Polar Opposites

by Ariana McGregor

  “Actually, yeah,” she said. “Darren is hiring bar staff, so I thought I’d try my luck with him. I worked in a bar when I was a student, so I have the experience.” She checked her watch. “I might just head over there now and speak to him. If I leave it too late, I might miss out.”

  “Sure,” Felix leaned over the counter to kiss her. “Let me know how it goes. Call me later.”

  “Okay.” With one last kiss, she was gone, leaving Felix to the rest of his day.

  Only a few clients came in for haircuts. Word had gone out about the salon being open, but most of their time was spent rescheduling appointments. Thankfully it didn’t look as though his business had taken a hit. A few days closed for repairs, and a few quiet days as they got things going again. Other than that, he was booked solid for a few weeks.

  He waited all day for his phone to ring, hoping to hear from Sara. It never happened. Perhaps she was working a trial shift at the bar. He sent her a quick text message.

  A buzzing sounded from the desk. Puzzled, he stalked over to it, opening drawers until he found Sara’s phone. Well that explained why she hadn’t called.

  The day dragged on, the sparse number of clients making the day a little tedious. Besides, he was anxious to get back to his mate, to spend more time with her. His eyes strayed to the clock once more. Close enough.

  As he reached the door, his cousin Leo approached, his face grim.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked.

  “Kara is now officially missing,” Leo told him. “We found her car abandoned. There were signs of a struggle.”

  Felix swore. “Ryan.”

  “Yeah,” Leo confirmed. “I went out there myself and I caught his scent. It’s definitely him. Tara is beside herself. Has Sara heard from Ryan? There’s no point to this unless he contacts her.”

  “No.” Felix paused. She wouldn’t keep it from him, right? They were mates, which meant that she could rely on him, be honest with him. A sinking feeling had him striding for the desk and pulling out Sara’s phone. She’d been a little twitchy today, but he’d put it down to her polar bear’s dislike of his female clients. What if it was something more?

  He opened her text messages and found the most recent one. Swearing, he handed the phone to Leo.

  “She wouldn’t actually go and hand herself over, would she?” Leo asked, frowning.

  Felix shrugged. “How the hell would I know? She didn’t even tell me about the message.” His lion snarled inside his mind, demanding that they track down their mate and ensure her safety.

  Stomping to the door, he heard Leo following him.

  “They were supposed to meet half an hour ago,” Leo pointed out.

  “I know.”

  “They’re probably gone by now.”

  “I know.”

  Leo sighed. “I’m driving.”

  The woods weren’t that far, but the journey seemed to take forever. Felix’s normally easy-going lion was a rabid, snarling mess of fear and fury. Fear that something had happened to his mate kept him on edge, unable to accept that he might have lost her. Panic threatened to overwhelm him at the thought, and he had to force himself to breathe slowly. He was also furious at Ryan for daring to touch Sara, furious at himself for not noticing what was happening, and furious at Sara for not confiding in him. Why hadn’t she told him? They could have handled this together.

  They finally arrived at the woods, but rushing to the spot mentioned in the text, they found nothing. Ryan’s scent was everywhere, infuriating his lion. Ryan had been here, but Sara had not. He sniffed so hard that he was in danger of passing out, but he could detect no trace of Sara having been here. In fact, the only people he could scent were himself, Leo, and Ryan, which meant that Kara hadn’t been here either.

  He exchanged a puzzled glance with Leo. If Sara hadn’t rushed off to meet with Ryan, then where was she?

  He pulled out his phone and called Darren’s bar. Maybe Sara had told the truth about going there.

  “The Fur and Fang.” Sasha, one of Darren’s barmaids answered the phone.

  “Is Darren available?” he asked. “It’s Felix McKenzie. I need to speak to him.”

  “Sure.”

  A few seconds later, Darren’s voice came over the phone.

  “Felix?”

  “Is Sara there?” he asked. “She said she was going to speak to you about a job.”

  “Yeah, she was here,” Darren confirmed. “I’m giving her a trial shift on Friday.”

