She wouldn’t be late.Or maybe she would be.I know everything there is to know about Maisy on paper–from a distance.But I purposely haven’t engaged with her much socially.
Is she the type to show up late?Somehow, it doesn’t seem like her.She’s responsible.Organized.Shy.
Thirty minutes in, I call Maisy, and when it goes to voicemail, I pocket my phone and jog toward her house.
Something’s wrong.
Now I’m sure.Maisy wouldn’t be late.She’s a very organized person.Most people don’t realize how much she does.She manages a coffee shop that’s more than a place to get a drink–it’s the social hub and true third space that creates community in our small town.I suspect she’s the reason Daisy is so successful as mayor, too.She’s the quiet competence executing Daisy’s wild hare-brained schemes.
Did she change her mind about the date?Was she too intimidated to text me?I know how much I fluster her.
But no, she’s too kind, and she respects me too much.She wouldn’t leave me hanging.
Which means my bear is right to be upset.Fuck!I should have called her immediately.
I have a bad feeling about this.
I smell something foul as I step onto her street.Cigarettes, strange human,my bear reports.
I speed up to a run.
When I get to Maisy’s house, the door is cracked open.I ring the bell and knock, calling her name.Maybe she just got busy with work stuff and lost track of time.
I call her again and hear her phone ringing…inside the house.
Oh, fate.I don’t like this.
She’s not here.As soon as I accept that, I can pay attention to what my bear is screaming at me.
There’s a strong scent by the door.A hunting dog can sniff out a trail by following the cloud of skin cells and scent molecules a person leaves behind.A shifter’s nose is even more sensitive.
It’s a gift and a curse.And right now, it’s torture because I can smell what Maisy was feeling when the strange men confronted her on her doorstep.
Terror.Sharp and acidic, burning my nose along with the strong smell of stale cigarettes.She was here not long ago, along with at least two strange men.I trace the scent to the mailbox, where it disappears.She must’ve been put in a vehicle of some kind and driven away.The trail ends there.Maisy’s sweet scent snuffed out by the smell of diesel and axle grease.
She’s gone.
My bear roars.
Stop, I tell him, and he replies with a stream of words:Mate Danger Kill Strangers Protect Mate.
Later,I promise him.Right now, I need to think.
I call Daisy.We quickly figure out Maisy isn’t with her, and no one has seen her since she left work.
“Meet me at your house.”I try not to sound panicked.
I shoot a text to the group chat containing all my brothers.
911.Maisy’s gone.Someone’s taken her.
ChapterSix
Matthias
Minutes later, my brothers assemble at Daisy’s.The triplets are even here, looking more serious than I’ve seen them.
Everest paces around in bear form, snuffling at the ground and pavement.
