Into the Woods

Grant

Thwack.

No one spoke to him like that.

Thwack.

And now she was leaving his messages unread?

Thwack.

Who the fuck did she think she was?

Grant pulled another log from the stack behind him. His hands clenched into fists, squeezing tight as his knuckles cracked and the wood groaned. Grunting, he relaxed his grip, placing the log on a stump, the ground littered with its broken brothers.

Thwack.

She had to be one of the most infuriating women he'd ever known.

Thwack.

"Fuck!" Grant's muscles strained as he slammed the axe into the stump. He yanked hard on the haft, but the blade refused to come free. Growling, Grant braced his boot against the stump, putting all his strength behind his next pull. The wood splintered with an explosion of force. His face contorted in a grimace as the axe finally came loose, and Grant stumbled back. Screaming, he threw the axe at the remaining uncut logs.

No.

His chest heaved, sweat running between his shoulder blades as the muscles in his jaw tensed.

He wasn't going to let her have this much power over him. He'd worked too hard and too long to master the rage burning within his soul to let it out again now. He had to stop before he said or did something he'd regret. If this is what she wanted, then he would give it to her. It's not like she would be the first woman in his life to decide she didn't want him. He could just turn it all off and move on. Grant looked at the mess of logs on the ground, proof of his attempt to channel his anger into a safer outlet than going on a rampage.

Dirt billowing in the air a mile down the path to his den caught his attention. For a moment hope blossomed in his chest. Had she changed her mind? Had she come to apologize?

Then a small, rickety blue pickup pulled up next to his car, and his mood plummeted. Grant waited for the small woman to climb out of the driver's seat before cracking his neck and taking a menacing step forward.

"What are you doing here, Margo?" he asked, his tone leaving no doubt that he was anything but happy to see her.

Margo threw him a wide smile as she straightened out her coat. "Oh, you know, just in the neighborhood and thought I'd swing by. See how you're doing, make sure you're eating properly."

Grant snorted, then sighed. "How did you find my den?"

"Please. Everyone knows where your den is." She looked at the logs. "I see you're stocking up before it snows. That's good." She bent and picked one up, examining a tuft of moss embedded in the bark.

He looked down at her and shook his head, amused despite the anger still stewing in his chest. "Are you going to tell me why you're here or not?"

"Promise you won't bite?"

Grant stared at her, then slowly raised an eyebrow.

Margo dropped the log with a huff and turned to face him. "Have you seen Nat?"

His heart skipped a beat.

"No." The word came out with more bite than he had intended.

"We've been trying to reach her all week and haven't been able to get hold of her. You know what she's like. She gets a thought stuck in her head and it's almost impossible to distract her, much less deter her." Margo sucked her bottom lip between her teeth, worrying it back and forth. "We were wondering if she might have talked to you at all about her plans? I mean, if anyone would be able to get through to her it's you, right?"

Grant stiffened. "Natalia isn't answering my calls or messages. I assume she must have blocked me because she stopped reading them a few days ago."

"When exactly?"

He sighed, running a hand over his face. "I don't know, Monday?"

Margo stared at him, eyes wide. "That's when her phone stopped working. No calls, no texts, no GPS trackers. She went completely off the grid." She held up her own phone to show him a picture of a map. A flashing dot over a large mass of trees and mountain marked where Nat should be, but nothing showed up on the screen.

He shook his head. "I don't care. Nat made her choice. And, for your information, it didn't include me."

Margo gaped at him. "What?"

He grunted in response, bending over and starting to stack the logs.

She huffed at him, her hands landing on her hips. "What are you talking about?"

"It means Nat decided she didn't want me in her life and made damn sure I knew before slamming a door in my face." His words came out cold, without a trace of emotion. Somehow. Inside he was barely holding it together.

"Oh, come off it." She scoffed at him. "She didn't say that."

"No, I believe her exact words were, 'fuck off – fuck right off'. So, yeah." He did nothing to mask the sarcasm in his tone as he shoved a log into the stack with enough force it caused the rest to collapse. "I'd say that pretty much covers it."

"Why would she—"

Grant threw the last of the logs onto the new pile he now had to clean up. Great. He turned towards Margo and snarled, "Why don't you ask her yourself? I'm sure she'd love to tell you all about it."

"I can't find her!" Margo cried, her face filled with frustration and despair.

He shrugged, grabbing the axe and taking a swing at the nearest log. The sharp blade sank through the wood with a satisfying crack. Margo took a step back, eyeing him and the axe as if she suddenly remembered where she was and who she was dealing with.

"Doesn't sound like that's my problem anymore." He threw a sideways look at her, watching for her reaction. "Sounds like it's all on you now. Good luck with that. You're going to need it."

Margo sucked in a breath through clenched teeth. Then another. And another. She blew out, her shoulders relaxing. "She blew up the dam above Mason's Turn."

"I'm sorry, what did you say?" he asked. He didn't quite believe what he thought he'd heard her say.

"The dam. At the top of Mason's Turn?"

"I know what and where it is. I'm more focused on the part where you think Nat destroyed it."

Playing with the tip of her braid, Margo looked everywhere but at Grant. "Tuesday. The debris obliterated everything in its path, including North Pass and the lowland trails. I don't have proof, she covered her trail really well. But Sunday she was looking through the archived topographical maps of the valley. And you know how she is! The girl has a vendetta that would put the guerrillas in Extosan to shame. She would never give up. I mean, come on! You've met her, right? It doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize she's more stubborn than an ox."

Grant froze. A cold weight settled in his stomach as he felt his chest tighten.

"Look, I don't know what bullshit went on between the two of you, but you are the only one who can find her. So, stop acting like a jackass and help me before she destroys herself in the process of carrying out whatever asinine plan she has in her head. Okay?"

He really wanted to say no. He really, seriously, unequivocally, wanted to say no.

"The only way out of the valley is..." The words hardly crossed her lips when an explosion rocked the earth below their feet. Grant stared in shock as the trees surrounding them shuddered. Birds exploded from the canopy, cawing their displeasure as they flew away. Smoke plumed into the sky from the east. "The bridge over Mason's River." Margo finished, her face a mask of horror.

Instinct threw Grant into action. He started stripping, much to Margo's apparent displeasure.

"What are you doing?" she cried, turning bright red and looking away.

"Wolf is fastest," he growled, ripping first his boots, then his pants off. Grant ignored her gasp as he shifted into his wolf form and leapt into the tree line. The shift always made humans uneasy.