  “She still there?”

  “No, she wasn’t here for long. Came in and asked for a job, agreed to a trial shift, and left. That was hours ago. Is everything okay?” Darren seemed concerned. One of his barmaids had been a victim of the Shifter Stalker who had harassed Dana. Darren seemed to take it personally and kept an even closer eye on his staff now.

  “I don’t know,” Felix said. “Call me if she comes back in.”

  Ending the call, he looked at Leo. “She was at the bar but left hours ago. She could be anywhere by now.”

  “Let’s look around,” Leo suggested. “See if we can pick up where Ryan’s scent went.”

  Felix stalked off in one direction, Leo in another. A short distance away, his nose picked up a faint trace of Sara. Hurrying, he found a place where her scent was stronger. She’d been here for a little while. From his position, he could see where Ryan had most likely stood. Sara had been here, stalking Ryan, watching him, but she hadn’t gone out to meet him. Puzzled, Felix followed the scent, meeting up with Leo as he followed Ryan’s scent, both heading in the same direction.

  When they reached a stream, both scent trails abruptly ended. Felix swore in frustration.

  “He has her.”

  Leo shook his head. “You don’t know that. It’s possible that she had the same idea as us, to follow Ryan back to where he’s keeping Kara.”

  It was possible, but Felix wasn’t in the mood to listen to reason. Not with his mate out there.

  They continued to search, but couldn’t pick up either trail again.

  “Come on,” Leo said, clasping his shoulder. “We’re not doing any good here. We should go and see if we can help elsewhere.”

  Felix took one last look around, hoping against all odds that Sara would simply stroll out of the trees and yell at him for following her. There was nothing.

  He trudged through the woods, his steps heavy with grief. Where on earth was Sara?

  ***

  Where the hell was Ryan?

  Sara swore as she almost tripped, managing to catch hold of a tree. She’d been looking for hours and she still had no idea where Ryan had disappeared to. There was no way she’d be handing herself over to him, but she did need to find her sister. She had turned up at the meeting point early and hidden herself in the trees, waiting for Ryan to show up. He hadn’t brought her sister like he’d promised. Big surprise. She watched him and then followed him when he left. She’d trailed him for a short time, careful to stay out of sight and downwind. When he’d entered a stream, the scent had disappeared, and she hadn’t been able to pick it up again.

  Still, she wouldn’t give up. Her baby sister was out there and Sara needed to find her. So she’d continued to search the woods, using all her senses, but to no avail. Now she was exhausted and slightly lost. She hadn’t grown up in these woods, wasn’t familiar with them, and now she had been wandering for so long, that she was no longer sure of the way back.

  Not for the first time, she wished that she’d brought her phone, but the text message had been specific, and she had chosen to follow it in case Ryan caught her. Stupid. Her polar bear screamed at her inside her mind, demanding that they hunt Ryan down and kill him for hurting their sister. The bear’s attitude to Ryan had changed dramatically with her mating to Felix. No longer did it demand that she return to him or that she didn’t fight him. Ryan was nothing to the bear now, and she could no longer control her anger issues around him. No, now t
he bear was determined to maim Ryan for touching their little sister. Even as she wrestled the bear for control, she felt relief at being in sync with her other half again.

  Tripping again, she fell, sprawling over a log, the impact like a punch to her midsection. She slid down to the ground, arms wrapped around her stomach. Dammit, that hurt. The temperature was getting cooler, signalling the change into evening. The summer meant that there would still be plenty of daylight for a while yet, so at least that was something. Shifter or not, she didn’t want to be out here all night.

  She looked around. Kara could be anywhere. In fact, there was no guarantee that she was even in the woods. Should she keep looking anyway? She really didn’t want to leave her sister alone out here. Or maybe she should try to get out of the woods and find someone who knew them better than she did. She sighed. At this point, it made no difference. Either way, she had no idea where she was going.

