Chapter 12

12

After escaping the mill,Dracin drove around aimlessly for a few hours. He couldn’t go back to his place, not without at least looking. He just didn’t know where to start.

There had to be a way to find Belle. He drove past the parking garage where he’d been ignobly held, which was now a burnt husk with yellow caution tape all over and a temporary fence erected all around. He got out of his truck for a sniff, hoping to find a scent he could track.

Nothing.

If only he knew a witch, he could have given them something of Belle’s and have them do that scrying thing. How did one find a witch? He had no idea where to start his search for one.

A phone rang… not his he quickly realized, given he didn’t recognize the bell-like chimes. It sang from Belle’s bag in the footwell of his passenger seat. He pulled over and dug into the bag in time to see it say, Missed Call and a name, Marjorie. Her witch boss! Surely, she could help. He had to call her back.

Dracin poked at the screen and, after it informed him it didn’t recognize his face, asked for a password—which he didn’t know.

Fuck. How to unlock it? He knew better than to start trying to enter passwords. Smartphones tended to go into permanent lock with too many bad tries. He needed an expert in password cracking. Good thing he knew someone with just that type of skill. Not that he’d ever had to use Antonio before to hack a phone, but he did use the guy a while back to dig into his own birth records—since his birth certificate didn’t have a father listed, and he’d hoped maybe a deeper poke into the birth registry and hospital records would give him a name.

No such luck, but maybe this time, Antonio would be able to help.

Antonio didn’t look up as Dracin entered the shop with its eclectic mix of stuff. A pawn shop as a front, it offered a little bit of everything.

“Hey, Tony,” Dracin said as he entered. The casual first name something they’d agreed upon the last time he’d hired his services.

“If it isn’t the bastard.” Tony looked up from his laptop to greet him. “Any luck finding your sperm donor?”

“Nah. Fucker doesn’t want to be found, and I’m over it. I’m here because I need to get into a phone.”

“Dare I ask whose?”

“Girlfriend,” he said before adding, “She’s been hurt and admitted to the hospital. I’m trying to get a hold of her mom, but I don’t have her number.” He held up the cell and waggled it. “Hoping you can help me.”

Tony snorted. “Nice story. Don’t care why you need in. It’ll be a grand.”

Dracin winced. “Ouch.”

“My services ain’t cheap,” Tony retorted.

“Fine. I’ll grab the cash. Can you start working on it?”

“Yup. There’s a machine a block over.” Tony took the phone while Dracin exited and hit an ATM, which spat out five hundred in bills then informed him he’d reached his daily limit.

Fuck.

A stroll back to his truck had him hemming and hawing before finally digging into Belle’s bag. He felt like a dirty thief as he found her stash of cash. Another three hundred, leaving him two short. Now what?

He went back to Tony. “Fucking bank machine won’t give me more until tomorrow,” he grumbled, throwing the eight hundred on the counter. “I swear I’m good for it.”

Tony ignored the cash and handed back the phone. “Afraid I can’t help you.”

“Why not?”

“You didn’t mention this phone belonged to a witch.”

“How can you tell?”

“Magic lock on the phone, which almost zapped it clean when I started playing with it. You should have warned me.”

“Yeah, because going around telling people my girlfriend’s a witch isn’t crazy or nothing,” his sarcastic drawl.

“Wait, is she seriously your girlfriend?”

He nodded.

“How do I know you’re not lying?” Tony questioned.

“You don’t. But I am telling the truth about her being in trouble.”

“What kind of trouble?”

“The kind that likes to bite and suck blood.”

Tony whistled. “She’s going after the vampires? Ballsy.”

“What do you know about them?”

“That there are more of them than is normal and people have been disappearing.”

“Why haven’t you reported it?” Dracin asked, even as he had no idea who to report that kind of thing to.

“I did. I told some local witch, who said she’d handle it.”

“And?”

Tony shrugged. “And that was the end of it. Haven’t seen her since.”

“How is it you know about witches and shit?” Because it occurred to him Tony seemed awfully knowledgeable.

“Because I dabble in magic. Not that it gets me invited to the coven meetings. I’ve got too much sausage for the witch fest and not enough mojo for the warlocks.” Tony snared the phone and concentrated for a second before handing it back. “I’ve unlocked it for you.”

