Chapter Six
Toweling his hair dry, Vaughn listened for movement in the bedroom. Strange. No rustling of sheets, no soft breathing. He curled the towel around his waist and stepped into an empty bedroom.
“Newt?” The rumpled blankets on the floor lay abandoned, still holding the faint impression of their bodies, but the fae himself was gone.
An uneasy sensation crept into his gut, like someone had tied his intestines into sailor knots.
He dressed quickly, pulling on jeans and a Henley, all while telling himself there was no reason to worry.
Downstairs, the kitchen stood empty, the only sound the hum of the refrigerator. No cotton-candy-haired fae examining appliances or asking about microwaves. No one marveling at blenders or coffee makers or hovering near the ceiling.
“You’re being paranoid,” Vaughn muttered to himself, opening cabinet doors as if Newt might be hiding behind the cereal boxes.
He checked the living room then the garage for some reason. The house felt larger somehow, emptier, with Newt’s absence carving out spaces Vaughn hadn’t realized needed filling.
Pushing down his rising anxiety, Vaughn headed back upstairs. Preston and Jalen might have kidnapped Newt. Those two had all the boundaries of toddlers with scissors.
He knocked on Zeppelin’s door, trying not to look as worried as he felt.
Preston answered, hair sticking up in all directions. “Morning. You look like someone stole your coffee.”
“Have you seen Newt?” Vaughn asked, leaning against the doorframe, trying to seem as if he wasn’t internally panicking.
Preston’s eyes lit up. “The fairy?
“Fae,” Vaughn corrected automatically.
“No, but I was hoping to hang out with him today. Jalen wants to see him doing some magic.” Preston shook his head. “I haven’t seen him since last night. Why? Did you lose him?”
Vaughn frowned. “I didn’t lose my mate.”
Jalen appeared behind Preston, concern etching lines between his brows. “Who did Vaughn lose?”
“His mate,” Preston replied.
“I didn’t lose him,” Vaughn argued.
“Have you checked the ceilings?” Jalen asked, pulling on a hoodie. “Or maybe he’s with the kitchen appliances. Hey, did he break the toaster?”
“Don’t you think I checked those spots,” Vaughn asked. “He was in my room while I showered, then…gone.”
“We’ll help you look,” Preston offered.
Jalen stepped into the hallway. “Maybe he’s exploring? This place is huge.”
For the next twenty minutes, they combed through every room in the house. Each empty space they found cranked Vaughn’s anxiety higher. By the time they’d checked the basement, even Preston’s enthusiasm had dimmed.
“Could he have gone outside?” Jalen suggested as they regrouped in the foyer.
Vaughn ran a hand through his hair. “Why would he? After what happened last night, after…” He stopped himself from mentioning how they’d spent the night curled together, how Newt had draped himself protectively over Vaughn after his nightmare.
How they’d kissed this morning like they had all the time in the world.
“He wouldn’t just leave,” Vaughn said firmly, though doubt crept in like an unwelcome guest. Would he? They’d known each other less than a day. A day filled with vampires, nightmares, and complicated revelations.
Zeppelin appeared at the top of the stairs, face serious. “Problem?”
“Newt’s missing,” Preston explained before Vaughn could answer.
The alpha’s gaze sharpened. “The fae? When did you last see him?”
“This morning. Before I got in the shower.” Vaughn hated how that sounded, like he’d somehow failed to keep track of his mate. “We talked. Everything was fine.”
Liam joined them, followed by Bayne and Wade. “What’s the commotion about?”
“Newt’s missing.” Vaughn ran a hand through his damp hair. “He was in my room, and now he’s not anywhere in the house.”
Quinn laid a gentle hand on his shoulder. “Are you sure he didn’t leave? Sometimes people get scared.”
Vaughn wanted to argue but couldn’t. After all, hadn’t he spent his entire life running from things that scared him? His mother. His past. His feelings. Maybe Newt was doing the same.
“I need to find him,” he said, his voice rougher than intended.
“It’s daylight,” Jalen said quietly, glancing at Vaughn. “So it couldn’t be…you know.”
Demons. Vex. The unspoken name hung in the air between them. Vaughn appreciated Jalen’s attempt at discretion, but he wasn’t wrong.
Zeppelin’s expression hardened. “We’ll search the grounds. If he’s out there, we’ll find him.” He started issuing orders, dividing the pack into search parties.
The doorbell interrupted his orders. Everyone froze, heads swiveling toward the entrance.
Vaughn moved first, striding to the door and yanking it open with more force than necessary.
Sheriff Mitch Owen stood on the porch, aviator sunglasses reflecting Vaughn’s anxious expression back at him. “Morning,” he said, tipping his hat. “Think I found a guest of yours.”
He stepped aside, revealing his cruiser parked in the driveway.
Through the window, Vaughn saw a familiar cotton-candy-haired figure slouched in the backseat.
Relief crashed through Vaughn so violently his knees nearly buckled.
He exhaled a breath, the tension in his shoulders dissolving into something else entirely—a mixture of gratitude and confusion that left him momentarily speechless.
Why was his mate in the back of a police car?
Owen slid his sunglasses on top of his head. “Found him walking down Blackwater Road about three miles east. No shoes, looking lost. Said he was trying to find his way back to you,” Owen continued. “Figured I’d bring him back before someone less friendly found him.”
What the actual fuck? Blackwater Road was nowhere near the house. How had Newt ended up there, and why? Newt was pointedly avoiding his gaze through the cruiser window, like the trees were suddenly fascinating.
“Thanks for bringing him back,” Vaughn said, stepping onto the porch. “I’ll take him off your hands.”
The sheriff opened the car door, and Newt stepped out, avoiding eye contact as he shuffled toward the house. His hair was tangled, leaves stuck to the hem of Vaughn’s shirt, and his bare feet were dirty and scraped.
