and were using them to beat the snow off the seats.

Laurie lifted her gaze up the mountain. Nothing looked out of place, but she knew in her gut it wasn’t safe to get on that lift. She ran faster.

“Carlie,” she yelled as soon as she thought she would be heard over the machinery and the chattering of skiers.

Adam turned around first, his hand on his mate’s arm. He frowned as he met Laurie’s gaze. Both of Zach’s parents stepped toward her, meeting her several yards from the lift. “What’s the matter?” Adam asked.

Laurie was out of breath. “You can’t send skiers up there!”

“Why not?” Carlie grabbed Laurie’s arm to steady her. “Honey, what’s the matter?”

Corbin set his hand on her back. “Babe?”

“I don’t know.” She stared past them at the lift where the black aura still hovered. While she watched, it sucked in on itself and disappeared.

She shuddered.

“Laurie?” Corbin rounded to her side and grabbed her chin. “What is it?”

“The spirits.”

“I saw it. What does it mean?”

“No idea. But my gut tells me not to send skiers up the mountain. Not now. It’s not safe.” She shifted her gaze to Adam.

He crossed his arms and tapped his lips with two fingers.

“Adam?” Carlie turned toward him. “We have to listen to her.”

“I know.” His shoulders slumped. He blew out a breath. “Who wants to tell the skiers?” He didn’t wait for a response. His question wasn’t meant to be answered. He owned the resort. He would handle it. Instead, he turned around and took quick strides back to the base of the lift.

Laurie remained where she was with Corbin and Carlie and watched as Adam spoke to the operators who lifted shocked faces as he passed them both and reached for the large red button behind them to shut down the lift.

He turned toward the line of skiers and lifted a hand. “Can I have everyone’s attention?”

The group inched closer, their voices lowering to a manageable level of chatter Adam could speak over.

“I’m sorry. But we’re going to have to delay opening this morning.”

People groaned. Several shouted questions.

“Why?”

“How long?”

“The snow’s perfect.”

Adam continued, “I’m not sure how long. My groomers are working as fast as they can, but they aren’t quite ready at the top yet. Please be patient. I want everyone to have an enjoyable day, but safety comes first. I know you’re all anxious to hit the powder. Why don’t you come inside for a bit, and I’ll see if I can get some more details on how much longer it will be.”

Grumbling skiers turned away from the lift and stacked their gear against several of the closest ski racks. Most of them remained outside, staring up at the mountain with their hands shadowing their eyes.

Laurie felt awful for them. She could see the exact same thing they saw. Perfect conditions. Excellent weather.

But her instinct still screamed at her not to let anyone get on that lift.

“What should we do?” Carlie asked.

“I don’t know,” Laurie mumbled. She met Carlie’s gaze head on. “I don’t know,” she repeated.

»»•««

Zach lifted his face toward the sky fifteen minutes later and shook his head in disbelief. How could it possibly snow any more than it already had? The average monthly snowfall for the resort in December was typically about twenty inches. He was pretty sure they had exceeded that level in the last week—over half of it last night.

Whatever Mother Nature was trying to prove, She was speaking loud and clear. She just wasn’t making any sense.

Did She want something? He’d gladly hand it over if he knew what it was. He was getting the feeling She wanted a human sacrifice or something. And frankly, he had a few people in mind he would gladly offer.

He smirked and plunged his shovel back into the bank of snow again. The other three men helping him dig out the cabin were working as quickly as he was. At the rate they were working, it would take them the entire blasted day to get to every cabin. They had been working four hours and they were only on the third cabin. They needed more hands. The snow was packed in tight. Even if they only made a path to the front door of this one, they were going to be exhausted soon. None of them had slept much.

A noise made him lift his head and turn toward the rising sun. The snow groomers were hard at work clearing the slopes above them. They were almost done. The slopes looked amazing. A small part of Zach envied the first skiers who were going to enjoy this gorgeous day while he worked his ass off digging out trapped guests.

But something was off.

A loud crack sounded. And then another. The groomers were still moving. He could hear them clearly. They had no idea there was any other noise in the area. The machines were too loud.

The other three men righted themselves.

“What was that?” one of them asked.

“No idea,” replied another man.

Another sharp sound, like ice breaking.

Zach’s body crawled with fear. He knew that sound. He’d heard it once before. He dropped his shovel and screamed, “
Avalanche
.”

The other three men twisted to look at him.

“
Run
. Fucking run for the backside of the cabin.”

They all four scrambled to get to the cabin. It was half buried in snow itself, but at least the side facing down the slope would be a small protection against the deluge of snow that was sure to come crashing all around them in just a few seconds.

Zach was the farthest from the cabin. It wasn’t an easy task trying to free himself from the hole he’d dug and climb over the fresh powder to get to safety.

A loud roaring filled his ears—like a freight train barreling toward him. When he lifted his gaze up the mountain, he could see why. A wall of snow was tumbling full force in his direction. He didn’t have enough time. He glanced at the cabin, noticed his other three men were almost there, and stopped in his tracks.

Think
. He couldn’t decide the best course of action. He was trapped. On instinct, he grabbed his shovel out of the hole he’d been digging, flipped it on end, and jabbed the handle into the snow. His hope was that the blade would stick out of the powder and help his people know where he’d been buried.

