[Travis’s POV]
"Here’s your latte." A waitress who was being much too friendly announced, "Is there anything else I can get you?"
"Uh-hum." I bit back the laugh that wanted to escape as my eyes took in Kim’s pursed lips and clearly narrowed eyes that were hidden by large sunglasses. "Did you forget my drink?"
"Oh, I..." the waitress stammered, clearly seeming uncomfortable. "I’m so..."
"Sorry," Kim chirped, flashing her teeth. "Then get to it!"
I watched as the waitress quickly scurried off, leaving just Kim and I at our table. Letting out a chuckle, I met Kim’s amused gaze.
After Thomas’ news, we had agreed to come to town the following day to keep an eye out for Marissa. Apparently, she had appeared in this area multiple times in the past few weeks. I could only hope that today was one of the days that she showed.
"You know, if Marissa saw that, she’d beat the shit out of you." Kim pointed out now, causing my light-hearted mood to crumple completely. "Oh, whoops."
"It’s fine." I sighed, lifting my drink and taking a sip. "I know that you meant well."
"Mmm." Kim purred as the waitress returned with her berry tea. "Thanks sweetie," she giggled as the waitress scurried off.
Rolling my eyes, I began to take in the area around us. Due to it being a Saturday, the streets were filled with people moving about enjoying the day. If we wanted to find Marissa, we'd have to keep a close eye on her to avoid getting lost in the crowd.
"You know what would be easier?" Kim mused, tapping the table in front of us with a manicured finger. "Using those alpha senses of yours."
"Oh, right."
Shit, I needed to calm down. I wasn’t even thinking straight right now.
Closing my eyes, I began to reach out, searching the area for the familiar energy that I knew to be Marissa’s. I had to admit that with all the different energies around me, it was proving to be difficult. However, I continued to push, reaching out as far as I could until suddenly... there... in an alley with an odd energy that was neither human nor wolf... was Marissa’s comforting energy.
"Found her." I hissed, my eyes flying open. "Come on!"
"W-wait!" Kim gasped, getting up and beginning to follow me. "Are you serious? That quickly?"
I didn’t bother responding as I waded through the crowds, being cautious not to bump anyone or knock them over.
"Travis!" Kim called. "Slow down! Do you know how suspicious we look right now?"
"I don’t care!" I called.
I didn’t care. I didn’t give a damn if I looked like a fucking criminal. My missing mate had reappeared and I would be damned if I was going to let her get away.
"Come on! In this alley!" I called, motioning for Kim to follow.
This was it. She was here. She was actually here. Unable to contain my joy at finally getting to see her again, I rounded the corner and let my eyes rest on the scene ahead.
There was Marissa, but she didn’t look like my Marissa, and she was sitting on the chest of a man with much too pale skin and glowing red eyes. He was saying something in a language I didn’t understand while she held a knife to his throat.
"Who..." Kim murmured, coming up beside me. "Is that?"
"Marissa." I responded, taking in the woman with the short blonde hair and a full figure wrapped tightly in black leather.
Suddenly noticing our presence, she looked at me with those all-too familiar piercing blue eyes that were filled with confusion and then hesitance.
"These your buddies?" She demanded, pressing her knife harder against the man's skin. "Didn’t I warn you not to call your friends?"
"N-no," the man gasped as Marissa yanked her blade hard enough to cut deep into the man’s skin.
"Sorry, but I don’t believe you." She laughed, getting to her feet as the man began to bleed out. "You’ve proven to be useless anyway, but maybe these two will have the information I’m after."
Finished with the man, Marissa turned her attention to me and Kim as a vicious smile began to form on her face. Flashing a toothy smile, she moved forward, almost so quickly I could barely keep up with her movements.
Wow, I wasn’t sure exactly what she had gone through these past two years, but she was much stronger and more agile. Taking advantage of my distraction, she leapt up, letting her legs wrap around my neck and then twisted, sending both of us crashing to the ground. Before I could get myself together, she jumped up and sat on my chest and pressed her knife, which was still covered in blood, against my skin.
"No sudden moves, kid." She warned me as Kim prepared to assist me. "Otherwise, I’ll kill him."
"Woah, woah." Kim gasped, holding up her hands. "We aren’t your enemy."
"It’s fine, Kim." I said, shooting her a look. "Just stay back."
"Best to listen to him, sweetie." Marissa purred, fixing her now red gaze on mine. "I’m not particularly fond of the thought of having to kill a child, so just run along."
