Miracle of the Moon Goddess

6: Portal Hunting

Sam’s POV, the day Angel disappeared:

“Meet me outside the Great Hall. We are going portal hunting!” I order Special Agent Sarah Black through the mind link. Her response is immediate and quick.

I don’t need her to confirm that she has partially shifted, like me, and that before she did anything else, she grabbed two bags of supplies, ready to use in an instant should we need it. We never knew this day would come, but we are as prepared for it as we can ever be.

I feel out for my sweet Angel. Her bond is still somewhat there. My only hope is for not all portals to be closed and the sensation of our bond is enough for me to not despair. I’m not sure where to look for a portal, but part of my plan is to focus on our bond.

Since her bond got diminished by the portal closing my theory is that it will become stronger if I find another portal. I hope our bond is a compass to another portal. It might be a fool’s hope, but I’ve always been a fool near my mates.

“Alpha Daniel Forest!” My mind calls to Angel’s brother.

His mind accepts mine at once, despite being in the middle of a battle. The attack on his pack lands is still going strong, but I cannot help him. My priority is to save Angel. “Name places you know the Moonless have been!” I order him, using my kingly alpha aura.

“Hotel Divine, and the place where Cherry was kidnapped to,” is all he can come up with on short notice. Not bothering to explain further, I close my mind to him as I enter the Great Hall. Black does the same and tosses me one of her bags.

“Daniel suggested Hotel Divine and a call to Angel’s friend to ask where she was kidnapped. What do you think?” I ask her.

She doesn’t bat an eye before she answers. “Hotel Divine is less likely; too many people. To be sure, I recommend you go search there while I talk to the friend.”

Sarah is far better at gathering intelligence than me, so I accept without hesitation.

“I’ll take the helicopter to the city, if you don’t mind. Easier to talk on the phone,” she adds.

I think about joining her so that I can save my energy. On the other hand, I cannot sit still long enough for the helicopter to be a safe option. I settle the backpack over my shoulders and shift entirely to my wolf so that I can use the extra speed the four legs give me. Then I make the run for it, throwing out my senses to ensure I notice any nearby portals.

Running without a pause, I enter the city within the hour, and I’m at the hotel fifteen minutes later. Black has clearly warned them, as there are almost no people in the hallway. From the sound of it, everyone is in the restaurant and away from me. Staff members are at most doors, so I don’t need to stop for a partial shift back to my human form. They open the doors for me, and my search becomes quicker for it. Going straight into the basement, I sense nothing. Taking the stairs up towards the top, I still can’t feel anything, as expected. I take the elevator down again, needing a short breather.

“Hotel Divine negative,” I mind link to my friend. “Where to next?”

“Cherry spoke of an empty warehouse. She heard little activity outside of it. My guess is one right south of the city where farmers store the harvest. It’s not used much outside of season.” Her voice is clear and concise. She also gives me foggy visuals of what she is doing. She’s on her computer, searching for other clues as the helicopter flies her south of the city.

“Affirmative,” I respond, closing the link again.

As I keep running through Haven City, I let all my senses out again, trying to pick up anything I can find. I feel for the bond I have with Angel and notice how it gets weaker every time a portal closes. In a way, it confirms my theory, but I cannot help but despair that I’m running out of time and portals.

Even if I’m mostly focused on the bond with my sweet Angel, I do not forget to use my nose. If I’m lucky, I will pick up elven scents, or her scent even. That would be my favorite option and the thought of burying my nose in her neck right almost makes me lose my concentration. I will not let those bastards get her for long!

As I run by a police car, my ears pick up something from the police radio that makes me halt. Something in my gut tells me to listen in. “All units respond, all units respond. There is an altercation on bus number 25, Seaside, Hollywood Street. Possible hostage situation. Child involved. Best speed possible.”

I freeze in my step. Something inside me tells me to run towards Seaside, but it’s northwest of my position. The warehouses Black mentioned lie further south, and my time is limited. Black usually knows best. Her instincts are immaculate with these sorts of investigations. Still, I have a gnawing feeling inside me.

“Black, who do we know living at Seaside?” I link to her while I run to the destination she has already told me to check out. I can’t stand still, no matter what. That will be fruitless.

“What, in the fancy part of town?” she answers, suddenly letting her upbringing shade her speech pattern. “Most celebrities who do not want to live Downtown. Why?”

“A gut feeling,” I tell her honestly. “I overheard a police radio of something happening there, but nothing came to mind. It feels wrong to run away from the altercation and not towards it.”

