“Her family is just worried for her safety, which is why they left. Control yourself so you can go to her, talk to them, make them see she’s meant to be yours.”
I could hear the pleading in my brother’s voice and knew deep down he would never purposely want to keep me from my mate unless he honestly thought it was for the best. But right now, it didn’t seem like it was the best option. Right now, it seemed like it was going against my very fucking nature not to hold her in my arms.
“Think about this, brother.” The pleading tone of Ren’s voice could’ve swayed me if I wasn’t who I was. If I wasn’t half turned into my Lycan. If I hadn’t found my mate. There was no rational thought in my brain right now. The only thing that kept repeating over and over were three words.
Go to her.
I’d take down anything that stood in my way.
And that’s exactly what I did.
Fuck all this.
Without another backward glance, I tore out of the banquet hall, then out of the estate, using my supernatural speed as I ran through the forest. I stopped only momentarily to take a deep breath, inhaling her scent, trying to pick up which direction she went.
There she was.
I whipped my body in the direction of where she was. And then I followed it.
The scent lingered before fading. She was in a car, the metal blocking her trail from me.
But I knew where they were going. The airstrip. That was the only logical place they’d take her, because anywhere else in the country—hell, this continent—and I’d find her easily, tracking her, scenting her like the predator I was.
So I took off in that direction, using my supernatural senses, picking up speed, letting my Lycan have full control. I could’ve gone faster if I shifted into my wolf, but I couldn’t risk it, couldn’t take the chance of not being able to turn back into a human.
I pumped my legs harder, jumped over fallen, rotting logs, pushed away low-hanging branches, focused only in front of me. I wove between trees, feeling the adrenaline rush through my veins because I was going after the grand prize. I grinned, feeling aroused from hunting her.
I ran for so long that everything around me became a blur of colors and scents, everything out of focus except the goal at hand.
I didn’t know how long I ran, the seconds and minutes blending together, blurring until they were one thing. One entity. But then the airstrip came into view, and I zeroed my eyesight on the fencing and beyond, looking to see if I could spot her.
I saw the jet, already started, the scent of fuel lingering in the air as the engines roared to life. I snapped my head to the right as I heard the sound of a car engine speeding down the road, tires squealing on the asphalt as the vehicle turned the sharp corners. The car raced further up the road, putting distance from where I was. So I ran faster.
I knew it would beat me to the strip. I was fast on a good day, but when it concerned my mate? I was fucking unstoppable.
And the very fact that my mate was in that car, that they were trying to take her from me, and that I couldn’t reach her, caused this painful madness in my body.
I roared out, snarled, swiping out at trees as I ran faster, my claws leaving gouges in the bark. It was long moments later when I finally picked up her scent again. I inhaled deeply, groaning at how good she smelled, how right it was to take that aroma into my lungs, to have it mix with my cells.
I wasn’t at the tree line yet, but I could see her being ushered into the jet.
No. That lone word screamed inside my head over and over again.
No-no-no-no!
And then the jet started moving down the runway, and I tore through the tree line, chasing after it, this dread settling in the pit of my stomach that she was being taken away from me. It was like someone had ripped into my chest and tore out my heart before cutting it in two.
But I didn’t stop. I couldn’t.
And it was only when the jet was airborne that I slowed before finally forcing myself to stop. I tipped my head back and roared to the very heavens.
Gods give them mercy for taking her from me, because I sure as fuck wouldn’t.
6
Ainslee
The surreal reality of the situation wasn’t lost on me or anyone else. I knew that, felt it.
My father tightened his hands on the steering wheel again, and I was afraid he’d snap the thing in half.
The gate was already open to the private airstrip, and my father drove faster toward the opening, his tires squealing on the pavement. He pulled to a stop in front of the waiting jet, threw it in park, and everyone was out before I could even process we were actually doing this.