He cursed himself for holding back from his own mate out of some unnecessary fear that he’d—
A sharp, dazing pain knifed through his head and chest. His world tilted, and his vision blurred and grayed around the edges. But then the pain and disorientation subsided … and he realized that the mating bond had fully snapped into place.
His heart began to gallop as sheer joy flowed through him and his cat, smoothing over their ragged nerves. God, Luke could feel her so much more intensely now. Could feel her inside him, not merely linked to him.
Maybe it was the stability of knowing that their bond was complete, but his panic receded slightly, allowing him to focus. He shoved energy down their link, determined to wake her; to give her the strength to fight.
Eying him closely, Tate narrowed his eyes. “The bond is complete.”
Luke gave a curt nod, rolling his shoulders. “My cell. I need my cell.” With that, he quickly headed back to the pride’s vehicles.
“Why?” asked Tate as he and the others ran after him.
“Because I need to call Mitch. I need to find out where Donal and Antoine are right now. You contact the enforcers who are watching Gabriel; ask them where he is. At least one of them will be off the radar. Maybe if we work out who took her we can work out where they took her.”
Again, Luke sent more energy rippling down their link, silently willing her to wake up, praying to the universe and every possible celestial force to keep her safe.
Surges of energy pushed down the mating bond, dragging Blair out of sleep. She distantly noted the rumbling of an engine—a rumbling that reverberated against the hard floor beneath her, seeming to vibrate against the side of her body that was all but plastered to it. Her mind was all hazy and cottony. She drifted. Floated. Could barely put her thoughts together.
Sleep once more tried to claim her despite the queasiness in her stomach and the ache in her head, but another rush of energy slinked through her system. Her female butted her hard, slamming her body against Blair’s insides. Well that was uncalled for. There was—
The battle. The field. The net. The darkness that swallowed her whole.
Blair’s heartbeat stuttered, and then the organ began to pound like crazy. Drugged. She’d been drugged. Which explained why her muscles throbbed and she felt weak as a newborn kitten.
Worse, she’d been taken.
She didn’t dare let her eyes snap open. She had no way of knowing how closely she was being watched. She quickly got her breathing under control—the quick rise and fall of her chest would be a dead giveaway that she was no longer unconscious.
Relief abruptly tumbled down the mating bond—a bond now so vivid, so solid, so complete. That masculine feeling of relief told her that Luke had sensed she was awake.
When the hell had their bond become complete? Later. Blair would figure that out later.
She sent a “pulse” of reassurance along the bond, even knowing he would sense the anger and anxiety that vied for supremacy inside her and battered at what little mental composure she had.
Blair breathed through her inner struggle, determined to somehow remain calm, much like her female was doing—a female who’d either withdrawn to give Blair control or had been suppressed by whatever drug she’d been given, because she’d evidently shifted back into her human form.
She kept her eyes closed as she stretched out her senses. She was in a vehicle of some sort—that much was for sure. She didn’t think she was in a trunk. A trunk was carpeted, and her body was not pressed against anything remotely soft right now. Beneath the country music playing low was the sound of steady breathing.
The scents of oil, dirt, and metal surrounded her, but there was another scent. A smell that clung to the material that had been draped over her. A scent that belonged to someone all too familiar. And with that, Blair knew who’d taken her.
Her churning stomach bottomed out, and a sense of betrayal slapped her so hard she almost cursed aloud. Her female growled, equally stung and getting more pissed with each moment that passed. Their combined anger stomped out the flames of fear in their bellies. All they wanted was to ream his ass.
Not that Blair was in any condition to do that just yet. Her head still pounded, her muscles still ached, and she still felt ridiculously weak. If Luke hadn’t shoved energy down their bond, she probably would have remained out cold for a while longer.
Not wanting to alert her captor to the fact that she was conscious, Blair only opened her eyes a little. Dark, blurry images swam in front of her vision. She double-blinked, struggling to bring everything into focus. Bars. Thin, metal bars were only a few inches in front of her.