“Stop, Finley.”  He heard his Alpha but all he could see was his mate driving away.  He couldn’t stop, he had to catch her.  She was his mate and he may never see her again.

He was gaining on her until Arden and Bane tackled him to the ground.  “Get off me.”  The anger pounded through him until his Alpha used the vibes on him.  That’s what he called them.  Alpha vibes.  Arden didn’t use them much but when he did, it got your attention.  Arden just got his attention.  

“You scared the shit out of her, Finley.  Stop before she calls the cops on you,” Arden shouted.

“No…”  Finley watched her vehicle go around the curve.  He would never catch her now.  

“What the hell is wrong with you?”  Bane asked still holding onto one arm.

“That’s my mate and now I may never find her again.”  Finley had never felt pain like this knowing his mate would be lost to him.  He put his hand over his heart from the ache squeezing his chest.  

People were now staring at them as Finn sat in the street.

Arden and Bane both looked at each other, then Bane took off running toward his truck.  “Don’t just lay there, then. Let’s follow them. Maybe we can see where she is going, but you’ve got to calm down Finn because you look like you wanted to kill her.”

“What?”

“Yeah, you did and that’s what got me and Bane so nervous.  Then you jumped up and ran out of the restaurant toward her vehicle.  You scared her, Finn, and the little one.”

He scared her.  He never wanted her to be afraid of him.  All he wanted was to take her in his arms and make the hurt she was feeling go away.  Her scent was sweet like the smell of watermelon and fear.  

“Get in,” Bane yelled as they both looked up at the SUV.  They jumped in and sped down the road.  “I tried to get her tag number, but it’s a temporary paper version.  I did get the name of the dealership that sold her the vehicle.  We may get lucky and find she’s visiting somewhere near here.”

“What if she keeps going to the interstate?  I may never find her.  I just let her slip through my hands.”  Finley couldn’t see straight, he was so mad at himself. Only one other time had this happened. And that frontline battle he dreamed about every night. He was mad at himself for living. His wolf was what got him through those moments when he woke in a cold sweat.

“We’re going to find her, man.  Just cool down. She doesn’t need to see you acting like you’re going to take her head off,” Arden said trying to calm him.

Bane had the truck flying like the wind as the vehicle sped over a hundred miles per hour, but the B&B was coming up soon and he had to slow down.  “Shit.”  Bane slammed on the breaks and pulled it over to the side of the road where they were camouflaged by the trees.  

“Why’d you stop?”  Finley demanded.

“Look.”  Bane pointed toward the B&B.  They watched his mate get out along with a little boy.  “She’s pretty, Finn.”

Finley couldn’t stop staring at her.  She was beautiful and she had a little boy.  Her hair was sandy blond like she had been at the beach. It was long and curly and looked like it had been kissed by the sun. God, he hoped she wasn’t married.  “What if she’s married?”

“I didn’t see a ring,” Arden answered pulling out his cell phone.

“Charlotte, you have a young lady with a young boy coming in the door.  Get her date of birth and as much information as you can from her.”  Arden listened to Charlotte talk for a few seconds then said good-bye.  “Okay, Charlotte is going to do her best, but if she pays cash then we won’t get anything.  It would look too obvious if she asked for that kind of information.”

“You know, Finn, I think you got yourself a feisty mate. I think if you had been standing in front of her vehicle, she would have mowed you down, buddy.” Bane said, laughing.

“I like that about her. She’s a survivor,” Finn answered still staring at the door.

Arden’s phone had a text message come through.  He glanced down at his phone.  “Shit, she paid with cash, but she’s staying for the week.  Now, we have something to work with.  Charlotte could tell she gave a fake last name.  She said it was Johnson.  The woman can spot a lie a mile away.  Trust me, I know.” 

His Alpha turned and stared at him. “So, listen up, my friend.  You need to learn to school your emotions and stop frowning at her.  Hell, you worried me.  I thought she was someone bad and we couldn’t figure out what the hell was going on.”  Arden laughed.  “All the women in the pack talk about your smile and what a great person you are, so you need to find that smile and put it on your face.  We have a week to get her introduced to you and get her to stay.”

“Simone will be taking her deserts to the B&B tomorrow.  Maybe she and Quinn can find a way to get her to come to town and get to know her better.  Find out who she is and where she is going.  But like the Alpha said, you’re going to have to stop with the frowning and growling.  Go with the smile. All the chicks dig it in the pack, so I’m told, anyway.”

Finley had a mission and that was to find out as much as he could about his mate before the sun came up.  He had a lot of friends in the Intelligence division of the military.  He worked hand in hand with a lot of them and it was time to call in the favors.  Bud Oliver, aka The Scavenger, would be the first one on the list.  He owed him more than one favor.  

* * *

Finley couldn’t stop staring at the front door.  What if she left during the middle of the night?  He would sit outside watching to make sure she was safe.  He sensed she was running from something.  There was a lot he needed to find out. Fortunately, that’s what he was good at.  

“That’s it.  She paid in cash and they never got her real last name.”  Finley listened as Scavenger gave him the bad news.  “Who the hell does that?”

“People who only want your money.  Listen, Finn, if you can get me her name I can find anything you want about her, but without that I’m lost here, man.  Send me a pic and I’ll run her through the Identifier.  Maybe it will hit on something.”

“Mildred said the little boy who was with her his name was Haine.  That’s an unusual name.  He looks about eight or nine years old.  See what you can find out? Her name is Alex Johnson.  At least, I think her first name is correct, but who knows? Start with the town she purchased the vehicle in.”  

“Talk soon,” Scavenger said hanging up the phone.  

Finley closed his phone and continued to watch the B&B from the woods.  He had already put an electronic tracker on her vehicle just in case she left when he had to leave for a few minutes.  Still, he wasn’t going anywhere until he found out who she was.  The girls were coming soon to eat dinner with Charlotte in an attempt to meet his mate.  If anyone could find out who they were, it would be Quinn and Simone.  Both he loved dearly.  

Quinn was like him.  The same shifter turned them both against their will in an attempt to build an army against his Alpha, but that never happened.  Arden, his Alpha, fell in love with Quinn the moment he saw her. 

The same happened to him, but this wasn’t going to be a quick fix.   He only hoped she wasn’t married.  He wasn’t strong enough to let her go without a fight.  His pack mates weren’t kidding when they explained how hard it was to be away from one’s mate.  Right now, his skin tingled all over knowing his was just beyond those doors.   

He stopped pacing when Simone pulled up in her SUV.  Finn scrubbed his hand down his face as the two shifters got out of the vehicle laughing about something.  Simone smiled, staring at the woods where he lurked before she walked up the stairs.  Simone was a good friend, too.  Her mate Bane Cross turned her after they mated. 

It was a hard road for Simone and Bane, but they made it work.  He would do anything to make this work, too.  Both his Alpha and Beta had great mates who laughed all the time. He wanted that with his mate. They had to find out her real name.  Then he could discovery her true identity.