Chapter Ten
Vince: The Abduction
I couldn’t help but laugh softly the moment I woke up. My gorgeous dragon had left. When exactly, I’m not too sure. Her scent was still strong, so it must not have been more than an hour ago.
I rolled out of bed, stretching, and then ran a hand through my hair. I drew in a deep breath and realized that her scent was all over me as well, and my body reacted, as well as my wolf. We craved her and didn’t want her to leave us so soon.
I quickly showered and made my way to the office to let someone know I was leaving when I ran into Jared.
“Hey, man, did you see the red-headed babe I was with last night?”
“I think she left this morning,” Jared shrugged. “Asked me where the best place to get breakfast was. I told her it depended on what she was hungry for and gave her a few suggestions. She told me that she would head to her car and then grab something after that.”
“Thanks, man. Hey, I’m done with the room. Thank you for letting us crash here.”
“No problem. You know you are always welcome here.”
I made my way over to my motorcycle once I stepped outside. I stuck my nose in the air and drew in a deep breath. She had walked past here this morning. Once I hopped on my bike, I followed her scent, which led me to her car. But that wasn’t the only thing I picked up.
I walked around her car, sniffing the air. To a passerby, I’m sure this looked awkward, but thankfully, it was still early, and there weren’t a lot of people around. I got to the driver’s door and drew in a deep breath, pulling in her scent. My wolf stirred, letting out a low growl, and I shared his anger.
She was there recently, but there was something else: a hint of fear. Lissa’s fear. I drew in another breath and could scent a male werewolf. Anger was pouring from me. I was so on edge that I was close to shifting. I was going to rip this male’s throat out for scaring her after I ripped his limbs off for even touching my mate.
I took in the area around her car and followed her scent down the alley, where I picked up traces of another male, but this one was human, which only deepened my anger. Walking closer, I could see that there was an apparent shuffle in the alleyway. Was she taken? I needed to talk to Jared and ask him if this is a common occurrence in this area. At least ask him for his assistance in tracking where she might have been taken.
I was headed back toward my bike when I heard a muffled moan behind me. I spun in the direction I believed it came from and began walking in that direction. There were a few trash bins a little further into the alleyway that were overflowing with trash, and the closer I got, the more I could see.
I had to squint because I wasn’t sure what I was seeing. My wolf vision kicked in, and at first, I thought it was a piece of a trash bag, but when I made it to the bin, it was clear what it was—a motorcycle boot. Curious, I touched it and discovered it was attached to a foot, and the person groaned. Trash bags were thrown on top to cover the person as if preventing them from being found.
“Hey, I’m going to get you out,” I told him, pulling trash off him. Once I uncovered the person, it was apparent who he was. He was wearing a motorcycle cut with Jared’s pack logo on it. I placed a gentle hand on his back.
“Can you hear me?” I asked, and he groaned again. “I’m Vince, and I’m going to call Jared.”
I pulled my phone out and instantly hit Jared’s number. “Hey, Jared. I found one of your guys in a trash bin in the alleyway. I’m on S. Center and Floyd Alley.”
“On my way,” Jared replied before hanging up.
I returned to the guy in the bin and surveyed the surroundings. I drew in a breath and could smell the wolf I scented earlier that I assumed took Lissa. My wolf was festering, wanting to tear this unknown wolf to shreds.
“Hey, man. Jared is on his way,” I told the guy in the bin. He must’ve been torn up badly if he wasn’t moving yet as us weres healed quickly depending on the injuries sustained. I didn’t want to pull him out in case it was terrible. Not to mention, he was a big guy. Larger than me. Although I was reasonably strong, I knew I would need help getting him out, especially knowing he was hurt. I didn’t know the extent of his injuries.
Minutes later, Jared arrived. “What the fuck, Vince?” I could sense his agitation. Rightly so, and thankfully, it wasn’t towards me. He wouldn’t have a reason for it.
“I scented Lissa near her car,” I said. “She seemed scared.”
“Yeah, I caught that. I also smelled another wolf?”
“I picked that up, too. Any idea who it was?”
“Not a fucking clue. I don’t recognize the scent, so he’s not one of mine.” Jared walked over to the guy in the bin and peered over at him. “Mike?” he asked, and the man groaned. “How the hell did someone get the best of you, man?” Jared joked and then turned his gaze toward me. “Help me get him out.”
It took us a few minutes to pull Mike out of the bin. Once we had him turned over, I understood why he was lethargic. Someone had shredded his abdomen. A bear or a wildcat, maybe? Until Mike comes through, we won’t know what happened. I was overly anxious to find out for Lissa’s sake.
“What the hell did this?” Jared asked as he began tending to Mike’s wounds.
“A bear?” I answered.
“I don’t know of any bear shifter in the area. Dragon, maybe?”
“This wasn’t Lissa,” I replied, leaning over and sniffing Mike. “Someone else, for sure. There are three different smells here. One was the wolf I scented around Lissa’s car, but I don’t smell her on Mike.” I drew in another breath and scrunched up my nose.
“Human,” Mike muttered softly.
Jared and I both looked at one another with furrowed brows. What happened for a human to be drawn into this?
“How did a human manage to do this?” I asked.
“We need to get to the bottom of this,” Jared said. “Do you think these thugs took Lissa?”
“Definitely,” I replied.
“She was,” Mike mumbled, and my wolf stirred.
I drew in a few deep breaths to try and calm him down. I was going to rip this human’s head off once I found him, Council be damned. I was sure they would understand why I did it once they learned what happened.
“I need to find her then,” I said sharply, holding back the growl that threatened to come out. “How well are these streets monitored?” I asked as I stepped away from Mike and Jared. I peered up at the buildings, looking for cameras, but Mike groaned, drawing my attention back to him. He needed help and fast.
“Not well enough, but it doesn’t hurt to check,” Jared replied, peering down at Mike. “Do you think we can move you to my car?”
“I can manage it,” he replied hoarsely.
I knew Mike was still in pain as his face scrunched when Jared and I helped him to his feet. We took our time getting him into the car and lying him in the back seat. I surveyed the area, still hoping to find video surveillance, as well as looking for anything that stood out. Maybe something was left behind by the attackers. I needed something, anything that could help me find Lissa.
“We’re going to find who did this,” Jared said as he shut the car door.
I nodded my head. “I need to know what happened to Lissa. I sensed her fear by her car, so I know this was a surprise.”
“We’ll find her. Three of my guys are on the task force.”
I knew who he was talking about. One was a detective, while the others served on the SWAT team. If anyone could find out anything, it would be those guys.
“If this was a personal attack, I want to know,” Jared added.
“Does someone have beef with you or your pack?” I asked him.
Jared ran a hand through his hair and blew out a sharp breath through his nose as if it would help him calm down. I had known Jared for almost two decades; I had never seen him this angry.
“I’ve recently heard rumors about women being snatched, but I literally thought that was part of the human world.”
My wolf growled, and my heart rate picked up. “Do you think someone is out there kidnapping our kind? Lissa is kind of unique.”
“We need to find out. Let’s head back to the bar, and I’ll make some calls. We need to alert the others and call in a pack meeting. I’ll call my guys at the police station and see what they know.” He placed a hand on my shoulder, and I flinched. “Deep breaths. We’ll get her back, brother.”
My chest hurt as reality was sitting in. What if she was gone? My heart hurt to think that I had finally found my mate, and someone had taken her from me before we had a chance to really get to know one another. I needed to find her. I shook my head, and my wolf spoke to me: we will find her.
We will, I told him. I have to.