Page 22

I checked my watch again, my stomach tightening with each passing minute. Kiera was late. More than late, actually, and she was never late. I'd tried calling her, but she hadn't picked up, and the sinking feeling in my stomach only intensified. We had plans. A date. Kiera was never this bad about keeping in touch.

For a horrible moment, I wondered if she had finally run away, back to Portsmouth, but one glance at the little boy coloring in the living room told me that was an impossibility. She would never leave Kit behind.

So, where in the hell was she?

Something wasn't right, and my instincts were already screaming at me to move. Do something. Find my Omega.

I headed to the living room, where Gwen was sitting with Kit. The plan was for her to take him to Nayeli's so the three of them could watch a movie...

Except Nayeli was late, too.

"Everything okay, Sam?"

"Kiera's late. I can't reach her. And Nayeli should have been here by now, too."

Gwen's brow furrowed. "Do you think something is wrong?"

"...I don't know." I gestured for her to come to the other room with me, away from Kit, "Look, can you stay here with the boy? I need to find the two of them before I lose my cool, and I don't want to upset Kit. He'll worry himself sick if he knows both of them could be missing."

She gave me a tight smile. "You've got it, boss. I'll make sure he's distracted."

"Distracted from what?"

I groaned, dragging a hand through my hair. Kit apparently hadn't been content to wait by himself.

"Nothing, kiddo," I said, shooting Gwen a warning look. She nodded, her expression sympathetic. "I'm just going to head out for a bit, okay?"

He looked between us, eyes narrowed in suspicion. "You're gonna go find Mama, aren't you? Can I come with you?"

Gwen shot me a pleading look, and I sighed, stepping toward him.

"It's a little grown-up stuff, buddy," I said, ruffling his hair. "You don't need to worry. I won't let anything happen to her, okay?"

Kit's expression fell. "You promise?"

I hesitated. I wanted to assure him, but didn't want to lie to my son either. If there was something wrong with Kiera and Nayeli, then I would need to take action, and there was no guarantee I could make any promises.

"I'll do my best," I said finally, crouching down so we were eye-to-eye. "I swear it."

That seemed to appease him, and he nodded slowly. "Okay." Then, swiftly, as if he wasn't sure how I'd react, Kit threw his arms around my neck. "Be careful."

"I will," I lied, swallowing down the lump in my throat. "I promise."

Minutes later, I turned the key in the ignition. There was still no word from my cousin or my mate, and I was certain it wasn't a coincidence. I could feel it deep in my bones. I took a deep breath, forcing myself to stay calm. There was no point in panicking. I dialed Waylon as I turned onto the road, and he picked up on the second ring.

"Waylon, I need you to meet me at Joe's shop. Kiera was supposed to be home from work an hour ago, and I can’t find her anywhere. I’m going to check with Joe, see if he knows anything."

"Got it. I'll be there in five minutes."

He hung up, and I pressed down on the accelerator. Joe's shop was only a few miles away, but it took me half the usual time to get there. I had to find her.

The bell over the door rang as I rushed into the shop, and Joe looked up from behind the counter. He frowned, leaning forward to get a better look at me.

"Hey, what's wrong?" he asked, his brows furrowing. "You look like shit."

I felt Waylon come in behind me, and seeing the two of us together instantly made Joe realize how serious this was. He stepped out from behind the counter, coming to stand in front of me.

"What's going on?" he asked, eyes narrowed.

"Kiera's missing," I said, forcing myself to stay calm. "And we've got to fucking find her. Now."

***

We filled Joe in as he checked the clock-out logs, showing me that Kiera had left right on time. She'd walked to work that day, so we piled into Joe's truck to retrace her steps, hoping like hell to pick up any sort of clue that might help us. Kiera was alive, I knew that much from our bond, but she was too far away for me to pick up anything else from her.

It was the right move. As Joe drove slowly down the route Kiera would have taken home, the bond grew stronger, and I could feel her panic. It wasn't overwhelming, which meant she wasn't in immediate danger, but it was enough to make my stomach twist in knots. I reached out, letting her know I was coming for her, but the panic didn't dissipate.

