Once they were securely on her feet again, she didn’t waste any time, and ran in the opposite direction from where she had seen the dragon go. Well, at least she hoped it was the opposite direction. Knowing her luck at the moment, it was more likely to be the same way.
Running as fast as she could, Anya ignored the twigs and branches that whipped her as she passed. Anya didn't know how it was possible that her injuries were healed completely in such a short period of time, by rights she should be laid up in bed still, but she wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth.
Trying to keep her footing wasn’t easy. Anya was amazed she could see as well as she could, especially with the limited amount of light from the moon that managed to penetrate the canopy. Thankfully, she only tripped over a handful of times.
Anya didn’t get far before a female voice said, “I can help you get home.”
Jumping, she scanned the area for the source of the voice, but came up empty. Shaking it off as her imagination playing tricks on her, she carried on at a slower pace than before.
“You’re going in the wrong direction.” The voice came again, and again Anya looked around.
“Who are you?” Anya whispered.
“Someone who can help you escape this place, but only if you do as I say.”
“Why would you help me? You don't know me.”
“Look, we don't have time for twenty questions. Do you want my help or not?”
“Fine. Where are you?” she said quietly.
“I’m near the cave.”
“How the fuck can I hear you then?”
“I’m speaking in your head.” All that was missing was the ‘duh’ at the end. Anya could imagine the woman rolling her eyes as well, as if it should have been blatantly obvious.
“That’s not possible.”
“If it wasn’t possible, then how am I speaking to you this way?”
“How the fuck do I know, why don’t you tell me.”
“Well, I can either spend valuable time explaining the many ways it works, or I can give you directions to get out of here, but I don’t have the time or patience to do both. So, pick one, and be quick about it.”
She had to admit, she was a little intrigued about how the woman could speak inside her head, but more than anything right now, she wanted to go home. So, the decision was easy.
“Tell me the way.”
“Okay dokey, let’s get going. First of all, you’re going in the wrong direction.”
“Yeah, you already said that. Which way should I be going?”
“Turn clockwise ninety degrees. Then keep walking in a straight line until you come to a stream.”
Anya didn’t trust the woman, but after witnessing a man turn into a dragon, she didn’t really have any other chose.
“Why are you helping me?”
“Why not?”
“You don’t know me for one thing.”
“And that’s a reason not to help someone?”
“I suppose not, but if you don’t know me, how did you know I needed help?”
Anya walked in silence for so long she didn’t think the woman was going to answer, when finally, she did.
“Someone I know asked me to help you.”
“So, does that person know me?”
“Yes.”
The only person that came to mind was Sasha. She was the only person who would care enough about her to send someone to help her get out of this place. But if that was the case, then why didn’t she come herself? Maybe she did come as well, she might be waiting by the entrance to the cave along with the woman guiding her.
“I can hear the stream, which way do I go when I get there?”
“You need to follow it to the left. About two hundred yards down, there is a small crossing. Cross over there and continue until you reach the base of the mountain.”
“Okay.”
Following the directions, it wasn’t long before she came to the base of a mountain.
“Now where?”
“Halfway up the mountain there’s an outcropping, you should be able to see it from where you are.”
Easier said than done at this time of night. Anya thought, but as she looked up, she could clearly see the outcropping of rocks.
“Okay, I see it.”
“I’m just inside the entrance.”
“Okay, I’ll be there soon.”
Not wasting any time, Anya quickly made her way to the cave entrance. It was a steeper climb than it was to the other entrance, but it wasn’t as far up the mountain this side.
Anya finally reached the cave and was greeted by the mysterious woman.
“Hi Anya.”
“Hi.” Anya said, still not knowing the woman’s name.
“You can call me Kass.”
“It’s nice to meet you Kass, and thank you for helping me.”
“No problem. You ready to get going again? Or do you need a rest first?”
“I’m good to go.” And surprisingly, she was ready to go.
Normally Anya would have needed a rest after the distance she just covered, and that was on flat ground with no hills.
Anya followed her through the cave. This time it was dry inside the cave, so she could easily keep her footing. It was also lighter, which didn’t make sense to Anya. Even in the day, it should be too dark for her to see as clearly as she could.
“I can’t wait to get home.”
“I bet.”
“Do you know if Sasha is still here, or if she’s gone home already?”
“I honestly don’t know.”
“That’s okay, the hotel isn’t far away, I’ll stop in there on my way to the station.” It was only a slight detour on the way to the station, and she didn’t want to leave Sasha waiting at the hotel if she was still there.
Anya wanted to jump for joy when she stepped out the other side of the cave, and she might have if given the chance.
Just as she was taking a deep breath, Kass stood in front of her and blew a cloud of dust into her face. Before she could say anything, everything went black.
