Free Web NovelChapter 293: Chapter 293 Signs of Hope
Christina’s POV
I pulled the leaf covering tighter against my chest, confusion clouding my mind. Hudson didn’t wait for my response, simply reaching forward.
My body tensed instantly. Surely he wouldn’t try to strip me by force? People say desperate situations reveal true character, but I refused to believe Hudson would stoop that low.
Instinctively, I tightened my grip on the makeshift leaf dress and raised my other hand in a defensive fist.
His hand moved closer.
At the last second, his arm bypassed me entirely, reaching behind where I’d been sleeping.
A moment later, he pulled something free—my wetsuit.
"Oh," I muttered, realizing I must have slept on top of it without noticing.
Hudson shook out the wetsuit to dry it. As he did, something dropped from the pocket and landed at his feet with a soft thud.
Our eyes locked on the object simultaneously. freewebnøvel.com
For a heartbeat, we both froze. Then excitement sparked through me like wildfire.
My phone.
"Holy shit," I gasped.
I practically lunged forward to snatch it up, pulling it from its waterproof pouch with trembling fingers. I’d charged it back on the yacht, so it should still have plenty of battery.
My fingers flew across the screen as Hudson leaned in beside me.
The display lit up, and my momentary joy collapsed like a house of cards.
No signal. Not a single bar.
"Damn it!" I slapped the phone against my palm. "I forgot my phone lost service as soon as we entered this stretch of sea."
Disappointment still crushing me, I jabbed Hudson’s leg with my finger, a last desperate flicker of hope.
"Did you have signal yesterday? On your phone?"
Maybe it was just my service provider. If his worked, we could still search for his luggage, maybe even contact the coast guard.
"No," he said simply, crushing my final hope.
Even if we found his belongings, it wouldn’t matter. We would still be cut off from civilization.
I dropped down heavily beside him, utterly drained. Hudson hung the wetsuit on the simple drying rack he’d built from branches.
I helped him mechanically, handing him stones and leaves to secure the rack, but my mind was completely blank.
"Should we look for shelter first, or luggage, or food and fresh water?" Hudson finally asked, breaking the heavy silence between us.
"You should decide," I muttered.
The last decision I’d made was what landed us here. My wolf might think I was being dramatic, but she wasn’t the one who’d nearly drowned us both.
"You’re alive, aren’t you?" Akira reminded me. "Stop wallowing."
Hudson decided we should look for his luggage first—or more precisely, the yacht itself. With luck, it might have been hurled ashore rather than destroyed.
We walked along the beach in silence. After the long chill of the early morning hours, the sun finally rose higher, its warmth gradually penetrating our cold bodies.
I trailed behind Hudson, eyes lowered to my feet. A thin film of wet sand clung to them with each step. More sand stuck with each movement forward.
Stuck, just like us.
My forehead suddenly smacked into something solid.
A sharp sting spread across my skin, and I sucked in a breath through clenched teeth.
"Sorry," I mumbled, realizing I’d walked straight into Hudson’s back. "I wasn’t watching where I was going."
Hudson turned, studying me with those penetrating blue eyes. "What’s wrong with you?"
I couldn’t meet his gaze. My lashes trembled. My head dipped lower.
"Nothing."
Hudson stood with his arms crossed, his gaze fixed intently on me. His tone carried a hint of coldness. "Tell me."
"There really isn’t anything wrong," I insisted, my voice weaker than intended. "We’re supposed to be finding the luggage, aren’t we? Don’t waste time on me."
I hurried past him, pulling myself together as best I could. My fists clenched tight at my sides, and I didn’t dare look back. I was afraid my eyes would betray my guilt, more afraid of seeing nothing in his eyes but coldness and distance.
***
After almost an hour of fruitless searching, we stopped to reconsider our strategy.
"If we can figure out where the tsunami might have thrown everything, we’ll have better luck," I said, trying to sound useful. "The waves rise straight up and crash down without much rotation. If the yacht was thrown ashore, it should still be somewhere along the same line of longitude."
Hudson nodded. "If we knew our current location more precisely, finding it would be simpler."
"But we don’t have any navigation tools," I sighed, crouching down to examine the sand.
I picked up a stick, wondering if I could MacGyver some rudimentary sun dial to at least get a rough idea of our position. It wouldn’t be precise, but anything was better than wandering aimlessly.
"Come with me," Hudson’s voice cut through my thoughts.
I looked up, puzzled. "You know where it is?"
He said nothing, simply striding off with clear intent.
I hurried to catch up, tapping the stick against my palm. "How do you know which way to go? Did Lycaon smell something?"
Hudson pointed to a small, pale-bellied fish lying in the sand ahead of us. "Know what that is?"
I gave it a brief glance. "Some kind of Mediterranean fish? I’m not exactly Jacques Cousteau."
"It’s a goldfish."
I blinked. "What?"
"A common goldfish," he repeated. "It was on our boat."
I froze, my lips parting without a sound. Shock and delight tangled on my tongue, impossible to express coherently. fгeewebnovёl.com
"How the hell did you know there was a goldfish on the yacht?" I asked, completely baffled.
"I noticed it in a small tank when we boarded. Whoever used the boat last must have brought it along."
"Who brings a goldfish on a Mediterranean cruise?" I asked incredulously.
He shrugged. "Someone with attachment issues."
"Focus on what matters," Akira chided. "The fish is our clue."
My wolf was right. It didn’t matter who brought it. What mattered was that goldfish weren’t native to the Mediterranean—which meant this one had to have come from our yacht.
If the fish had washed up here, the boat couldn’t be far.
Hudson carefully picked up the fish, wrapped it in a broad leaf, and carried it with him.
"Practical," Akira suggested. "Even one small fish is food."
I grimaced at the thought. Stranded on a deserted island with no food in sight, even one dead goldfish might be considered a blessing.
But our fleeting good fortune didn’t last long.