  She pulled herself to her feet, wincing at the pain in her ankle. This was ridiculous. Scotland was not a large country, and the woods were not that big. It wasn’t like the United States where she could wander in the woods for days and not reach the end. There were no wild animals that would view her as a snack. No, if she could avoid wandering in circles, then she should be able to get out eventually, and the only animal she needed to worry about was Ryan. Besides, as a shifter, part animal, nature was supposed to be her friend. Getting lost in the woods would be embarrassing, so she just had to stop being a wimp and get on with it.

  She made her way through the trees, hobbling a little with the pain in her ankle. Nothing looked familiar, so she probably hadn’t been this way before. Unsure if that was a good thing or not, she kept going, forcing herself to put one foot in front of the other.

  Stopping in a small clearing, she spotted a group of rocks that she recognised. She’d been here before. Hours ago. Throwing back her head, she screamed in frustration, the sound startling birds from the trees. The light was finally starting to fade now, the shadows growing darker and more menacing. As a shifter, her eyesight was good, even in the dark, but still apprehension spread through her. Her legs gave out, sending her to the ground. So tired, so very tired, she just needed to rest for a while.

  Wrapping her arms around her legs, she held herself, rocking gently, wishing that it was Felix who held her. A tear slipped out, trailing down her cheek, and she brushed it away angrily. Felix would be worried by now. She hadn’t meant to upset him, hated the thought of him anxiously waiting for her. More than anything, she wished he was here.

  Pity she hadn’t told him where she was going.

  Chapter 17

  “Where the fuck is my mate?” Felix snarled, his hand around Ryan’s neck, holding him against the wall.

  He hadn’t been able to believe his eyes when he’d spotted Ryan wandering the streets this morning. Still, if Ryan was here, where the hell was Sara? Fury warred with panic, and the fury had won, snapping Felix’s self-control and having him drag Ryan into a side street.

  Ryan growled back, the polar bear clear in his eyes. He pushed at Felix, trying to get loose. No chance. Felix tightened his hold, allowing his claws to come out ever so slightly, pricking at the man’s neck. The man had a faint odour, something peculiar that was not his own natural scent. Whatever it was made Felix’s eyes water.

  “Where. Is. She?” he roared.

  “Did she come to her senses and leave you?” Ryan asked, his smirk making Felix tighten his grip once more.

  “You asked her to trade herself for her sister,” Felix growled. “Because we both know she’d never go to you willingly.”

  Ryan’s eyes flashed with anger. “And yet she did. After all, she did mate with me.”

  “That was an accident when she was defending herself,” Felix retorted. “And we fixed that.”

  Now it was Ryan’s turn to growl.

  “Where is she?” Felix demanded again.

  “No idea,” Ryan ground out. His face started to turn purple. Still, Felix had the sinking feeling that Ryan was telling the truth. There was anger in his expression, not just at Felix, but at the fact he truly didn’t know where Sara was.

  With a snarl, Ryan hit out at Felix’s stomach, claws extended. Grunting, Felix staggered back a little, losing his grip on the other man. Ryan charged him, but Felix was ready, crashing into the other man at the same time. Fists flew, snarls echoing in the street, as they hammered at each other.

  Felix sensed his opponent’s surprise that he wasn’t a pushover. Sure, Felix had a reputation for being calm, but he had also grown up with boisterous siblings. Just because he didn’t beat up his little sister for annoying the hell out of him, it didn’t mean he wasn’t capable of fighting like the rest of his family. Right now, Felix was pissed, and all bets were off. In their animal forms, not much could take on a polar bear, but in the middle of town and unable to shift, Ryan had no advantage. In fact, Felix was winning their fight, landing many more hits than he received. Clearly realising that he was losing, Ryan broke off and ran for the main street before Felix could stop him.

  Felix followed but couldn’t chase him down the street with witnesses around. Dammit. His lion roared inside his mind, demanding that they hunt him anyway. Despite the temptation, Ryan wasn’t his priority. Whatever was going on, neither Sara nor Kara were with Ryan, and finding the two women was his priority.

