When he stopped he could faintly hear her muttered ‘hold your horses’. A few moments later she answered the door, her dark eyes bleary with sleep. Even though she was a couple hundred years old she looked barely thirty-five. She was tall, leggy and wore a long T-shirt that almost grazed her knees. Considering most shifters preferred to sleep nude, she’d probably just thrown it on. She was clearly surprised to see him.
“What’s going on?” she asked, her voice raspy with sleep.
“Have you seen Lauren today?”
Margery shook her head. “No, why? Don’t tell me you let that girl get away. She’ll make a fine mate for you.”
Stunned, Max blinked at Margery’s words. It wasn’t that he was blindsided by the thought of wanting to mate Lauren. But how did Margery know how he felt?
As if she read his mind, or more likely his expression, her lips pulled into a thin line. “I heard what you did at the bar, getting all dominant in front of everyone. And I also remember what a monster you were after her and her pride left months ago. It didn’t take a genius to figure out why you were such a bear to everyone. I’m just surprised you didn’t chase after her then.”
He’d gone to see her, or tried to, but no one needed to know that. Right after he’d decided to hunt Lauren down he’d received word that his mother had died. Shifters lived a long time but they weren’t immortal. And his mom had been killed by a rogue vampire. Considering his mother had chosen to live alone with her mate in the mountains instead of a pack, they’d been ripe for any predators to pick off. Max had taken time away from his own pack to hunt down those vampires and by the time he’d returned to his own pack, he’d been in no frame of mind to court someone. Which was what he’d planned to do with Lauren. He’d needed a couple months to get his shit together before going to see his future mate. But now wasn’t the time to focus on any of that.
He needed to find his female and didn’t want to open up a conversation on his feelings or intentions with Lauren when he didn’t even know if she’d left him or where she was. “If you see her, call me.” Without waiting for a response he headed for the stairs instead of the elevator. He heard Margery grumbling something under her breath behind him, but he didn’t care.
As he pushed the door to the stairs open, his cell phone buzzed in his hand. Jumping like a randy cub, his short-lived burst of hope that it was Lauren fizzled when he saw Derrick’s number. “Yeah?” he growled into the phone.
“We’ve got a problem. Lawrence Hayes is at the gate with his mate and four males and they look ready to storm the place. He wants Lauren.” Derrick’s voice was hushed, as if he didn’t want to be overheard.
Shit. “I’ll be down in a few seconds.” Max was already racing down the stairs as he spoke. He’d been more than surprised Lauren’s pride had sent her here—or at least been okay with it—and that they’d let her stay for a week without an argument. She said she’d convinced them she was safe and he’d just been so damn grateful to have her under his roof that he hadn’t pressed her for details. If Lawrence Hayes was here, that meant trouble. The male had three older daughters yet he’d named Lauren after him. She was the baby of his pride, basically a princess to the male.
And she was missing.
As Max ran, he scented Lauren and that chemical stench in the stairwell, all the way down until he reached the bottom stair. Once outside it seemed to scatter in different directions. His wolf was agitated, scratching at him, telling him find her
now
.
Before he raced off without having a clue which direction she’d gone in, he needed to talk to her father. If he didn’t, things could get volatile and no one wanted that. He kept up his quick pace as he headed across the pavement. Their condominium only had one main gated entrance for vehicles. Everything else, including the parking lot was walled in. They’d added some extra security when they bought the place so they could maintain privacy from prying human eyes.
But a wall and a gate weren’t going to keep out the Hayes pride.
Max slowed as he neared Derrick and five of his own packmates standing with aggressive postures near the main gate. Behind it, two luxury sedans were parked, the engines off. And next to the vehicles were Lauren’s parents and pridemates.
Tall and muscular with blond hair, Lawrence Hayes was classically handsome. His wife stood next to him, the petite dark-haired female looking a hell of a lot more scary than her mate. Her claws were unsheathed and her jaguar was clear in her eyes. She was barely containing her cat. Even with their angry expressions, Max could see where Lauren had gotten her looks. She was the perfect mix of both her parents.
