\[Rosco’s POV\]
I stand behind Marty as he scans the cameras around the city, trying to find a sign of Denali’s whereabouts, but it was almost as though she had disappeared entirely. How was it possible that she could be a ghost roaming around the streets without being spotted at all? Unless…
“Someone messed with the video footage,” I hiss.
“Yeah,” Marty agrees. “Whoever has her really doesn’t want her to be found, but that doesn’t mean that it is impossible.”
Impossible… I didn’t want to hear that fucking word, not when it came to locating my mate. Every minute she wasn’t with me was a minute that anything could happen. But if we couldn’t find her this way, what other way was there?
“We may need to hunt for Elise instead,” Marty says, reminding me that there was one more option. “Maybe if I hack into her phone, I can find her most recent ping.”
As he speaks, he begins to click away at his keyboard, running Elise’s number and tracking her whereabouts, but just like Denali, she seems to disappear and can’t be found past the day she visited Marty’s place.
“Fuck,” Marty growls, clearly coming up empty. “They really are covering their tracks, aren’t they?”
“Clearly,” I huff in frustration. “If we can’t find them using technology, then what is another option?”
Frowning, I tried to consider what other option there was. Sure, I could attempt to track them, but since the streets were alive with many different energies, it would be damn near impossible to pinpoint just one. Since tracking was out of the picture, we could recruit the help of a mage who could possibly find her from something she had a special connection with, but again, I wasn’t sure we had enough time for that, so what other options were there?
“That mark!” Marty suddenly announces, snapping me out of my head. “It’s Denali’s, right?”
“That’s right,” I confirm, lifting my fingers and brushing the spot that Denali marked me.
“Then you two have a connection,” he points out. “Maybe if you tried, you could find her by using that connection.”
Using the connection... I never thought of something like that, but how effective would it be since I had yet to mark her? Wouldn’t that leave me hitting a wall? I didn’t know, but I was willing to try anything.
“What is the plan?” I ask Marty, not wanting to waste any time.
“Give me a few minutes to concoct something.”
Nodding, I watch as he gets up from his seat and makes his way out of the suvellaince room, leaving me alone.
Sighing, I take a seat and stare at the many screens in front of me while trying to ignore the fear that is building in me.
“Please be okay,” I whisper, closing my eyes and pressing my hands together. "Please, goddess, keep Denali safe until I find her.”
I remain in place, begging to the heavens, until the sound of footsteps reaches me. Only then do I open my eyes and wait until Marty makes his way around me so he can pass me a steaming mug.
“What is this?” I ask, giving it a sniff and then gagging. “It smells like shit.”
“It will strengthen your connection with your mate,” Marty explains.
Nodding, I take a tentative sip and try not to hurl. Goddess, this tasted like shit, and I couldn’t help but wonder if this was some joke on Marty’s part.
“Don’t worry,” he laughs, catching onto my train of thought. “I wouldn’t do anything to you during such a serious situation.”
“If you are, I’ll break every one of your bones,” I warn, downing the rest of the liquid in one gulp.
Once it is finished, I pass the cup back to Marty and then begin to get comfortable as warmth starts to seep through me. With each passing minute, it grows stronger and stronger until I feel almost as if I am floating.
“Explain again how this works.” I say, feeling my eyes grow heavy. “What will it…”
“You’ll know soon enough.”
If Marty says anything else after that, I wouldn’t know, as the world around me begins to slowly disappear, and when it starts to shift and change, I find myself in what looks like an office with Alexander staring straight at me.
What? I hiss silently, taking in his look of excitement. What the hell is going on here?
Slowly, I begin to take in the scene until I spot Elise standing behind a desk, watching with a look of annoyance and even rage. Just by that single expression, I know who the one Alexander is currently standing in front of is, and when it feels as though my body begins to move, I can see her.
She looks worn out, and her pants are covered in blood, but she seems to still be in one piece. However, from our connection, I can feel the pain that radiates through her and the fear.
‘Denali,’ I hiss, hoping beyond hope that she can hear me. ‘Where are you?’
For a moment, I am met with silence, and I begin to wonder if my asking questions is useless, but when I feel her essence press against mine and relief flood through her, I know that she can feel and hear me.
‘Rosco,’ she sighs, keeping her gaze fixed on Alexander.
‘Where are you?’ I repeat.
Growing quiet, I wait as she fixes her gaze on a window that sits just behind Elise. Through the window, I can spot the top of a large cathedral and immediately know where she is.
‘Do what you need to stay safe,’ I say quickly. ‘I’ll come for you soon!’
‘Okay,’ Denali rasps, her exhaustion evident. ‘Please hurry; there are more here than just me.’
‘More?’ I repeat, feeling shock rush through me. ‘What do you mean more?’
‘The slave trade,’ she explains as Alexander begins to lean in closer. ‘Alexander is the ring leader of all of it!’
‘You don’t say,’ I hiss, feeling a rush of excitement. ‘It seems that we are about to end all of this.’
‘Yeah,’ she agrees. ‘It’s almost over.’
Not wanting to waste any more time, I break my connection with Denali and find myself back in Marty’s surveillance room, with the man himself staring at me expectantly.
“Well?” He urges when I slowly get up and try to shake off the last bit of haziness I’m feeling. “Did you locate your queen?”
“I did,” I respond, beginning to move. “And I found the one responsible for the illegal slave trade.”
“Oh goody,” Marty claps, making his way out of the room and toward his weapons cabinet. “Then I can only assume that we are about to have some fun.”
“So much fun that your little murderous mind may explode.”