"She's afraid," I said, and Joe's eyes narrowed. My wolf was pushing to the surface, the Alpha rage I'd been working so hard to control filtering in. "We have to hurry the fuck—"

"Wait." Waylon held up a hand, and Joe hit the brakes. My Beta leaned his head out the window and inhaled deeply, his face immediately twisting in a snarl. "It's Nayeli."

I jumped out of the truck, breathing in as deeply as I could, and there it was—not the scent of my mate, but Nayeli, instead.

I also smelled a fuck ton of blood, but I couldn't dwell on that. Not if I wanted to keep my sanity intact.

"Follow it," I said, nodding down the road. "She's here somewhere.”

The scent trail was thick and fresh, and we followed it through the woods on the fringes of my territory. Her bright pink hoodie stood out like a beacon where she was lying on the ground, limp, blood darkening her jeans near her right ankle as well as the earth around her.

There was a bear trap on the ground beside her, and it, too, was bloodied. Seeing her was like a punch to the chest, but I forced myself to kneel and check her pulse. It was there, thank God, faint but steady.

"Nayeli," I said, my voice rough as I carefully lifted her into my arms. "I need you to wake up. Please."

Her eyelids fluttered, a weak groan escaping her lips as she stirred. For a moment, I wasn’t sure if she was really awake, but then her eyes focused and met mine, clouded with pain and exhaustion.

"Kiera…" she rasped, her voice barely audible. "She saved me. But… someone knocked us out. I… I couldn’t… I couldn’t stop them."

The world went red, rage rushing through my veins. Someone had taken her. Kiera was gone. My Omega. My mate. Who would fucking dare?

Waylon was already on his phone, calling for backup. I tried to stand with Nayeli, but she shook her head, "No," she rasped. "You need to find her, Samson. Kiera…" She swallowed hard, her eyes closing for a brief second before she met my gaze again. "She’s the one you need to focus on."

It was what I wanted to do. Every fiber of my being was fixated on finding my mate. But I couldn't leave my cousin bleeding in the damned forest...

Joe appeared beside me, kneeling down with a grim expression. "I’ll take her back to my pack," he said, his voice calm, but there was an underlying tension in his words. "We’ve got a medic. She’ll be taken care of. You need to go. Kiera’s still out there."

I hesitated, conflicted, but it was Nayeli's grim, quiet resolve that solidified my decision. My wolf wanted to rip the world apart to find Kiera, and I needed to trust my oldest ally to take care of Nayeli.

"Go," she said again. "Bring her home."

There was nothing more to say. I pressed my forehead against hers for a moment, and then I stood, handing Nayeli over to Joe. "I'll kill you if something happens to her."

Joe adjusted my cousin in his arms. "I wouldn't blame you. But she's safe with me. Go."

"I'm coming with you," Waylon declared. "We'll cover more ground on four legs. Can you at least get a rough direction through your bond?"

I closed my eyes and felt her, afraid but alive. "Barely, but yeah."

"Then let's move."

We shifted quickly, running as soon as our bones had snapped into place. Waylon's form was close behind me, russet fur blending in almost perfectly with the forest around us. As the wind rushed past us, I desperately searched for any hint of my mate, but there was nothing. We were running nearly blind, pulled along only by the mate bond. My singular lifeline.

But it was working. With each step, each mile we ran, I could feel the distance closing between us. Our connection solidified, and I knew exactly where I needed to go. A straight shot, veering east...keep running. Keep running.

In wolf form, I didn't realize where we were until we crossed the territory line, and then it was like being struck over the head. We exited Saltfang territory and ran straight into Scott Nevada’s pack territory, which meant that somewhere on his land, my mate was being held, injured, and afraid. I snarled, running faster. I'd kill whoever had hurt her. Scott's entire fucking town if I had to.

