He watches Stone go up the stairs, and he turns back to me. “I’ll do what I can to protect you, friend. He’s gone a little crazy himself, and I don’t know what’s going on. Be patient and try to stay calm. I know the mating is pulling you, but it won’t be much longer, and I’ll help you get out of here.” With those words, he walks up the stairs and shuts the door, locking it behind him.

Feeling a warmth in my chest, I close my eyes and let it flow through me. My eyes snap open and I feel her. My mate is here.

Chapter Six Gwen

“Gwen, you need to slow down. We don’t even know where they’ve taken him,” Ruby says from the doorway of my little apartment. I’m flinging clothes out of my closet and stuffing them into a bag, not really caring what I’m grabbing.

“Call him, Ruby,” I bite out before dashing into the bathroom and just doing a sweep with my arm to push stuff into my bag. Stone and Dominic loaded my mate into Dominic’s jeep, not letting me get in with them. I was sure they were headed to the police station, or maybe Doc’s house, but both places came up empty without a trace of their smells to be found.

Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.

I should’ve followed them instead of just assuming where they were going. But I’ll find them, no doubt about that. The only question is if I’ll still have a brother when I’m done, because with the way I’m feeling at the moment, I’m not sure I won’t go for his throat. I can’t control myself right now. I’m starting to understand how Dominic acted when he first spotted Ruby. At least my mate feels the pull, too.

Heading back into the main room, I see Ruby still just standing there. Winnie’s standing behind her, looking like she’s not quite sure what to do with herself right now.

“Well?” I snap, annoyed that Ruby isn’t doing what I asked. Okay, maybe I didn’t ask, per se, but still, now is not a time for pleasantries.

“Okay, maybe I do know where they are.” She bites her lip, and I can tell she’s debating something. Maybe Dom told her not to tell me or something and she doesn’t want to betray him. Ruby’s a sweetheart, and as much as it sucks to have to do this, I’ll go straight for her weak spot. Compassion.

“Ruby, if you wanted to know where your mate was and I knew and didn’t tell you, what would you think of me?”

Her mouth falls open, and I can see the battle going on inside her. As sweet as Ruby is, she’d rip my head off if I kept her from Dom. Even as a human, she’s protective of him and with his mate mark on her, she now has a little bit of wolf in her, too.

“They took him to the alpha’s house,” Winnie chimes in, and Ruby lets go of a deep breath she must have been holding. I’m sure she’s probably happy she didn’t have to break her word to Dom, but I don’t care. I’m happy I got the answer I needed.

“How do you know that?” I ask, wondering how she got that tidbit of information. Winnie’s been by my side this whole time, even when Stone tried to send her home. If I wasn’t so worried about my mate, I’d be cheering for Winnie standing up for herself for once. She got right into Stone’s face and told him he could shove it. A nicer phrase than I would have used, but she was probably still raw from his comment about her being different.

“I don’t know.” She shifts from foot to foot, and it takes everything in me not to growl at her. It’s the last thing Winnie needs. I’m probably her only friend, and so I try to control my frustration. Getting these girls to talk right now is like pulling freaking teeth. “Sometimes Stone just texts me and tells me not to go somewhere, and I normally don’t.”

That doesn’t even make sense, but I don’t care enough right now to try to figure it out. My brother’s house was going to be the next place I checked anyway, knowing he has a few cages on our family’s land. Sometimes things get a little sticky when unmated, out-of-control shifters show up in town. You can’t just throw them into a holding cell down at the police station. I’m going to have to find out which one he’s put him in. Shouldn’t be hard now that I have a scent to track. A scent that for some reason seems familiar, but I can’t place it. It’s at the corner of my mind, but I can’t grab it.

The biggest problem is going to be getting him out of whatever cage he’s in. There’s no way I could break it and I’ve seen some of the shifters Stone has thrown in them before. If they couldn’t break out themselves, no way can I. I might have to sneak in and get a key, but it’s not something I’m sure I have the time to do.

The reminder of my mate’s scent sends desire shooting through my body, and the potency seems to be growing by the second. I think my adrenaline and fear held it at bay, but now Mother Nature is making herself known, and my body has come alive.

“Maybe we should just wait. Just let Dom get X under control first and calm him down a little.” Ruby’s making her best effort to get me to stay. I can see the unease in her eyes. It pisses me off that she seems to know my mate along with everyone else. How is that possible? I have no freaking clue, and it doesn’t sit well. In fact, it’s really starting to get under my skin.

Ruby gasps and takes a step back from me. It takes me a moment to realize that my eyes have shifted. I take a deep breath to pull myself back under control, trying to calm down. Letting my wolf out isn’t going to get me anywhere right now.

“How do you know my mate and I don’t? I’ve lived here my whole life. You’ve been here months.” I try and keep the anger out of my voice, but it’s hard. I’m frustrated and, well, I’m guessing this other feeling is horny.