Page 102 of The Secret Mate Society

I moved quickly down the sidewalk, breathing deeply through my nose with each step.The city was a cacophony of scents.Exhaust fumes, food from nearby restaurants, garbage, and hundreds of humans assailed my senses.Somewhere beneath it all had to be Ethan's scent, if I could just isolate it.

There.

I stopped dead in my tracks.It was faint but unmistakable.That sweet, earthy cologne mixed with Ethan’s unique scent.And something else...fear.My stomach twisted at the realization that I was the cause of that fear.

I followed the trail, moving faster now.It led down a side street, away from the busier areas.My heart sank.Why would he leave the safety of crowds?Unless...

A new scent hit me, and I froze.Werewolf.Not pack.Rogue.

"No," I whispered, breaking into a run.

The scents grew stronger as I raced down the street, turning into a narrow alley.Ethan's fear was overwhelming now, mixed with the rogue's musky, rank odor.And blood.

My vision tunneled, the world narrowing to just the trail before me.I rounded another corner and skidded to a halt.Pages from a book or journal were scattered across the wet pavement, soaked through and trampled.It was Jake's scrapbook.And beside them, a smear of blood on the brick wall.

I knelt, touching the dark stain with trembling fingers.It was fresh, still tacky.My wolf howled in anguish inside me, and I had to fight to keep from shifting right there in the alley.

I pulled out my phone and called Trevor.

"I found something," I said, my voice barely recognizable even to my own ears."An alley off Cumberland.There's blood, and the scrapbook is torn apart.The rogue's scent is everywhere."

"Shit," Trevor cursed."Is it...?"

"It's Ethan's blood," I confirmed, the words like acid in my mouth."But there's not enough for..."I couldn't finish the thought.

"I'm on my way," Trevor said."Call the others."

I hung up and quickly dialed Patrick, then Ageratum.My hands were shaking so badly I could barely hold the phone.This was my fault.If I'd just told Ethan the truth from the beginning, if I hadn't lied about his research, if I'd been honest about what I was...

“You know I have to inform the council about this,” a voice behind me said.“I have no choice now.”

I turned to see Ageratum as he stepped out of the shadows.He’d gotten to me almost instant.I stared at him for a moment before giving him a slow nod.

“I know,” I said.

“There will be consequences.”

“I don’t care.”Tears formed in my eyes as my gaze met his.“All I care about is finding Ethan before… before it’s too late.”

Ageratum nodded.“We’ll find him.And with the Council on our side, we can be even faster.Some of the witches on the Council are quite adept at finding people.”

“Yeah,” I muttered.“So they can dispose of them.”

The demon shook his head.“I’m sorry, Alpha Thorne.But this is the only option we have left.”

I nodded, knowing he was right.“Go to them,” I said.“And tell them… tell them I’ll do whatever it takes to save Ethan.”I lifted my gaze to the demon, my golden eyes burning into his.“Anything.”

Chapter43

Calder

Iwas back to pounding the streets before Ageratum was even out of my sight.Ethan, my mate, was missing and I had to find him.I had no other choice.The wolf inside me wouldn’t rest until I had him back in my arms again.I just hoped it wasn’t too late.

What little scent trail I could find led me deeper into Portland's maze of narrow streets and alleys.My wolf was screaming at me to shift, to hunt properly, but I couldn't risk it in broad daylight.I was already in enough trouble as it was.

Every few steps, I stopped to inhale deeply, searching for any trace of him among the urban chaos.Car exhaust, fried food, and wet pavement was all I found.I could scent everything but what I needed.My chest felt like it was being crushed in a vise and with every step it became harder to breathe without Ethan beside me.

"Come on, come on," I muttered, pressing my palms against my temples.Think like Ethan.Where would he go when he was scared and hurt?