Carter tried to keep his anxiety at bay as he drove to Brand's office. Brand hadn't taken a single day off work, and this was the first time he'd quit early. Carter couldn't imagine how he must be feeling if it made him step away from work. Carter didn't want to focus on the idea now, because it would make him bossy and combative, but he really wanted to talk to Brand about transferring some of his work over to one of his backup doctors. It had been a bit of an argument just getting him to agree to a full month of maternity leave.

Carter zoomed into a pull-through parking spot and jumped from his car to hurry inside. The receptionist looked at him with confusion.

"Did Dr. Brand forget something?” she asked.

"No, I'm here to pick him up."

The woman glanced sideways at her companion. "Dr. Brand left at least twenty minutes ago. He said he was going to wait outside for you."

Carter's blood pressure soared, even as he tried to assure both the receptionist and himself. "I probably just missed him." He spun and ran outside.

Brand wouldn't have gone far without telling him. He humored Carter's over-protectiveness, and Carter knew he couldn't be too far. He scanned the parking lot quickly, but nothing. He started walking, calling Brand's phone as he did. Where would Brand have gone? He pushed away the thoughts that said something might have happened to him.

And then he heard it.

Carter started running. He heard Brand's cell phone ringing. A moment later, he found it under a car, the screen cracked, but still working. Carter killed his call and fished the phone out, unlocking it to see the last screen. Brand had been typing on it, typing that he was headed somewhere, but he'd stopped before finishing the sentence.

Black crept along the corners of Carter's vision. Brand couldn't be gone. He'd just…

What? Dropped his phone and forgot it in the middle of typing a message?

"Carter? Carter, what's wrong?"

Carter knew he should recognize the voice, but everything was fuzzy.

"Carter, you're hyperventilating. Breathe into this." Hands pressed something to his face and pressed tightly around his lips. Something crinkled loudly as he breathed, and the voice said, "That's good. Now slow down. In, out. In… out. Better."

Finally, Carter pushed away the paper bag. "Something bad's happened," he said, finally turning to the voice and recognizing Ty, accompanied by the receptionist. "He wouldn't have left this area without telling me. He didn't. He was trying to type—he was…"

Ty took the phone and read through Brand's half-message, and swore. "Fuck. You're sure… of course you are. At the least, you'd scent him."

Scent. How had Carter ignored such a basic ability? He put it to use immediately. Yes, Brand had been here. It was nearly impossible to resist the urge to shift, so Carter didn't bother.

"Is anyone watching?" he asked Ty.

Ty took a quick glance around. "Not that I can see. What are you—seriously? Right here?"

Carter had already stripped his shirt and toed off his shoes. The rest quickly followed. "Keep an eye out." Then his paws hit the ground in front of him. He could smell Brand, and a human scent as recent as Brand's scent. And something sweet, something he'd never smelled before. He could smell Brand along the parking line, but his scent didn't go into the parking lot. Carter quickly circled around the area where he'd found the phone, and the only line he could scent Brand on was his path from the clinic. Carter padded back to Ty and shifted back.

"That wasn't exactly discreet."

Fuck discreet. "I'm pretty sure Brand was kidnapped. Ty's mouth gaped like a fish. Carter explained everything he'd sensed, and Ty swore. "Probably chloroform. Knocked him out."

A cold dread seeped into Carter's bones. "Would that hurt the babies?"

"I… I don't know. We'll figure that out, but first, we need to call the alpha."

Carter was grateful Ty was taking charge for the moment. Carter was having a hard time keeping his wolf under control. All he wanted to do was shift, track, and take down whoever thought they could get away with kidnapping his mate. But shifting would make it even harder for him to follow logic, and he had no idea what direction to go.

"She's sending Dare and Cole," Ty said as he slid his phone into his pocket. Do you want to go inside… or…?"

"No," Carter barked out. That was the wolf's response. This was the last known location of his mate. "Actually," Carter added, speaking through clenched teeth, "maybe I should go sit in Brand's office." He had no idea how he would last even the short time before the Williams brothers arrived. Maybe being surrounded by Brand's normal scent, without the human and the sweet drug scents, would calm him.

"Do you want me to come with you?"

"You guard the… would you mind guarding the evidence?" A phone and some scents weren't much evidence, but it was all they had to go on.

"Of course."

Carter could feel the weight of every single pair of eyes that followed him as he stalked into Brand's office. Did they know Brand was missing? Had someone told them? Carter had been so out of it, the Queen herself could have paraded naked in front of him and unless she'd been wearing eau de Brand, he wouldn't have noticed. Carter closed himself in Brand's office without turning on a light. In the dark, he could almost pretend Brand was nearby, just sleeping. His scent permeated everything in the room, even the mouse pad.

Carter wasn't sure how long he sat there before the door cracked open and Ty stuck his head in.

"Dare and Cole are here."

Carter pushed to his feet and followed Ty. Most of the staff had left now. Carter wondered if someone had told them to go. Or maybe it was quitting time. Carter wasn't sure if it was that time yet.

"Your interpretations seem to be correct, Carter," Dare began, without wasting time with small talk. Carter appreciated that. "I think that's all we can gather here. We've been following some leads on a different case from outside the pack, and we think it might be connected. If you'd like to tag along, we're going home to discuss options.

"I would appreciate that," Carter croaked.

Dare nodded, unsurprised. "Feel free to follow us. Or if you don't feel like driving, you can jump in my Camaro.

Any other time, Dare's offer would have been tempting. The car was sex on wheels. But right now, Carter's mind was 100% on Brand, and nothing surpassed that. He needed to feel in control of something. "I'll follow."

He started to get in his car, but stopped, turned, and said, "Thank you," to Ty.

Ty's shoulders hunched forward. In the two years Jax had been working with him, Carter had never seen Ty look the least bit unconfident, so seeing him look completely broken nearly made Carter fall apart.

"I've always protected him before," Ty said. "I offered him a ride. I could have protected him now."

Carter strode over to grasp the other alpha's bicep. "You have done an amazing job, and I thank you. I know Brand wouldn't be the man he was today without you. But it's my job to protect him now. And I failed."

"We both did," Ty countered. "If you failed, I failed."

"I'll accept both, if you won't let me take complete responsibility."

"Find him," Ty said quietly, grasping Carter's free hand. "Don't count on quiet. Go whole hog."

"Will whole wolf be sufficient?"

Ty cracked a sad, broken half-smile. "I think it just might."