“Mira had no luck,” Xander says. “Locheran still can’t get a strong read on their connection. He says it’s flickering in and out but not sticking long enough for him to track her.”
“They’ve shut off her phone as well,” I say. “I had a tracker app installed on it, but it’s no longer showing up for me.”
“Does Farrah know you did that?” Evangeline asks, eyes wide.
“I don't give a fuck.”
Xander puffs his chest, ready to yell at me for speaking to his wife like that. She puts her hand on his forearm, stopping him.
“I should be able to—” My words are cut off by my anguish. I plant my hands on the table and lower my head, trying to get it the fuck together.
I can’t break down now. Not while my mate is in the hands of the very men who want us dead. If there’s any chance they know she’s involved with monsters… it may not matter that she’s family.
I suck in a sharp breath and lift my head. “I should be able to sense her. She’s mymate.But something felt off about this meeting. It felt too easy. So, I downloaded the tracking app while Farrah was asleep. Just in case.”
And it still didn’t matter. The app doesn’t work unless her phone is on. All it shows is the phone’s last pinged location, which is right where we’re standing: a street ten blocks away from the subway station.
Xander and Thorne appear on either side of me. Their big hands squeeze my shoulders simultaneously, offering me comfort. I would have expected this from Xander, being my best friend of 995 years, but Thorne offering me his support is a surprise.
He’s never been one to show emotion, aside from broody. His mates are changing him. He’s no longer thequiet, intimidating gargoyle. He's more caring, outgoing. I love that for him.
Xander and Thorne also know what I’m going through. Both had mates who were kidnapped.
Millie’s mate was kidnapped, too. She's not here with us, only because she and Teddy are heading teams of supernatural soldiers in Manhattan in case the hunters make it that far.
What’s with villains and kidnapping?
“Tell me about it,” Vara says, chuckling. “It’s annoying.”
Okay, I guess I said that out loud.
The sphinx, who’s standing across from me, softens her eyes.
“But you know what we all have in common? Me, Evangeline, and Teddy?” She doesn’t give me time to answer. “The villains lost. The mates were recovered. And the same thing is going to happen for Farrah.”
Tears fall down my cheeks, and I quickly wipe them away. I can’t remember the last time I cried. Probably when I lost my parents and siblings.
“Okay,” Layla says, tapping her chin in thought. “You said you can’t sense your connection, but it comes in spurts? Like, what? A bad radio signal or something?”
I nod. “That’s exactly what it’s like.”
Or like I’m swimming in the ocean and waves of fear keep slamming into me. Sometimes, I’ll hear her voice calling for me. There’s also a strange scent in my nose. Like dirt or earth and smoke. There’s something herbal, maybe a flower. And… huh… mead. I haven’t smelled that in hundreds of years.
Rorik suddenly appears at the table, emerging from his corner.
“What did you say?” he asks, boring his eyes into me.
“I didn’t say—”
He rolls his eyes and waves his hand at me. “What did you just think then?”
“It’s like I’m swimming in the ocean and waves of fear keep slamming into me. Sometimes I’ll hear her calling my name. It’s like a radio signal struggling to break through.”
He snaps his fingers, clearly wanting me to say more. I swear, I’m going to break his fucking wrist if he snaps at me again.
“The smell, Locheran.”
I narrow my eyes and huff out a breath.
