Page 95 of His Wild Mate

I growled menacingly when a stranger stepped out, and I stalked slowly towards him, keeping my belly low to the ground and my hackles raised.

“Oh shit! That's a wolf. A very angry wolf.”

“It's Emmett,” Thomas confirmed. “Spread out and start searching the area. If he's this worked up, then she wasn't in the house.”

Several more continued to exit the van. I recognized most of them even through the thick haze in my vision as my wolf took control.

When the stranger moved, I gave another warning growl. If he did it again, I was going to attack.

“Stop!” Thomas commanded me.

My wolf barked in protest and swung his head from side to side.

“Emmett, I know you're in there. This is Kano, the bear Clan Alpha in this area, and the man you're hell-bent on shredding is Killian, his brother. They are here to help us find Paige. Do you hear me? I will command you if it comes to it, now back the hell down now.”

Feeling his Alpha power wash over me, my wolf whimpered and lowered himself to the ground, baring his neck to Thomas.

“It's going to be okay. We're all here to help.”

I looked up, feeling mildly in control again, and realized Esme and my parents were there. Feeling the fight flee me, I lowered my head in shame. My baby sister dropped to her knees and wrapped her arms around my neck as she cried into my fur.

“We're going to find her, Em. We have too. She's family, and we always look after our family. You taught me that. So I need you to come back to us and help. We need to know what happened.”

A ripple ran through me as I shifted back to my skin. I was naked, cold, and scared.

“She's out here somewhere. The snow is falling quickly and covering their tracks. She locked herself in the bedroom and likely hid under the bed. His stench is everywhere. She appears to have run out onto the deck and down the stairs. She jumped over the railing into the snow still in her human form. They both were. I was tracking her scent as it looped back around and was running down the mountain seemingly parallel to the road. That's as far as I got before you all arrived. You know what a shit tracker I am, but I'm pretty certain on this. Her scent is one I will always recognize.”

“Killian, I could use some help,” Walker yelled. He was part of Westin Force and often escorted Thomas’s family between Collier and San Marco where Westin Pack resided.

There were strong ties between Collier and Westin Packs, including Thomas and Lily. Her brother Kyle was Alpha of Westin Pack. That had solidified an unbreakable alliance between them. Add to the fact that Lily's twin brother Liam was mated to Thomas's sister Madelyn and two of his other sisters also lived at least part time in San Marco, and Westin wolves were basically like cousins to Collier at this point.

Westin Force was an elite paramilitary group Kyle had set up to monitor shifter activity worldwide. At times like this, they were exactly who I wanted in my corner and out there looking for my mate.

Killian, the bear, took off with Walker as they ran into the woods to try to pick up Paige's trail that I had been tracking before they arrived.

“It's freezing out here, Emmett. Let's get you inside,” my mother suggested.

I was ready to tell her no, but Esme took my hand in hers and tugged me back inside. I'd always had a difficult time telling that little brat no.

“It's okay,” Thomas assured me. “We've got the best out there looking for her. They'll find her.”

“They have to,” I whispered. “If anything happens to her, I'm not sure I'll survive it.”

“We're here for you, son. Whatever you need.”

I don't know what made me say it, but I blurted out. “Can someone get my groceries out of the car and put them away?”

Everyone went quiet like they were trying to discern if I was serious or if I'd just officially lost it, and then they burst out laughing.

“Come on, Esme. Help me out,” my mother said as they went to fetch them.

“I don't really give a shit about the groceries,” I confessed.

“We know,” Kano said. “Shock will do that to you. Unfortunately, Killian and I know all too well what you're going through right now and we're here to help.”

“You're the Alpha bear, right?” I asked, just wanting to make sure I had the right guy.

“I am.”

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