Chapter Three
Once in the town and away from the rest of the pack, Aleco and Pedro shifted behind a dumpster.
Their plan was to follow Julie’s route and see where the smells took them. It seemed the place to start, and with the other shifters doing a more general sweep of the area, they figured it was the best chance to find out information.
“ To the pharmacy first ,” Aleco thought.
“ Yep, right behind you .”
Thank goodness for telepathy between shifter mates. Never had it been so important to Aleco as now.
They trotted at a fast pace behind several stores then over to a lot. Pedro paused and sniffed the ground near the pay-and-display ticket machine.
“ Here, I smell something.”
Aleco was there in a second, nose twitching. “ Yeah, she must have bought the ticket.”
“ It’s a good start. We have her .”
“ Don’t count your chickens yet .” But even as he’d thought it, a sense of hope filled Aleco.
If they had her scent, surely they’d be able to track her.
Pedro was off, nose to the ground, tail in the air.
Aleco followed him, glancing about as he did so, ensuring they weren’t being watched by any of the locals.
But the day was drawing to a close, most people home preparing their evening meal or shutting up at the end of business. Two dogs scouring the streets for the love of their life wasn’t a big deal.
As they turned onto the high street, Aleco was aware of a few of his pack in the area, their scent on the westerly breeze. But that was okay. They were doing what he’d asked. Staying out of sight as much as possible while still being thorough.
Pedro led the way to the pharmacy. It had a Closed sign on the door and the lights were off.
“ Yep, she was here, too .”Aleco caught her scent, faint but definitely there, on the door.
“ And where next ?” Pedro turned to him. He was panting hard.
Aleco knew his mate was super fit, so he guessed it was fear and tension that was making him breathe that way.
“ The bookstore. Come on .” This time, Aleco put his nose to the ground and followed the sugary sweet scent that he knew so well. A million other smells were mixed in with it, including the undertone of the earth around the camp, but that didn’t affect his ability to follow Julie’s trail.
The bookstore was also closed and in darkness. Pedro sniffed the frame, his ears pricked forward.
Aleco glanced about. “ Anything?
“ Yes. She was here, as Patrick said .”
“ Good. But it’s at this point we need to know what happened. Where she went next.”
“ Exactly .” Pedro put his nose in the air. “ Do you smell rain on the way?”
“ I hope not .” Aleco paused and looked to the sky. A few dark clouds had settled on the horizon. “ That’s the last thing we need .”
And he didn’t like to admit it, because it was only a faint trace of the damp, pine-laden smell that rain brought with it, but it was definitely there.
“ We have no time to lose .”
“ I agree .” Rain was the dogs’ enemy when they were on a scent trail. The ground having a good wash was a disaster for tracking. No expert nose could detect through the wetness.
“ It’s this way .” Pedro was off.
Aleco shot after him, following Julie’s scent with his nose to the ground.
It wasn’t until they found themselves in a shadowed brick alley that he stopped. Pedro turned to him. “ It’s gone .”
“ She’s gone.”
“ But how?” Aleco stared at the spot Julie’s trail ended. It was as if she had been plucked into the sky. It just wasn’t there anymore.
He dashed this way and that, sniffing the gritty wall, a cardboard box that reeked of human urine and an upturned crate abandoned by a bar that held the malty scent of beer.
No hint of Julie.
Deciding his superior sense of smell wasn’t helping the situation, he shifted to his human form.
As his body stretched and the air stroked over his flesh, he watched Pedro do the same. “Now what?” Pedro asked, hiking up his shorts that were low on his hips.
“Hope the others have found something, I guess.” Aleco wandered to the end of the alley and looked across the street. The door of a bar was open and a couple of patrons filtered out.
“Shall we ask them if they’ve seen her?” Pedro said.
“Look at us.” Aleco shrugged. “We look crazy. They’re in suits. We only have one item of clothing each and bare feet. They’ll likely call the cops if we say we’re on the hunt for a woman.”
