It’s 3 am. We have driven through the major city. We have been driving with the windows down to keep track of Nina’s scent. Leon is growing weary and tired.
‘Leon, maybe I should drive for a while?’
‘No, Nina’s scent is becoming fainter. We don’t have time to pull over, not even for a moment. Last time I came through this city to track down a scent, it was to find your mother after Alice the cook threatened to kill her.’
‘Why would the cook threaten to kill my mother?’
‘Her daughter Vanessa was in love with your father and was to become his chosen mate and Luna. He didn’t love Vanessa, though. The council was forcing the arrangement onto him, and then everything changed when he met your mother. He was so happy to have found your mother, Astrid. I remember when she wouldn’t believe we were werewolves or that they existed. Jim from the diner shifted in front of her, and boy, did she cry wolf! The Diner was a mess after that. We had found your mother in Shady Crest. Alpha Zenith had been keeping her prisoner in the cells and was going to make his son mark her. He had captured Seth when he was looking for her in the city and placed him down in the cells with her, too. That’s where I met Amelia, my mate. She was down there too.’
‘Mum was a prisoner at Shady Crest?’ May says, bewildered.
‘Yes, she was. We were able to free them all just in time, as Astrid had her first shift. Any longer, and it would have been too late, as Alpha Zenith’s son would have marked and mated her.’
Dad had an arranged mateship against his will, just as I currently have, but then he met Mum just in time to break the arrangement. Now, ironically, I’m in the same boat. I just have to break Nina’s curse.
‘Shit, I can’t smell her scent.’ Leon says.
He pulls over and shifts into his wolf, and sniffs around. May and I step out of the car. Although we can pick up scents, it is much easier to do so in wolf form. He mind-links the warriors.
‘They have also lost her scent and have spread out further to cover all tracks.’ He tells us.
‘Should we spread out too?’ May asks.
‘No, if we continue south, we will eventually hit snowy weather, and we won’t be able to pick up anyone’s scent and may become lost. Let’s follow this road South for now, and hopefully, we will pick her scent up again along the way.’
By 8 am, we are half asleep. Leon swerves the car as he falls asleep.
‘Leon!’ I yell, grabbing the steering wheel. He wakes up and quickly puts his foot on the brake.
‘We are no good, dead to Nina. We have no choice but to sleep, then continue searching for her.’ May yells.
Neither of us argues with her. She is right.
Leon pulls over, and we sleep in the car and wake in the afternoon.
‘We should eat.’ May says.
‘No, we should get driving and find Nina.’
‘Dad! You need to eat. We all do. What good are we if we are weak when we find her and need to fight?’
Leon stays silent as he drives to a diner.
‘Eat quickly.’ He says.
We nod, walk in, and place our order.
I inhale my massive pile of eggs and bacon down. At the same time, May inhales a stack of fifteen pancakes swimming in golden syrup.
Leon eats the breakfast platter with baked beans, bacon, toast, and mushrooms.
As soon as we finish eating, we head to the car. I take over driving while Leon sticks his head out the window and tries to pick up Nina’s scent. We spend all afternoon and half the night driving. Panic is building up inside me as I fear for Nina’s safety.
I pull over just in time as my eyes turn black and yell in pain.
‘His wolf dad! We have to stop him from shifting.’ May yells. May jumps out of the back seat and opens up the driver’s side. It’s dark, but being werewolves, we can see well. May holds my hand.
‘Think of Nina, think of all the fun times you had. The swims in the lake, the trees you climbed, the time she filled the washing machine with bubble bath.’
My wolf calms, and I burst into laughter at the memory.
‘It wasn’t Nina who filled it with bubbles. It was me. It was always me doing the wrong thing. Yet she always took the blame. She was always protecting me.’ I confess.
‘Nina got into so much trouble because of that.’ Leon growls.
‘I suppose now is the time to confess. I also broke May’s window and hid in her closet. Nina was with me, but she didn’t hide. Instead, yet again, she took the blame.’ A terrible feeling washes over me.
‘Nina, please be okay.’ I cry out to the moon.
Something whacks my head.
‘Ow!’ I look up at May.
‘That’s for breaking my window.’ She whacks me again.
‘Ow!’
‘That’s for letting Nina take the blame.’
She goes to whack me across the head again.
‘And this one is for you to snap out of it and pull yourself together.’
Leon grabs her wrist in time.
‘That’s enough, May. He has learned his lesson and feels guilty for it.’
May sighs. ‘You’re right. Let’s get some sleep and continue our search when we wake.’
We fall asleep and wake up mid-morning.
Seth Mind-Links the warriors and my dad. There has been no sighting of Nina or Moss.
Dad wants me to return home.
‘No, I’m not going back home until Nina is safe.’ I block the mind-link before my dad can argue with me.
We stop at a petrol station and fill up the tank. May and I grab as many packets of chips, snack bars, and water as we can carry and pay for it with the fuel.
As we approach the next town, snow covers the fields.
‘We might have to stay in this town until we have a lead to follow.’ Leon says.
‘We can’t stop looking for Nina.’ I say.
‘We won’t stop looking for her, but we have no leads and no idea where we are going but South. They could have changed directions at some point and gone East or West, leading us further away from her.’
He has a point. We find a motel and go to the nearest clothes store to buy a snow jacket, socks, boots, and anything else to keep us warm in the snow. We spend four days entering every store and asking every person if they have seen Nina. Leon shows them a photo of her. Everyone apologises and says they haven’t seen her.
Dad tells Leon that it’s been over a week and we should return home. He has let all the Alphas of all the other packs know Moss has kidnapped Nina. They will let him know if there are any sightings of Nina or Moss.
‘Your father is ordering us to return home. I won’t be returning until I find Nina. Perhaps you two should.’
‘No!’ May and I shout.
‘We are staying. We won’t go back either until we find Nina.’ I growl.
‘Let’s drive to the next town and ask locals if they have seen Nina.’ May says.
We spend four hours driving to the next town. It’s just as cold as the previous town.
May and I are in the back seat, hovering our hands over the car heater. Our breath is foggy from the cold air.
‘Do you think Moss is looking after her?’ May sobs.
‘If he truly cares for Nina, he would not have kidnapped her. I just hope she is okay and that she knows we won’t give up on her.’
‘It’s her eighteenth next week. If we haven’t found her by then, maybe she will shift and be able to fight Moss and free herself?’
‘May, I don’t think I could go another day without her.’
