Page 67 of Taste of Forever
I called her back and immediately got her voicemail. Unsurprising, since her message had cut off just as she mentioned her battery dying. I let the phone drop to my chest,and noticed this sense of unease, of distress and alarm, hadn’t stopped coursing through my body since I woke up.
The last time I’d felt this had been the first night I’d showed up at Heather’s apartment, when I’d just missed whoever spooked the hell out of her.
I got out of bed and quickly dressed, then left my apartment to head up to the main floor of the Blood ‘til Dawn compound. A few clan members were already up and around the great room. Thorne and Rhain looked like two dark clouds, their heads bent together over the island counter.
“What’s going on?” I asked by way of greeting.
“Pyke most likely attacked someone,” Thorne grumbled. “A couple of brusang reported seeing him before sunset, clothes and skin drenched in blood. Looked like a butcher, they said. The blood bank hasn’t reported any stolen blood from their storage, so he’s probably hurt someone. Or worse.”
“Fuck.” My hand came to my chest. The sense of unease was getting worse, like a fist trying to squeeze the life out of my beating heart. “But that’s…he’s never harmed anyone before, has he?”
“No, which is the only reason we’ve let him be. He just wanders around all day, high on drae and staring at the sun.” Rhain closed and opened a fist on the marble counter. “But who knows how long he’s gone without feeding? He probably got desperate. And if he attacked someone during the day, it was probably a human. They’re gonna be freaked out.”
“Even though we’ve told them, time and time again, not to go out during daylight hours.” Thorne rolled his eyes before he stuck a darakt cigarette in his mouth and lit up.
The unease in my chest turned to straight-up dread. “Where is Pyke? Do we have him?”
“Not yet. We’re about to hit the streets now, to find him and his possible victim.” Thorne lifted a brow at me. “You coming?”
“Yeah, let’s go! What are we waiting for?”
Rhain gave me a curious look over his shoulder. “What’s got you so riled up?”
The words didn’t want to come out. To speak them would make the possibility even more real.
“I got this bad feeling, guys.” My hand returned to my chest, as if I could massage away the suffocating sensations of dread and panic. “I think he might’ve hurt Heather. My blood mate.”
Everyone ralliedto help me find Heather, even those who were off their patrol shifts that night. My gratitude couldn’t be put into words, but the guys understood. Even Cyan, haunted and depressed from seeing Kalix, dragged himself out of bed and Tavia’s arms to join the search.
“You’d do it for me,” he said with a slap on my shoulder when I told him he didn’t have to come. “I need fresh air and something else on my mind, anyway.”
Dusk fell to night and Sanguine came to life as Blood ‘til Dawn spread out in search of one of our own. Heather didn’t know it yet, but she was part of us. The ruling clan of vampires would make sure she was safe and unharmed.
Best case scenario, she wasn’t in the territory at all. She was in the human world, still pissed off and avoiding me, and this feeling in my chest was just gas or something. And whoever Pyke had fed on was minimally injured.
The first place I went to was Pulse Point, since that was where she’d mentioned meeting in her message. None of the staff had seen her, so it was a quick dead end. Regardless, I checked every room, storage closet, and circled the perimeter ofthe building. All the while, I kept calling her phone, even though I knew it was a long shot.
There was no sign of her, not even a trace of her scent. If she had been to the club, too much time had passed. Too many other bodies had occupied the same space and contaminated it with their own scents.
I left the club and started walking up the next block, senses alert like a bloodhound. If the slightest breeze carried that sweet, lily fragrance my way, I did not want to miss it. I checked every dark corner, under every stoop, and even in dumpsters. Finding nothing time and time again was both a relief and a disappointment.
A call came through as I was re-listening to Heather’s voice message for the tenth time, trying to figure out if she mentioned anything I had missed. I answered it, dread and desperation tightening my throat.
“Hey, Cy. Got anything?”
“Not yet,” he said. “Just updating you. We finished one sweep and are moving on to the next block.” He rattled off the streets he and the others already covered.
“Thanks. I’m a bit north of the Heart, heading toward Novak’s place.”
“Sounds good. Rhain’s headed that way, you two will probably overlap soon. We’ll keep you posted.”
I rubbed my chest after ending the call. It was getting harder to breathe and more painful by the minute. My heart and lungs felt like they were being squeezed in a vice.
“This better not be you, Heather,” I muttered, sweeping my gaze down all over the alley. “You better be snuggled up in a blanket or something. Watching TV. Petting a dog. Whatever humans do when they’re cozy and safe. Temkra, please keep her safe.” I didn’t know if our goddess could watch over blood mates in the human world, but it didn’t hurt to ask.
The minutes crawled by and the sensation in my chest became crushing. I had to keep looking down to make sure my sternum wasn’t caving in. My instinct was to move faster. There was a pressing sense ofrunning out of timethat scared the hell out of me. But I focused on each breath and made sure to do thorough sweeps. The last thing I wanted to do was hurry and miss something important in my rush.
My phone rang and I brought it up to my ear without checking who it was. “Yeah?” I rasped.
