With a low chuckle and a shake of his head, Carter made his way to the sedan and started the engine. The drive to Megan’s condo complex was a short one. He parked the car and made his way to her unit. Taking out the spare key she had given him years ago, he paused for a moment, pulled in a deep breath, and let himself in. The unknown of what he might find on the other side of the door weighed heavy on his heart.
The door creaked softly as it swung open, revealing a room bathed in the fading light of the evening sun. Megan’s condo had always been a cozy sanctuary filled with personal touches. It was an artistic array of patterns and color, just like her. But now it was too quiet, the absence of its vibrant owner almost palpable.
Carter stepped inside, his boots echoing softly on the polished hardwood floor. There were no signs of a struggle or hasty departure. Everything was in its place, from the neatly stacked pile of books on the coffee table to the throw pillows on the couch.
But what caught his attention was the blinking red light on the answering machine. Pressing the play button, the machine beeped, and a familiar voice filled the room.
“Megan, it’s Maria. I’ve been trying to reach you for days. Where are you? Please call me back. I’m getting really worried,” the voice trailed off, a note of desperation evident.
Carter’s stomach knotted. Maria and Megan had been inseparable since high school. They had weathered countlessadventures and misadventures together. If Megan was out of touch with Maria, it wasn’t just her family she was avoiding or unable to call. His anxiety grew. He needed answers, and he needed them fast.
After checking out anything that might give a hint to her whereabouts and coming up empty, Carter locked up the condo. Deciding his next step was to visit Maria, he headed to his car. Megan’s friend might have insights or information about what happened before his sister’s sudden disappearance.
As he drove, the streets around him became blurry smudges of light and color, his mind racing with the worst possibilities. The gnawing dread that had been his companion since he’d received the news of his sister’s disappearance grew with every passing mile. Megan was strong-willed and fiercely independent, but she wasn’t one to leave her closest friends in the dark. Carter clutched the steering wheel tighter.
Before long, he pulled up to Maria’s apartment complex, a quaint set of brick buildings with wrought-iron balconies. Shutting off the engine, Carter took a moment to collect himself. The weight of the situation pressing down on him, he exhaled deeply and stepped out of the car, steeling himself for the conversation ahead. The soft chirping of the evening crickets provided a haunting backdrop to his growing apprehension.
The twilight played tricks on his vision, and the pathway ahead seemed to blur and elongate. But it wasn’t the shadows that caused his sudden pause. An aroma, unlike anything he’d ever experienced, wafted through the evening air. It was a scent that was at once grounding yet exhilarating—a mix of wildflowers after a spring rain, with the warmth of sun-kissed skin and a hint of something primal, something wild. Carter’s heart rate increased, and his senses sharpened.
He knew instinctively, deep in the depths of his soul what it meant, but his mountain lion was the first to voice it.
Mate.
This was the scent of his mate. His pulse quickened, a feeling of wonder and disbelief intermingling.
Stepping around a bend in the walkway, Carter’s gaze fell upon her. Bathed in the soft glow of a lamplight, her silhouette was backlit with an almost ethereal light. Her hair, a cascade of dark waves, fell around her shoulders, and her eyes—those mesmerizing eyes—looked right into his soul.
Mate!His inner mountain lion exclaimed again, the excitement in its tone matching the exhilaration that Carter felt.Mate!
Carter tried to calm his racing heart. When their gazes locked, it was as if the world melted away. Time seemed to lose all meaning. There were no sounds, no distractions, just the two of them caught in a moment of profound recognition. Every fiber in his being told him this was destiny, that the unseen hand of fate had guided their paths together. He knew he needed to focus on his missing sister, but in this moment, his thoughts swirled around just one thing.
There was a profound stillness, the world receding and leaving just the two of them, suspended in that shared gaze. It was powerful—a connection so deep that words could never adequately describe it. Carter felt a pull, a magnetic force drawing him nearer, but he resisted, conscious of alarming this woman before he had the chance to introduce himself, and mindful of the circumstances that had brought him here.
His feet were ready to propel him forward, to close the distance between them, to speak to this mysterious woman whohad captured his senses so entirely. But before he could act, two imposing figures appeared from the shadows. The abruptness of their arrival startled Carter. They were both broad, and tall, their faces set in stern lines that gave away nothing.
Danger!Carter’s mountain lion snarled.Mate is in danger! Help her!
He felt a tug in his gut that was the first indication that his lion was trying to force its way out so that it could get to their mate and protect her. But now wasn’t the time to let his lion out. He couldnotshift. Not here, not now. Not before he knew what was going on.
His heart raced as he watched the two men approach his mate. She turned to them, her eyes widening a fraction, but she didn’t cry out or resist as one of them firmly grabbed her arm. Carter saw red. Who in the hell did this guy think he was manhandling her like that? The second man seemed to scan the area for any onlookers, his gaze momentarily passing over Carter’s position.
Help her. Now!His lion roared, growing more insistent and more frantic. Carter watched as without a word, the two men directed her to a black, tinted-window sedan idling a short distance away. He sprang into action, racing after them, but the engine was already running, the soft hum doing little to mask the alarm bells ringing in Carter’s ears. Right before she got in the car, she turned to cast one final, lingering look around, and for a split second, their eyes met once again. But she didn’t scream or call out to him for help. She didn’t fight. Instead, she entered the vehicle seemingly of her own accord, albeit under duress. The car roared to life and sped away, leaving Carter in its wake, his mind racing as fast as his heart.
Instinctively, he changed direction and sprinted to hisfather’s car. As the sedan disappeared around a curve in front of him, Carter pressed hard on the accelerator and raced after them, careful to maintain a safe distance. He wasn’t a novice when it came to tailing someone without being detected, but this was personal. He needed to know that his mate was safe, and his heightened senses—an advantage of his shifter nature—helped him stay on their trail. The knowledge that if he lost track of them, it could mean that he never saw her again made cold chills roll over his body. Now that he had found her, he could not lose her.
His lion though still frantic, had at least stopped trying to force a shift. The animal had enough logic to know that it would be of no use behind the wheel of a car. But it was angry at Carter for letting her get away. Truth be told, he was angry at himself. But everything had happened so fast that he’d been blindsided. Something that had never happened to him before.
The journey took them away from the heart of the city and toward the looming mountain range in the distance. With each turn they took, the environment grew more desolate and rugged. The sedan eventually turned onto a gravel road that snaked its way up the mountain to a well-fortified compound. A high fence, topped with barbed wire, cameras strategically positioned—it screamed of high security, of secrets held within.
Parking at a distance where he wouldn’t be immediately spotted, Carter kept low and observed. The sedan entered through a heavily guarded gate, and he could see the two men escorting the woman—his mate—out of the car. But what struck him the most was her demeanor. She wasn’t handcuffed or bound. She walked with an air of resignation, her head held high. And even from this distance, Carter could feel the weight of the situation, and a mounting resolve to find out who she wasand why she had been taken to this place.
The lights of the compound shone starkly against the darkening night, casting long shadows. And there she stood, outside the car, a beacon in the dark, unknowingly drawing him in. But for now, he had to wait, watch, and plan.
From his vantage point, Carter intently studied her movements. She paused at the entrance to the building, rummaging in her purse before extracting a key card. With a swift motion, she swiped it, and the door beeped in acknowledgment, granting her access. As the door slid open, she glanced back one last time at the space where Carter was hidden. Had she sensed him? Her gaze seemed to linger for a moment too long, but then she stepped inside the building.
“We’ll be waiting to drive you home after you finish work!” one of the two goons called after her.
She ignored them.
