Sold as the Alpha King's Breeder

Chapter 82 : A Wolf With Four Claws

*Soren*

When I got back to my room it was empty. I could still smell Mila's fresh scent from the shower but she wasn't anywhere to be found. Frowning, I glanced around quickly for any sign of her.

My top dresser drawer was slightly open and the items on top of it were shifted slightly.

Creasing my brow, I went to the dresser and opened the top drawer all the way. All my shirts were tossed around and I saw the corner of the photograph sticking out from beneath my t-shirts. Had Mila gone through my drawer?

If she had, she must have seen the picture of Ethan, Rosalie, and me.

My heart sank. Something wasn't right here.

I went next door to Mila's room to see if she was there. I knocked first but she didn't answer.

"Mila?" I called, testing the knob.

It was unlocked and I went in.

Her room was empty, too, and I couldn't see her backpack or any of her other belongings but I did see the dresses I'd given her hanging in the closet.

There was something on her dresser.

As I got closer, I saw bunches of her red hair, with strands of light blond mixed in. She'd hacked it off and left it in a heap.

Next to her hair was the last dose of her Blackfire antidote. Her poison wasn't fully healed which meant that the full mate sense was still stifled and I wouldn't be able to mindlink her even though I'd marked her.

What was going on?

Bowing my head, I sighed. Mila must have seen the picture and gotten the wrong impression of my relationship with Rosalie... or lack thereof.

Knowing Mila like I did, if she was upset, her first instinct would be to run off on her own.

I headed downstairs and grabbed the arm of the first warrior I could find.

“Have you seen Mila?" I asked her.

“Yes. She was here earlier, though I don't think she saw me," she reported.

“When, Where?"

“Uhh, about twenty or thirty minutes ago. She left the inn. Boss, what's going on?"

“I'm not sure yet..."

“You asked us not to restrict her movements or freedom so we didn't stop her..."

“I know. Not your fault,” I said, raising a hand. “Did she say where she was headed?"

The woman shook her head. “No, but she didn't seem to be in too much of a hurry."

“Which way did she go?"

I tightened my arm on the warrior's arm unconsciously. She gritted her teeth but didn't complain.

“I think she was taking the road to town."

The same road that led all the way out of town. Instinctively, I reached out with the mindlink and tried to contact her.

“Mila, don't get too far away. I'm coming to you. I will explain everything... I promise... Mila?"

I couldn't get through to her.

Nodding to the patrol warrior, I released her and sent her on her way.

Last night after I marked her, I was almost certain that I could establish a mindlink with her. It wasn't strong but there was something.

I worried that if she was too far away, the weak link wouldn't carry the distance, especially if she still had that poison in her blood. When I'd marked her there had only been a thin barrier between us. Before then, the weaker the poison got, the stronger our bond became. I could sense her mood from time to time and there were times when I thought I was able to read her mind.

And by the way she responded, she suspected I could read her mind as well.

Now, there was nothing. I got no response from Mila and I couldn't feel or sense her at all. Our connection should have been stronger because I'd marked her.

It meant that Mila was purposefully suppressing the mindlink and our senses.

Either that or she was unconscious... or worse...

I went over to Payne, who was sitting with Thomas at the bar.

“I need you to get a good group of shifters together. We need to find Mila," I said.

“She's missing again?" Thomas asked, arching an eyebrow.

I scoffed. “Just get a few groups of shifters together.”

“Yes, of course, Boss," Payne said, nodding.

He slipped away from the bar and started rounding up a group of trackers.

“Get your own group together. The more search parties we have, the better," I told Thomas.

“Is something wrong?"

“I don't know... maybe..."

“That's good enough for me."

Thomas finished his beer and left the bar.

I didn't wait for them to get their search parties together. Going off on my own, I went down the road Mila left on.

I could still smell her and it was easy enough to figure out the direction she had gone.

As I followed her sweet, delicious scent, I thought about how I marked her last night. I wouldn't have done that if I didn't truly care for her and want her to remain mine. It wasn't just the mate bond, there were such deep feelings inside of me for her, feelings I'd been reluctant to acknowledge.

The pull I felt toward Mila was stronger than what I felt for Rosalie. I had spent years holding onto Rosalie but it wasn't out of love, it was out of fear. If I let her go that meant I had to face the rest of my life alone or risk opening myself up and getting hurt again. I wasn't ready to do that.

