Page 222 of My Unexpected Mate

The girls nodded, and Annie went to sit next to Cassie. I saw them leaning over the map and talking quietly.

Nick rushed upstairs to leave the pillow in their bedroom and came back downstairs.

“Ready?” Mike asked us and we nodded.

We followed them outside, along the path Nick, Jacob, and I had taken earlier.

My heart was beating painfully inside my chest. Goddess, please, let us find a clue. I need her. I can’t live without her. The Goddess couldn’t be this cruel. I just found my sister, only to lose her. That couldn’t happen.

We reached the place where Nick lost her scent. I could see the tree that Nick punched repeatedly.

“This is where I lost it,” Nick mumbled.

“Yes, the scent here is significantly weaker,” Jack said as he sniffed around.

“Are you sure they left in a car?” Mike asked. “They could have used a spell to transport to their location.”

“That’s what I thought when we searched for her the first time,” I nodded. “But her scent led us here. If they used the spell to transport themselves, they could have done that at the place where they took her, and her scent would end there. But it didn’t. They came here.”

Mike nodded and continued sniffing around.

“Let’s split up,” Jack said. “Mike and Nick go south. Gabriel, Blake, and I will go north.”

We nodded and started walking in opposite directions.

I kept staring at Jack as I followed him. I waited for a sign that he had caught her scent. The further we walked away, the less hope I had left. I was hoping Mike would catch her scent.

After a few minutes, I saw Jack’s eyes widening.

“I think I got it,” he mumbled and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath.

My heart started beating faster.

“MIKE!” Jack shouted.

I heard footsteps running toward us.

“Did you get it?” Nick yelled as soon as he got near us.

Jack nodded and took a deep breath again.

Mike came to stand next to him and took a deep breath as well.

“It’s faint, but it’s hers,” Mike said.

“Can we follow it further?” I asked, sounding desperate.

“No,” Mike shook his head. “It is a miracle we managed to catch it in the first place. It is very weak. If Jack weren’t a vampire and a trained tracker, he wouldn’t be able to smell it.”

I was disappointed, but at least we had something to go on. We could start searching the warehouses on the north side that Cassie found.

“Let’s go back,” I said. “We need to rest and eat before we start searching.”

The guys nodded and started walking back to the cabin. Nick stayed behind. He was staring at the direction they had taken her.

“We will come back soon, Nick,” I said and stood next to him.

“I need her back, man,” he mumbled. “I don’t know who I am without her. Nothing makes sense without her.”

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