“I owe you one,” Vaughn told the sheriff.
Owen smiled slightly. “Just doing my job. Though you might want to get your guest some shoes if he plans on more walks.”
“Thank you for the ride, Sheriff,” Newt said softly.
Owen tipped his hat. “You’re welcome.”
They watched in silence as the cruiser backed out of the driveway. Only when it disappeared around the bend did Vaughn turn to Newt, not bothering to mask his irritation. The pack had gathered in the doorway, a wall of curious faces peering at the returned fae.
Preston and Jalen hovered in the foyer, curiosity written across their faces. Zeppelin stood behind them, arms crossed, expression unreadable.
“You found him,” Preston said unnecessarily, eyes wide as he took in Newt’s disheveled appearance.
“Sheriff Owen did,” Vaughn corrected. “Three miles from here.”
“That’s far,” Jalen observed, glancing between them. “For someone without a car.”
“Or shoes,” Preston added, looking down at Newt’s bare feet.
Zeppelin cleared his throat. “Let’s give them some privacy.” He herded the others back inside, though Preston lingered, concern evident in his expression.
“You okay?” Preston asked Newt.
“I’m fine,” Newt assured him, managing a weak smile. “Just tired.”
“Come find me later,” Preston said, squeezing Newt’s shoulder before hurrying away.
Newt walked past Vaughn, shoulders hunched. He smelled wrong, like sweat and fear and faintly of vampire. The scent made Vaughn’s hackles rise, his protective instincts warring with his sense of betrayal.
They climbed the stairs in silence, the weight of unasked questions hanging between them. Once inside Vaughn’s bedroom, he closed the door with deliberate care, fighting the urge to slam it.
“You disappeared,” Vaughn said, keeping his voice level through sheer force of will. “I thought—” He broke off, unwilling to admit the spiral of fear he’d descended into. “Want to tell me what the hell that was about?”
Newt sank onto the edge of the bed, pulling one foot up to examine a small cut on his heel. “I tried to go home.”
“You tried to—” Vaughn stopped, processing. “Without telling me?”
“I was going to come right back,” Newt said, looking up finally. His violet eyes were wide, pleading. “I just needed to check in so my father wouldn’t come looking for me.”
“And you couldn’t mention this plan before disappearing?”
Newt’s gaze dropped again. “I knew you’d try to stop me.”
“Damn right I would have.” Vaughn paced the length of the room, trying to burn off the mix of relief and betrayal churning inside him. “So what happened? Sheriff found you on the road. Did your magic fail again?”
A flush crept up Newt’s neck. “My portal spell worked. Just not exactly as intended.”
“Meaning?”
“I may have accidentally transported myself into a vampire nest.” The words tumbled out in a rush. “But I got away! So…silver lining?”
Vaughn stopped pacing. “You what ?”
“It was the same vampires from last night.” Newt’s hands fluttered nervously. “I tried another spell to make them vanish, but it just made more of them. Six instead of three. Not my finest magical moment.”
The mental image of Newt, his mate, surrounded by hungry vampires made Vaughn’s wolf howl with protective rage. His hands clenched into fists at his sides.
“You could have been killed,” he said, voice dangerously quiet.
“But I wasn’t.”
“That’s not the point!” Vaughn exploded. “You snuck out without a word, almost got yourself drained dry by vampires, and ended up lost on a back road. All because you didn’t trust me enough to tell me what you were planning.”
Newt flinched. “It wasn’t about trust.”
“Wasn’t it?” Vaughn crossed his arms. “Because from where I’m standing, it looks exactly like that. One minute we’re kissing, and the next, you’re gone.”
“I was trying to protect you!” Newt shot back, rising to his feet. “If my father came looking for me here, he wouldn’t just take me back. He’d punish anyone who helped me. I couldn’t risk that happening to you. Not after everything you've already been through.”
The sincerity in Newt’s voice should have softened something in Vaughn, but it didn’t. All he could think about was waking up to an empty room, the hours of searching, the fear that history was repeating itself… People leaving him without warning, without goodbye.
“So you made that decision for both of us.” Vaughn’s voice had gone cold. “Without giving me any say in the matter.”
“I—” Newt started then stopped. “Yes. I guess I did.”
Silence stretched between them, taut as a tripwire.
“How am I supposed to trust you now?” Vaughn finally asked. “How do I know you won't disappear again the moment my back is turned?”
“You don’t, I guess.” Newt’s shoulders slumped. “But I’m here now. I came back.”
“Only because your magic screwed up and landed you in vampire central.”
Newt’s eyes flashed. “That’s not fair. I would have come back anyway.”
“You don’t know that,” Vaughn said. “Neither do I. That’s the problem.”
The hurt on Newt’s face should have made Vaughn back down, but he couldn’t. Not when the fear of abandonment still had its claws so deep in his chest he could barely breathe around it.
“I thought we had something,” Vaughn said quietly. “Something worth being honest about.”
“We do.” Newt’s voice cracked. “I made a mistake. I’m sorry.”
“Sorry doesn’t fix trust once it’s broken.”
Newt stared at him for a long moment, eyes glistening. Then, without warning, he strode past Vaughn toward the door.
“Where are you going?” Vaughn called after him.
Newt paused, not turning around. “Crazy,” he said, voice tight with unshed tears, “and you’re not allowed to come with me.”
The door slammed behind him with enough force to rattle the pictures on the wall.
“Already there,” Vaughn muttered. “You just walked into the closet!”
With a shake of his head, Vaughn crossed the room and swung the door open and walked inside.
The door slammed behind him, bathing the closet in darkness.
“Vaughn?” Newt whispered. “Tell me you’re the one who cut off the light.”
He grabbed his mate, pulling Newt toward him right before he felt them freefalling.