"Marissa," I said slowly, letting a slow smile spread across my face. "It’s really you."
"Who?" She asked, seeming confused. "Who the hell is Marissa?"
"You." I responded, confusion beginning to rush through me. "Don’t you remember?"
For a moment, Marissa didn’t speak as she considered what I was saying. I wasn’t sure exactly what was going on, but from the look she was giving me, it was clear she didn’t believe a single thing I was saying.
"Do you not remember your own mate?" Kim asked, unable to stay silent. "Or your best friend?"
"Is this some type of trick?" Marissa asked, frowning. "Do you think if you make me believe that we are somehow associated that I will spare your life?"
"What happened to you?" I whispered, trying to make sense of what was going on here.
"Do you think that snap fried her brain?" Kim tried, seeming slightly intrigued. "Does this mean that I may be able to steal her from you after all?"
"Don’t you even try?" I growled, shooting her a glare. "Marissa is mine!"
"Says who?" Kim countered.
"Could you both shut up?" Marissa growled, pressing her blade harder against my skin. "I don’t have time for this!"
Didn’t have time? What exactly was she even doing, and why was she beginning to seem anxious?
"What’s going on?" I demanded, unable to control my anger at whatever was haunting Marissa. "Where have you been all this time?"
Before Marissa could respond, a dark figure appeared at the end of the alley and whistled. Cursing under her breath, Marissa jumped up and made her way towards it without saying a word.
"Wait!" I gasped, scrambling to my feet and making my way towards where they stood.
"Stay back!" Marissa warned as a cloud of smoke suddenly surrounded them. "Count your blessings, wolf!"
With that, the smoke disappeared, leaving nothing but an empty space where the figure and Marissa had just been standing. She was gone, and I was now left hoping that I would be able to find her again.
[Marissa’s POV]"What were you doing?" Davison demanded, slamming his hand on the wall behind me. "Why didn’t you kill him on the spot?"I eyed the hand that was now resting beside my head while trying to keep my anger in check. I knew something about that man was different, but what was it and why was Davison so angry about me meeting him?"Who is he?" I asked slowly, meeting Davison’s dark gaze. "It seems that you really dislike him."Remaining silent, I took in his expression as he considered my question. For a second, I could have sworn there was a flicker of something in his eyes, but before I could figure out what it was, it was gone."That doesn’t matter." Davison huffed, taking a step back. "Just remember, the next time you see him, kill him.""Right."Nodding, I found my mind wandering to the man in question. Something about him and the way he felt when we touched seemed so familiar, but I didn’t know why. Was he someone from my past? Or was I just overthinking this? Either w
[Travis’s POV]A string of profanities escaped me as I continued to stare at the spot where Marissa had just been. How in the hell was it possible that I just had her within reach and she was once again gone? This was some sick twist that fate had dealt me, and I wasn’t a fan."Travis," Kim murmured, coming up beside me. "We should head back and inform the others of what happened.""Mmm."She was right; I couldn’t just stand here feeling sorry for myself over what happened. I needed to come up with a game plan. If Marissa had appeared here once, there was a good shot she would come again. I just needed to get a feel of her schedule so I could be in the right place at the right time."Right," I huffed, beginning to move. "Can’t let this get me down.""That’s right!" Kim chirped, beginning to skip behind me. "That’s the big guy I know.""Could you stop calling me that?" I sighed, feeling a twinge of annoyance at her nickname for me. "Nope." Kim giggled. "You’re big guy and will always
[Marissa’s POV]An odd chill raced down my spine as I stared straight ahead at the black car that was pulling up in front of us. I could only assume by Davison’s sudden perking up that this was the person that he had been waiting for; the very important guest.I bit back any questions I may have had about the identity of this person to have even the mighty Davison on edge. and waited with baited breath as the car came to a stop.Slowly, the front passenger side door opened and a man dressed in a black suit with black sunglasses hopped out. Making his way around, he stopped at the back driver's side door and began to open it, allowing a large man dressed in all red with a pencil mustache and bushy brows to step out.Letting out a yawn, the man looked around the area until his eyes met Davison. Immediately, his bored expression changed to one of excitement as he opened his arms wide and let a broad smile spread across his face."Davison!" He boomed, beginning to move forward. "Oh, how l