There was a warehouse off the highway that used to be a factory for one of the old steel companies. Now, it stood abandoned and empty, a looming reminder of the way this town used to be. We had driven by it before, but I hadn't paid any attention to it. Hadn't thought about it in years.

Until now.

As soon as we got close enough, I could smell her. The scent was thick with blood. It almost choked me, but it wasn't enough to mask her own scent underneath. My wolf wanted to tear the entire building down and rip Scott to shreds. He'd pay for hurting her.

"Get Kiera," Waylon said, his voice rough as we shifted back into human form. "I'll deal with the others."

"Be careful," I warned.

He flashed me a quick smile. "Always am."

We split up, and I crept inside the warehouse. It was almost pitch black, but my eyes adjusted quickly. Then, up ahead, I heard a muffled groan, followed by a quiet curse. I rushed forward, following the sound.

A tall, lean man stood over an unconscious woman, his back to me. I moved closer, my rage and desperation threatening to overwhelm me. My Kiera was tied to a chair, lank strands of dark hair falling on her face. She was awake, but when she turned her head, I could see the blood matting her hair in the back.

I'd eat Scott alive. He'd fucking die for this.

I was done waiting. No one could keep me from her. I rushed forward, and the man whirled around. I'd expected a goon and some bit of bullet fodder while the real villain was hidden somewhere else.

But no. The man who had taken my mate was too young, brash, dominant, and untested to do that. He wanted to see Kiera suffer with his own eyes. He wanted her to know that he'd won.

His arrogance would get him killed.

I slammed into Mason—not Scott—full force. His back hit a concrete pillar hard, but he didn't stay down for long. The blow staggered him, but he pushed me off and leaped to his feet, circling me.

"You idiot," I spat, "Touching her is a death sentence. Why in the hell would you do this?"

"Because she deserves it. And so do you."

He launched himself at me again, and we tumbled to the floor in a tangle of limbs. We wrestled, each one trying to get the upper hand, and he threw a punch at me. I blocked it easily, and his fist connected with the ground instead. I used the momentum to push him away from me and jump to my feet.

In the depths of the warehouse, screams could be heard, followed by a familiar howl. Waylon, on the hunt for whoever Mason had hired as backup. It was time to end this.

Mason was slower to get to his feet this time, his lip bloody and a cut over his left eyebrow. "Give up," I said, taking a step toward him. "And I'll make it quick,"

"Fuck you." He spat blood on the ground. "I'd rather die than surrender to you."

He threw himself at me again, but this time, I was ready. I ducked under his wild punch and swept my leg around, knocking him to the floor. He grunted, but before he could stand again, I put a knee against his back. I wrapped an arm around his neck, but a small piece of me considered letting him live. My father's rule had made him this way, a monster in human skin. If I killed him, would it really change anything?

Then I heard Kiera groan and remembered what he'd done to her.

"She screamed for you," Mason wheezed, "When I tied her up, she screamed for you."

All rationality fled. With a single, brutal jerk, I snapped his neck.

There was silence in the warehouse, and then Kiera whimpered. I untied her as fast as I possibly could, gingerly removing the tape from her mouth and pulling her into my arms as she sobbed.

"I've got you," I murmured. "You're safe now. I'm here."

I was vaguely aware of Waylon's approach, but I didn't take my eyes off my mate. She was clinging to me, shaking, but whole. Alive.

Waylon cleared his throat. "I've taken care of the others," he said. "Joe's waiting for us at the territory line. Let's go home. I'll inform Scott that he has a warehouse full of corpses tomorrow."

"Home," Kiera sighed, "Please, Samson."

It was a blur, the next few minutes. I carried my mate to Joe's truck, refusing to let anyone else touch her, and Waylon followed behind us. Once we crossed back into my territory, I let out a long sigh, feeling the tension drain from my body. Kiera was safe, and I could finally breathe again.

She needed a doctor, food, water, and rest, and she would get it. I'd make sure of it. I'd fucking kill anyone who tried to take her from me again.