Chapter 4 - Eva

Eva finally slowed down enough to gulp in large lungfuls of air. She placed her hands on her knees and bent over slightly, trying to suck breath into her burning lungs.

She sprinted for almost a half a mile before she ran another two miles to reach the motel.

She trembled from the adrenaline still coursing through her veins and she crouched low to the ground, trying to catch her breath.

She had a mate.

The knowledge left a strange sensation crawling up her spine.

She had always believed the words of her previous Alpha, promising her she would never have a mate. Now that she found him, confusion gripped her more than ever.

Maybe she was mistaken? Maybe he wasn’t her mate.

Eva squashed the thought as she remembered his own pull to her. His silent promises, his immediate instinct to protect her, his reaction to touching her.

It had to be real.

Eva finally started breathing more regularly and stood up. She was still a little weary on her feet, but all she wanted now was to get back to her motel room and figure out what was going on.

Eva’s legs wobbled from exhaustion as she carefully waded through the branches and mud that led to the small motel at the edge of town.

She absolutely hated motels and their confined spaces, but she had to be living locally if she was going to find her brother.

A wave of guilt overcame her at the thought of Mateo. She knew that he was out there somewhere, being held against his will, and all Eva could focus on was her new mate, who she didn’t even know.

Eva finally crossed the threshold of her motel door and lazily slipped off her shoes while flicking on the lights. She sucked in a breath as she took in the small space, making sure she remembered where the windows were.

She hesitantly closed the door behind her and went over to open the windows, as if that would allow more space in the motel room.

She was always dancing on the line of privacy and claustrophobia.

She hated it.

Eva collapsed against her bed and let out a long breath, closing her eyes and envisioning that she was in a much larger space. Like her home.

Thoughts of her mate passed through her mind again, helping her calm down. She envisioned his chestnut hair and striking golden eyes. She remembered the way he held her as his body pressed tightly against hers, his hardness against her soft curves.

Just the thought of him pressed against her caused her stomach to tingle and her body to ignite with heat.

The reaction he evoked from her frightened and shocked her.

She had never had such a reaction towards anybody and kept every stranger at a distance. The fact that this man now swarmed her thoughts was enough to send her into a slight panic.

Eva shook her head and sat up, pulling out her phone. She clicked on the video from earlier that night, welcoming a distraction.

She needed to stay focused. Determined to stay away from her mate, she carefully studied every body and movement from earlier today, seeing if she could come up with another clue as to where her brother was.

-_-

Eva watched carefully as the men exited the building, one man in particular glancing around to look for prying eyes.

Keeping her distance, she knew there was no chance that he could see her from across the street. She pulled out her phone again, turning on the video and trying to capture the men’s faces and actions more inconspicuously.

The man looking around pulled the other guy to a stop. Eva watched as he stealthily pulled something from his pocket and slipped it into the other man’s, who paid no attention to the action.

Eva narrowed her eyes, trying to decipher what it was. The object was hidden again in a second, kicking up Eva’s curiosity.

The man nodded curtly and strode to a black Mercedes, quickly jumping in and slamming the door, the tires squealing as he tore out onto the street.

Bingo.

After three weeks of trying to bug the right car, Eva finally got her lead.

She quickly ran to her motorcycle and turned the key, giving it a quick start. She pulled out the small GPS tracker and found the car, pleased when she saw she was still close enough for it to work.

Without wasting more time, Eva sped after the car, careful to stay a significant distance away so that she didn’t draw suspicion.

For two long months, Eva had been pursuing every possible lead to find her brother. This was the last known location for Mateo, according to the GPS on his cell phone, and after narrowing it down to this lousy group of men, she had her focus.

They were slick, though. She had almost been caught so many times, including last night, and she knew they were onto her.

All she had to do was stay one step ahead of them.

Her drive was short as she came upon a small club at the edge of the city. It looked more like a motorcycle club with all the bikes around and the small building. A large bustle of people crowded into the building, overflooding it with too many people.

She knew this would be the perfect place to illegally slide information to someone.

Nobody would even notice.

Eva stepped off her bike and slipped the keys in the back pocket of her bag. Making her way into the crowded building, she made her way to the bathrooms in the back.

She quickly swapped her ratty clothes for a tight black dress, wanting to fit in.

Whoever he was giving information to, she had to seduce them and take the information. And in order to do that, she had to look the part.

Taking a deep breath, Eva stepped out to the bar, plan in mind as she searched for the man she followed here.