Until Mila entered my life.

Suddenly, I realized that I couldn't imagine another day going by without Mila at my side. I wanted her to be my mate and my luna and I wasn't going to rest until she knew that too.

She'd only been gone for twenty minutes, thirty at the most. It wasn't like she could get in that much trouble in that short amount of time, right? I kept myself hopeful as I followed her scent.

When I got to the end of the road and the edge of the village, Payne and Thomas caught up with me.

Their search parties were spread out around us.

“Any luck?" Thomas asked.

I shook my head. “I can track her scent but it is getting thinner and there's still no sign of her."

“She can't have gotten far," Payne muttered, shifting his weight from one foot to the other.

“We'll find her," I assured.

“I had my group search the entire inn and surrounding area but couldn't find any trace of her," he reported.

I could tell that Payne was just as anxious as I was. Mila was his potential alpha.

“We checked Madam Scarlett's," Thomas told me. “She hadn't seen Mila and assured me she didn't offer any assistance."

“You don't believe her?" I asked, arching an eyebrow.

“She's a very good liar... among other things,” Thomas smirked. “Can we focus? This is... wrong. All of this is wrong," I said, pointing to the street.

Sighing, I took a deep breath and perked up.

“What is it?" Thomas asked.

“Mila's blood..."

I followed the strong scent trying not to imagine the worst. There was no doubt in my mind that it was Mila's blood. Fortunately, it didn't smell like a lot of blood, just enough to catch my attention. My hands shook at my side. I couldn't stop imagining Mila lying in the road, beaten and bloody. My heart hurt and pounded in my chest as I picked up my pace.

If Mila wasn't okay, I would turn the entire world upside down to make those that hurt her pay!

I came to the source of Mila's blood and sighed in relief... for a moment.

Mila was not there. Only a dagger with a bit of her blood on it and the bracelet I'd given her. I picked up the bracelet and clutched it in my hand.

There was a mark on the dagger that I recognized all too well. “Boss,” Payne called.

“What is it?" Thomas asked.

I held the dagger and bracelet out to them.

Payne glared at the mark on the dagger. “Norwind!"

“Alpha Chandler has her again," Thomas snarled.

“They left the dagger and bracelet behind on purpose!” I clenched my hand around the bracelet so tightly that the charm dug into my skin.

Alpha Chandler was taunting me, provoking me. He didn't know what he was getting into!

“This is a message for me," I realized.

“Telling you what, that he took Mila again?" Thomas asked skeptically.

“Son of a b***h!" Payne growled.

I blinked and stared at him. He was usually so much calmer and more collected. I rarely saw him have an emotional outburst. “Payne?” I asked, concerned.

“They want us to chase after them. Mila is the bait... but why? With her they get two pieces of the artifact,” Payne said.

“That's a good point. Mila is the bait, but what's the hook?" Thomas questioned.

I scoffed and tossed my head back. “Because of the rumor I spread. The universal artifact.”

“You think Chandler believes the rumors of the universal artifact? I thought Eros was working for him and Eros didn't believe it," Thomas pointed out.

“Then perhaps Eros wasn't lying when he said he wasn't working with Chandler," I suggested.

“Does that matter?" Payne asked. “We need to get Mila back." Thomas nodded and wandered away. He crouched down in the mud and leaves, his eyes narrowing.

“We will get her back. But Chandler has a plan. He's set a trap and I want to make sure we are springing the trap, not falling into it," I insisted.

Seeing Payne's little outburst helped remind me that getting Mila back required me to think rationally and smartly. I couldn't just fly off half-cocked and hope to overpower Chandler and his men. We had to be smart about this.

As far as Chandler knew, we still had something that he wanted. The universal artifact, even though it didn't really exist.

“Soren, look at this," Thomas called me over.

He traced a wolf paw print in the mud.

“Four toes and four claws..." I pointed out.

“Yeah. Most shifters have five toes and claws.”

“I do know that.”

“Yes, sorry. Well, I only know of one wolf with four toes on his front paws..."

I pinched the bridge of my nose. As if this couldn't get any worse. We had Chandler to deal with, Eros, bounty hunters and now... “Boss?” Payne asked.

I frowned and shook my head at him.

Thomas met my eyes and mimicked my frown. We stared at each other for a long, tense moment.

“I know who you're referring to," I muttered.

"Dylan," Thomas and I said in unison.