Betrayed by My Mate - Hybrids Sorrow

Finding my Mate

Chapter 7

Maksim’s POV

I’ve been waiting here for over an hour now. I backed into a space so I had a clear view of the front door of the drug store. I had been trying to link my sister, with no results. I knew she wasn’t dead, but she wasn't conscious. This was a busy place with people going in and out quite frequently. I was starting to get frustrated. Everyone here was in jeans and t-shirts, and no one fit Ivan's description. I would’ve thought he sent me on a wild goose chase if I didn't trust him so much.

I spoke to my father, who filled me in on the trouble at the gate. He also told me how Trevor managed not to succumb to my uncle's mind control suggestions. I don’t know how Trevor did that, but even his Beta pushed through without calling the team off. According to Dad, Trevor sent more men out after my sister, right before we arrived. Trevor must have a death wish. I know my uncle had pushed both suggestions on them. I guess the fear of incriminating themselves was the only thing that scared them. The High Council would be demoting them both once they arrived.

Another thirty minutes passed before I noticed someone wearing a dark brown long-sleeved t-shirt and brown pants. They wore aviator sunglasses and a baseball cap. I can’t tell if they’re supernatural or not from where I’m parked. I slid out of my car and jogged to the store. I wanted to get a better look at them. They had a slim build, but their t-shirt was loose. The only other thing I’d noticed was that they were about 5’10”. They seemed young, but I didn’t want to get close enough to crowd them. The last thing I needed was for them to get scared and prevent me from following them to get my sister.

Ivan said that they were helping her, but didn't know why. They might be healing her to sell her on the black market. I know better than to put my guard down. They were on the medicine aisle, grabbing products, and my heart sank. My sister was hurt, and I have no idea where she is. I wanted to catch them and force them to tell me where she is, but I knew that wouldn’t work. I walked past them to grab a bottle of water.

It was faint, but I could sense my sister’s scent on them when I passed. Not just my sister’s scent, but traces of blood on them. That's not a good sign at all. What the hell is going on? I quickly made my purchase and headed back out to my car. I needed to be out there to follow them. I grabbed a tracker and ran over to put it on her car. I had come prepared for anything today. As far as I was concerned, this rescue was the most important one we had ever attempted.

I tried my best to calm down, but it wasn’t working well. It's horrible, the not knowing, the waiting, it was almost too painful to bear. I waited until she left, making sure the beacon was working on the tracker before she left. I can’t just have her disappear on me. I needed to stay back and wait. Patience was key. I couldn’t lose the only person who could take me to my sister. Their next stop was to the back entrance of a blood donation center.

Which, I’m not going to lie, that was odd. My curiosity only increased when the back door to the business opened and someone came out. They exchanged a blood bag for cash. I stayed back once I noticed they’d stopped. I could see what was happening, but it seemed like they were trying to help my sister. Why else get a blood bag? The longer I followed them, the more questions I had. I followed them to a cul-de-sac where I saw their vehicle parked. I saw her running through the backyard of one of the houses, and quickly parked to follow her. I pulled the GPS out and sent the location of my vehicle to my father before running after them.

Whoever they were was on a mission, as they ran through the woods like they were very familiar with them. They never hesitated. I still couldn’t tell if they were supernatural or not. The foreign scent, or lack thereof, was what I followed. As I tracked her, I made sure I left a distance between us. They slowed down when we got to an area where I scented my sister. No one was here, so I don’t know why they stopped. As I got closer, I smelled a great deal of blood, but there were no bodies.

Before I could react, I heard the sound of a gunshot, and the person I was tracking hit the ground. I could tell the warriors coming out of hiding were Trevor’s, so I didn’t hesitate. I elongated my claws and worked my way through the whole group. Ripping their necks open and moving to the next person. I was moving so fast, I was just a blur to them. Some of them tried to shoot me, but I just kept moving, and they ended up shooting the person I had just injured.

I didn’t stop until I knew I’d killed them all. If their interference keeps me from finding my sister, I will ensure that Trevor and his men all suffer the same fate. I turned to look back at the figure dressed in brown, still lying on the ground, not moving. I was terrified to approach. If they were dead, I’d have no idea how to find my sister. Her scent was faint, and I don’t know if I can track it. I slowly approached them and spoke calmly. “Are you alright? I killed them. They can’t hurt you again.”

