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.

"She's good," Tess commented, looking at the pictures hanging on the walls. "She seems to like wolves," she added, nodding to a section of the wall.

I followed her eyes and saw there were several pictures of wolves, including a close-up of one, the eye perfectly in focus. She had an entire section dedicated to wolves. Maybe she could get used to me. I walked along the wall, looking at the rest of her art. It was all stunning. She was very good. I paused and listened in on Kaden's conversation.

"And what about this artist?" He asked, nodding to Addie's wall.

"Oh, she's one of my favorites!" The girl said energetically.

"Well, she must be good if you like her," Kaden said, giving one of his iconic grins that left the poor girl a blushing mess of giggles.

"She is. She's local, too. Well, kind of. She lives closer to Everett but she's in town a lot," the girl said. "She's actually teaching me a lot about photography."

"Oh really? Can I see some of your work?" Kaden pressed.

The girl giggled and nodded, pulling out her phone and tapping into it before handing it over to Kaden. Kaden swiped through the photos and gave her appropriate comments, leaving her more in shambles as she stared at him while twirling her hair.

"Oh, this is a lovely picture. Who's the lucky lady standing next to you?" Kaden asked, pointing to the phone as he mind-linked me, It's Addie

I stiffened but tried to appear casual as I feigned interest in the other art hanging up.

"Oh that's Addie. The one I was just telling you about. That's one of our favorite clubs. Actually, Addie's going to be there tonight so I might stop by."

My heart stopped at that comment. Kaden glanced over at me briefly before returning his attention to the girl. "Oh yeah? I'm kind of new to the area so I haven't been there. Where is it?"

"Right across the street," she said, pointing out the window. "It has dancing but also an arcade room. Addie loves video games so she bounces back and forth but I'm more of a dancer."

"I'm more of a dancer, too," Kaden said, giving her more of his attention as he mindlinked me. I'll find out as much as I can. You go look for her.

I gave a subtle nod but approached the desk, smiling at the girl. She gave a professional smile back but her eyes get darting to Kaden.

"I'd like to purchase that entire wall," I said, pointing back at Addie's wall.

"The... Whole wall?" The girl asked, blinking.

"Yes."

She seemed in shock and took a moment to respond but eventually nodded, giggling nervously.

"Of course sir, I'll get it packed it up for you!" She said, rushing past me and taking down the photos.

Kaden gave me a knowing smile and I scowled. "What? She's good."

"She is good," he agreed, chuckling.

"Shut up," I grumbled, reaching into my pocket for my wallet.

I paid but left Tess to get it all loaded in the car. I walked across the street to the club but it wouldn't be open for another hour so I walked down the street, trying to pick up her scent. I picked up on Gina's scent as she came up behind me.

"Alpha," she said quietly, coming up next to me. "I picked up on a trail. I think it's fresh," she said, inclining her head back the way she came.

We hurried down the street and suddenly it hit me. She smelled like fresh rain and pine forests and it was everything that ever felt like home to me. Definitely her scent. I brushed past Gina, following the trail. Her scent got stronger and stronger until...

I stopped as a breeze caught and it hit me hard. A door to a store opened and a woman stepped out, Addie following after her. They were polar opposites. The girl with Addie had bright pink hair and a short dress with tights while Addie was in leggings and a sweatshirt. Leggings and a sweatshirt had never looked so good. They were laughing and holding shopping bags. They paused right there, just a few feet away from me.

"I've known you for years but I still can't get over the fact you don't like shopping."

"Shopping is tedious," Addie groaned, looking into her bag.

"Sure hun. Okay, last stop then you may have my mercy. We have to get nails done since you missed yesterday and I missed my session with my future mother in law breathing down my neck. Dinner is in two hours and you're wearing that dress we just bought."

"Nails? Can't I just sit with you? Do you have any idea how long nail polish does not last on me? I do too many things with my hands."

"Well try to keep that to a minimum for the next two days because I want my bridesmaids fingers looking pretty," the girl said, pointing an accusing finger at Addie.

"Yeah, yeah," Addie agreed.

She suddenly stiffened and turned her head. I went behind a corner before she turned. I watched from a dark alley as she looked around with a frown on her face, her eyes returning to where I was just seconds ago.

"Addie, you okay?" The girl asked.

"Yeah I'm... I'm fine. Sorry. Out of it," Addie said with a smile, shaking her head.

The two girls crossed the street and I followed them down a couple blocks. They entered a nail salon and I stayed across the street, leaning against the wall with my arms crossed as I watched her through the window. Gina must have alerted Tess because soon, she was standing next to me eating a corn dog.

"Do you have any idea how creepy this is?" Tess asked before biting into her corn dog.

My eyes drifted her briefly only to glare before they focused on Addie again.

"What's the plan? Stare at her until she falls for you?"

I inhaled deeply and sighed before responding. "I must have missed the part of your job description that states you annoy me to death," I snapped.

"I must've missed the part of the mate description where stalking was suddenly okay," Tess countered, taking a huge bite from her corndog.

"For fuck's sake, Tess. What do you recommend I do? She's out with a friend, she's apparently going to be in a wedding. Do you want me to barge in and carry her way then lock her up at the pack house?"

"Obviously that's exactly what I want you to do," Tess said, rolling her eyes. "Don't be such a grumpy dick. I just think following her all night is not going to help your case. Humans are weird. They prefer their potential lovers to beat around the bush. They get antsy around shows of dominance and you have a lot of that. Try to approach her when she gets out of the salon. Gently. Just tell her you're here to watch out for the vampires and she doesn't have to come home with you."

"So I let her stay in the city?" I scoffed.

"If that's what she wants, yes. We can have someone watch out for her. It'll be a pain but honestly, they should back off if she's being watched. Their plan already failed so as long as she has a guard, I don't think they'll try anything. If you have any chance at gaining her trust it's by letting her be where she's comfortable, not making her stay somewhere with you."

"That's not possible, it's too dangerous. Besides, she didn't want anyone watching out for her."

"Well, she'll get over that real quick if a vamp shows up," Tess shrugged.

"Could you make yourself useful and check out this club when it opens? I want to know where all the exits, windows and bathrooms are."

Tess gave me a mock salute before walking away and I shook my head, focusing back on the shop. Except I couldn't see Addie anymore. I pushed off the wall as panic rose in me. She had to be in there. I could still smell her. I crossed the street and was about to open the door when I saw her come out of the bathroom.

She had changed into a long-sleeve red dress that hugged her body in the ways I wanted to, showing off just how perfect she was. She wore black tights and boots with it. Covering up all her bruises, I realized. She sat back down next to her friend and they continued chatting and laughing together.

I wanted to make her laugh like that.

A/N:

Hiiii! Sorry I was later updating today, it's been a long week. I hope everyone's doing well. Let me know what you think!