Fated

Chapter 7: On the Hunt

Xander's POV:

"Are you honestly telling me no one took note of her address?" I growled, looking around the table.

They all avoided my gaze, looking ashamed. Except Nick, who was typing into his computer faster than I could speak, too busy to be ashamed. I sighed and waited as Nick continued typing, the only sound as everyone else seemed too nervous to speak.

"Okay, I think I've found her," Nick announced.

I quickly circled around the table and looked over his shoulder. It was a photography page. He clicked on about section and a picture of her came up with a description of her photography.

"It's not an address, but..." Nick scrolled down and at the bottom of her bio was a link to a gallery that her work was in. "It's in Seattle. She might not live in the city but it's a starting point. We might even be able to pick up her scent if she's been there recently."

"Seattle's crowded, it's going to be hard to pick up her scent," Tess pointed out.

"Not for me," I answered, clapping Nick on the shoulder before walking over to the clothes she left behind.

Cassie made another batch of the mate tracker and as soon as she did I could pick up Addie's sent more easily. Now the trail she left last night seemed stronger. I passed Addie's clothes around the table and everyone took a moment to breathe it in.

"Memorize it, pass it around to anyone else than can come with us."

"I think we should take cars," Tess announced, rising from the table.

"No, cars are slow," I said, shaking my head.

"Xander, if people see a bunch of wolves wandering around Seattle it's going to get suspicious," she pointed out. "Plus, if she's walking down the street we can't exactly approach her in wolf-form or naked. It's a better plan to go human."

I growled in frustration because she was right, I just hated taking the time. "Fine. Cars it is. Let's go," I ordered.

They all rose and two broke off to pass around her clothes while the rest of us got into cars. Tess took the driver's seat and I the passenger. Kaden rode in the back with Gina, one of our best trackers.

"Take a deep breath. If we find her and you're pissed you're just going to scare her off again," Tess said as she started the car.

"Stop lecturing me on how to be with my mate," I bit back, staring out the window.

Tess squared her jaw but didn't press it. We were all on edge. The moment the pack smelled her in the territory everything changed. I heard about it before, how finding the second leader changed everything in a pack. Lunas or Alphas with their mates didn't just complete their other half, they made the pack itself stronger and losing her was hitting them all hard. Tess and Kaden the most. Being closest to the Alpha, it also meant they were close to the Luna. I leaned back in my seat and prayed the blood-suckers or Rego wouldn't find her before we did.

The drive felt painfully slow despite Tess's arrest-worthy speeding. Once we hit the city I pulled up the address to the gallery and Tess parked near it. I smelled she'd been here but not for a while. I walked into the gallery with Kaden and Tess behind me. Gina went off to try to pick up her scent.

We walked in and were greeted by a woman who instantly took a liking to Kaden. He gave me a look before walking over to her and working his charm. I circled around the gallery, finding a wall that had her name on it. A bio was also on the wall, including the picture of her from her website. I set my hand on the picture. Her hair was down, wavy, surrounding her face. A small smile on her lips and those eyes.