AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Were you so desperate to get away you couldn’t even wait for me? You know I’d run anywhere with you. That I’d die to protect you.
But she was runningfromme. That was what hurt the most. She didn’t trust that I’d provide for her. Care for her. She’d left me... after she promised never to do it again.
Shaking my head to clear the agony her abandonment planted right in my heart, I dropped my snout to the ground and caught the trail of her spilled blood heading away from the house and toward the gate.
On foot, Sunshine? You didn’t even steal a car?
That worked in our favor, though. If she was on foot, unable to shift, I’d catch her. Then I’d remind her of exactly why we are her mates. We take care of her. End of story.
I came up short a few feet from the tall gate, her scent vanishing without a trace, the metaphorical breadcrumbs she’d left behind drying up and leaving me with nothing to give me any indication of which way she’d gone from here. For all intents and purposes, Sunday had disappeared.
Why?As soon as the question rang through my mind, the answer followed on its heels. I let out a deep growl of frustration, my wolf’s voice echoing in the night.
Fucking Moira. Why would your spell work at this point in her escape but not on the other droplets?
But then I caught something else on the ground. Incense, self-loathing, shame...Priest. The clouds parted, moonlight pouring from the sky as though the goddess herself had sent me a beacon. A metallic glint in the grass caught my eye. A fucking syringe. Sunday’s blood undeniably coated the needle, and a vile medicinal smell mixed with her aroma.
Relief flooded me for the barest hint of a second. If she was with him, she was safe. But why the drugs, then? Did she fight him? Try to resist when he attempted to reason with her? Seemed like something she would do, given their history. Fighting was basically their foreplay.
Still, I couldn’t shake off the sense of low-grade panic curling in my belly.
Muzzle to the ground, I tracked his path through the grass, cutting back toward the house, then abruptly turning away. My stomach dropped further when I realized where I was heading. The trail ended right at the side door of the obscenely large garage.
Motherfucking lying, cheating asshole.
That’s when Iknew. He hadn’t tried to save her. He’d stolen her. I was going to kill him.
I shifted into my human form as Thorne and Alek caught up to me. Blackthorne’s brow seemed stuck in a permanent furrow, and tension radiated from the Novasgardian. I knew exactly how they both felt.
“Here,” Thorne said, tossing me a set of clothes. “Figured you’d need those.”
I was too furious to manage more than a nod of thanks, though the small act of kindness reminded me once again that while the bloodsucker and I weren’t exactly best friends, we were pack.
“Caleb’s gone. All his stuff, everything.” Alek glanced around as I opened the garage door. “Why are we standing outside a garage?”
I pulled on the sweatpants Thorne had brought and let out a heavy sigh. “I know he’s gone. He stole her from us. The fucker. This is where his trail goes cold.”
“What? How do you know he took her?” Thorne asked, his eyes flaring in surprise.
Sure enough, one of the bays in the garage was empty, the scent of motor oil and exhaust still lingering.
“I found a syringe near the gate. It had her blood on it and smelled like ass. I think he drugged her.”
Alek bared his teeth, his eyes flashing onyx. “He wouldn’t dare.”
“Oh, he dared.”
Thorne’s brows lowered as he worked through the possible explanations. I knew he was trying to justify the priest’s actions, just as I initially had.
“Don’t bother. There’s no scenario where his drugging her was consensual. He must have been planning this for a while. Just waiting for his opportunity to get her alone.”
“But to what end? It doesn’t make any bloody sense.” Thorne raked his fingers through his hair, tugging on the strands in frustration.
“I know. That bastard wants her all to himself. He always has.”
Alek leaned against the open garage door frame. “No he hasn’t. He likes to watch. This doesn’t make sense. He has to have information we don’t. Maybe he thought he was saving her from us? He wasn’t in the library when Cashel mentioned his plans. What if he overheard us and mistook our intentions? What if she went to him?”
Thorne’s eyes widened. “He’s not far from our room. He had to have heard her talking with Moira. Bloody hell, I’m sure he thought the worst.”
