Chapter 29
Eric
“This is where he was taken,” I said, my claws digging into my palms. There was a faint trace of blood. Finn’s blood. Along with bitter notes of fear.
And then a whole lot of nothing. His scent had just… stopped.
“They probably had a car,” Aries said, his voice quiet and outwardly calm, but I could sense the tension in him. He wasn’t unaffected by this.
For some reason, that was weirdly reassuring.
Aries was an arrogant fucker. A complete bastard.
But I had the inkling that having him on my side was far better than having to go up against him.
“But where did they take him?”
“Damn. They left his phone,” Bennie said, holding up the remnants of what once had been Finn’s cell. “Stomped on it a couple of times too.”
Aries sighed.
“Fledglings. Never thinking things through.” He rolled his eyes dramatically, then turned to me. “The positive thing is, they clearly don’t have a plan. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have smashed the only way to contact you. If they were clever, they’d try luring you into a trap.”
Perfect.
So now I was supposed to be glad that I couldn’t negotiate with them?
“Doesn’t that make them more dangerous?” Bennie asked, and I flinched.
What the fuck?
“Sorry, bro. I’m just trying to follow Aries’s train of thought.”
I didn’t want to follow any thoughts. I wanted to follow the fuckers who’d taken my mate. I wanted to follow them and make them pay for even laying eyes on him.
“Usually, yes. But in this case, it’s buying us time to find him before they even manage to come up with a plan.”
“And how?” I shouted, flinching as the lights in one of the buildings next to us went on. “There’s nothing here,” I said, gesturing around. “I can’t fucking recognize a specific car by smell. Can you?”
“No, I cannot,” Aries answered. “But we have options.”
“Options? What options?”
I wanted to rage.
To me, this whole situation seemed utterly hopeless.
What did he want to do? Run around town and try picking up a smell? Did Aries know how big the city was? It wasn’t like we were living in some kind of quaint small town.
“Did you ever drink his blood?” Aries asked.
“Why is that important?”
“Did you?” He raised an eyebrow.
Bennie sighed. “Just answer him.”
“Yes.”
“How often?”
“Twice? And I took like three drops on two other occasions, but I’m not sure that counts.”
Aries snorted. “No, youngling. That does not count as drinking blood. Hmm.” He let out a long, put-upon sigh as if my only having consumed my mate’s blood twice was somehow an inconvenience to him. “I wonder…”
Could he fucking get to the point already?
I let out an impatient snarl, and my fangs dropped in warning. It wasn’t like I could help it right now. Everything was setting me off. I needed to destroy something. Someone. The fucking fledglings. I’d show them what it meant to lay a finger on my mate.
“Okay, okay. Jeez, youngling, you should try yoga. Might do you some good to help you control yourself.”
Bennie groaned, stepping up next to me. “Aries. Now’s really not the time for teasing.”
I swallowed.
Bennie said that. Bennie. My jokester sire.
Dread filled me, momentarily robbing me of my senses.
“I said,” Aries reiterated, as if he were repeating himself. And truly, he might be. “That even though they haven’t formally consummated and thus secured the mate bond, there obviously is a bond in place.”
“What kind of bond?”
“The one that drew you to him in the first place. It’s a fragile, shaky thing, though.
That’s why the pull gets stronger and stronger, as does the need to secure the bond.
However, there are ways to… solidify the connection without actually creating the permanent mate bond.
It’s reserved for times when the mate needs more time.
Usually, that’s the case if one of the mates is human.
Drinking one’s blood is one way. You’re consuming parts of your mate, and that brings you closer.
You should’ve felt your connection getting stronger after drinking from him.
It might have felt as though you were more relaxed. ”
I swallowed.
Had I felt that?
I couldn’t say for sure.
I didn’t know.
Just like I didn’t know anything.
Not where Finn was. Not if he was okay. Hell, I couldn’t even say for sure that he was still alive.
He had to be, right? I’d feel it if he were dead, wouldn’t I?
Wouldn’t the bond or whatever be completely gone?
Not that I could feel a bond. Not like a rope. More like a… pressing feeling to search for my mate. To get close to him. Watch out for him. Make sure he’s okay.
Just like I’d been doing for three years.
And look where it had got me.
“I want you to focus on that bond.”
I closed my eyes, agony and despair filling the emptiness in my chest until they threatened to drown me completely.
I’d just said I didn’t really feel a bond.
“What do you feel?”
“My vampire side is urging me to find him. But I don’t know how.”
Aries smiled.
The fucker.
“That’s a start… How about you let your vampire out. Let him run wild. Let go of your control. Bennie and I will keep track of you. Maybe you’ll manage to find him after all…”
“And if I can’t?”
Aries placed a hand on my shoulder. “Then I’m going to start cashing in favors. I know a witch who owes me, and her locating spells are state of the art. I promise, we’ll bring your mate back to you.”
I furrowed my brow.
“But why? Why do you care?”
Aries gave a little smile. A sad one. Maybe the most honest one I’d ever seen on him.
“Because mates trump everything. I’ve seen enough vampires lose what’s theirs to know that saving a vampire’s mate is the most noble cause to fight for.”
There was a glint in his eyes. Almost as if a stray tear was threatening to escape. But it was gone the next moment, and I couldn’t focus on it right now anyway.
Finding Finn was the only thing that mattered right now.
I took a deep breath and nodded.
“Okay. You’ll make sure I’m not hurting innocent bystanders? I’ve never just… given up control voluntarily.”
Bennie and Aries gave grim nods, their human facades falling away as their fangs elongated.
“Ready?” I asked, feeling the need to make sure again. “Okay. Here we go.”