O'Malley: Summer (Shifter Seasons Book 7)

O’Malley confirmed. “We have to take our time and search thoroughly.” He glanced sideways at Hannah. “Unless you would feel safer with Kelos here?”
“No, go home. This is the place. This is where he called me from the last time I spoke to him and this is the area where the search party tracked him to. They tracked him about five miles west before they lost his trail. Then they did a sweep of the area and asked in the other villages, but no one saw him.” Her mouth drooped at the corners. “Thank you for bringing us this far. And thank you for the offer of help.”
“As long as you are sure.” Kelos nodded, took a couple of steps backward, shifted into his dragon, and then leaped into the air, swooping low across the mountainside before beating his wings hard as he rose back up into the air. In minutes he was gone from view and she was alone on the mountain with O’Malley.
“We need to get moving,” he said to her as the wind buffeted them once more. “We’ll go to the village and see if they have somewhere for us to stay.”
“You don’t think it’s too late to go to the village?” Hannah realized she had no idea of what time it was. They had traveled across time zones to get here. Would the dragon flight give her jet lag?
“It’s a little before midnight. I’m sure someone will be awake. And we need shelter. It’s cold and I don’t want to wrestle with the tent in this wind.” His teeth flashed white as he grinned. “We could always find a cave. I could shift into my cougar and keep you warm. He’s extremely hotblooded.”
She opened her mouth to give some smart retort, but she had none. Curling up next to a large cat was not a bad idea. “Whatever you prefer.”
“Let’s get to the village. We need to ask around about your brother and it might be easier at night when the people aren’t busy working. They might also have had a little of the local drink they brew in these parts. It’ll loosen their tongues.” He took a compass out of his pocket and checked the direction before he set off in what she thought was a southwesterly direction. At least that’s what she figured by looking at the stars.
But the stars looked different here, there were more of them. With the lack of light pollution, as they walked toward the village and what she hoped might be a comfortable bed, Hannah looked up at the heavens above and saw stars she had never seen her whole life. Stars that were hidden from her even though they were always there.
Was Karl looking up at these same stars even now? Or was he up there, part of the great cosmos? After her mom died, Hannah found comfort in the idea that her mom was looking down on her, watching over her beloved family. Perhaps Karl had been reunited with his mom.
But Hannah’s gut instinct was that her brother was still alive, and she had to hang on to that thought, she had to hang on to hope until she knew for certain he was dead.

Chapter Nine – O’Malley
O’Malley helped Hannah as they hiked along a trail they had found that looked as if it led to the village. He’d been tempted to shift into his cougar since his feline night vision was much superior to his human’s. But Hannah needed the O’Malley she knew right now, not a large cat she had never met.
“The village should be over that next rise.” He had to practically shout over the wind to get her to hear him.
Perhaps we should have checked the weather forecast before we set out, his cougar said.
Perhaps we should have, but I doubt anything short of a hurricane or a whiteout would have stopped Hannah. She is determined to find Karl and now that she has set things in motion, I don’t think she can stop.
The need is like a constant nagging in her head. His cougar could certainly understand Hannah’s need to find her brother. She had spent weeks trying to get the authorities to do something. Weeks of frustration. Now that she was able to do something to start the search herself, she couldn’t let it go.
We just have to make sure she doesn’t do anything to put herself in danger. O’Malley’s concern for his mate stretched further than the present moment. He was worried that information they might gather about Karl might lead them deep into the mountains where the terrain was treacherous and the risk of death real.
“There. I see lights.” Hannah pointed to their left and sure enough, through the trees, there appeared a light that twinkled like the stars above their heads.
So much for our super senses, his cougar said lightly. Our mate has found the village before us.
With Hannah so near, our senses are consumed by her. O’Malley’s apprehension grew. If he could not trust himself and his senses, he should abort the mission.
That might be easier if our flight out of here hadn’t already left, and if there was any chance our mate might listen to us if we told her it was too dangerous to stay. His cougar was resigned to their continued mission.
O’Malley glanced over his shoulder at Hannah. Her eyes were fixed on the lights as if she were afraid they might disappear if she looked away. Her pace had increased, and she seemed filled with a purpose. Her eagerness might put them both in danger.
Would he soon regret agreeing to bring her on this hunt for a ghost?
Karl might not be dead, his cougar reminded him.
I know but the more I think about it, the more I cannot understand why Norton hasn’t gotten in contact with his family. A week, two weeks, yes, he might think they wouldn’t worry about him. Six weeks is a long time and he would know that.
So, where