Dana Bell - Cynful

“Cyn?” He stepped into the break room but it was empty. A cold shiver worked its way down his spine. “Cyn!”

He sniffed the air, then dashed toward the back room, following her spicy sweet scent. He tripped over something and landed flat on his stomach, his legs tangled in—

“Ugh.” Micah sat up, rubbing the back of his head. “Shit.”

Julian hauled himself to his feet. “Where’s Cyn?”

“Huh?” Micah winced and pulled his hand away. His fingers were coated in blood. “Oh no.”

Julian closed his eyes and tried to beat back the panic that threatened to engulf him. “Your dad.”

“I think so.”

“How could you not smell him?” Julian was screaming. What was wrong with everyone’s noses?

Micah froze. “Fuck. He’s masking his scent. He used to hunt deer all the time. He’s adept at killing his body odor. He owns a whole bunch of hunting clothes with activated carbon in the lining and deer musk spray.”

Jules took a deep breath and pulled out his phone. “Gabe, he got her.”

A string of curses was broken by the sound of Gabe’s cruiser, its sirens shattering the quiet night. “Stay put, I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

Bullshit. He’d heard stay one too many times. He wasn’t a fucking dog. “I’ll be out back. If they didn’t go through the front, there’s only one other exit.” An exit he was currently running for.

“Julian, damn it. Sit tight. If anything happens to you Cyn will kill me.”

“He’s going to kill her. I’ve seen it.” Julian burst through the back door, sniffing like an addict after a coke dealer. Cyn’s scent pulled him to the right, mingled with blood. His mate was hurt, and once again he hadn’t been there.

More curses poured from the Hunter. “I’m almost there.”

“She’s bleeding. I’m following the scent.” He skidded in the gravel parking lot, muttering a few curses of his own as he realized Boyd had dragged her into a dark alley.

“I’m heading to the back of the shop. Don’t do anything stupid, Julian.”

Was Gabe kidding? Everything that could possibly go wrong already had. Murphy fucking owed him. “I’m following them down the alley.”

“For fuck’s sake, listen to me. I need you to stop for a minute and concentrate. Cyn is your mate. You should be able to sense exactly where she is.”

That was news to him. Then again, he’d never had a mate before. Could every mate sense their other half? “I’ll give it a try.” He stopped, the scent of old Chinese food, rotting cabbage and dog shit almost overwhelming the scent of Cyn’s blood. He closed his eyes and prayed Dennis Boyd wasn’t doubling back. If he was, Julian would be a sitting duck. He reached out to his Bear, praying his mate wasn’t far away. If Boyd got her into a car, it would be all up to Gabe and the shifter cops.

Julian reached out for Cyn’s spirit, following the connection they had as mates. The connection was solid and thick, a brightly lit trail on a dark night, steady and strong. Without thought he was moving, following that radiant path. Gabe was right. It was like he had been following a shadowy figure in the dark, and now he could finally see where he was going. He didn’t even bother switching his vision to his Bear’s. He didn’t need the extra low-light vision. That bright trail would take him straight to his mate.

“Got anything for me?” Julian was startled to realize how close Gabe had gotten to him without his knowledge. The Hunter was right next to him, matching him stride for stride. His dark blue eyes had shifted into his Puma’s gold, allowing him to see better in the dim light of the alleyway.

Julian responded with a terse nod. “Follow me.” Cyn was close and still alive. Either Boyd was holding a gun on her or she was unconscious, because his fiery mate would be struggling, fighting for her life. There was no sound except for their footfalls.

The trail was brightening; they were close to where Boyd had taken Cyn.

“I’m not telling you where she is.” He almost stumbled at the sound of Cyn’s defiant voice. The sound of a meaty thud was followed by a string of Spanish curses.

Julian began ripping off his clothing, preparing for the shift. He didn’t care where any of it landed.

Boyd was about to find out what a pissed off Spirit Bear could really do.

Cyn couldn’t believe she’d allowed the asshole to get a drop on her. One minute she’s healing Micah’s shoulder, the next she’s experiencing blinding pain. It didn’t matter if the pain was Micah’s or hers. Boyd had sure taken advantage of it. He’d used her disorientation against her and dragged her out of the shop, forcing her down the alleyway. But now he would have to shoot her ass to get her to go any further.

There is no way she was getting in that van.

“Don’t worry little girl, you’ll help me, whether you want to or not.” Where Micah’s light brown eyes had been filled with warmth, Dennis Boyd’s were cold and dead. He had a huge pistol pointed at her with some kind of a hunting scope on the barrel. “I’m certain she’ll come back for your funeral.”

That is a really big gun. And it would leave a really big hole in her if she didn’t move her ass out of the way now. “You could’ve just killed me in the shop.”

“It’s harder to drag a dead weight than you think. This way all I have to do is shove you into the van, pull the trigger, and we’re gone.”

“Gone to where?” She had a pretty good idea of what he had in mind, but she had to keep him distracted until Julian and Gabe arrived. And she had no doubt they were on their way. She could practically feel Julian chasing her down, pissed off because she wasn’t where she was supposed to be. Scared because of who had her. If I die he’ll never let me live it down.

His smile was chilling and creepy, and not just because he was going to shoot her. “I figured I’d dump it somewhere in the woods near the Red Wolf Lodge. How do you think that big, scary Alpha will feel when he finds out that I’ve killed someone he was supposed to protect?”

“I think his Luna will eat your intestines on toast.” Because, if for some reason she didn’t survive this, Tabby would hit Def Con One. If Rick or Alex didn’t get to Dennis Boyd, Belle would, and it wouldn’t be pretty. The Luna had a seriously wide streak of mean in her that scared Cyn a bit. But it was Alex’s reaction that the man should be worried about. “And if they don’t get you, her mate certainly will.”

Oh how she wished she were one of those mystical Hollywood shifters. Then she wouldn’t need to worry about things like clothing when she shifted into her Bear. She’d just shift and take this S.O.B. down before he could hurt anybody else. And then she’d magically be not naked when she shifted back. Unfortunately, she already knew that if she shifted in her clothes she would wind up hurting herself.

Hurry up, Julian!

“A mate, huh?” Boyd shook his head with a wry grin. “I’d wondered how she’d gotten into the Poconos Pack.” Boyd didn’t realize that Alex was a Grizzly and not a Wolf. She almost laughed out loud. She couldn’t think of anyone who deserved an angry Grizzly mauling more than this man. “Richard Lowell is supposed to be a real hard-ass. I wonder what he did to make her prove herself?”

She’d done absolutely nothing but be herself, and that had been more than enough for Rick and Belle.

Boyd’s gaze narrowed and he braced himself. It looked like her time was up. She closed her eyes, unwilling to watch him pull the trigger that would end not only her life but Julian’s as well. “I love you, Jules.” Why hadn’t she been brave enough to tell him that when she had the chance?