I stepped closer as they didn’t answer. I was fearing the worst when I turned them onto their back. I saw blood staining on their left sleeve, and growing by the second. I moved forward to check their wound when I heard them say, “Don’t touch me.” I was shocked that the person I had been following was a woman. Most women wouldn’t be running around town with blood on their clothes.

Her baseball cap had been knocked off when she hit the ground. Her hair, which had been tucked up under the ball cap, now spilled out around her. Her bright blue eyes watched me cautiously. She hadn’t decided if I was friend or foe yet. I felt compelled to tell her who I was.

“I’m not with them. I was following you to find my sister. I caught her scent when I passed you in the drug store,” I told her. I decided not to creep her out by telling her I was waiting for her at the drug store. That story would be for another time. Right now, I need to find Melina. I needed to build trust with this woman as fast as I could.

She narrowed her eyes at me and studied my face. She slowly sat up and said, “Are you from around here? Where was she coming from?”

“She found her mate, a local Alpha, when we came to help with a rogue vampire issue. He only accepted her because he believed that if he didn’t, we would have left here, and left them to the fledglings. Melina, my sister, wouldn’t have done that to him. We were hired for a job, so we would have completed the job. His pack wasn’t the only one affected by the vampire issue. We wouldn’t have left them like that. But Melina wanted her mate, even though he didn’t want her. I was testing him because I could see him for who he was. I warned him to treat her well, but he didn’t. Melina didn’t realize he had a woman on the side this whole time. My sister is pregnant with his child, but he doesn’t want either of them,” I told her.

“I took her to my home to try to help her. I’m sorry, but your sister has been seriously hurt. She was unconscious when I left to get some medical supplies. I will take you to her, but I believe that she has lost her baby. She's not doing well, she needs more help than I can give her,” she replied before trying to stand up.

I reached down to help her up, and the moment her hand touched mine, I felt the tingles. My wolf, Zion, was howling in my head in happiness that we had found our mate. I was shocked to my core. Melina had found her mate, but he was worthless. I wasn’t holding out on finding my mate. I was focused on training and working. On making my family proud. I hadn’t even thought it was possible. I knew my father had been very old before he found Mom, so I felt I had a long time before meeting my mate.

I heard her gasp and then ask, “Mate?” I nodded at her, but then I saw her frown.

My heart sank. I guess this is just going to be a repeat of what happened to Melina. I didn’t want to get rejected out in the forest, so I asked, “Can you show me where my sister is? I need to get help here as fast as I can.”

My mate started walking, and I followed. I asked her, “How did you know they were here?”

“I killed four warriors from their pack earlier this morning, and I left them there to go take care of your sister. Their bodies were gone. Since the bodies were missing, I knew that someone had been out here. If it were the humans, they would still be investigating, with crime tape up,” she replied. We walked silently for ten minutes before I saw a clearing ahead. I knew we were getting closer to where we were going now.

“My name is Maksim. What’s your name? I need to know it to accept your rejection,” I told her quietly.

“I’m not planning on rejecting you. Why? Were you planning on rejecting me?” she asked in surprise.

“No, I want you. You're my mate. I saw you frowning after you found out we were mates. I thought that you didn’t want me because I’m a vampire. Some don’t like or approve of us, so I thought you wanted to reject me,” I replied honestly.

“No, I thought it odd that you knew I was your mate. We are,” she paused momentarily before continuing, “an odd pairing. But I have faith in the Moon Goddess. I accept you as my mate. But you might want to hold off on marking me. You need to hear my story before accepting me. You might change your mind about wanting me,” she responded with sadness evident in her voice.

“No, I want you. My family is already on the way now. They should be here soon. I’m excited to introduce you to them,” I assured her. Her smile reassured me. I was glad that I could sense she was my mate. I will also have to thank Ivan for sending me to her. I will have my uncle heal my mate while Kira works on my sister. I had linked my Dad before Trevor’s men decided to ambush my mate. Trevor has pulled his last stunt. I will ensure he knows how badly he messed up by attacking both my mate and my sister once I get my hands on him.