Her very angry parents.
“Where is my daughter, wolf?” Dominga Hayes snarled, taking a menacing step toward him.
Before Max could respond, Lawrence placed a calming hand on his mate’s arm. “We’ve heard what Lauren did and while this was not something our pride condoned, we’ve come to make compensation. She is young and foolish, but she should not be held prisoner for a mistake. I take full responsibility for my daughter’s actions.”
Though he looked fierce and intimidating standing there, Max could see the fear bleeding into Lawrence’s gaze. He was afraid for his daughter and was trying to remain civil.
Max wondered how much they knew just as he realized there was a lot he needed to explain—like the deal he’d made with Lauren. Because clearly her parents hadn’t even known she was here. But at the moment, there wasn’t time for in-depth explanations. Only quick, cold facts. “Lauren has not been harmed nor will she be. Ever. She’s going to be my mate if she’ll have me.”
There were gasps of surprise and disbelief from the jaguars, but not a sound from his packmates behind him. Yeah, word would have spread by now just how serious he was about Lauren. Before they could respond, he continued. “We had a break-in at our alpha’s place a few hours ago. While I was investigating, Lauren…disappeared. I can’t find her, but I followed her scent trail as far as I could go. You can ask all the questions you want or rip me to shreds
later
. Now, we need to find her.” He looked over his shoulder at Derrick. “Open the gate.”
At his command, the iron gate began to roll back until nothing separated them.
Worry was clear on both her parent’s faces and he could see the restrained violence lurking in Lawrence’s gaze. Not to mention all the questions. Stepping ahead of his pridemates and into the wolf den, Lawrence gave him a hard stare. “You and I will speak soon. Now where did you lose the scent trail?”
Though panic was still a live wire humming through him, Max was thankful Lauren’s pride was willing to work with them instead of wasting precious seconds fighting or demanding answers. However, he knew that veneer of civility would be stripped the moment Lauren was found.
And he didn’t care. As long as they found her unhurt and alive, he could deal with anything. Including the wrath of her entire pride.
Lauren opened her eyes and shifted against…a sand covered wood floor. Blinking into the dimness, she shook her head and realized she was in her jaguar form. Her surroundings were much clearer and focused than when she was in human form. As soon as that knowledge slammed into her, so did her last memories and she went completely immobile in case she wasn’t alone.
That chemical scent, then someone shooting her with a dart. She didn’t remember much after that other than her hard shift to her jaguar form. Her animal had taken over, wanting to protect her. She wasn’t in pain and it didn’t feel as if anything was broken, but she couldn’t be sure until she moved.
Slowly, Lauren glanced around and realized she was in a shack or house of some sort. Ocean waves crashed nearby so she was close to the beach. Pushing up on all fours, she turned in a circle. She was in a room with a dingy old mattress and two boarded up windows. The door was shut though she didn’t hear any sounds of life on the other side.
Since her choice was to bash the door down with her large frame or shift back to human and open it up, she underwent the change.
Biting back a cry of discomfort, she let the shift flow through her. Her bones altered, broke and realigned as skin replaced fur. Crouching low, it took a moment for her surroundings to come in to focus again. She tried to keep her breathing as steady as possible in case anyone was nearby, but couldn’t stop taking deep breaths. The oxygen invading her lungs helped clear her head, though she was still feeling unsteady and had a pounding headache.
She was much stronger and more resilient than humans but she had no clue who had taken her or what they wanted from her. It was obvious they’d drugged her and she needed to find out the purpose. She also needed to find out how much time had passed.
After listening for another full minute and hearing only silence, Lauren pulled the door open. It emptied into a quiet hallway. More wood floors, more sand and graffiti on the walls. She scented old food…pizza maybe, somewhere in the house. She stepped over empty beer and soda cans as she headed down the hallway of what she now guessed was an abandoned house.
