Chapter 21 Saxon
“GIVE ME MY options,” I said to Wilder who’d come to the cabin to assist me in finding Danny. I’d tried to leave, but my knees had buckled.
“A tracking spell would be the clearest answer,” the mage said. “It would help us get close, even with a human. But since we didn’t place a tracking spell on him before he left, trying one after the fact is iffy.”
“But it’s possible.”
“I’ll do my best. Do you have something that belonged to him? If not, I know his brothers will help.”
“I do.” He’d left one of his Crestfire Hill University hoodies in the cabin. I’d kept it carefully folded in my bedside table in the cabin. As much as I wanted to, I hadn’t gone home at all yet. I was still weaker than normal, and the Fae were using the cabin as a base of sorts.
I had to force myself to hand it over. It still smelled like him. As Wilder took the hoodie from me, a surge of energy pulsed through my body. “Wait. I just felt something really weird.”
“Describe it to me,” Wilder said.
“It’s like he’s here. Almost. But not quite.” I grabbed the hoodie back and pressed it to my face. Despair threatened to send me to my knees. Was that how he felt? Was my omega suffering?
“If you’re feeling a surge of emotion, then that’s him. ”
It was now even more urgent that I get to him. “How can I feel him?”
“Because he’s your mate.”
I’d heard of mates of course. But Fae didn’t speak of them often. They considered themselves above such things. “We never took a vow, or formed a bond.”
“That doesn’t matter.”
I’d never thought I’d have a mate. And now I’d had one, and I’d lost him through my own negligence. “He’s upset,” I said.
“We’ll find him.” Wilder clapped me on the back, not caring that Fae didn’t engage in that sort of camaraderie. “It’s actually easier if he’s feeling a strong emotion. It’ll help us pinpoint him.”
Wilder opened a spell book and lit a candle. He used the cabin’s kitchen to grind several herbs. Then he mixed up a potion over an open flame. He forced me to stay in the main living area, out of his way. I came as close as he’d allow, peering over his shoulder.
“I’m busy,” he said.
“Surely you don’t need total silence for your witchcraft,” I grumbled. I didn’t like being left out of the loop yet again, even though I knew rationally that he was trying to help me and Danny.
“Go meditate,” he said. “Picture your mate.”
I did as he said. I pictured Danny the way he’d looked while we kayaked, smiling and healthy, eager to explore the banks of the lake.
About twenty minutes later, Wilder was back. He shoved a jar into my hand. “Drink that.”
I did as he said. Once I was finished, he chanted a set of incantations, then smeared a mixture over my forehead.
“There,” he said. “Now we can narrow our focus. Can you pinpoint where he is?” Wilder asked. “Because a mate’s senses are more accurate than even the best type of location spell.” Wilder snapped his fingers. “Here. This might help.” Wilder dug in his bag, then shoved his laptop in my face.
A map of the United States filled the screen. I stared at New York State and let my mind go blank. “Missouri.” I pointed at the middle part of the state. “That’s where he is.”
“Good. Can you get more specific? Give me a town.”
Missouri wasn’t the largest state, but it wasn’t small either. “There.” I pointed out a small town called South Marigold, which was just west of Kirksville. “Somewhere in that area.”
“Let’s go,” he said.
I wasn’t back to normal, not even close. But if I had to use up every scrap of power I had, I’d do it. Anything to get Danny back, and keep him safe. I rented a private jet and made it to Missouri in just two hours.
One we touched down at the regional airport, Wilder did another spell on the plane while I meditated again.
My body went rigid as I got a new emotion. The low-level despair faded. At first, I thought that was a good thing. Then it was replaced by abject fear.
My omega was consumed with absolute terror.
“Wilder. Something’s happened. Someone’s after him.”
He was scared, but there was more. It went beyond fear. “No,” I breathed. How was this possible?
I caught a few of Danny’s thoughts, enough to know that it wasn”t a human who was after him. A demon was close to him.
A demon had my mate.
***
Minutes later, I had an SUV rented and Wilder and I were speeding down the highway. The feelings were getting stronger, until they stopped.
I knew exactly where to go. I parked the car. “Here,” I said to Wilder. Once we were out of the SUV and heading down a crumbling sidewalk, he had to jog to keep up with me as adrenaline fueled my pace.
“He’s been here,” I said. There was a building at the end of Main Street. It looked like it had once been a house, but now it had been converted. The siding on the house had once been green, but now it was bleached to a gray-ish color from the sun and the elements. The windows were covered in bars and the plants in the flower pots were dried up. ‘South Marigold Safe House,’ the sign read.
Thiswas where he was living. In a shabby, crumbling shelter. One that promised a reprieve from domestic violence.
I grabbed for the door handle but Wilder gripped my arm. “This is for omegas only. They won’t let an Alpha in.”
“They’re all human. I’ll sway them. They’ll never know I was here.” I didn’t feel good about it. But I was desperate.
I projected what I wanted them to see as I tugged the door open. The security guard and receptionist looked at me, eyes glazed over. The door opened to a shared living area that smelled like off-brand wood polish. I only knew that because my staff had bought it once, and I’d told them never to buy it again.
A few omegas sat at a table, working on a puzzle with a lot of pieces. None of them glanced up at me. To the side was a dining area with rows of tables. A few kids were painting with watercolors. A fenced in backyard held a swingset, where preschoolers screeched as they crawled up a slide. Danny wasn’t out there.
I went down the hallway next. The bedroom where my omega slept was empty. I could tell that he’d been there recently. Row after row of twin beds were evenly spaced, each neatly made. The furniture was well-used but clean. The air felt bleak, but a sense of hope overlaid the distress.
My omega had been huddled in here, sleeping in a twin bed with a threadbare quilt. His bedside table had nothing personal on it. However, he’d clearly been desperate, I was grateful the shelter existed for him.
But my omega wasn’t here. “He’s not here. But he’s close. He’s still in town,” I told Wilder. “Something’s weird.” I grabbed the mage by the shoulders. “Something is really fucking weird.” Danny was still afraid, but it had morphed into a distant wariness. Had this fucker hurt him somehow? Drugged him? I’d assumed they were using him as bait for me.
“This way.” I’d only thought I’d had an adrenaline surge before. Fueled by the need to get to my mate, I plowed my way down the streets of this quaint little town, avoiding scooters, bikes and people walking dogs.
There. In an alley beside a BBQ restaurant stood Danny. And the goddamned demon.
The demon was way too close to my omega.
“Danny,” I said. I would crush its windpipe with my bare hands.
“Saxon!” Ignoring the demon, he ran toward me. He flung his arms around me. “You’re awake. Oh my God.” He shuddered against me as he buried his face in my neck. His thin shoulders shook.
I wanted to give all of my attention to Danny, but the demon had to be dealt with. “Hey. Just let me handle this, and I’m yours. For as long as you want.”
Danny wound his fingers into the fabric of my shirt. “No. No, don’t hurt him. He’s trying to help.”
That didn’t make any sense. But thankfully, Wilder had one hand up, fingers spread. He was chanting, and whatever he was doing was holding the demon in place.
“Saxon, wait!” Danny grabbed my shoulders. “Listen to me. You too, Wilder! Don’t hurt him. The demon came to warn us!”