Page 67 of Bait Wolf
“Fuck, where are they?”
Alvy let out a low breath.
“Sorry, Mr. Kent, the guy is taking him into the Belfort.”
Fury hit me like a hurricane.
I nearly stumbled from the weight of it.
Emberwouldn’tgo willingly. I knew he wouldn’t. Some alpha asshole was about to force himself on my mate. Couldn’t the bastard tell that Ember was already taken?
I was already running. I was two blocks away. At first, I’d felt bad that, when Ember went missing, I immediately turned to the roughest streets in town to look for him, but it looked like I knew my mate better than I thought. He’d gone to what was familiar. Perhaps simply for the comfort of it, but now that we were mated, could Ember really find comfort anywhere that wasn’t by my side? I knew he couldn’t.
The hotel was there, just in sight. Across the street, I saw Alvy’s nondescript figure, an average type of man that could easily blend into a crowd.
He didn’t move forward to help me, but there was no need.
This pushy alpha was going to shit himself when he saw me coming for him—for good reason.
I burst through the front door, making the receptionist jump with a startled yelp.
“I’m looking for my mate. His name is Ember.”
The roughened woman paled.
“I don’t want any blood on the carpets,” she said.
She knew Ember—of course. He used to live in this hellhole—and she knew he was here. I didn’t have time for games.
A growl tore from my throat and she stumbled back, putting more space between us.
“Room seven.”
I took off down the hall, up the narrow, moldy staircase just as my nose caught Ember’s scent.
I shifted, the need to go faster pushing me and I reached the door for room seven just as—it swung open.
Ember hurried out, stumbling at the sight of me, shocked.
For a moment we stared at each other. I was just as off guard as my mate was. Then Ember burst into tears and hurled himself at me, throwing his arms around me and burying his face into my thick fur.
I shifted and twisted until I could pull Ember into my arms, holding him tightly as he choked and sniffled.
“You big brute, what are you doing here?”
His frustrated words didn’t have any effect when he pressed kisses to my neck, where his face was buried.
I pulled him in even tighter. Anxiety twisted in my gut because Ember smelled like someone else. An alpha in rut. The scent was all over him although, I realized, not strong enough for them to have slept together.
I pulled back, forcing Ember to meet my gaze with glassy eyes. I was afraid to ask but forced the words out.
“I’m here to bring you home. My contact saw you going in here with an alpha.”
Ember’s cheeks darkened.
“Old habits die hard,” he said. “I thought I could get info from him the same way I always used to get a bed to sleep in... but I couldn’t go through with it.”
My whole body sank with relief.