***
Kassadi didn’t feel bad about lying to Anya, she couldn’t. She did feel bad for what she did to Anya in London, no one deserved to have their lives altered so drastically without permission, and certainly not without knowing about it.
At the end of the day though, Anya meant nothing to her. There were more important people in her life that needed her more than an insignificant human ever would. Well, technically Anya was no longer just a human, but even still, she wasn’t Kassadi’s priority.
Still, she didn’t enjoy any of what she’s done, and if she hadn’t needed to do it, she wouldn’t have.
If Anya managed to live through what he has planned for her, then her life was going to be completely different.
Kassadi secretly hoped Anya did survive. She also hoped the wolf shifters caught up with him before he can do too much damage. If he didn’t have something she needed, she would aid the wolves. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case, and until he gave her what she wanted, she was stuck working for him.
Wishing she parked the car closer to the cave, she dragged Anya’s unconscious body the last few feet. Opening the back of the car, she picked up Anya and unceremoniously dumped her in the boot.
It was going to be a long drive to their destination, and Kassadi didn’t want anyone asking questions, which they were likely to do if they saw an unconscious Anya on the back seat of her car. She had no doubts the spell she cast on Anya would do its job and keep her asleep until she was ready to wake her up.
Climbing in the driver’s seat, she started the engine, slammed it into gear, and sped off.
CHAPTER TWENTY
The next morning Connor knew something was wrong before he even opened his eyes. He knew without a doubt Anya wasn’t in her bedroom. How he knew without looking was a mystery to him. Even still, he checked her room to be certain.
Bed neatly made, the bag of clothes Candi bought ro
und for her at the foot of the bed, and the items she had worn were folded and placed next to the bag.
Connor didn’t hesitate, if he was fast enough, he might be able to catch up with her before she made it through the portal.
As soon as he stepped on the back porch, he shifted into a wolf. Using the heightened senses of the animal, he easily picked up her scent. He breathed a sigh of relief when she appeared to be heading away from the portal. That relief was short lived, as she changed direction suddenly and was heading straight for the cave.
Picking up speed, he ran as fast as he could. Now that he knew she was definitely heading to the cave, he didn’t need to track her scent.
With his enhanced speed, it didn’t take him long to reach the cave entrance. Shifting back into his human form, it was easier to traverse the caves on two legs rather than four, he walked inside.
What the hell?
Connor didn’t know how it was possible, but Anya’s scent was gone, vanished. As soon as he stepped into the cave all sign of her vanished.
Searching the cave, he looked for any sign that she passed back through this way, or if anyone else has been here recently, but came up empty.
Frustration, anger, worry, fear, all those emotions boiled together inside him. He was frustrated with himself for not making it to the cave in time to stop her from going through, and because he now couldn’t find any trace of her. The anger was all towards himself as well. If he’d kept a better eye on her, or treated her better, she wouldn’t have got away, and maybe wouldn’t have been so eager to go home.
Worry and fear were all for her. He still didn’t know why he was dreaming of her, or what the dreams meant, and until he did, he would fear for her life. She could be in terrible danger, and there wasn’t anything he could do to protect her when he didn’t even know where she was.
There was nothing else he could do here, so he left the cave and made his way to Rush’s house. If anyone knew what to do next, it would be Rush.
By the time he reached Rush’s house, there was already people milling about inside and out. Connor let himself in and headed straight for Rush’s office.
The door was closed when he got there, so he knocked and waited. As much as he wanted to barge right in, he knew better than that, so he waited patiently for Rush to answer.
“Come in.” Rush shouted through the door after a minute.
Sat at his desk, Rush indicated for Connor to take a seat, but he was too agitated to sit.
“What can I do for you, Connor.” Rush asked casually.
“Anya’s gone.” He said without preamble.
“What do you mean ‘gone’?” Gone was the casual side of Rush.
With those two words, Connor managed to piss off Rush, and in under thirty seconds as well. That’s got to be world record for Connor. He supposed, there was always a first time for everything. But no matter how pissed Rush was with him, it was nothing compared to how pissed he was with himself.
“I mean she gone, as in no longer in this realm.”
“Weren’t you supposed to be watching her?”
“It’s not my fault, I was watching her, but I can’t watch her twenty-four-seven. I do have to sleep some time you know. She managed to sneak out after I went to bed last night.” Connor said furiously.
He was not going to be blamed for her getting away when there was nothing he could have done. Seriously, did Rush expect him to tie her up every night? Because that was the only way he could have possibly prevented her from leaving. Locking the doors would have been useless, she could easily unlock them. So, there was nothing he could do.
“At least tell me you’re closer to figuring out what danger she’s in.” Rush said, sounding irritated as he rubbed his forehead.
“No, but I fear if we don’t get to her soon, we’re not going to make it in time.”
“Fucking hell, this is why you were supposed to watch her closely.”
“I know.”
“Have you checked the cave?”
