— Kaden —
‘Hey boss,’ said Mishka through the mindlink.
Everything was pa
— Kaden —“I found it,” said Jean-Philippe on the other side of the line.The info we had found on Elaeya’s position had been
— Kaden —“We got words they know we’re coming and have called up the cavalry,” told me Jaxx.“Huh,” said Mishka
— Elaeya —We grabbed the fuel. I opened the door and splashed it in the direction the men went. I knew there was no other way out. Tamarak came in after me and splashed another can. His hands were nearly back to their normal size now.
— Kaden —“What’s the report,” I asked Darren from a small room next to Elaeya hospital room.“First, how is she?&rdquo
— Elaeya —I woke in a familiar hospital room. Kaden was there. I tried to smile and tell him I was okay and to wipe those worries off his face, but the words caught it my throat. The place smelt clean and fresh, but there was this echo of filth, and blood, and gore that came back to me and refused to go way.
— Kaden —I was sitting on the stone wall that surrounded the barracks with Sam, drinking beer and trying to stay away from the office for a while.The day was beautiful. The sun was bright, but there were enough clouds to diffuse its intensity without darkening the sky. It was warm, but not too humid, and the breeze made training more comfortable.
— Kaden —I came out of the plane two hours ago, and was already through with the meeting. It hadn’t been that complicated. Nubinero had refused all our demands. This was the last minute-ditch effort to end things peacefully but their forces and mine were already in position for battle. Weeks of back and forth. I wasn’t that invested in the matter, but a few of my allies were, so I did them the curtesy of indulging them a bit.
— Kaden — I began to panic.We were heading to battle, but I smelled my mate. I smelled my mate!I tried to track the direction the smell came from but the it was so faint I could hardly notice it. I moved in circles half in a daze. I found a line, a line she must have been traveling, but I couldn’t tell which way she came from and which way she was going. And I tried to sniff both ways to see which seemed the strongest, the freshest.Sam noticed my change in behaviour and got closer. When I noticed him, I raised my hand to make him stop. I was afraid his sheer presence would make me lose her scent.It wasn’t completely irrational either as my own scent on her tracks was enough to nearly destroy what little clue I had.I went in further.I followed one side of the track all the way to a small stream, then I lost her. I checked all over, on the other side, everywhere. The track ended here. My best guess was she walked in the stream for a while, the water masking her scent.I didn’t rea