Page 14 of Claimed By the Hunter

“I’m going to see if I can follow the bleach scent. It will hopefully give us the direction,” Blake said.

“Good idea. I’ll keep in touch when I find anything,” Hunter said.

Hunter sped up the mountain and prayed the whole time that his mate was fine because he didn’t know what he would do if she weren’t. He looked around when he pulled into Tamara’s driveway. Her vehicle wasn’t there, and the house was dark. He got out and knocked on the front door.

“Tamara, it’s Hunter. I need to talk to you.” He waited for a moment before trying the doorknob. It opened right away. The house was eerily quiet, with shadows in every corner, and smelled like antique furniture and dust.

“Tamara?” he called out. Still nothing. He started looking for anything that might help him find Nicole.

He’d never had a chance to look in drawers or closets when he’d come before to help Tamara with tasks. There was no rhyme or reason for the way she stored things. Different keys were scattered in one drawer, with receipts and pot holders. In another drawer were pens mixed with hand towels and spices. Why had he never seen that something was off about Tamara? He knew he’d been concerned about her, but other than that, he never would have guessed she’d become violent or live her life in such chaos.

Her bedroom window was covered with a thick blanket. Her bed wasn’t made, and clothing was scattered around the room.

“Goddammit,” he said. “Where the fuck is Nicole?”

He raced out of the house but stopped a few feet from his car when his phone rang.

“Hunter.”

“Hey, it’s Blake. The scent of bleach trailed through town and went up the old mining road. Do you want me to keep going?”

“No. Wait for me.”

“You got it.”

Hunter drove as fast as he could without killing anyone, and it seemed to take forever to get there. He saw Blake parked on the side of the road and pulled in behind him. The moment he got out of his car, he could smell the bleach. It wasn’t as strong as it had been behind the bakery.

“Thanks, Blake. I hadn’t thought of following the scent of bleach.”

“Because you’re worried about your mate. I would do the same thing. Now, do you want to walk or drive up the path? I have to warn you it’s bumpy, so we’d have to take my truck, but she’d hear us coming,” Blake said.

“Let’s drive up where the road takes a sharp left.”

Blake nodded and walked to his truck. Hunter jumped into the passenger side and rolled down his window.

Jesus. Please, God, let me find her before she gets hurt.

Chapter Nine

Nicole dropped onto her back. Her breathing was choppy, and sweat covered her face. The pulling on the chain also made her headache return. She reached for the bottle and took a long drink of water. Her head jerked toward the door when it opened. When the two women walked in, she tensed and almost cried. She needed Hunter so badly. She knew he was looking for her, she just hoped he’d find her before the crazy bitch hurt her.

“I’m sorry, dear, but I’ll need more blood,” Malani said as she crouched beside her.

“Please let me go,” Nicole said to Tamara.

“Not going to happen, whore.”

Nicole sighed. She barely caught it when the older woman slid something under the mattress.

She decided to distract Tamara as much as possible. “I haven’t done anything to you.”

“You’re alive. That’s enough. Humans are pathetic weak creatures, and they don’t belong here.”

“Will you tell your alpha that?” Nicole asked.

“I’m just worried about getting you out of my life right now,” Tamara said.

“You know, even if you get Hunter to forget this, what about the other people in town? Don’t you think they’ll be suspicious? One day he’s with me, and the next with you, and I’ve disappeared? From what I understand, people only have one mate destined for them. So, why does he get two?”

---