Chapter 3 - Laurence

Now more than ever he needed to find Mateo. And he needed to find his mate and determine her connection to his private investigator.

Laurence finally made his way back to his brother’s house. He had no idea how long he had been running and burning off steam, but he needed to come back and discuss their next course of action.

His muscles ached from his rigorous run, but it was nothing compared to the empty feeling he’s been trying to ignore since he lost his mate.

Laurence’s frustration had died down a lot and now all he felt was a deep desire and motivation to find his mate. Her scent was forever engraved in his mind. He found himself thinking about it so much he thought he smelled it sometimes.

But it was only his imagination.

Laurence shifted and pulled his clothes back on. They were cool as they brushed against his sweaty skin, but he didn’t mind. He knew he would warm up pretty quickly.

Sauntering towards Levi’s cabin, he focused on what he would say and what his next course of action would be to find more information on where Mateo had ended up.

His mood lightened and a small smile tugged at his lips as he thought of seeing Doriane, his brother’s mate.

He remembered months ago when he found her, scared and helpless at the gas station. She had just escaped from a lifetime of horrid torture and was running from the men who promised her another lifetime of pain.

After saving her from the men, he brought her here to his brother’s pack. Levi’s attraction was instant as he recognized her as his mate. He couldn’t blame his brother for being so protective of his injured mate but Laurence wished he didn’t get so banged up from his brother’s possessiveness.

Levi had a horrible temper. Surprisingly, it had improved exponentially since he met Doriane, but every time Laurence would get around Doriane, Levi’s possessive side would come out and he’d get some kind of thump on the head or get shoved into the wall.

Now Laurence loved Doriane like a sister. Regardless of his physical punishments from Levi, he loved pushing his brother’s buttons and innocently flirting with the clueless woman, but never thought of her more than a sister.

She may be oblivious to a lot of things, but her understanding of how their world operated was not one of them. She had learned long and hard how cruel this world could be and she deserved such a beautiful ending with Levi.

Laurence didn’t bother knocking and opened the door to his brother’s cabin, welcoming himself in their comfortable abode. “Levi! I’m here!”

Laurence heard a light squeal before Levi stood in the entrance of the kitchen with arms folded and a stern look on his hard face. “Ever heard of knocking?”

Doriane peeked around from behind him, drying her hands on a towel. He new he must have startled her, but he felt little guilt for the action.

She was always jumpy.

“What are you making?” Laurence asked, gesturing to the flour smothered on Doriane’s shirt and cheek.

“Umm, bread. Sorry, it’s not done yet.”

“That’s fine, I’ve got plenty of time to wait. Why are you making bread at ten at night?”

Levi scowled, a look that he was always receiving from his older brother. “It’s past midnight. Doriane had a hard time staying awake, so she was baking to pass the time.

Laurence smiled, feeling proud of Doriane’s hobby.

He had passed a lot of his own recipes down to her and she loved branching out and building off of them. He knew Levi was also secretly glad to Laurence took the time to teach her because Levi wasn’t very good at cooking.

“Laurence, take it to my office.”

Laurence shot a wink at Doriane, who looked uncomfortable at his small action. “Until later, beautiful.”

Levi shoved Laurence roughly down the hall, leaving a small feeling of satisfaction in Laurence’s chest.

He could use a little pick-me-up anyway.

“Even finding your mate can’t keep you from flirting with my mate?” Levi grumbled, putting a slight damper on Laurence’s cheerful mood.

“What can I say? I saw her first.”

Levi slammed his phone on the desk and glared openly at his brother.

Before Doriane, he would have already been slammed into the ground and had his face punched out.

He was making progress.

Although, Levi knew that his mate was much too skittish for him to be acting so violently.

“You didn’t have to throw me,” Landon complained.

Levi rolled his eyes and fixed his phone he angrily threw on his desk. Landon was face-timing this time, dark bags and a slight scowl marring his worn face.

“Sorry to keep you up, Landon.”

“Oh, but you don’t mind keeping me and Doriane up?”

Laurence shrugged. “Nah. Doriane could have gone to sleep, you’re just lucky she’s smart enough not to sleep without your grumpy butt. Nobody wants to be around you when you are tired.”

“Laurence, enough. It’s late—just tell us what happened tonight,” Landon snapped, scooting closer to the camera.

Laurence felt the empty hole in his chest return at the reminder of what happened.

He carefully explained. Landon and Levi listened silently, letting him spew his information. When he was done, he felt the empty feeling in his gut return with a vengeance.

He already needed to go on another run to relieve the pressure gripping his chest.

“Who would have thought the great Laurence Baxter would find his mate. And that she would run away from him. I told you to stop sleeping around.”

Laurence held back a sharp retort from his accusation, knowing Levi was right.

It’s very possible the reason she left him tonight was because she recognized him and didn’t want to be stuck with a playboy.

“Why did she run away?” Landon muttered, not catching what Levi was trying to say. “You said she was a wolf; she would have known as quickly as you did that you were her mate.”

It was always a new girl every night. Just someone to fill his desire. He would seduce them, make them feel special, have a nice rump between the sheets, then leave them the next day.

Seemed like a win-win situation for both of them, especially when he found the right girl.

Though now he knew it was nipping him in the butt.

Admittedly, Laurence hasn’t been with anyone since he found Doriane. He and his brothers spent so much time and energy into finding the Arroyos and putting a stop to their illegal activities that he simply hadn’t had time.

The silence that hung between them was uncomfortable and Laurence couldn’t help but assume his brothers were no doubt thinking the same thing as he was.

Laurence was not fit to have a mate.

“Not to change the subject, but I have something else for you, Laurence,” Landon declared, feeling how uncomfortable it made Laurence feel.

Laurence nodded and Landon continued.

“I finally got a hold of the guys with the security footage we’ve been tracking. They agreed to meet us at one of their local bars tomorrow at noon.”

“What did they ask for in exchange for the footage?”

“Two grand.”

What.

The.

Heck.

There was no way he could give up that much money.

“You need that footage, Laurence. Without it, we are still at a loss of where Mateo is. This is our only real lead.”

Laurence tipped his head back and released a strained breath.

He already knew he was going to do it, he just hoped it gave him the reward he had been searching for.

“Alright. Text me the address. I will be there with the money.”