And then he was gone.
Wylder was still running when Theo disappeared. He stumbled as time seemed to speed up or maybe caught up. Wylder was in the place where his mate had been seconds before. No Theo, no Garrett, and no tree.
Nothing made sense.
Wylder had been so far and was now right there?
“No!” Josh screeched. He patted the ground where Theo had been. “Theo! Garrett!”
On his hands and knees, Wylder panted. “Where did they go?” he croaked out. “Where?”
Josh turned to look at him. “They were summoned.”
“Summoned?” Wylder repeated. He didn’t even know what that meant. Josh really needed to give him more information. He tried digging his fingers into the grass as if he could find Theo somehow. “How? Why?”
“Dark magic,” Josh whispered. “It reeks of the unseelie.”
Dark magic? And Wylder’s mate was gone? Just gone?
He slammed his fist into the ground.
It wasn’t fair!
Wylder slammed his fist down again.
Not his sweet little Theo. Theo had never hurt anyone in his entire life. No matter what had been done to him Theo had never quit, never given up, was the sweetest and most innocent being in the entire world.
“Take me!” Wylder screamed as he pounded the ground. “Take me!” Not his sweet Theo!
Wylder should have been the one!
He should have died in the military. During the experiments. Hell, Wylder had volunteered to be tested on! Theo would be so scared. Terrified. He’d looked terrified in the moment his and Wylder’s eyes had met before he’d disappeared.
“Take me to him!” Wylder demanded. “We need to find him!”
“What is happening?” Alek’s thick Russian accent sounded behind him then the vampire plus was by his side.
“He’s gone,” Wylder told him. Was he crying? When had he started to cry.
“Wylder?” Dario wrapped an arm around him.
“The unseelie,” Mitch growled out.
“He’s gone,” Wylder said again. “Just…gone.” What would they do without their little shifter? Would they ever see him again? What would the unseelie do to Theo? Theo couldn’t fight back against something like that. He was a precious cat that stood no chance fighting evil. That wasn’t supposed to Theo’s duty. He was the smart one, the sweet one, the glue that held all of the mates together. Their reason for living.
“It’s not possible,” Dario said. “Theo is a shifter. He can’t be summoned.”
Wylder turned his head. “I saw him!”
Dario was pale and shook as he glanced around, his gaze never settling. Like he would be able to see Theo.
“Dark fae blood magic,” Mitch announced. “It is powerful. I haven’t sensed this much magic in decades and never used in the human realm before.”
“Was it the dark elves?” No! They couldn’t get their hands on Theo.
“I don’t think so,” Mitch said. He stood where their tree had once been. “They are workers for the unseelie. Followers and not leaders. I’m not sure they could even harness the amount of power that it would take to summon a shifter from another realm.”
“Who else would be after Theo?” Wylder asked. “We’ve been the chosen for like five fucking minutes. We haven’t even had time to make enemies yet. And we’re bonded. It’s not like they can stop that from happening now.”
