18. CHAPTER 18
“A seven nation army couldn’t hold me back.”
Henry
My heartbeat is so loud in my head it’s competing with the roar of my bear as he charges hard against my barriers in my mind, trying to break through.
His teeth are bared and he's snarling viciously in anger.
His urgency is palpable and sends a rush of fear though me.
I barely register running down the stairs, my shoes kicking up gravel as I bound across the car park toward my truck.
I still have no idea what is happening, I just know I need to get to Everett. Austin snatches the truck keys from my hand, pushing me toward the passenger side. I want to argue, tell him to fuck off and get out of my way, but a blind person could see I was far too distracted to be behind the wheel.
“Shut up and get in the damn truck, Hen. Where is he?” He asks, starting the truck and pulling out of the space before I’ve even closed the door.
He doesn’t question me, doesn’t try to get me to slow down and think this through.
This is why Austin is my best friend. He’s ready to run into the fire, no questions asked, because he knows I need him and that I would do the same for him in return.
I have no idea where Everett is, the last time I spoke to him he had just finished with his classes for the day and was headed back to his room to study and do laundry “Head to the college dorms.” I tell him, my knuckles turning white as I grip the oh shit bar still trying to stop my bear from exploding out of me to chase down our mate.
I just hope he hasn't changed his mind and instead decided to go out with friends or to the grocery store.
More than that, I pray this whole thing has been some kind of misunderstanding, my bear overreacting for nothing.
I want nothing more than to find my beautiful, curly-haired mate laying on his bed, lost in a book, oblivious to the anxiety threatening to rip me apart.
I keep tugging on the mate bond, calling for Everett the whole drive over, and the longer the silence continues, the more fear grips me.
The campus is pretty open-plan, with only a few trees scattered along the path from the main building to the dormitories.
Surely, if Everett was hurt here, somebody would have seen something and called the cops or even fucking campus security.
Swallowing past the lump in my throat, I throw the truck door open before Austin has even come to a full stop.
Nothing looks out of place. No crowds of students gathered gossiping, no cop cars or emergency services.
I try to take that as a good sign. Students are just milling around without a care in the world, while my chest is starting to constrict, the feeling of dread won’t leave me, and my bear is getting more impatient and angry as we search to no avail.
Being a college campus courtyard there have been hundreds of students passing through here. Professors and pedestrians alike. Everett has been here. His scent is faint, far too diluted with the others to be helpful.
Stepping up to the closed doors of his building, the scent intensifies.
Yes, he has been here recently. I wish I could shift into my fur, let him barrel through this door and use his enhanced sense of smell to find our mate.
If I did that, it would save a hell of a lot of time trying to convince somebody to buzz us in.
We probably look like crazed kidnappers looking for an omega to abduct.
Shifting in public will only bring its own set of problems.
So I do what always seems to work in the movies. I press every damn button on the intercom and hold my breath. The lock on the doors clicks loudly, as an answering buzz tells me that it actually worked.
I’ve not been to Everett's dorm room yet, which feels like a not only a missed opportunity to know more about him, but also a massive fucking mistake now that I’m trying to locate him. Gods, I’m a terrible alpha. How can I not know where my omega lives?
I’m not even sure which fucking floor his room is on. My nose is the only thing I’ve got to lead me to Everett, and I’m terrified it's not enough.
Following his scent, I race up the stairs, stopping on each level to inhale deeply.
The smell of honey bread hits me in the face so thick I almost choke on it.
This has to be it. My eyes dart up to check which floor I was on.
Third. Okay, at least if we have to jump from the window, it’s not that far down.
Stepping out of the stairwell, I let go of the heavy metal door only for it to push open again.
I spin around, fangs already bared, only to see Austin panting to catch his breath.
He must have parked and flown up the stairs behind me.
I didn’t even hear him, too distracted by anxiety and the fear that I’m going to be too late.
“What are you waiting for? Let's find Hellcat.” Slapping a hand down on my shoulder, he gives it a quick squeeze of reassurance, then steps back to let me work out which direction we need to go. While the whole interaction probably lasted a minute, maybe two, I feel like I’ve wasted precious time.
Panic is clawing at my vision now. I need to get a grip on myself, my omega needs me.
I no longer think my bear is exaggerating or overreacting. The closer I get to Everett, the stronger the bond should be. I should be able to feel him like a physical presence in my mind being this close. The absence of him is crippling.