  He clamped his hand over his stomach where Ryan’s claws had slashed him. A little blood soaked through his shirt, but the cuts didn’t seem too deep. Nothing that wouldn’t heal by itself. His sister’s house was closer than his, so he made his way there, surprised to find Katie at home.

  “Shouldn’t you be at work?” he asked.

  “I took the day off to help search for Sara and her sister,” she told him. “I was just about to head out. Wanna come?”

  “Yeah, just give me a minute,” he said, fishing out the first aid kit from under the kitchen sink.

  “What happened?” Katie asked, taking the box from him and opening it.

  “I found Ryan,” he grunted, poking at one cut. “He clawed me.”

  Katie eyed him. “Did you manage to get anything out of him? Other than his blood.” She paused. “Is he still alive or do I need to look out my shovel?”

  “You assume I won?” he asked.

  She snorted at him. “I’m your sister. You might have other people fooled, but I know you. You’re every bit as tough as our brothers when you want to be.” She shrugged. “You just don’t sweat the small stuff.” She wiped a cut with antiseptic and he sucked in a breath. Man, that stung.

  “He ran away,” he told her. “I was kicking his ass, so he ran into the street where other people were around.”

  “Typical.” Katie sighed, placing little strips over his wounds to keep the cuts closed. “So we still don’t know where he has Sara.”

  “I don’t think he has Sara,” Felix admitted. “He was angry and I don’t think he knows where she is.”

  “What about Kara?” she asked, letting his shirt fall and packing away the first aid kit.

  He considered it carefully. “He did have her but not when I saw him. So, he’d need somewhere quiet to stash her.”

  “The woods?”

  “I doubt he’d leave her in the woods overnight,” Felix said, shaking his head. “He doesn’t care about her, but if anything happened to her, he’d lose his leverage. He needs to keep her alive, at least for now. Besides, if she got away from him, it’d be hard to find her out there. It’s more likely he has her inside a building.”

  “It would need to be somewhere quiet,” Katie pointed out. “No neighbours. Probably not too far from where he took her.”

  “Wouldn’t the police have checked around there?”

  “Yes, but they might have missed something,” Katie said. “I think we should check.”

  He sighed. “Yeah, it beats sitting around doing nothing.”

  They left the house a
nd made their way to where Kara’s car had been found. The scent of polar bear led into the woods.

  “Do we follow it?” Felix asked, looking at his sister.

  Katie shook her head. “No, it’s too obvious. He’s a shifter, and he knows we’d be able to track his scent.” She scowled. “If I was a psycho polar bear, I’d head off one way, and then find a way to dampen my scent and circle back round.”

  “Unless that’s what he wants us to believe,” Felix pointed out. Dammit. Which way should they go?

  “I think you’re giving him too much credit,” Katie said. “He’s a sneaky psycho, but he’s not the brightest or none of this would have happened.”

  Felix watched as Katie circled the area, sniffing and hunting for a scent. Stopping suddenly, she screwed up her face, making gagging noises.

  “Either a particularly rancid skunk passed by or Ryan went this way,” Katie choked, wiping at her eyes.

  “He cloaked himself with eau de skunk?” Felix asked. He stopped, staring at Katie. “When I saw him earlier, there was a trace of a smell about him. It was faint, and I wasn’t sure what I was smelling, but it could have been skunk.”

  “Come and sniff over here,” Katie suggested.

  He looked over at his sister, noting her watery eyes and the way she appeared ready to vomit.

  “Uh, no. I’m good.”

  She narrowed her eyes at him. “Felix. I am not following a skunk scent unless there’s a good chance it will find your mate or her sister.”

  “Do we even have skunks in this country?” Felix asked, frowning.

  Katie shrugged. “We’re not supposed to, but there are a few roaming about. Plus, some people keep them as pets. It’s possible this is an actual skunk, but it’s odd enough to make me suspicious.” She glared at him. “Now get the hell over here and tell me if this is what you scented from Ryan.”

  Grumbling, he made his way over to her and gingerly sniffed. Then coughed, gagging as the pungent scent took over. Katie whacked him on the back, a little overly enthusiastically.