Total pages in book: 40
Estimated words: 36428 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 182(@200wpm)___ 146(@250wpm)___ 121(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 36428 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 182(@200wpm)___ 146(@250wpm)___ 121(@300wpm)
Cree fought to keep command of his stallion as he yelled, “Hold your horses steady!”
His stallion pounded the ground and snorted agitated, and though Cree kept him from breaking into a run, he could not stop him from turning. Once he got him under control, he listened for his men.
Cree scrunched his brow when he heard Dylan order, “Call out!” He sounded at a distance instead of close. He listened as the men called out their names one by one and each shout sounded fainter than the next.
“Dylan!” Cree shouted.
“Lord Cree,” Dylan yelled out, “I can barely hear you.”
Cree realized then that the rope he had fastened around his wrist was gone and that he probably had lost it while fighting to keep control of his horse and in the process had inadvertently drifted away from his men.
Cree dug deep to make his voice as powerful as he could. “Dylan, keep calling out so I can find my way to you.”
He waited for a response and could only catch a few faint words. “Rope. Not attached. Lost.”
With wolves in the area, he could not take a chance and keep moving. Besides, it would not be wise when he was not familiar with the terrain. He would have to hunker down where he was with his wife and wait it out.
He felt her quiver against him and went to reassure her and warn her not to let go of him when a sudden wolf’s growl sounded so close that it spooked the horse, and he reared up on his hind legs with such power that Dawn went flying out of Cree’s arms and into the thick mist.
CHAPTER 2
Cree cursed the blasted horse. His heart pounded viciously, fearful Dawn could be lying helpless beneath its hooves, and he would trample her. His strength and commanding tone brought the animal quickly under control. He listened for his wife to clap as he had told her to do if they were separated in the fog.
He heard nothing and he called out, angry he had failed to keep hold of her, “Dawn! Dawn!” He was met with nothing but silence, and his anger and fright grew. “Damn it, Dawn, answer me!” He swerved his head to the right thinking he heard something. “DAWN!”
A wolf cried out in a soulful howl as if commiserating with Cree, though more likely alerting his pack to a hunt.
What that meant had him rushing to dismount. He had to find his wife before the wolves did.
“DAWN! ANSWER ME RIGHT NOW!”
A clap. Was that a clap?
“DAWN!” he called out again and listened.
She would answer him if she could. That meant she may have been injured in the fall and lay unconscious somewhere, making her easy prey for the wolves. If he kept calling out to her the wolves would hear and follow the sound. But what choice did he have? And why hadn’t Dylan or any of his men heard him? Were they that far of a distance from them that none of them heard him call out?
He eased off his horse, keeping the animal calm with a soft voice, and holding tight to his reins. “We go slow to find her, my friend.”
Cree shuffled along the ground, keeping the horse behind him to follow in his tracks to avoid trampling his wife and praying he would bump into her.
“Dawn!” he called out, though not as loud as before and stopped when he thought he heard a sound, a movement. He listened, praying he would hear something, but again he was met with silence. He tried again. “Dawn!”
A sound! He was sure he heard a sound this time—a rustle of leaves.
If she had been hurt, she could be just regaining consciousness and was probably disoriented. His heart pounded against his chest with hope, yet fearful she could be hurt and unable to alert him to her whereabouts.
“Dawn!” he cried out more strongly, hoping his voice would break through her hazy mind if she had been left disoriented. Another rustle? It was faint, so he called out again. “Dawn! Clap if you hear me.”
His worry grew when a soft clap sounded. She had to be seriously hurt, if she could not produce a strong clap.
“Keep clapping so I can find you, Dawn,” he called out, angry at himself for not stopping sooner and waiting out the heavy mist. But there would be time later to chastise himself for a foolish decision. Right now, he needed to find his wife.
He heard another clap and concentrated on where the sound came from, the mist making it difficult to determine the location. He shuffled along the ground slowly and when another clap did not follow, he called out to her again.
“Keep clapping, Dawn, I can find you if you keep clapping,” he encouraged.
The clap sounded again, no stronger than before, though not weaker either and he listened. He thought to turn, but something warned him against it and when the clap came again, he pressed ahead, sounding like it was somewhere in front of him.