Page 56 of Unravel Me

"Damn… that's one hell of a string of bad luck. Almost like fate had its own plans." He pauses for a moment. "I hope you found your True Mate in that cabin, at least."

I swallow. Yeah, about that.

"No, not really. Someone did live there, but he can't be my True Mate. I'm still searching, I guess."

"Someone…?"

"Yeah. Someone. Let’s leave it at that. But I seriously doubt he's my True Mate."

"Jared, that sounds… concerning. Did he hurt you?"

"No! No, nothing like that. Don't worry. I just still have to keep looking."

Silence settles between us. I hear Alex slowly exhale, and I already know what he's feeling.

"So it didn't work out. Storm was wrong?"

"Looks that way. But there are still a few more places nearby I'd like to check." I close my eyes for a second. "But I'm worried about Tommy, Alex. I miss him so much! I feel like a terrible dad for leaving him."

"Tommy's doing great, Jared. Look!"

Alex switches on his camera, bringing a view of his kitchen into the call.

My Tommy is sitting in his high chair, happily eating little cut pieces of mango, peach, and pear. He looks carefree and completely happy, his little fingers sticky with juice and his light curls framing his face like a cherub's.

My heart floods with relief so sudden and intense that I have to lean back against the couch as my strength seems to leave me. So he’s safe. Phew…

"Everything's fine." Alex's voice softens. "If you need to stay there a few more days to make sure you've checked every place Storm pointed you toward, then stay without feeling guilty. Tommy and I have been having a great time together. We went to the water park, we visited the zoo, and we've still got a few more things planned. Just relax. He's good."

"Alex… are you sure? I’m basically dumping my kid on you; that’s not okay."

"This is one of the most important moments of your life, Jared. If there's still a chance you'll find your fated mate, then you should take it. There may not be another, you know?"

Something in the finality of his voice makes me tremble. He's right. If I leave, that’s it. No fated mate for me.

He’ll stay here, and I’ll be living in safe houses provided by the Omega Red Line Agency, and that’s a miserable prospect.

As if hearing my thought, Alex keeps going, "Really, Tommy's fine. Focus on building a safe future for both of you. Just promise me one thing. Keep me updated. These last few days were unbelievably stressful. I had no idea what happened to you, whether someone had hurt you, kidnapped you…" He exhales again. "If Bay hadn't asked his brother Snow, you know, the one with those strange prophetic abilities, and Snow hadn't said he couldn't sense anything bad around you, I think I would've gone insane."

Feeling horrible, I squeeze my eyes shut. Shame hits me so hard, I gasp. I'd forgotten even the most basic human decency, letting him just hang there, not knowing if I was alive or dead, imagining the worst.

"I'm so sorry, Alex. I just couldn't think straight. This heat got me harder than any I've had before. My head was completely fogged up. Nothing was getting through to me."

Alex sighs.

"Well… all right. I get it. I feel awful during heat too."

"And I'm sorry you had to drag Veyron into all this—"

"Storm came up with the idea, but since he and Veyron don't exactly get along, we sent Bay to convince him instead. Veyron has a real talent for tracking people down, and we weren't sure whether we should involve the police. Especially since Snow didn't sense any danger surrounding you, we decided sending Veyron alone would be enough."

"Turns out he was right. I was never in any immediate danger. Tell you what, as soon as I'm through with heat recovery, I'll make one last sweep of the area. I'll search that whole region again, maybe expand the radius a little. If I still don't find anyone, I'll head home right away."

"Sounds like a good plan. I'll be waiting to hear from you. Please, don't forget to send me an update every day."

We hang up, and almost immediately Renato walks back inside. There's a satisfied look on his face, and he almost radiates: I'll take care of everything.

"For now, let me invite you both to breakfast. Mauro, my dad, Emilio, Gianni, Tony… and I. We were just about to sit down."