The Forgotten Claim (The Claim: Book 1)

Chapter 5 - Cameron

Cameron was too stunned to stop her when she climbed into her car and peeled out of the parking lot.

She recognized him.

Fear, anxiety, and anger filled her, but it was because she recognized him.

How was that possible?

Unless...

Before she could disappear from sight, he caught the dealership plate. Wentworth. He didn't know where that was, but he knew he could figure it out.

"What happened? She just took off!" Sam exclaimed as he stepped up behind him. His teenage-blemished face was pale, his blue eyes wide.

"Where's Wentworth?" Cameron asked, pulling out his phone from his back pocket. His hands were shaking so bad, he couldn't even tap in the pin to unlock his screen. He tucked it back into his jeans and ran his trembling hands through his hair.

"I don't know," Sam confessed. "Maybe a suburb in the city?"

Cameron swore under his breath. That could be it. He hadn't looked for his mate in the city. Only humans lived there. Werewolves didn't like the city. It was too loud and crowded. Their pack's territory lined the eastern edge of the city limits. Only the alpha, luna, and betas went into the city when they needed to.

His lungs constricted. He couldn't breathe.

He was so close. He got so close to her before she shut him out and ran.

Sam snapped his fingers in front of Cameron's eyes. "Hey, snap out of it. We'll find her."

"I need a drink," Cameron muttered.

Sam nodded.

They walked to one of the pubs along the beach and ordered a beer on the patio. Sam was still underage but at that moment, he didn't argue about staying sober. Someone had to keep a level head.

Cameron set his phone on the table the moment he sat down and stared at it until the waitress set a glass of cold beer next to it and he quickly downed half of it.

Sitting back in his seat, he closed his eyes and exhaled, letting the alcohol slightly numb him before he opened them again. He picked up his phone and turned on the data before opening up the map app.

"You okay?" Sam ventured.

Cameron grumbled under his breath.

Sam didn't push and after a few minutes of searching for Wentworth dealers, Cameron found one that had to be it. It was in the big city an hour away. She had to live near there. Maybe not in that exact neighborhood, but near.

He could find her.

He had to find her.

Even if she had chosen to spend her life with a human male, he needed to find her to know if he had a chance with her. He couldn't give up on his soulmate without making sure he had no chance with her at all.

Why the anger and hostility though? He didn't say or do anything to make her run, but when he tried to confront her at the car, she snapped and told him off.

"Talk to me, Cam," Sam urged.

"She recognized me." Cameron swore under his breath again. He brushed his fingers through his hair before he took another swig of beer. "Dammit, why can't I remember her?"

No one mentioned him finding his soulmate either—that was definitely something no one would have left out when he woke up from his coma.

"I don't know."