4. Anders

Chapter 4

Anders

"Be quiet, please," a bunch of nurses hissed as I rounded a corner, searching for my mate.

I'd have to use my nose and not my voice.

My beast harrumphed. Should have done that in the first place .

But the scent was everywhere, on the walls, the floor, in a storeroom that I slipped into when I wasn't supposed to. I'd search one floor and then race back to emergency to check on Edgar and Isabella. Poor Edgar was being so brave about getting stitches.

I bought Isabella a lousy hospital coffee and a candy bar for Edgar, both from a vending machine.

Ewww! My beast did the beast version of flapping a paw in front of his face. That stinks!

Coming from a snow leopard who tore animals apart with his bare teeth, that was saying something. But he was right, the coffee smelled like stewed drain water.

Gross!

I apologized to my friend as I handed over the coffee. Edgar's teary eyes lit up on sighting the candy, and Isabella gulped down the coffee. Maybe she needed the caffeine and didn't notice the taste or the smell.

After studying the information board, I took the stairs down to the canteen. Sniffing between and under tables got me weird looks from staff and visitors.

"Looking for my wallet," I said as I tried to get into the kitchen, only to be met with a huge wolf shifter, his arms crossed and his beast showing in his gaze.

"Not in here, though." I scampered back into the canteen, bumping into a guy collecting trays. My beast put his hands over his eyes as all heads in the room swiveled in my direction.

Charging through the swinging doors into the corridor, I paused and leaned on a wall to catch my breath. Maybe I should have borrowed a pair of PJs and pretended I was a patient.

Was this how all shifters behaved when they scented their mate? Thoughts were zinging and zigzagging in my head while heated blood surged through my veins. What if he got away? He might have been visiting town, sprained an ankle and then left.

But if he was a shifter, his beast could cure a minor injury. I scrunched my eyes closed and clawed my scalp, hoping when I opened my eyes, my mate would have scented me and be standing in front of me.

Nope! My beast could see even when I couldn't. Not here!

Right . I checked off the cafeteria and three or was it four floors I'd searched. Emergency I'd done and… and… as his scent was in multiple places, that suggested he worked here. So, I went down to reception and lurked around, trying not to attract attention.

"May I help you, sir?" A man wearing a security guard's uniform blocked my way.

Didn't work . The not-attracting-attention part .

I can see that .

"Lost my wallet." I patted my shirt pocket and pulled out the interior of my pants pocket.

"Go to Lost and Found and file a report." His gruff tone suggested he wasn't to be messed with.

"Right." I saluted and then bowed, hoping one or both actions would temper his annoyance.

He didn't move, other than a twitching in the corner of his mouth.

"Going there right now."

I skedaddled toward the door, but each time I glanced over my shoulder, the guy was still staring at me, his expression unchanged. Charging into the parking lot, I decided to hunker down and wait for a few minutes. Maybe the security guard would give up on me and deal with a pickpocket or someone kicking the vending machine.

But as I hid behind someone's car, I caught a scent. Not a scent, the scent. And it was more recent than the stale one I'd picked up on inside the building. I wove in between the cars, keeping my eyes on the surveillance cameras.

A member of staff in the hospital basement was probably looking at me and speaking into a walkie-talkie, saying there was someone suspicious in the parking lot.

I arrived at an empty parking space, the scent so fresh, my body tingled. Falling to my knees, I sniffed the asphalt. My mate had been here minutes before while the security guard confronted me. But I should thank the guy, kiss him maybe, because if he hadn't made me run outside, I might have missed my mate's scent.

Ouch, my knees hurt, and I stood, brushing dirt and small pebbles off my knees.

Give me my fur .

Not here. People will see .

Behind the buildings .

Circling around the parking lot and avoiding the main entrance, I trudged behind the building where laundry vans were being loaded and unloaded and people were hefting boxes of food from delivery trucks.

We can't shift here . I continued until we reached a sort of alleyway, between two buildings. I didn't understand the purpose of shifting because my beast couldn't go anywhere. The areas in and around the hospital were teeming with people.

I want my fur .

Wait! If he shifted now, my clothes would be shredded and I'd be not only the guy lurking around and looking suspicious, but I'd be a naked guy doing the same thing. I might get put in a straightjacket and marched into a locked psych ward. That would only be a plus if my mate worked there, but I doubted I'd be that fortunate.

I shimmied out of my clothes, only just, but my briefs ripped as my beast tore through my skin. He padded to the end of the building, pawed the ground, sniffed it, then lifted his head and sniffed again.

He's gone , he announced.

You don't say .

I do say .

Fine. I took my skin and put on my clothes, minus my underwear, and tossed the ragged remains in a garbage bin.

"Hey, who are you and what are you doing here? Where's your ID badge?" Another security guard glared at me, his nostrils flared.

Gods, not again. Words wouldn't satisfy him, so I took off. He was human and he wouldn't catch me, so I raced out of the hospital complex, around the block, and into a clothing store where I bought a loud patterned shirt and a bucket hat.

Clad in my new clothes, I made my way back to the hospital entrance, I veered to the right toward the Emergency Department. Edgar was eating the candy bar while his mom spoke to a doctor.

But as I sat with Edgar, an older man barreled into the room. Waylon's dad, Andrew, the former snow leopard Alpha. He was now Isabella's mate and the dad to their kids, including Edgar. Andrew picked up his son and kissed him before examining his wound and hugging his mate.

I bid them goodbye after Andrew thanked me for looking after his family.

Now can I shift? My beast was eager to find our mate.

No. We need a plan. You can't scent him when he's in a car.

The guy could be anywhere by now. While I should have been bereft at losing my mate's scent, I was ecstatic at discovering I did have a mate. I had to tell Jonah and Dylan and Isabella. Waylon and Daxon were on holiday. Maybe I could text them, I've found my mate. Yippee. But I also lost him .

It was probably best I put a pause on the announcement until I'd met the guy.

Instead of leaving, I sat in my car, pondering how to find my one true love. I could put a notice on the Snowford notice board in the community center. Or the digital version on the sizzle website.

But if he wasn't a snow leopard or he didn't live in the area, he wouldn't see it. Maybe an old-style notice in the grocery store window or Damon's coffee shops, as the Alpha Omega also had a second venue in another part of town.

I could hire a loudspeaker and drive up and down the streets of Oakheart, but I might get arrested for disturbing the peace. Maybe if I stayed here in the parking lot at the hospital overnight, the guy might come back in the morning.

My phone beeped, reminding me I had a plumbing job at Cecily's house at 4 p.m. She was a member of the snow leopard council and she had a toilet that wouldn't stop running. It should be an easy fix, but I refused to cancel because I was thinking about my mate. Maybe I could engage Cecily in conversation and ask her advice.

Reluctantly, I started the car and drove to Cecily's. Like most of the council members who'd been the first to buy the unfinished houses in the area that became Snowford, Cecily lived within walking distance of the community center.

She greeted me with a smile and said there was coffee and cake when I was done. As well as the toilet, she had a leaking tap, but I was finished in fifteen minutes.

"Tell me. What's going on in your life, Anders."

I warmed my hands on the coffee cup, wondering if I should spill the details of my day.