Page 46 of The Prince's Mate

I followed him without a thought, dropping the paper bags on a cabinet near the door before racing inside. The living room and kitchen area were empty, and I headed for the bedroom, calling out Caelan's name as my worry mounted.

His phone lay in the middle of the bed, but the room was empty, and the bathroom door was exactly as we'd left it earlier. I still took a peek inside, but no Caelan.

I picked his phone up, smiling at the picture of me he'd set as a wallpaper. There was an unopened text from Nox, and I clicked it open. Maybe Caelan had just taken off to Otherworld to hang out with him or something?

Nox: Did you ditch me for your mate?

In the reply bar, there was a half-typed text that looked like a reply to Nox's previous message. Something had interrupted Caelan before he could send that message, but what? Had someone been at the door? But they couldn't have gotten inside. Why would Caelan go out? He'd promised me he wouldn't.

"Ro," I said, and he glanced up from the bed. "Get the dads."

Ro'Shassz disappeared, and I slumped onto the bed, burying my face in my palms. I shouldn't have left Caelan alone. Why hadn't he stayed inside the apartment?

Jumping to my feet, I started walking, unable to sit still as thoughts of what could happen to Caelan clogged my mind, dark thoughts that filled me with fearandmade me want to break something.

"Walker?" Da's voice had me looking up, and I rushed to him, throwing my arms around him. He hugged me tightly, and I felt my insides untwist a little. "Shh, it's okay. We'll find him."

"He promised he wouldn't leave the apartment," I mumbled as I pulled away, and Dad stepped closer, rubbing my shoulder in comfort.

"Did you two fight?" Pops asked, and I shook my head.

"We had a great morning," I said, and Pops' eyes flickered to the messy bed. I could feel my cheeks heating up, but I ignored it. "We need to find him."

"Let's figure out what happened first. Maybe the camera caught something," Dad said, and my eyes shot to his.

"Camera?"

"We had one installed in the hallway outside the last time we came here," he explained, and I nodded. Pops left the bedroom, and we followed suit. Opening a cabinet, he pulled out a laptop I hadn't even known was there and plugged it in.

I watched as he pulled up the CCTV recordings, forwarding today's clip until I showed up, leaving to go to the store. Pops hit play from there, and we watched the empty hallway for five minutes before...before I walked into the hallway again. Except...

"That's not me," I said, glancing over at my dads. Pops' lips were pressed in a firm line, and Dad looked like he wanted to crush something. Da had a comforting grip of my shoulders, and he squeezed lightly as we watched the fake-me ring the doorbell.

Then they stepped back, waved their hand, and were suddenly covered in blood. They slumped back against the wall as the door opened, and Caelan hurried to them as they sank to the floor. I knew the moment Caelan realized it wasn't me, and the stranger whispered something to Caelan before they grabbed his wrist and he slumped forward, unconscious.

The stranger stood up, hauled Caelan over his shoulder like he weighed nothing, and strolled down the hallway, leaving the camera's range without ever revealing his face.

"I never should've left him alone," I murmured, and Dad turned to me.

"That doesn't matter now, Walker. All that matters is getting him back. Arty, play that back. I want to see if we can figure out what he said," Dad said, and Pops replayed the video, zooming in on the stranger wearing my face.

"He said 'I'm sorry,'" Da murmured behind me, and I turned to him, incredulous.

"He apologized? For what, kidnapping Caelan?"

"It's possible. Maybe he was forced to do it," Pops said, and I growled.

"Someone forced him to kidnap a man? And he just did it?" I demanded, unsure how anyone could be forced into doing something like that.

"Walker, has Caelan told you anything about Andras?" Dad asked, and I nodded. "Well, then you know how he made Caelan and others kill for him, fight for him. And that was when he was human. Now, as a vampire, he is even more powerful. We still don't know what he's capable of."

"And Caelan is all alone with him," I said, worry bleeding into my voice.

"We'll find him, kiddo. We will," Da assured me, and I nodded as Pops squeezed my hand, and Dad gave me a reassuring smile.

Don't worry, Caelan. We'll find you, I thought, hoping that wherever he was, he would hear me.

Caelan

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