“Seriously? But you didn’t do anything.”

“That you could see,” Tony corrected. “Device-breaking is my specialty. Some people call me a techno wizard, which is kind of cool but not something I can brag about. Last dude who did disappeared.”

“Damn.”

“Yeah. Hence why I’m careful, just like you are.”

“I’m not a warlock,” he felt a need to state.

“No, but you’re something. I just can’t tell what other than it ain’t wolf. Can always tell when they come into the shop. Wet dog smell lingers.”

Dracin’s lips twitched. “Let’s just say I like to keep my other self quiet.”

“Totally cool, bro. Anyhow, the phone is unlocked, so don’t lose it cause, right now, anyone can get in.”

“What about the spell?”

“Easy to remove once I knew about it,” Tony boasted.

“Thanks. I’ll bring you the rest of the cash soon as I can.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Tony slid the wad of cash back in his direction. “It’s on the house. Hope your witch friend can do something about those vampires.”

“Me too,” said while pocketing the dough.

Dracin exited with the phone and hesitated. It felt hugely invasive to be using it, but at the same time, what else could he do? Belle’s life depended on him doing something, but he couldn’t act without knowing where to fucking go. Surely someone she knew could point him in a direction.

He swallowed his moral compass and poked around in her messages. Only one conversation had occurred in the last week with Marjorie. A word salad that had to be code because it made no sense, the most recent saying, Going shopping today. Hope I find the shoes I’m looking for.

For a second, he thought of texting, but he didn’t want to pretend to be Belle. Not to mention, typing on tiny phones annoyed.

He went into the contacts and scrolled for Marjorie’s name before dialing.

It rang only once, and a feminine voice replied, “Clarabelle, are you okay? Leanna had a vision and said you were in trouble.”

Dracin cleared his throat. “Um, hi. Sorry to call, but I didn’t know what else to do since Belle is missing.”

A frosty “Who are you?” emerged.

“Dracin.”

“Dracin who?”

“The guy she saved from the vampires.”

“The shifter in the cage?”

“Yeah.”

“You said she’s missing. Explain.”

“We went scouting a location looking for the head vamp. She said we should split up to check the building for access points. She got taken. I tried to get her back but couldn’t break down the door and then the place caught on fire and the floor collapsed and she’s gone and I don’t know what to do.” He gushed an abbreviated version of what happened and then cringed. Way to sound useless.

“You did the right thing by contacting me. Thank you, Dracin. I’ll handle things from here.”

“What’s our next move?”

“Your next move is to go home and stay out of the clutches of vampires. The coven will handle this.”

“I want to help,” he insisted.

“Listen, I appreciate any aid you’ve given Clarabelle. However, this type of matter isn’t for outsiders.”

“I’m a shifter.” Not something he usually said aloud, but desperate times didn’t allow for him to be discreet.

“But not a witch,” Marjorie firmly stated. “This is coven business now.”

“It’s my business too,” he growled. “Belle is my mate.”

The pause on the other side took a while before Marjorie said softly, “I am afraid that’s impossible. Witch and shifters can’t mate. No interspecies can. It’s simply impossible.”

“Guess again,” he growled.

“Listen, I’m sure you’re feeling grateful she helped you. However, do not mistake gratitude for anything else. The coven thanks you for your aid, but now you need to leave this matter to those equipped to handle it. Good day.”

With that, the witch on the other end didn’t just hang up. She did something that caused the phone in his hand to start smoking. He dropped it to the ground, where it continued to burn without a flame, melting into a pile of plastic and metal.

Fucking hell.

He glared at it. So much for getting some help. And what was that crap about witches and shifters not being mates? Sure he didn’t know much about witches and other kinds of folk that were special like him, but love was love, right?

Except, could he call it love? From the moment they’d met, he’d been attracted. Lusted. But he also liked her. She had great big balls of steel and smarts. So much to admire and… love.

He didn’t care if she threw fireballs. Just like she didn’t care he could turn into a dragon and bite people in half. He recalled once hearing that kids between shifters and non-shifters were unlikely, but then again, he’d never really seen himself as the daddy type. He’d also never seen himself mated, though.

