I’m surprised she’s come this far down the mountain. Maybe she’s looking for more of the wildflower she found.
The trail’s not stopping. It continues beyond the end of the hiking paths on to the road through the foothills. My muscles tense, hackles rising. Something’s wrong.
Where the hell did she go? Why would she leave Silver Mountain?
My blood runs cold and I bare my fangs with a snarl. Ashbury. She’s going to the human town by herself without telling me or requesting permission to go.
A roar scrapes my wolf’s throat. We’re both pissed she’d put herself in danger. I push myself hard to get to town, mind racing with the worst possibilities.
My mother went missing from Ashbury. This is why I have a strict rule about not going without me clearing it first and assigning a security group for protection.
Dad wasn’t happy, but he didn’t look hard for her before deciding she wanted out of their arranged mating. He told me once I was older he assumed she found her True Mate.
But I knew better. It never sat right with me.
This town is dangerous. We shouldn’t trust humans. They’ve been known to exploit supernaturals for their own gain, as have the witches Ashbury’s allowed to come and go as they please for years. They’re behind her disappearance.
It’s the only thing that’s made sense to me. Who else would kidnap a shifter but a witch? It would’ve been easy for them to steal another shifter to control if they crossed paths when she went there alone. The same could be true of others who have gone missing, like Shaylene Morgan.
The blame I’ve put on my father’s beta for his betrayal weakens. Shaylene was his True Mate. His challenge could’ve been an act of desperation to find her. I have a better understanding of what it’s like now. How my heart, my mind, my body are no longer my own. I exist because she exists.
Avery’s my mate. I can’t let her go. And I won’t fucking lose her. Not again.
If anything happens to her—
I cut the thought off with a fierce refusal. No. I won’t let anyone important be taken from me again with no way to stop it.
When I find her, she’ll know she’s mine and I’ll always protect her.
I stop to think about shifting back once I reach the outer streets, the foothills giving way to old brick buildings with remnants of aged paint from a bygone era. Ashbury isn’t as large or modern as some of the other human towns and cities in the region. It doesn’t have any of the lifeless, looming glass buildings of some of the ones I’ve passed through on my way to other pack territories.
My wolf keeps his nose to the cement and follows the scent of bright sunshine and honeysuckle blowing in the breeze. She’s in good spirits. It doesn’t take off the edge jangling my nerves.
I bound through the door to a bakery at the top of the high street. Someone screams at my hulking size. There’s a fae female in here, masking her presence to blend in with humans. A vampire, too. My wolf shakes his head and ignores them, tracking his mate out a back door.
I cross a street, then double back, slowing as much as he’ll let me so we don’t jeopardize the peace agreements between the humans and supernaturals by tearing through the town on a feral rampage.
Her scent is all over this place. Some traces are faint, stale with age. Too weak for me to pick up with my own nose when I was here before, but in my fur my senses are sharper.
How fucking long has she been sneaking down here?
I freeze. There. At the end of the block on the opposite side of the main road. She’s heading this way, laden with a bag from the bakery.
Avery’s okay. She’s not harmed. No one’s taken her—yet.
I pant heavily, pacing the shadowed alley between the buildings. My muscles twinge every time she waves to a human on her way down the street. She’s smiling at them. A growl builds in my chest.
Keep walking, mate.
Come.
Her steps falter. She searches the road with a frown. I debate yanking on the bond again when she doesn’t listen to my call and ducks into a bar.
What the fuck?
A car swerves and slams on its brakes when I dart across the road. My snout presses to the tinted window. She’s talking to a woman behind the bar, showing her a small vial. A few men have stopped shooting pool, their attention on her.
One grabs a half-empty beer and ambles over to join the conversation. My tail is high and ram-rod straight. He’s encroaching on my female. When he puts his hand on her back while she offers him a vial, a ferocious snarl tears from me.
My wolf wants in there. Now.
I shift back in a narrow passage beside the bar, about to burst inside and get my female. I freeze halfway to the street. If I crash through the door butt ass naked, the humans will think I’m crazy.
A thrift store has display racks that reach the mouth of the alley. I wrench the first pair of pants I find off the rack. The lime green swishy material doesn’t fit over my thighs and I tear it in my attempt to get the shorts on. Gritting my teeth, I force my wolf down and try again, blood simmering. I manage to find a pair of jeans. They sit low on my hips, but it’s good enough.
The side door opens behind me and Avery’s scent hits me. I whip around, locking eyes with her. She holds my gaze and a terse growl leaves me at the unapologetic, unimpressed set to her mouth.
“Why are you here?”
I’m on her in a second, backing her against the brick wall. Her bakery bag slips to the ground as her hands come up to my chest. I take her wrists and pin them to the wall, bending to run my nose along her jaw.
She releases a strained gasp, then bares her neck for me. I press closer until there’s no space left between us, scenting her. She arches into me with another delicious noise I’d enjoy if I wasn’t so pissed off.
“I’m here because you are,” I push out against her throat in a tense rumble weighted with my wolf. “Tell me what the fuck you’re doing here.”
She squirms. My grip on her wrists flexes and I trap her gaze. She drops it and I take hold of her jaw to make her look at me. Stubborn defiance shines in her eyes, and, fuck, if I don’t love that look on her.
The side door opens again and the pool player comes out.
“You ran off so fast I didn’t get your—oh. Hey now. This guy bothering you?”
I move in front of her to block his view. He needs to back the hell away now. I don’t even want him looking her way. I need to show this human he can’t have her.
“Nope. I’m fine.” Avery smacks me. “He’s my—man…friend. Husband. That’s the word humans use for mates, right?”
The last part is muttered to me. I’m too busy growling at the male with my chest puffed out to answer. She called me hers.
“Caden.” She tugs on my waist, keeping her voice hushed. “Stop growling at him. He’s not a threat.”
My gaze snags hers. I take her face in my hands. Her cheeks are pink, lips parting. Claim, my wolf demands.
I dip my face, mouth stopping just before it reaches hers. Her fingers curl, nails scraping my sides. Lashes fluttering, she leans into me.
The last of my control snaps.
My mouth crushes against hers. Powerful. Possessive.
I kiss her the way I wanted to last week—hell, the way I’ve wanted to for years. Even when I thought I needed to hate her, this mouth has always been mine to claim.
The human says something apologetic. I don’t give a fuck what it is.
The only thing I care about is kissing her until she’s as wrecked as I am.
Until I’ve savored every reaction and committed every one of her sounds to memory.