Episode 26

Chapter 26

Nathan's POV

I wake up with a start, heart pounding. Mia's side of bed is cold and empty. She not here again.

I frown, looking around our small den. No sign of her nowhere. Where she go at this hour before sunrise?

Worry twist my gut. Mia been acting strange lately, like part of her drift away somewhere I can't follow. I want help her, be good mate, but she not let me in no more.

Rustle outside make me tense. Ears perk up, catching familiar bootsteps and sweet herbal scent. Just Mia coming back from one of her lone forest walks.

But why she out roaming alone so early, before light even? Not like her to take such risks these days, not after all the troubles that plague us.

Making up my mind quick, I tug on clothes and slip out after her trail. Need to understand what troubling her so. If she won't confide, at least I can settle my own fears about how she been lately.

I follow her winding path through the dark trees. The quiet only broke by night critters and soft footfal