Mated. Could he claim that even though he’d not marked her? Did a true mating need a bite?

Mine. His dragon seemed to think it didn’t.

You can’t fight fate. His mother’s sad words when he’d asked why she’d fallen for a man who left her without a word while she recovered from birth. Surely if fate meant for them to be together, his father would have returned.

Unless he couldn’t.

Would Dracin be like his mother and forever mourn what could have been?

No. He would find Belle.

He stomped back into Tony’s shop and slapped the eight hundred in cash on the counter. “I need your help finding the vampire headquarters.”

“That’s a bad idea, bro.”

“I am aware it’s not the best one, but her damned coven basically told me to suck a dick. But I can’t because Belle’s my mate, and I am not leaving her in those fuckers’ clutches longer than necessary.”

Tony shrugged. “I wish I could help you, but the only two places I know with vamp activity burned down.”

“If you’re talking about the parking garage and the mill, then those shitholes weren’t it. I’ve met the head asshole. He’s the type to live behind a secured gate in luxury.”

Tony drummed his fingers. “I can do some digging, but that could take time.”

“I don’t have time,” he growled, bristling with frustration.

“Given she’s your mate, have you tried honing in on your bond?”

Dracin blinked at Tony. “Er, what?”

“If you’re mated, then there’s a tie between you.”

“We never made it official. And…” He paused before saying, “I was told shifters and witches can’t be together.”

“Says who?”

“Head of her coven.”

“I mean I’ve never met a mixed couple, but I’m sure it happens.”

“It’s not supposed to, according to Belle.”

“Yeah, well, in this case, you seem pretty sure this witch is your person.”

“Without a doubt Belle is mine.”

“Then focus on that.”

“I don’t know how. You’re the magic dude. Can’t you scry or something?”

Tony shook his head. “Told you, my magic is weak. Good for debugging machines and unlocking phones. Not much else. Maybe one of the local witches can help.”

“Do you know how to contact them?”

“Sorry, bro. Not offhand, but I can find out.”

In the end, Dracin left after Tony promised to dig and text him if he found anything.

But Dracin didn’t want to wait. Belle had already been in the vampire’s grip for too long.

Back in his truck, he leaned his head on his steering wheel and blew out a breath.

Where are you? He growled and gripped his wheel tight before releasing it with a loud sigh. There had to be something he could do. He glanced at her bag. A dig through it didn’t give him any clues, but the hat stuffed inside smelled of her, and he found himself clutching it, muttering, “Where the fuck are you, Belle?”

To his surprise, he didn’t hear a reply, but his fingers tingled.

He blinked. He squeezed the hat harder and breathed in her scent, closing his eyes as he thought, Where are you?

The tingle hit harder this time, reminding him of when she’d scried, only he didn’t have a bowl of water. Didn’t matter. Inside his head, he saw an image, a house. A huge one. Mansion-sized.

Which didn’t help without an address. Ottawa had tons of luxury homes.

Where?

The hat fell into his lap, the clue it gave useless without a street name. Meanwhile, he vibrated head to toe before shuddering and almost falling face-first onto his steering wheel. He panted as if he’d run a marathon.

He grabbed the hat to shove it aside, only to pause as he got the urge to go forward.

He dropped the fabric and frowned at it. Was he seriously going to take directions from a fucking hat?

What else could he do? He put the truck in Drive and rolled to the end of the street, stopping at the light before touching the hat again.

Forward.He held it lightly as he drove another two blocks before he got the urge to turn right.

And so it went, the drive taking him through the city into one of the swankier neighborhoods, Rockcliffe Park, where the houses were big and luxurious.

It seemed crazy to think a vampire would set up here as his base of power, and yet he drove by the house in his vision. Drove by it and noted the fence all around, even across the driveway. The second pass he saw the cameras.

Getting in on foot would be challenging, to say the least.

Good thing he could fly.

The afternoon light waned as twilight rushed in. Perfect. He parked his car at a nearby strip mall, around back where no one would see the man stripping and putting his clothes on the seat. When it got dark enough, he emerged from his truck, buck-ass naked, and shifted.

He took to the sky, bugling a cry.

I’m coming, Belle.