Stone groaned as pain seized his chest. He leaned against the brick wall of a building in an alley downtown and squeezed his eyes shut as the bittersweet ache dulled.
She's still alive.
It was the first indication of her existence in the last six hours. She must have woke up and was scared. It would have felt different if she had been in any sort of physical pain. He prayed for the hundredth time to the Goddess that she was okay.
He sent out a mental message to everyone, to give them hope that all was not lost yet.
[Don't worry, Alpha,] Alistair said. [We'll bring her home tonight, even if we have to kill a hundred of those bloodsuckers to get to her.]
[Any chance of focusing in on her location?] Gunner asked.
Stone pinched the bridge of his nose as he tried to dig into his mind and search for a thread of connection with her. Gavin managed to break into her mind in order to help Gwen, but he had the benefit of touch and a vessel to act through. This was different and far beyond normal pre-mating capabilities.
Still, there was no harm in trying. He had an emotional connection with her already, perhaps he'd be able to push the barriers and make a mental one as well?
Focusing on the thread that coiled around his heart, he gasped as the pain intensified.
Maybe digging deeper into her emotion wasn't the best move to make?
[All I can get is an intensified feeling of her emotions, but I'll keep trying,] Stone told Gunner. [It's better than nothing.]
At least he would have some idea of how she was doing.
[Keep trying,] Gunner said. [Everything is connected.]
He nodded to himself, knowing that what Gunner said was true. Everything was connected.
Luckily, her emotions had subsided a bit at the moment, but he needed to keep a move on if he ever hoped to find her. He continued to play with the coil of emotion, drawing it from his heart and bending it, feeling it tug on other parts of his body—pinching up his left shoulder and twisting down his bicep.
With nothing else to go by, he continued his trek down the alley, sniffing for her scent or any of the three human scents they had managed to pick up outside the back door of the café.
After wandering around for hours and finding nothing, the werewolves were getting restless. Alpha Colten of the North Fang Pack kept calling Stone for updates on his search but every time, he got a negative growl in response.
The discovery that Stone's mate was human, didn't go well. Growled threats laced with hostility greeted Stone and Hector before Gunner and Alistair arrived, while Gavin stayed at the pack house to protect Gwen.
After a few threats, a chokehold on the werewolf alpha, and some more threats, they finally set out on the hunt for Aubree with the reluctant and skeptical werewolves.
They would have to make amends with them later.
[Alpha, I picked up on something interesting,] Alistair said half an hour later.
Stone's heart leaped. [Location?]
[The old mill ruins next to the Saint Anthony Falls.]
That was a few miles away.
[Do you need back-up?] Stone asked as he spun around and ran down the alley as fast as his muscles would take him before he reached the street. He continued to march at a quick pace, weaving around pedestrians and crossing through an intersection that was jammed up with traffic.
YOU ARE READING
Heart of Stone (Parts I & II)
Werewolf[COMPLETE] Some bonds can't be broken, even in death. -- He couldn't endure another heartbreak. "Accepting her would be a mistake," he said. "She's a human. I can't afford to have her blood on my hands." Gwen looked away, and he knew she saw the ima...