And then he took two strides to the closest thick tree trunk, jumped behind it, and wrapped his arms around the thick bark.

Please God…

At the last second, he called out to his mates.
“Avalanche. Not gonna make it. Love you both.”
He took one more peek at the wall of snow heading his way, grabbed the trunk with all his strength, and closed his eyes tight.

He tucked his face down inside his slightly unzipped coat, hoping for a few minutes of air when all was said and done.

And then the snow hit him so fast he didn’t have time for another thought.

He held tight to the trunk, but the force was too much. In a moment, he was shrouded in total darkness. He lost his grip and fell backward, tumbling with the snow for several yards.

He couldn’t breathe. The air was ripped from his lungs.

Just as suddenly he stopped, his head slamming into something.

And then nothing.

∙
•
∙

Corbin stared in horror as he lifted his face up the mountain, realizing immediately what was happening.

“What is it?” Laurie asked. She grabbed his arm, squeezing it hard.

He couldn’t hear the telltale roaring of the avalanche yet, but he knew in seconds it would follow the giant plume of snow lifting into the sky at the crest.

“Jesus,” Laurie muttered as they both helplessly watched the wall of whiteness plowing down the mountain from near the upper lodge.

She flattened a hand over her mouth and gasped. A loud sob escaped her lips. “
No
,” she screamed.

Corbin grabbed her by the arm and tugged her against his body. He buried his face in her shoulder and let out cry of angst.

“No,” she said again, her shoulders slumping. “No.” She shook her head back and forth. “
Zach
,” she screamed through their connection.

Corbin shouted into his head also. “
Zachary
.”

“Avalanche. Not gonna make it. Love you both.”
And then nothing.

Laurie shuddered in Corbin’s arms.

He wrapped his body around hers and held her tight.

“This can’t be happening.” She shook her head again, back and forth without stopping. “This can’t be what Fate had in mind for us. I can’t believe it. I won’t.” She stomped her foot.

Adam stepped up behind them. “Lord.”

Corbin lifted his face from Laurie’s shoulder and met Carlie’s gaze. He swallowed.

She shook her head the same way Laurie had. “Oh, God.”

“I’m sorry, Mrs. Masters.”

“No.”

“We’ll find him.” Laurie tore herself from Corbin’s arms and ran toward the ski lift. “Come on,” she shouted. “Let’s get up there.”

“Laurie.” Corbin raced toward her and grabbed her by the arm.

“Don’t. We need to hurry. Every second counts.”

“It does. And we’re going up, babe. But we need coats. Gloves. Hats. Boots.”

She glanced down at her sweatshirt and jeans and nodded. And then she turned to race toward the lodge. “Let’s go.”

In minutes, Corbin sat on the lift with Laurie at his side. She gripped his hand as they stared down at the devastation.

“How will we find him in all that mess?”

“I don’t know.” He wasn’t as optimistic that they could as she was. He’d been pleading with Zach to answer him from the moment he’d heard his last statement of love. But he’d gotten no response yet.

He knew Laurie was also screaming at Zach. He could tell by the glazed look in her eyes.

And then she switched the direction of her gaze and continued concentrating with wide eyes.

Finally she broke from the short trance and looked at him. “Mimi just spoke to me.” She grabbed his arm.

“In human form?”

“Yes. She could sense something wasn’t right. She says she feels Zach. He has to be fine. He isn’t dead. She would know.”

Corbin stared at her. Weary. Could that old woman really predict such a thing? His fear didn’t alleviate. He said nothing.

As they exited the lift with dozens of other people, Corbin took off running for the third cabin. Zach was presumed to have been digging in that area. He was a survivor. He would have done everything possible to save his life and that of his men.

He could sense Laurie on his heels as they ran. It was a ways, but it looked as though the majority of the avalanche had barreled toward the row of cabins. The snow groomers probably dislodged the loose powder and caused the land to be upset.

Several men who had abandoned the grooming vehicles were already on the scene, digging frantically in the snow around the cabin with their bare hands.

One of them shouted as Corbin approached. “I’ve got something.” He reached into the snow and pulled out a blue knitted cap. “Shit.”

Two men flanked him and dug harder in that area.

Seconds later, Corbin came to their side. “How many are buried?”

“Four.” One man glanced at Corbin. “Three were right here behind the cabin. Zach was over there.” He pointed to an area that had been hammered by the avalanche.

Corbin inhaled sharply. He watched out of the corner of his eye as Laurie scrambled in the direction indicated. The snow was so thick and rugged, it was hard to maneuver.

The three men continued to dig in the area behind the cabin while Corbin raced after Laurie. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched as someone from inside the cabin climbed out the window shouting his intentions to help.

Laurie spun around in circles, waving her arms in the air. “Jesus. Where do we start?”

“I don’t know, babe.” Fuck. What a disaster. The chances of finding Zach buried alive in this snow were slim.

The chances of finding anyone were slim.

Screams at his back made him look toward the cabin.

“They have a hole. Holy shit. They’re all in there.”

All?
Corbin’s heart raced.

A hand came up out of the snow and slowly a man pulled himself out with the aid of several others grabbing him by the sleeves. He gasped for air on his hands and knees as soon as he was free and then lifted his gaze toward Corbin and pointed. His voice was raspy. “Tree.” He nodded. “That one.”