“Yes, I followed her scent there, but then it disappeared.”
“What do you mean? She’s human, she can’t hide her scent.”
“I don’t know how she’s done it, but as soon as I stepped in the cave, it was as if she vanished.”
“What the hell is going on.” Rush said, more to himself than to Connor.
Connor answered anyway. “I don’t know.”
“I know you don’t, otherwise you wouldn’t be here would you.”
“There’s more.” Connor said, regrettably.
“What?”
“She might have seen Balzar last night.”
“What do you mean?”
“He turned up at my house, in his dragon form.”
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me?”
“Unfortunately, I’m not.”
“Did she see him?”
“I don’t know, she had already gone to bed before he turned up, so she might have been asleep.”
“Anything else?” Rush asked.
“Just one more thing.”
“What?”
Connor started pacing, he was hoping not to divulge this bit of information, but if it played any part in her running off, he needed to tell Rush.
“I slept with her the night before.”
Rush didn’t say anything for a couple of minutes. Looking down at his desk, he massaged his temples as he thought about everything Connor just told him before saying anything.
“I had a feeling that might happen.”
Connor couldn’t have been more shocked if Rush had got up and punched him in the face.
“You…what?” Connor stopped pacing and stared at Rush.
“Seeing you with her in medical, and the dreams you’ve been having of her, it only made sense.”
“What made sense?”
“That she’s your mate.”
“She’s not my mate.” Connor said adamantly.
“Are you sure about that?” Rush asked him.
“Of course, I’m sure.”
“So, you would be fine never seeing her again? If that’s the case, we might as well not bother looking for her.”
Connor growled. Over his dead body would they not look for her.
The thought of never seeing her again… no, that just wasn’t an option. Connor didn’t care what it took, he was going to find her, because he didn’t want another minute to pass without her in his life. That’s when it finally clicked.
“She’s my mate.” Connor said, stunned at the revelation.
“I would say so, yes.”
“I can’t lose her.”
“I know.”
“What are we going to do?”
“There’s not a lot we can do at the moment.”
“I can’t just sit here and do nothing.” Connor snapped.
“I didn’t say we were going to do nothing, just that there isn’t much we can do at the moment.”
“You’re not making any fucking sense Rush.” Connor was losing his patience. He wanted to be out looking for Anya, not trying to decipher what Rush was babbling on about.“What aren’t you telling me?”
“Quite a lot actually, but most of its shit you wouldn’t be interested about anyway.” Rush said.
“I mean about Anya, what aren’t you telling me about Anya?”
If Rush didn’t spill the beans soon, Connor was likely to punch him square in the face, and that would definitely be a bad idea. Rush was easy going the majority of the time, but if you pissed him off, you had better run for cover.
“Well, for starters, her friend Sasha paid me a visit.” Rush told him.
“Really?” Connor asked.“How did she know Anya was here?”
“Because Sasha isn’t human.”
“What did she tell you about Anya?”
“Not a lot, she was more interested in asking me questions than answering mine.”
“How do you know Sasha isn’t human?”
“Because she appea
red out of thin air in my office the day we found Anya.”
“And you waited this long to say anything?”
“There wasn’t anything to say. She appeared, told me hers and Anya’s name, asked me what happened to Anya and where we found her, then told me to look after her, and disappeared again. So, tell me Connor, what did you get from learning all that?”
Yeah, maybe Rush was right, none of what he just said gave him anything to go on really.
“So, we’re back to square one.” Connor said.
“I wouldn’t say that. I do have my own way of finding out information, or have you forgotten?”
Connor could have kicked himself. All this time trying to figure out who she is by getting to know her, and he could have just gone to the tech unit and got one of them to dig up everything they could find about her.
“I see you’ve finally clicked?” Rush said, with one eyebrow raised.
“Yes.”
“About bloody time.”
“So, what did you find out?”
“Her current address, place of work, which doctors she’s with, her past, everything.”
“That’s great! What are we waiting for? Let’s go.”
“Unfortunately, none of that is going to help us.”
“Why the fuck not?”
“Because somebody has gone to great lengths to conceal her scent, why would they do that if they were just going to take her home where we can easily find her?”
“They wouldn’t.”
“So, whoever is aiding her, knows who we are and how to avoid being tracked by us. They are also more than likely the very same people who intend on harming her.”
Connor couldn’t fault Rush’s logic, but it didn’t get them any closer to Anya either.
“Don’t worry, Connor. We’re not giving up on her, we just need to figure out where we go from here.”
Even if Rush was going to give up, there was no way Connor could now. Not with the realization that she’s his mate.
***
Sasha wasn’t having any luck finding out what had happened to Anya. She knew something had gone down in the ally around the corner from where Anya lived, she just didn’t know what.
She could feel the magic that was used in the area, and there was a faint smell of wolf around one of the large bins. Other than that, there was nothing.
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