“Good point.” Something in the distance caught Pedro’s attention. “Here comes Raif.”
Sure enough, in his dog form, Raif was hugging the shadows, nose to the ground. They rushed to meet him.
When he saw them, Raif stepped into a doorway and shifted.
“Anything?” Aleco asked.
“I was heading there, to that alley.” He pointed. “Where you came from.”
“It’s a dead end,” Pedro said. “The alley and the scent trail.”
“Dead end? She can’t have just vanished.”
“Yeah, that’s exactly what’s happened. As if she was just lifted up.” Aleco bit down the nausea that was threatening again. How could she have just gone? Her scent was strong, then completely absent?
What the hell had happened to her?
It felt as if a tight cord was wrapping around his heart. He couldn’t go on if he never saw Julie again. And Pedro, his heart would be broken, too. Aleco couldn’t stand the thought of that, of seeing his mate in such pain.
“We have to find her.” He clenched his fists. “Now.”
“But how?” Pedro stepped off the curb then back onto the sidewalk. He took several paces back to the alley then in the direction Raif had just come. It was as if he didn’t know which way to turn.
Aleco knew the feeling.
He reached for Pedro and pulled him into a tight hug. The heat of Pedro’s flesh against his chest was soothing, as were Pedro’s arms as they wrapped around him.
Pedro let out a shaking breath. “I don’t know what to do.”
“We have to think logically. Stay calm. It will be dusk soon,” Aleco said. “Perhaps there has been news at the camp. Maybe Davey came up with something.”
“How about several of you go back there and some of us can hunker down in the town for the night?” Raif suggested.
“I’ll stay in the town,” Pedro said.
“No.” Aleco ran his hand down his mate’s back. “Let’s stick together.”
“We can stick together here.”
“You forget, I’m Alpha male. I need to be at the camp, where the majority of the pack is.”
Pedro stepped away and shoved his fingers into his hair. He turned and the muscles in his back tensed. He was in pain. A pain that was reflected in Aleco’s heart.
Their woman was missing.
How the hell would they get through the night?
Together. That’s the only way.
His mind spun with fear and the lack of options they seemed to have, but what he did know was he couldn’t get through the night without Pedro at his side. It was bad enough to be without their beloved Julie— they couldn’t be apart as well.
“I don’t know,” Pedro said, frowning and letting his arms hang loosely at his sides. “I just don’t know what to do.”
“The pack keeps searching. We keep searching,” Aleco said. “But for now, we go back to camp. She may even be there waiting for us?”
“You think?”
“It’s possible.” Aleco didn’t really believe that. His guts were telling him something else was going on. Something he hadn’t figured out yet.
“Yeah, you guys head back with Patrick. I’ll stay here with the others.” He glanced down at himself. Raif’s clothing choice was jeans, sneakers and a plain black tee. “I’ll go in that bar. Ask around. Might get lucky.”
“Thanks, appreciate it.” Aleco gave his shoulder a squeeze. “And you know, if something turns up...do whatever it takes.”
“I get you, boss.”
Patrick drove Aleco and Pedro back to the camp in silence. By the time they arrived, the sun had gone and the temperature dropped. Flo was nursing a fire by the wall, the smoke trickling lazily upward.
“Anything?” she asked.
“No.” Aleco shook his head and looked about. “News here?”
“No, but Davey isn’t back yet.”
“Yeah, I am.” Aleco turned.
Davey limped up to him. He had a streak of blood on his cheek.
“What the hell happened to you?” Aleco asked.
Damn, what else would the day throw at them?
“Trap. Stood on a fucking trap, didn’t I?”
“What?” Flo rushed up to him.
Davey sat heavily on the wall and tugged at his sweats, revealing a nasty gash above his ankle.
“Goddamn.” Pedro stooped to look at it. “That’s nasty.”
“I’ll get antiseptic and a bandage. Don’t move.” Flo dashed off.