[Marissa’s POV]I held my breath as Davison considered Xavier’s request. If that bastard turned around and agreed, I would turn this whole fucking mansion upside down. It was one thing to use me to get revenge on someone, but another thing entirely to give me away as a prize."We will discuss this again after I’ve managed to achieve my goal." Davison said slowly, keeping his gaze fixed on Xavier’s.At his words, I released a breath I didn’t realize I was holding."Fair enough." Xavier shrugged.All serious conversation died down after that and was reduced to simple small talk as the two men ate their meals and drank. Once it was over, Xavier insisted that he needed to head out for other business, and I was finally allowed to leave, as I had another mission to handle for Davison. According to him, if I failed again, he would be sure to throw me in the hold for a week, meaning that I couldn’t fail. I could only hope that I didn’t end up running into any distractions like I had the last
[Marissa’s POV]I braced myself as the hunters began to make their way towards me. Behind me, I could hear Travis let out a growl as a powerful aura erupted from him. I had to admit, it was impressive. I hadn’t felt anything that strong, not even from Gregory or Davison."Stay back." Travis hissed, grabbing my shoulder and giving a tug. "I’ll handle these guys.""No," I shot back, shaking him off. "I’m not some damsel that needs your help."Extending my claws, I surged forward, leaping out of the way of an arrow that threatened to pierce my chest."Nice try." I beamed, grabbing the hunter's weapon and pushing it into his chest. "I’ll take this." I continued as he bent over to gasp.I yanked the weapon from his grasp and brought the butt of it down between his shoulders, sending him sprawling. Pulling the trigger, I let an arrow land in the back of his head, sending blood and brain matter splashing onto my clothes and the floor.Not wasting any time, I turned and aimed for another, lan
[Travis’s POV]I watched as Marissa made her way out of the building, leaving me utterly alone with all the dead hunters, which were beginning to smell. Even though I knew I shouldn’t follow her, I couldn’t stop the urge to know exactly what she was up to.‘Ace,’ I called through mindlink, deciding it was best to get these bodies taken care of before more hunters arrived. ‘I need you to do me a favor.’‘What is it, Alpha?’ Ace’s concerned voice responded.‘There is a pub on main street that needs to be…cleaned.’ I said, showing him an image of the pub itself and then the dead bodies. ‘You and a few others come and take care of this for me.’ I continued.‘Are you alright?’ Ace asked immediately, his concern radiating through our link. ‘What happened?’‘I’ll explain later.’I didn’t have much time. Otherwise, I feared that Marissa would disappear entirely and then I would have to wait an unforeseeable amount of time to find her again.‘Just get it done.’With that, I cut off our connect
[Travis’s POV]The packhouse was alive with activity when I arrived, from guards taking extra precautions due to the appearance of hunters, to curious pack members trying to get the latest gossip. However, as I drew closer, all eyes fell on me, or rather, the woman that nestled in my arms.Bracing myself for whatever questions were to come next, I continued to move, only stopping when the door of the pack house burst open and Kim toppled out, followed by Simon and Thomas."You found her!" Kim beamed, bouncing towards me. "But why is she unconscious?""Later." I sighed, beginning to move again. "For now, come with me to the infirmary so that the medic can do a full evaluation of her."Is she hurt?" Simon asked, frowning. "What did you do to her?""Nothing," I snapped, trying to push back my annoyance. "Why the hell would I do anything to harm my mate.""She is unconscious in your arms, you know?" Thomas chuckled."Who invited him?" I demanded, shooting the overly-cocky Thomas a glare.
[Marissa’s POV]The room around me grew silent as Travis’s words settled. He was a father... a father.. meaning that he was Kayden’s father. Although I had a feeling that was the case, given my mark that glowed brightly on Travis’s neck and the undeniable connection I felt to him, hearing those words shook me to my core."Wait, wait, wait," Kim said, her eyes growing wide. "Repeat that.""I said," Travis beamed, his eyes flashing with pride. "I’m a father."For a moment, no one spoke as Kim and I continued trying to make sense of what Travis was saying."Holy shit!" Kim laughed, rushing forward and wrapping her tiny arms around both of us. "Congratulations, big lug!"Tensing, I tried to break free of the overly invasive hugging that was happening. Sure, this was a big moment, I got it, but now wasn’t the time to celebrate. Kayden was trapped in Davison’s clutches, and if I didn’t get back soon, there was no telling what that insane bastard would do to him."What’s wrong, Marissa?" Kim