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“It’s a miracle the male was caught,” Romeo said. “It seems like Brent Foley and Humans Against Shifters have picked up where Finnegan left off, except for focusing on shifters instead of vampires.”
“We all have to keep our heads on a swivel and keep our people safe,” Melo said. “Since Tera came into my life, I don’t take anything about her safety for granted, even if she is a kickass witch and can take care of herself.”
Tera beamed at her mate.
Romeo mentally snarled to himself, wishing his own mate hadn’t disappeared like her ass was on fire.
They reached the place where he’d found her.
He put his hands on the tree where he’d held her captive for a few minutes, trying to figure out what she was up to. “This is where I found her, but I originally saw her at this tree.” He moved a few feet away to another tree. He inhaled and sorted through the scents, as he’d done a dozen times since he’d found her and lost her but picked up nothing except the natural smells of the woods around them.
His tiger let out an annoyed sound in his head.
Tera said, “Give me a minute to set up.”
He and Melo stepped a few feet away while Tera unzipped her coat and pulled out a leather pouch.
“So why do you think she ran?” Melo asked with a low voice so they didn’t interrupt Tera’s preparations.
“I don’t know,” he said with a sigh. “She was scared but a little defiant in the beginning. Then she asked me to let her go and when I said no, she panicked. Like full blown, lose-her-shit panic.”
Lance had grabbed her, and his tiger’s protective instincts had gone berserk. If only he’d been able to rein that in, he might still have her around.
“Do you believe she’s a journalist?”
“She definitely wasn’t telling the truth, I could feel it in my bones. But whether she’s a journalist or was doing something else? I don’t have a damn clue.”
“Hopefully Tera can find her.”
Romeo hoped so too. Because he wasn’t sure what he would do if she couldn’t.
It wasn’t like mates just dropped out of the sky on command.
Tera created a circle with salt, then set candles and colorful rocks and gemstones in a smaller circle within the salt. She moved to the center and held a tall pillar candle, which was blue and wrapped with some kind of metallic thread.
She spoke a few words in a language he assumed was related to her wiccan nature, and the candle blazed to life. Everything went silent in the woods, and then a cold wind whipped around them, extinguishing the candle.
Something glowed along the tree trunk, a shapeless blur that warbled and wiggled like it was alive. Tera turned and faced the tree. She tipped the candle against the trunk and some wax that had melted dripped down the gnarled bark.
The shapeless blur brightened for a moment, and Romeo swore he saw his mate’s face, and then it disappeared entirely.
He wanted to ask what the hell he’d just seen, but he didn’t want to interrupt Tera’s concentration, so he pressed his lips together.
She took a step back and sighed, turning slowly to face them.
“I’m sorry, Romeo.”
“I saw her face. I wasn’t just imagining that, right?”
“You did see her face. The spell showed her, but it didn’t show her location. It’s possible the chemical she used to mask herself also covered her aura, which is why the spell can’t get a fix on her. It did recognize she was here, though, which is why you saw her. But it wasn’t enough to see where she actually is.”
“Damn, I was really hoping it would work.”
“I’m so sorry.” Tera bent and broke the salt circle. Melo joined her, helping to pick up the rocks and gems and put them in her bag.
“It’s okay, thanks for trying.”
“I could research the chemical,” Melo offered.