The hallway emptied out into a living room with even more beer cans and half a dozen crates that created a circle. There were ashtrays next to the crates and the lingering scent of weed filled the air. She might be wrong, but something told her that this was where teenagers or college kids hung out. Earlier last week when she’d done reconnaissance of Gulf Shores she’d seen a few abandoned homes along the beach and she wondered if she’d been taken to one of them. Hell, she wondered if she was still even in Gulf Shores.
The tang of salt in the air and sound of waves was stronger now. Light filtered through two boarded up windows so she knew it was day time, but she didn’t bother with the boards. Even though she was naked, she had to get out of here and figure out where she was. She strode right for the door. When she didn’t hear any human sounds or anything else out of the ordinary, she pulled it open a fraction.
A back porch led right to a sandy incline that connected to a long deck. Though she couldn’t see the ocean because of sand dunes, she could hear it more clearly now. Along with very faint voices and laughter nearby. The sun was bright and high in the sky with no clouds in sight, which told her she’d been taken at least a few hours ago. Unless this was the next day. Taking a chance, she stepped outside. A gust of wind rolled over her naked body, but she ignored the discomfort.
Right now she needed to find clothes, then find a phone to contact Max. Two easy goals.
Then she was going to find whoever had drugged her and dumped her here—wherever here was. And she was going to get some answers.
To her right was a boarded up two-story home. Maybe they’d been hit with hurricane damage and never repaired. She didn’t really care, she just needed some clothes before a human saw her and freaked out.
To the left of the house was a motel about fifty yards away that looked as if it hadn’t been updated since the 80s. She could faintly hear people on the beach, but decided to head to the motel instead. For cover, she used the overgrown grass and weeds in the lot separating the home and the chain link fence around the motel pool.
Feeling incredibly vulnerable and exposed in her naked state, she drew on her supernatural speed and raced along the length of the fence and only stopped when she was able to hide behind the end of the motel wall. She stood on the side that faced the beach. The actual ocean was blocked by a huge sand dune and overgrown bushes. She heard a creaking sound and peered around the corner to see a maid pushing a noisy cart down the sidewalk in Lauren’s direction.
The dark-haired woman stopped at one of the doors and knocked. When no one answered, she used a master keycard to enter.
Upon seeing they used keycards instead of actual keys, Lauren’s heart pounded in anticipation as a plan formed in her mind. After scanning the pool and surrounding area around the motel, she decided to take a risk.
Even though she was weakened from her earlier burst of speed, she sprinted down the walkway and snagged a white towel from the cart. She quickly wrapped it around herself then stumbled into the room, forcing herself to trip over her feet as she walked.
“Cindy!” She shouted to her non-existent friend. “Where are you? I can’t find my key.” Lauren kept her voice loud and obnoxious as the maid’s head peeked out from the bathroom door. Pretending to stumble again, she squinted as if she couldn’t see straight. “Who are you?” she demanded.
The maid blinked and glanced at her towel. “Are you all right?”
“I’m…fine,” she said, over pronouncing the ‘n’. She moved a few steps closer. Even though the motel didn’t look like much on the outside, the interior room was clean and smelled like a mix of the beach and fresh linens. “Where’s my friend? I went to grab some ice and…” She looked down at herself and frowned. “I think I forgosh the bucket,” she slurred, hoping she wasn’t laying it on too thick.
“Hon, I think you might need to sit down. Have you been drinking?” The petite woman crossed the few feet separating them and wrapped her arm around Lauren’s shoulder to steady her.
“Just a little. Thish doesn’t look like our room though.” Glancing around, she squinted even harder.
“What’s your room number, hon?”
“Two two three.” She said each word succinctly, nodding her head each time she spoke. Even though she felt like an idiot acting this way, she used her speed and stealth to snag the keycard from the woman’s belt chain.