Too bad we didn’t have longer.
I wasn’t strong enough to take Alvin in a physical fight. This would be all about timing. I had to pull my beast back at just the right time so I could use my arcana against him. If I pulled back the ice protecting my arcana, I would only have a moment before the curse struck.
Running made me yearn for wings. My lungs and legs burned with the effort. I ran along the edge of the lake, with water to one side of me and supernatural territory to the other. I left the urban sprawl and found myself in woodlands again.
Not once did I catch the scent of Alvin’s rot. A million other scents tickled my senses, from dumpsters to cookouts. I caught everything, and yet not even a hint of what I wanted.
My resolve faltered, but I pushed on.
My pace slowed as I neared Alvin’s estate. I didn’t want to be back here. The place felt like an enemy. I knew it wouldn’t attack me, but every shadow held a potential threat. My hackles rose nervously. If I kept running, then nothing would catch up to me. Yet, my body grew weary.
A figure stepped out of a nearby shadow. I startled and darted back to put space between myself and the person. I expected Alvin’s reek to reach for me. Instead, the smell that wafted towards me was softer. It held mossy notes under the overwhelming aroma of bread.
I tilted my head to the side while the figure stepped further out of the shadow. The young fae man from the corner store looked down at me. Though his arms were crossed over his chest, I didn’t get the sense that he meant any harm. If anything, it seemed to me that he’d appeared just to make fun of me. At least, that’s what I got from his smug grin.
“Hello, puppy. What brings you out this way?”
I snarled in warning. Puppy was such a stupid nickname.
“Are you looking for your wayward Alpha? You’ve spent too much energy searching, though. What will you do once you find him? I see how you’re already wavering on your feet. The world might be trembling before you, but that’s only from your point of view. It trembles because you’re moments away from falling, puppy.”
I bared my teeth at the impetuous fae. He sighed and rolled his eyes. When he strolled forward, he patted the top of my head. I half expected a surge of energy. Instead, darkness rolled over me.
“We don’t know enough to let you kill yourself,” the fae said, his voice fading as I fell into the dark.
Ryder
I barely hadtime to tell the pack where I was going before my beast tugged me away. The dragon knew that Ness was missing before I did, which upset me. I should have had an eye on her.
I made it to the edge of the cemetery before my phone rang. Of course, even though I didn’t have Beryl’s phone number programmed into my phone, it still displayed her name on my screen through some sort of fae magic.
“Your mate is in the woods near Alvin’s old estate. Once you’re there, you should be able to catch her scent pretty easily,” Beryl said so casually, as if she were calling to gossip while her nails dried.
“Is she okay?” The words rushed out of me while my beast slammed against my insides with an urgency I’d never felt before.
Already, my feet were carrying me in the direction of the estate.
“She’s fine. I have one of mine watching over her.”
I didn’t like the sound of that. My beast didn’t either. Though I wanted to fly to her, I didn’t want to expose myself like that. I had to run on foot because a car wouldn’t be fast enough, either. The beast would grow frustrated with the gearshift and with speed limits.