Shattered

Chapter 17: Off

Kaden's POV:

"The more you love, the more you suffer." – Vincent Van Gogh

I didn't know what was happening between Violet and Lola in the bathroom, but it wasn't good. She was hurting so much more than before and it was just growing, growing so much I almost felt paralyzed along with her. It was so bad I had to focus on my own breathing. Damn, that pain ran deep.

"What's wrong?" Tess asked, leaning forward and frowning.

"I don't know," I admitted, setting my hand over my chest that started tightening to the point it was uncomfortable. "Something's wrong in there. They must be fighting. Goddess, something's very wrong."

"I'll check on her," Tess said, patting my hand before getting up and heading to the bathroom.

"Breathe, Kay," Xander said, patting my back. "She's fine. She's in the same building, what could happen? It's probably just an argument and it hurts so much because your bond is so strong."

"No," I breathed, closing my eyes and shaking my head. "Something's wrong. It's not just an argument. It's hitting something deeper."

It ebbed and flowed between painful and bearable for a while until it happened. The next pain was so intense I gasped, gripping the table and leaning forward. I vaguely heard Xander say something but I couldn't make it out. Then I saw her. Violet. She ran out of the bathroom and out of the club with tears coming down her face and a pain deeper than anything I'd ever felt.

"I have to go after her," I said, jumping out of the chair and rushing to the door. I didn't know what was wrong but I'd be damned if my mate was alone right now.

Except when I got outside she was somehow already gone. Her scent ended at the street where several taxis were waiting to take people home and I could not locate her scent. She must've got in a taxi but how the hell did she do that so fast? How could she just disappear so easily? I was a wolf, for fuck's sake. Tracking down a human, a human that was my fucking mate, should've been easy. But there was nothing. It was like she completely disappeared.

I paced back and forth on the sidewalk, trying to track her scent, to separate from the cars and all the other smells, but she was gone. I stopped, remembering she brought her own car, why would she take a taxi if she had a car? I didn't know the answer to that or what the hell to do so I started jogging back to her car, hoping she'd be there.

I got back to her car and there was nothing. No scent that indicated she'd been there, only the lingering scent that was a permanent part of her car. The only other place I could think to go was her apartment. I ran there, sticking to the shadows and places out of sight so I could move faster without anyone seeing me. I got to her apartment but I didn't even need to knock. She wasn't there. It was again, just her lingering scent.

Panic overcame me and I ended up going back to that park where her and our car was parked. I got in our rental car and sped to the cliffs, where she was that first night I found her. She wasn't there either. Fuck. I had no idea where to go. I tried the park we went to that night we bumped into each other, I tried to the warehouses I knew she'd been at before, but it was a waste.

I couldn't find her. I couldn't find her anywhere. How could she disappear so easily? I should've gone to her when I first felt the pain.

My phone started ringing and I saw Xander's name flash across the screen. I quickly answered it, hoping maybe she went back to the club. "Tell me good news because I can't find her anywhere," I said.

"Kay..." Xander sighed. "Her and Lola had a bad fight. One for the books. Lola's freaking out, Violet's not answering her phone. We're going to help look for her. I'll send you a list Lola gave me of places to try but I think you should come pick me up so you're not alone."