“I, um, I’m—” His tongue flicked across his dry lips. “—I’m Aerin.”
“Don’t be scared. This is all going to be over soon.” Sammy laced their fingers together, offering a smile of encouragement when the guy immediately squeezed his hand. “Aerin, do you know why we’re here?”
“For the auction.” His attention flickered to the partygoers again. “We’re being sold to the highest bidder.”
Chapter seventeen
Something was wrong.
Dominic jolted awake, instantly on high alert.
His heart pounded too hard and too fast. Perspiration beaded across his brow and slicked the back of his neck. Dread twisted in his stomach, and instincts screamed for him to move, to act.
Yet, everything seemed quiet inside La Madriguera.
Disoriented and on edge, he rolled to his side and slid his hand across the mattress, reaching for his mate in an attempt to ground himself. Instead of soft, warm skin, however, he found only empty sheets, the crisp cotton cool to the touch.
Sammy’s scent still saturated the bed, indicating he hadn’t been gone very long. Rather than go searching for him, Dominic sat up against the headboard and reached out through their bond.
“Couldn’t sleep?”
He waited, but when several seconds passed without a response, unease began to creep back in.“Sammy? Where are you,colibrí?”
Nothing.
Throwing the blankets back, he shoved out of bed and pulled on a pair of sweatpants he grabbed off the floor.“Sammy? Answer me.”
He received no response. Worse, he could no longer sense his mate either. If Sammy had simply fallen asleep somewhere else in the house, he would be able to feel him.
When he reached out now, he found only vacancy.
Dominic left the room at a jog, calling out with a deep, resonating growl that penetrated the night and vibrated the air. The pack responded without question or hesitation, coming from all over the house to gather in the foyer at the foot of the stairs.
“What?” Chapel asked. “What’s wrong?”
“Sammy’s gone.”
“Are you sure?” Boone asked, his brow knitted with concern. “Maybe he’s in the media room.”
“We’ll help you look,” Kennedy offered.
“He’s not here.” Dominic growled, concern making him impatient and short-tempered. “I can’t feel him, and I can’t reach him through our mate bond.”
He received a couple of blank stares at first, but after a few seconds, everyone seemed to work out what he meant. Kennedy smiled. Saint clapped him on the shoulder. Chapel and Boone nodded approvingly.
Only Thierry remained unmoved by the news that Dominic had finally claimed Sammy as his mate.
“Okay,” Saint said with more urgency in his voice now. “What do you want to do?”
“I’m going to track him.” He held his arm up and tapped a finger to the bracelet on his wrist.
“Are we thinking this has something to do with his mom?” Chapel asked.
“It has to be.”
Kennedy frowned, her brow knitted with frustration. “Are you sure? I thought we had more time.”
Frankly, it didn’t matter who had taken his mate. They wouldn’t live to see the sunrise anyway. Dominic damn sure wasn’t about to waste time debating possible suspects and motivations.