“Okay. I’ll do research.” Hearing a helicopter flying over me, I look up. It’s too dark to see if it’s Black, but she gives me the answer. “Take two rights and a left. I’ll meet you at the park. I’ve got something of Cherry for you to smell.”

“Affirmative,” I link back and do as she says.

When I’m at the edge of the park, she throws me a hairbrush. I catch it, partly shifted, standing on my human feet and using my human hands. I use my time to get to know the scent of Cherry before I add the brush to my bag. By the time I’m done, Black is back at the helicopter with a headset and a laptop, ready for some research. I, on the other hand, set off to the south.

My body is getting exhausted, but I ignore it. No matter where I am tomorrow, I will feel it, though. I’ve been sitting still for too long lately, so I’m not at full strength. But for a lycan wolf to feel sore after too much exertion is not an everyday occurrence.

I ignore Rory as he tries to contact me through our mate bond. It will break my heart again if his pain is added to my own. I’ve already locked away the heartache of Angel as much as I can, so I can concentrate on the task at hand. She needs me right now, and that is the most important thing to focus on. He will understand, even if this is hurting him.

When I get to the place Black sent me, I sniff around. I cannot sense any sign that Angel is closer, and the smell of Cherry is nowhere to be found. Entering them one by one, I see nothing, only stacks of empty boxes ready to be filled in a month or so.

“Warehouses negative for Cherry,” I link to Black. She doesn’t answer but lets me overhear her phone conversation.

“Yes, she kept her ex-mate a secret, afraid of what he might do,” the voice of Andrè comes in clear enough through the mind link. “He suddenly showed up today and tried to kidnap Betty and Lucas.”

“But you are okay now?”

“Yes,” he answers, but I can hear him wince. He’s hurt, but will live.

“Do you think the ex-mate might have worked with the Moonless?” I link to Black. She doesn’t answer me but continues her conversation, gathering more information.

“Thank you for your information, Andrè Ericson. We think he might have been in league with the people who kidnapped Queen Angel. This will help the further investigation.” Black sounds so matter-of-fact, but our connection reveals that her mind is on her own missing mate.

“What?” Andrè responds, half dazed.

“The Queen has been kidnapped, and we are doing what we can to get her back. I have to continue the search,” Black is about to hang up, but suddenly she adds: “Please inform her sister.”

“I will tell her tomorrow; she needs rest first. Thank you, Special Agent Black.”

Black turns quiet after hanging up on Andrè, but I feel she’s researching the area. “I’m already on my way to Hollywood Street,” I inform her as she reads and sighs and searches some more. Suddenly I hear a ringtone, telling me Black is calling someone.

“Hello, anything new?” Angel’s friend answers after only two rings.

“Are you sure it was a warehouse?” Black questions.

“Yes, the one who called himself Terra said something about more wolfsbane at the warehouse when they thought I was a werewolf.” She reasons.

“But you never saw the outside?” Black asks Cherry to confirm her suspicion.

“No, I only saw the inside, and it looked like a small warehouse. Or maybe it was an enormous garage?”

I can almost feel a lightbulb forming in Black’s head as she gets an answer she likes the sound of. “Thank you, that might be it,” she hangs up with no more decorum, her head in another place.

“On the Seaside, I have three garages that are large enough to be mistaken for a small warehouse. I’m sending you the GPS signals for all of them to your phone,” she mind-links, and I hear three quick pings on my phone.

“Now, let me see,” she thinks through the link. “The one closest to you is near the highway, and Cherry heard little traffic when she was kidnapped. Let’s assume it’s not heavily soundproofed,” Black adds.

“The one next I can see a lot of activity around, so not that one either…” She becomes silent again for a few seconds. “Yeah, follow the coordinates of the last one; that’s our target. It’s a larger mansion, a bit to the side from the other houses in the area, and close to Andrè.”

Stopping up long enough to look at the map, I confirm the coordinates, before running again, now faster than ever. Every fiber in my being tells me this is the place to go. When I’m closing into the coordinates, I hear the helicopter over me, and Black joins me on the ground, letting the pilot get back to a place where he can refuel.

Approaching a large gate with tall hedges and walls, I know we have come to the right place. I’m sure Black can sense it, too. The gate is not enough to stop us. We climb it skillfully and jump over. Running the distance to the garage and the house, I pick up on the smell of Cherry and elves. This is the place we are looking for, I know it!

Feeling out for a stronger connection towards Angel, I run left, the same as Black does. We both want to follow the same path, which is promising. I spot an open window on the left side of the house and jump through it, Black right behind. We enter a corridor, and two doors down, again on the left side. There, the connection blooms. We both enter the room and don’t think before we change to our wolves and jump into the portal waiting for us there.