Page 3 of Darik's Quest

“I—I have no idea.” She put a hand to her chest to quell her rampaging heartbeat. “We should check with Aydarr.”

Jamokan spread his hands in a ‘what are we waiting for’ gesture and tipped his chin at her in agreement so she rose from her chair and walked around the desk to join him. Together they walked to Aydarr’s office, where the Supreme Alpha and his three enforcers were in a meeting. Jamokan barged in, Nicolle trailed behind him, ready to placate Aydarr if necessary. She wished Jamokan was less impulsive but he wasn’t going to change at this point in his life. Becoming a claimed mate had softened his rough edges a bit but he still charged straight ahead and had little patience.

“One of my best men is missing,” Jamokan said, standing in the center of the office, hands on his hips as the four men stared at him. He looked ready to fight. “Did you send him somewhere and forget to tell me?”

“Who?” Aydarr asked calmly enough.

“Darik.”

“No, he’s not on a special assignment and I would inform you,” Aydarr said with offended dignity.

Jamokan pulled out a chair and indicated for Nicolle to sit. After a cautious glance at her boss, she did so and folded her hands in her lap. Where in the seven hells had her mate gone today and why? On his own too, which wasn’t a good idea. Badari strength was in the pack and it was extremely rare for a man to be sent out alone. But her mate was a lone wolf, she remembered with dismay. They’d only met in the first place because he’d taken an assignment far to the north, on his own.

By now seated himself, Jamokan recapped his concern about Darik having taken a flyer without authorization and left the valley. “His outbound flight was hours ago as far as I can tell and he hasn’t communicated, not with us and not with Nicolle.”

Aydarr checked with her, one eyebrow raised and she shook her head. “I didn’t know he was gone.”

“What does the pack bond tell you?” Aydarr asked the other Alpha.

Briefly Jamokan closed his eyes. “He’s far away and he isn’t answering me.”

“Nicolle, what are you getting through the mate bond? Can you communicate with him?” Aydarr’s sharp question recalled her from her worrying about where her mate was.

She reached for the mate bond, saddened to see it tarnished and frayed in her mind. She sent a pulse of love out along the mental tie but there was no response. “He’s not answering me either. I don’t get the impression he’s in danger but I don’t know where he is.”

“The flyers are equipped with trackers,” Mateer said, entering the conversation for the first time. “Easy enough to locate it.”

Glaring at him, tips of his fangs showing, Jamokan said, “You don’t think I checked immediately after hearing he’d taken one? He disabled the tracker.”

“We need to find him before the Khagrish do,” Aydarr said. “One man out there alone is at grave risk.” He stared at Nicolle. “And if he’s not thinking clearly right now, the danger is even higher.”

“He hasn’t been himself since your miscarriage,” Jamokan said bluntly to Nicolle. “He’s been carrying a heavy burden of grief.”

In shock, she didn’t know what to say to him. Darik showed his feelings to his Alpha, but not to her?

Aydarr cast her a look of concern, his brow furrowed. “I’m sure his mate is well aware of his emotions, Jamokan, and shares them. The event was hard for both mates.”

Another stunner, that the Supreme Alpha could speak so kindly to her about their loss, while in the midst of a not-too-subtle challenge from Jamokan. Before she could reply to Aydarr, he continued to speak.

“I can probably find him, if you’ll link to me, Nicolle.” He held out one massive hand and she placed her own trustingly into it. “The Great Mother has given me additional abilities now I’m Alpha over all the packs.” He gave Jamokan a sidelong glance and Nicolle heard the three enforcers stifling amusement. Aydarr and Jamokan might have been equals a long time ago, when the packs were prisoners in the Khagrish labs, but Aydarr had only grown in dominance and power since their escape to Sanctuary Valley. Many credited his mate bond with Jill Garrison for at least part of his increased stature. She’d rescued the Badari and was a strong-willed human woman who loved him fiercely.

Nicolle gasped as Aydarr’s power sizzled into her from their joined hands. She closed her eyes and rocked in the chair a bit as his will overrode her own. At his command she reached out along the mate bond again, seeking to locate Darik and Aydarr went with her, adding power to the link until she could hardly bear the mental pressure. Her ears rang and dizziness assaulted her. The world faded into darkness as she heard Aydarr said with triumph, “Got him.”

Nicolle revived to find herself reclining on the couch in Aydarr’s office, with Jill of all people wiping her forehead with a cool cloth. Disoriented, she sat up and the other woman braced her.

“Take it slowly,” Jill advised. “Aydarr said he exerted a lot of power. It must have been hard on your body and mind.”

“But we found Darik?” Nicolle asked, unsure if she’d actually heard the Supreme Alpha claim success.

“You did. He’s at the Great Mother’s circle, at the original lab,” Jill said. “They’re going after him shortly.”

Spurred on by a flash of adrenaline, Nicolle got to her feet and stood swaying for a minute. “I’m going.”

Forehead wrinkled in a troubled frown, Jill said, “It’s a military operation. I’m sorry but he took an unauthorized jaunt into enemy territory, using a flyer he didn’t have permission to take. Since it’s Darik, I’m sure he had good reasons, which Aydarr and Jamokan will want to hear and give full consideration to, but right now your mate’s in a lot of trouble.”

Appalled, Nicolle stared at her, mouth open. “Are you serious? I can’t believe the Alphas would treat Darik like a criminal.”

Jill shook her head. “This is more than a stunt or a lark, Nicolle. We need to know what’s going on with Darik. I know he’s been upset about losing the baby?—”

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