Page 63 of Marked By Love

Putting his nose to the ground, Royce’s wolf traced the combination of scents through the trees while Buford’s grizzly lumbered behind him.

The further into the woods they traveled, the more diluted Theo’s scent became; in short, he was tracking the alphas only. He hated this. If he’d been mate-bonded with Theo, this would be easier. He’d instinctively be in tune to his emotions, his state of being … not only would he be able to find him without issue, he’d know for sure Theo was okay.

But if he’d mate-bonded with Theo, that would have meant he’d forced something onto Theo that he hadn’t wanted.

His wolf snarled at him. “Would you shut up? I’m trying to concentrate.”

“It’s distracting having a never-ending diatribe, isn’t it?” Royce shot back.

“Our mate has been kidnapped, and you think now is the time to make a point?”

Royce decided to be quiet after that. If they tracked the alphas’ trail, they would find Theo … eventually.

They ran through the woods for what felt like hours before Amelia’s hawk overhead let out an ear-piercing screech. Royce’s wolf slowed, snuffling the wet forest floor and then the air.

There was pavement ahead and blood. Lots and lots of blood.

Emerging from the forest, there was a road winding through the trees, cutting north and south. Here the three alpha scents mixed with another alpha, motor oil and gasoline, and another omega scent. Royce couldn’t pinpoint it exactly, most likely the second omega was injured or using suppressor, but it scented wrong. Something about it made Buford’s bear agitated. He rose up on his hind legs, sniffing furiously before letting out an irate roar.

Royce paid him no heed, because at this spot his mate’s scent vanished entirely. Maybe that was a good thing though? The blood wasn’t Theo’s, and there was no evidence of further harm or distress to him. He tried to force the logical thoughts onto his wolf—he wasn’t having it.

His wolf trotted south down the road while Buford’s bear went north, both of them tracking. After several paces and the scent trail of the car hadn’t faded, Royce turned to Buford and barked. Head bowed, Buford turned and ran after Royce, rapidly outpacing him.

What the hell had Buford scented that made him this impatient? As Royce’s mate being the one kidnapped, Royce should be the one leading the way. He could challenge Buford’s position in this hunt, but Theo had precious little time to waste on formalities and ego.

Amelia’s hawk screeched again, then flew on ahead of them. Royce prayed to the fates that she found something, that they were close, that Theo would be able to hold on … Royce was coming for him.

Chapter thirty

Theodore

Swaying.

A harsh jostle.

Cursing and screaming …

Theodore forced his eyes open. It was dim, and everything past the point of his nose was out of focus. The familiar weight of his glasses was gone. No wonder he couldn’t see anything.

Squinting, he tried hard to make out basic shapes. Everything was dark and confined, but he could determine there were four people in front of him. One of them was the source of cursing, and Theodore took a hard sniff, the source of the blood.

“He fucking shot me!”

“Shut up, keep the pressure.”

“Don’t tell me to shut up, I got shot in the chest!”

“How long until we get there?”

The scent of blood increased, followed by, “Fuck!”

“You should have stayed in bear form!”

The thing Theodore was confined in jerked beneath him, throwing his body to the side and into another object. The object was warm and grunted indignantly, if not feebly.

Turning his attention from the yelling group of four, Theodore studied the blurry shape he was now lying on. He deduced it was an unconscious woman, from the scent of her, a fellow omega. But something was off … If his hands were free, he’d run them along her body, searching for the source of distress scent emanating from her.

Another jostle and he fell face first onto her unconscious body. Instead of hitting soft flesh, he collided with cold, biting metal. Angling his face, he inspected it. Copper.