Kane stopped near the door while Rhys lifted the hem of my shirt and examined the four punctures curved along my waist. He grabbed a clean towel from the counter and pressed it firmly against them.

“Stay still.”

I shook my head and tried to move toward the door, but Rhys caught me.

“No. You're not going out there.”

Please.

I mouthed the word and gestured toward the forest.

We can't leave him alone.

Tears blurred my vision as I tried to get past Rhys. Saint was somewhere in those woods, terrified of what he'd done, and every second we spent standing here gave him more time to disappear.

“You're bleeding, Scarlett.”

Kane crossed the kitchen, glanced at the towel pressed to my side, then toward the darkness beyond the open door.

“I'll go after him.”

“Don't corner him,” Rhys warned.

“I know how to handle Saint.”

“You know how to handle him when he's himself.”

Kane's jaw flexed, but he didn't argue. He headed outside, and I caught his wrist before he could leave.

He looked back at me. “I'm bringing him back, love.”

I searched his face for some reassurance that he believed it. Kane only squeezed my hand before slipping free and disappearing into the darkness.

I tried to follow, but my legs buckled before I reached the door.

Rhys caught me and lifted me into his arms despite my attempt to twist free.

“You can barely stand.”

I struggled until another stab of pain through my side forced me to stop. Rhys carried me into the living room, lowered me onto the couch and returned with the first-aid kit.

“Kane knows these woods better than you do, and if Saint is still out of control, the last thing he needs is to smell your blood coming after him.”

I hated that he was right.

There was nothing I could do except sit there while Rhys cleaned my waist. The punctures weren't deep, but seeing the four wounds Saint had never meant to give me brought the tears back.

“He didn't mean to hurt you,” Rhys said as he covered them with a dressing.

I nodded.

That wasn't what frightened me.

Saint had realized what he'd done and looked at me as though being anywhere near me had suddenly become dangerous.

Rhys finished securing the dressing and sat beside me, pulling me against his chest when I covered my face. I cried until my throat hurt too much to make another sound, while he held me without promising Saint would be fine or Kane would bring him home.

Another roar eventually carried through the forest, quieter and much farther away than before.

I lifted my head toward the windows and listened until it faded into the night.

Morning found me still on the couch beneath a blanket, my side aching and the house quiet enough to tell me Saint hadn't returned.

Neither had Kane, and sometime before sunrise, Rhys had gone to help search.

I got ready for work with Lily and came downstairs to find Kaiden waiting near the front door with the car keys.

“Any news?” Lily asked.

“Not yet. I'm driving you today.”

My attention drifted toward the windows.

Kaiden noticed. “They'll call as soon as they find him.”

That answer followed me all the way to the café and through the first few hours of my shift. Work kept my hands busy, but every time the door opened, I looked up, and every lull sent me reaching for my phone.

By the fourth check, Lily reached across the counter and squeezed my hand. “They'll find him.”

I nodded and put my phone away, but they'd been searching since last night, and with every hour that passed, one thought became harder to silence.

What if Saint didn't come back?