“Where the hell was the trap?” Aleco asked. They hadn’t had to worry about traps for years. Their territory was clear, meaning they could run safe in the knowledge nothing would clamp around their legs at any moment.
Until now that was.
“Over near the Rocky territory.”
“What were you doing over that way?”
“I wasn’t sure. I thought I picked up a sweet scent.”
“Julie?” Pedro asked quickly.
Davey shook his head. “I was mistaken. When the trap got me, I realized that I’d fallen next to an azalea bush. It must have been that. For a moment, I thought I was onto something…then…whack.” He glanced away and bit on his bottom lip.
“Sorry, buddy.” Aleco set his hand on Davey’s shoulder. “Appreciate what you were doing for us. Wish you hadn’t got hurt.”
“Shit happens.”
“I guess I was just lucky to be able to get out of it.”
“Yeah, how did you?”
Flo returned with an armful of medical paraphernalia. “Here, drink this.” She thrust a small tumbler at him.
“What is it?” Davey asked. He sniffed the green liquid then screwed up his nose.
“Something to stop your foot from rotting and falling off,” she tutted. “Stop talking and drink up.” He did as instructed.
“You got this?” Aleco asked.
“Sure,” Flo said. She looked Pedro up and down. “You guys go get some rest. We’ll hammer your door down if we hear anything.”
“We don’t need rest.” Pedro slammed his fist into his palm. “We need to find our woman.”
“And to do that you need to come up with a plan rather than running about all over the place until you’re exhausted.” She frowned at him.
“She’s right, Ped.” Aleco slipped his arm around his mate’s waist. “Come on. Let’s get a drink and figure out what our next move will be.”
For a moment, he thought Pedro was going to resist. But then he sagged against him, as if his strength had suddenly been sapped.
Aleco held him close and steered him to their cabin.
Stepping in, he had to steel his emotions. Without Julie it was so empty. He missed her smile, her scent, the way she bustled in the kitchen preparing food, chatting, singing and sometimes even dancing.
Pedro must have felt the same because he, too, stared at the kitchen area. Her absence was tangible. Like a presence itself.
“I’m going for a shower,” Pedro said.
“Yeah, okay.” With his emotions in turmoil, Aleco watched Pedro walk toward the bathroom. He hated seeing Pedro like this, on the edge. And what he hated more was worrying about what Julie might be going through.
Could she have left us?
No, that was a ridiculous thought. They were more in love than ever. Plus, her mates were all she had. Julie had no other family in the world. Destiny had brought them together many years ago, and nothing had changed.
Has someone taken her?
Damn it. He’d fucking kill them. And if they hurt a hair on her head he’d kill them slowly and painfully, death being their only release from the agony he’d make sure they endured.
But who the hell would take her? Kidnap her?
Maybe she’d bumped into a friend and lost track of time?
He clicked his tongue on the roof of his mouth and reached for a glass. He filled it with water then drank deeply. Julie didn’t know anyone in the town. The pack were her friends and she’d always said how that suited her, no worrying about slipping up that she was mated to two dog shifters. Not the easiest conversation starter with new acquaintances.
He set down his glass and heard the shower flick on.
He’d had so many plans for this evening. He glanced at the mauled butter and his cock stirred. Right now, he should be in bed with his mates. Directing their sex and making sure everyone came spectacularly.
Wandering to the bathroom, as if lured by the thought of Pedro naked, Aleco shucked off his jeans.
His cock sprang forward. Fully hard now.
Why the hell was he thinking about sex at a time like this? It was one of the worst moments of his life. His world was shattered.
Yet the thought of a good hard fuck, releasing some tension, seemed like a damn good idea. Perhaps he’d be able to think straight afterward.
Pedro was in the shower, his face held up to the water. His body glistened, a stream running down the groove of his spine and slipping between the crack in his buttocks.
Steam swirled around Aleco as he stepped in behind him. Pedro startled for a moment.