With a burst of renewed determination, I follow the strongest trail of Everett's scent into a hallway with maybe eight doors lining either side. I hesitate for a second to try tod come up with a better idea than just knocking down every door to find my mate. I’m pretty certain we are breaking some kind of law being in this building, adding more charges on top for intimidating and property damage doesn’t seem like a great plan.
Thankfully, Austin is still firing on all cylinders. Picking up on my inability to think straight, he reaches out and casually pulls the fire alarm before working his way up the hallway banging on each door loudly.
“Fire, everybody out,” he yells at the top of his lungs.
One by one students start to pour out, some half dressed with little concern for the building apparently being on fire. Others are in full panic mode, carrying arms full of books and one omega is stuffing a cat up his jumper.
“Everett Barkley? Which room is he in?” I ask each student as they pass, getting more and more frustrated that nobody seems to know my mate and I haven’t a clue who his roommate is.
I vow at this moment, when I get Everett back to my cabin, I’m not letting him leave until I know every single piece of information about his past and present life. Shit, did we have the wrong floor?
I’m starting to think we have the wrong fucking floor when a voice breaks through my consternation “Everett? Little ginger dude? Last door on the left, man” a young guy tells me, nodding toward the far end of the hallway.
I can barely see his face past this mop of black hair falling in all directions.
I take off, calling my mate, “EVERETT, SWEETHEART ARE YOU HERE?” my voice so close to my bear’s that I'm sure it’s coming out more of a strangled roar than discernible words. “EV BABY!” I try again, heart racing and vision starting to blur as terror claws at me.
Straining my ears I try to listen for him, there are too many other heart beats for me to distinguish which is his, our bond is still silent and if he can hear me he’s not calling back. I can't pick up on anything other than his scent concentrated in this hallway.
Reaching his door, at least I hope it's his door, I take one step back then charge shoulder first. This is the only room that hasn’t reacted to the fire alarm screeching loudly.
Which can only mean one of two things. Either Everett isn't here, and the room is empty, or something happened to my mate and he isn’t able to respond.
The wooden door crashes open, splinters of the frame falling around my feet as I step into the room. Three omegas inside all turned to face me with wide eyes.
Christopher, Everett's best friend, I recognise from the pictures Ev showed me from their night at the bar during the singles event, a fox shifter, and my mate.
Christopher and Everett are sitting on one bed. Positioned next to each other, backs to the wall with their hands bound together behind their bodies. The fox shifter is sitting on the bed opposite them. Unbound and posture rigid. I can smell magic in the air.
Unable to hold him back any longer, my bear rips out of me, forcing the prick to fall to the floor, Barney landing hard with his front paws on either side of the fox fucker’s head.
Snarling and snapping my jaws at him, in a warning not to move, I lean across the significantly smaller space to my mate, nuzzling his cheek, licking at his skin.
I’m not sure if it’s whatever fucking magic was used on him, but Everett’s scent has changed.
It's subtle, but noticeably sweeter nonetheless.
“Are you okay my love?” I ask through our connection, expecting a response now that I see with my own eyes he's alive, awake, and looking right fucking at me. Except there is nothing, not through the bond or in person. A lone tear falls from his eye, slipping down his face, making my bear huff in frustration and lap at the salty wetness. It’s like his body is frozen and he’s trapped inside.
A scuffling noise behind me has my head whipping around, stupid fucking fox shifter is trying to make a run for it.
Does he really think he's going to get around my bear and escape? Apparently he does. The whimper he releases when Austin steps into the room tells me he is rethinking that plan. Austin's large body blocking the doorway, a vicious growl showing all of his teeth aimed at the little bastard. It’s overkill, but I can’t say I don’t enjoy the way the fucker scarpers back on all fours like a crab to press himself into the corner.
Realising that while the danger may not be fully past, especially with magic involved, I think Everett needs more assistance than my bear can offer him right now.
Trusting Austin to keep the fox shifter where he is while he calls the cops, I shift back to my human skin, uncaring that I’m naked.
The only thing that matters is figuring out what the fuck he did to my mate.
Pressing two fingers to the side of Everett's neck, I check his pulse. It’s strong, if anything, it's too fast, like he's somehow hyperventilating on the inside but calm on the surface.
It's reminiscent of that horror movie, House of Wax. When Chistopher’s pulse is equally as fast, eyes darting to the corner of the room where the fox is and back to me frantically, I know this has to be down to magic and that shifter is to blame.
Whirling on the idiot who dared to attack my mate, I grip his shirt by the collar, dragging him to his feet and then off them, letting his legs flail suspended in the air.
“What did you do to my mate?”