“You couldn’t catch her?” Callum laughed, prompting a snarl from Drew.
“She’s fast,” Drew insisted, never breaking his stride as they walked through Wildlings. Drew had raced back to the building, donned his clothing, and taken a four-wheeler out to retrieve her abandoned belongings. When he’d returned, Maddox and Callum were waiting in the break room, curious, intrigued, and a little anxious.
“That’s got to be a good sign, right?” Maddox asked, keeping stride with the pack leader. “If she were a half-breed, she likely wouldn’t be that quick, right?”
“I don’t know,” Drew muttered. He didn’t know a goddamn fucking thing when it came to his mate, and that burned his ass big time. Walking down the dark, empty hallways did nothing to improve his temper.
“Why is she running?” Callum asked.
“I don’t know.”
“Stop and think about this. What if she’s from some rival pack? What if she’s out to sabotage you?”
“We’re on good terms with all the bordering packs.”
“I don’t know. Something’s not right.”
Callum didn’t need to tell Drew that. “I just need to find her and figure out what’s going on. Maybe she is a half-breed. Maybe she doesn’t know who I am to her.”
“How is that even possible?” Maddox wondered.
“I don’t know!” Frustrated, Drew lashed out.
“Sorry,” he muttered as they entered his office. “It would explain why her scent is so odd. Her scent doesn’t match any pack I’ve ever come across, and she doesn’t seem like she’s from abroad. She doesn’t have an accent or any distinguishing features that would make it likely that she’s from outside our borders.”
“Right,” Callum mused. “Which begs the question, where the hell did she come from? And why was she on our land?”
“She was on our land because we gave her a card with all the information she needed to find Wildlings. If she were looking for a safe place to run, this would have been it. She probably didn’t think we’d be here. She was scared.” His gaze swung to Maddox. “What do you think?”
“Her scent is different. Unique.” Maddox crossed his thick arms over his chest. “I’m tempted to agree. She’s likely a half-breed, but she’s acting like she has no idea what we are. Do you think she’s alone?”
“She’s clearly a stray,” Callum blurted.
“Watch it,” Drew warned.
Callum sighed. “You know what I mean. I don’t think she came to town with anyone. At least not another shifter.”
“What if she was abandoned?”
Both Drew and Callum looked at Maddox. The thought had never occurred to him. If something happened to a wolf parent, the pack stepped in and raised any children.
When no one spoke, Maddox tossed his arms up. “I’m just putting it out there. Maybe she’s scared because she thought she was alone.”
Drew glanced at Callum, then back at Maddox. “You think that’s possible?”
“Unlikely.” Callum supplied. “But it fits the scenario.”
Drew ran his hands through his hair before gripping the back of his neck. He stomped past his desk and dropped into his chair. “I need to find her before she leaves town.”
“You think she’d do that?” Callum asked.
“She’s your mate.” Maddox frowned. “She’s got to be feeling the connection. There’s no way she’d leave.”
Drew knew, just knew, that they were wrong. His wolf longed for its mate, and both man and animal instinctively knew she would keep running.
He flicked the computer on. “Maybe you’re right, but I want every precaution taken.” He looked to Callum. “I want you to organize the pack. I want someone on every exit out of this town.”
“That’s going to take a lot of manpower.”
Drew nodded. “Do it.”
As the computer booted up, Drew brought up the security feeds. There were cameras surrounding the property. He already knew her license plate number and the make and model of the vehicle she’d been driving, but he still watched the footage.
She never drove by the front gate. If she had, she would have seen the full parking lot and likely avoided the area, but she approached via the northeast county road, the one he’d chased her onto.
He saw when she’d driven up but couldn’t see where she’d parked. Not that it mattered.
His gaze swung to Maddox. “I want you to dig up whatever you can on her. Text me all the details you find. Alyssa Mayers. Artist.” He thought for a moment. “The gallery owner, Zelda. Find out her information, too. See if you can locate what building she owns. She’s Alyssa’s landlady.”
“Gotcha.” Mitch already had his phone in his hand, presumably Googling and finding her on social media.
Callum was about to exit the office but stopped in the doorway. “What are you going to do?”
“I’m going to drive around until I find her or until the gallery opens, whichever happens first.”
“Where are you going to look? The town isn’t that small.”
“No, it isn’t.” Drew closed the program and put the computer to sleep. “But she was at the gallery, and the coffee shop I met her in is near the gallery and presumably near her house. I’ll start there.”
Callum looked doubtful, but Drew appreciated it when he said, “We’ll find her.”
Damn right, they would. Letting her go wasn’t an option.
“If we have to, we’ll track her by scent.”
Callum nodded, and then he was gone.
Standing, Drew was about to follow him when Maddox pulled his focus away. “She doesn’t seem to have any social media accounts, which in today’s world is just weird.” The big man’s fingers scrolled across the screen. “She has a website, but it’s neither very good or current.” His eyebrows rose.
“What?” Drew nearly crossed the room to snatch the phone from Maddox.
“Her stuff is good, though. The girl has some wicked talent. We should get some of her paintings for the center here. Volunteers would love them.”
It was an excellent idea but not relevant. “Look up Zelda next and Platinum Delight Art. Text me with whatever you find,” he ordered before tracing Callum’s path. Rather than exit out the back as Callum had done, Drew headed to the parking lot.
He searched the parking lots and plazas, anywhere he caught whiffs of her scent. Light was chasing away the darkness when Drew finally found her car.
It sat in a lot, facing a red brick building surrounded by cedar pines. Maddox had had little luck locating details about the landlady, but he’d provided Drew with background on the gallery and Alyssa’s showing. None of it was going to help him.
But after searching up and down the roads closest to the gallery and the coffee shop, he’d spotted her worn-down beige Dodge.
His truck was idling across the road while he thought over his options. He’d been about to drive into her lot, determined to find her apartment by smell when she emerged out the front door carrying a stack of canvases. She loaded them into the car, returned to the apartment, and came back with her purse and a canvas about the size of the Blood Moon.
She got into her vehicle and drove away, heading toward the gallery.
He’d bet next quarter’s profits that she was hoping Zelda would take all the paintings so she’d have space in that little car for her stuff. One quick trip up to her apartment would confirm her plans.
Once her car had rounded a corner and disappeared, Drew shut off his truck, crossed the empty street, and entered the building. He followed her scent to the elevator, stopping at each floor until he found the right one. Soon, he stood outside her door.
He tried the knob, but of course, it was locked.
Debating how aggressive and how successful he wanted to be in his search for information, Drew tapped on the door. It looked as though she was the only tenant on this floor. The only doorway was hers.
With one swift move, he used the sole of his boot to kick in the door. The latch gave way, and the barrier swung open.
It was a cute studio apartment with a small kitchen and living space. Up a few steps was a raised bedroom, separated from the rest of the apartment by a small brick wall. The bathroom was tiny but functional. Off the living room was a patio door leading to what appeared to be the roof. Drew wondered if she had painted out there.
A few boxes sat by the door, piled high with a backpack and a few pieces of luggage.
His fears were confirmed. She was planning to run, but not if he had anything to say about it.