“Hey.” Aleco wound his arms around him.
“What are you doing?” Pedro asked.
“I’m going to fuck you.”
Pedro didn’t answer.
“Bend over,” Aleco said. “Now.”
Pedro placed his palms on the tiles and tipped, offering Aleco his ass.
Aleco reached for the soap and lathered his hands. He then coated his cock in the moisturizing lather.
“But Julie, I...” Pedro said. “Should we...?”
“I want to fuck you.” Aleco fingered Pedro’s asshole. “Don’t you want me to?”
“I always want you to fuck me. I love you.”
Aleco slipped in, knuckle deep. “Good.”
Pedro groaned.
Aleco watched the water bouncing off Pedro’s golden skin and scissored his fingers, parting the tight pucker. But he was impatient. He wanted it hard and fast. It was as if there were a demon inside him. A rage he could only get rid of by losing himself in crazy, frantic fucking. So, after a few moments he pulled out and set his cock at Pedro’s entrance. “Get ready for it.”
Pedro braced, his back stiffening and his shoulders bunching as he pressed against the tiled wall.
Aleco gripped Pedro’s waist and thrust forward. He sank to full depth, his balls against Pedro’s. But he didn’t give his mate chance to adjust to being penetrated, instead he pulled almost out, then drove in again.
Pedro yelped, the sound mixing with that of the shower and echoing around the cubicle.
Aleco slammed in again and again. Pedro could take it. They fucked with wild abandon frequently.
But today there was extra intensity. He closed his eyes and dragged Pedro onto his cock as he shoved forward. Pushed him away as he pulled back. With each powerful lunge his lower abdomen slapped up against Pedro’s ass cheeks.
Pedro was gasping, writhing, his hands now fists on the wall.
Aleco kept going. Images of Julie were spiraling through his mind. Julie with Pedro. Him with Julie. Fucking. Running. Screaming. Laughing.
He tightened his hold and plunged in deeper than ever.
Pedro cried out.
Aleco hoped he was close, because damn it, his cum was boiling in his balls. He needed to release, let all his madness go with it.
“Come,” he shouted. “Come now!”
Pedro’s asshole clamped tighter around the root of Aleco’s cock.
“Ah, yeah, yeah, you beautiful man, fucking come now.” He sped up. The water slid down his face, splashing where his body connected with his mates. His dick was about to erupt.
He didn’t know if Pedro had come or not. But it was there, his frantic release. He tipped his head and buried his cock to the hilt. As his shaft pulsed and his balls packed up into his body, he pincer-gripped Pedro to him.
Fuck. That’s what he’d needed—a moment of oblivion.
Another shot of cum left him and he squeezed his buttocks and forged in. He was breathing hard. It had been a desperate, animalistic, primitive fuck. Near violent. Really damn hot.
But as he opened his eyes, the situation they were in rushed back into his reality.
He realized that mixing with the water pouring down his face were tears. Pulling out of Pedro, he dashed them away. Pedro remained stooped, his hands on the tiles. His shoulders were shaking, his ribcage expanding and retracting in big heaving sobs.
“Ped.” Aleco reached for him and yanked him to standing.
Pedro’s face was red, his eyes moist and drips ran from his nose. He was crying.
“Babe, come here.” Aleco pulled him into a hug. “Fuck, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
“You didn’t.” Pedro clung to him. “It’s just…”
“What?”
“We shouldn’t have, not without her.” He paused and sniffed. “Not when we don’t know where she is.”
“Shit. I’m sorry.” Damn, why hadn’t he thought of Pedro’s emotions? All he’d wanted was to come. Get as close as possible to the man he loved. It made sense to him in some primitive part of his brain to fuck out his frustration.
Clearly, Pedro didn’t feel the same.
Aleco didn’t think he could feel any worse than he already did. But as he held his crying mate, their softening cocks lodged together, he wondered if he’d ever be the same again.