Page 79 of Blood and Magic
The magic pulsed inside me, and I sent a surge of panic down the bonds, hoping Mill or Guin would feel it. But the connection was stretched thin this far away from the rest of the pack. I prayed Ginny had a stronger tether. I prayed Holden was okay and that he’d gotten a message to the pack in time. I scrambled and kicked, trying to get away, but the vampire on my torso grabbed my hair and yanked my head back.
I saw myself hurdling toward the ground, the sound of a gunshot ringing out before everything went black.
CHAPTER 24
Vermillion
The sun had nearly set by the time all of our reinforcements arrived. Dozer, Apollo, Grinder, and Jagger from the Royal Bastards MC chapter in Montreal made the trip as soon as Kodiak put out the call for help. Captain Pink and Odin from St. Louis got settled in yesterday. They were supposedly the sons of Gods, which said things about the afterlife I’d never considered. I could spend hours talking philosophy with them and never get any real answers.
The guys from Montreal didn’t know about vampires or shifters, but what were a few secrets among Bastards? They didn’t believe us until Kodiak showed them his fangs.
“What the fuck?” Dozer said, taking a step back.
“Fucking awesome,” Jagger replied, moving closer, squinting in wonder.
“Amateurs,” muttered Captain Pink with an eye roll from Odin.
All had agreed to go after these Scorpion motherfuckers with everything we had. Even the Steel Roses MC envoy had been willing to throw down. Lore was human and wore an eyepatch over one eye, but that didn’t stop him from being a badass.
“If you need help, the Roses always have your back,” he’d said, running a hand through his dark hair.
The problem was the resounding ache in my chest that only got worse as time went on. I hadn’t seen Maeve since she went hiking with Holden and Ginny, but things hadn’t exactly been great between us. I was still scared to touch her, and she was still testing her boundaries. Until Morwyn got the results of our blood tests, I didn’t want to get too close, which had only created more distance between us. Now, though, something else was wrong, and I didn’t know what it was. Panic surged in my veins, my heart pounding, the magic connecting me and Maeve barely a whisper of what it was immediately after the transition. If I focused hard enough, I worried I might not feel her anymore.
We were standing in Kodiak’s office, waiting for him and Orion to deliver the final plan, while I called her phone to check in. When it went straight to voicemail, I pulled up the app I used to track her, ignoring how fucked-up it was that I’d started doing it to begin with, and my blood iced over when I found no signal. Even if it was off, it should have thrown out a location—something my tracking software ensured.
“Anyone seen Holden?” Kodiak shouted, rubbing his chest while his gaze swept the floor.
Fuck.
Anxiety gripping my heart, I pushed through the crowd to the head table.
“He went with Ginny and Maeve earlier today, just out on the trails,” I explained. “They should have been back by now.”
“Ginny was supposed to report to patrol a half an hour ago,” Talon said. “She didn’t show.”
“Fuck.” Orion glanced around the place, waving Guin over when he found her across the room.
“Can you feel Holden?” I asked. “Through the pack bonds?”
I couldn’t, but I wasn’t very close with him. As alpha, Kodiak was connected to us all. Instead of answering, he grabbed his phone and dialed Ginny, only to get the same result as I did. Ginny’s voicemail message rang through his speaker while Orion told Guin what had happened. Kodiak tried Holden next, but it only rang and rang.
Something’s wrong, my wolf urged. Go to her. Run. Now!
“I’m heading down to the trail,” I said, my beast growling with rage and anticipation.
“Moose, Serpent, and Larentia, you’re with Mill. Orion, take four others around the other direction. I’ll take Guin, Ruby, and Fenris up the middle. Reach out if you find anything.” His voice stayed steady, which was worse because it meant he’d gone into reaction mode.
I didn’t know how his bonds worked with his own family before they transitioned, but I could imagine he still felt them. Maeve hadn’t officially been blooded yet, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t sense her. Whatever he felt (or didn’t) had startled him, and I tried not to let that send me into a tailspin.
The pack took off into the woods, and I followed the path from the stables where Polar said he’d last seen them. We made it about two miles before I stopped. The rotten stench of vampires permeated the atmosphere, a couple of hours old but no less potent. Maeve’s scent mingled with Holden’s and Ginny’s. They’d come this way, but hadn’t gotten farther than this, and when I noticed a few broken plants on the undergrowth, I found Maeve’s busted cellphone against a tree. Signs of a struggle lined the ground—displayed dirt, limp grass, and a small puddle of blood.
“Fuck,” Moose said, stepping in next to me.
I tried to stay calm, but my inner animal was already bucking at my restraint. He wanted to sprint toward the vampire smell and hunt them down. He wanted to tear their throats out with his teeth. We were only a few days on the other side of the moon, so I wasn’t as powerful as I’d need to be. It didn’t matter to him. A shifter was never as strong as when its mate was on the line.
Fuck, I’d been such an idiot. I should have taken the time to go with her today. I should have made our bond official when I had the chance. What the hell had I been waiting for? Why had I been in such denial? Of course, she was my mate. Her absence and the threat of harm coming to her only made that more glaringly obvious.
“Is that what I think it is?” Larentia said. “Is that her phone?”
