“Of course. I mean there are some limits. It has to be a single male who isn’t already an anchor, and it has to be someone of my rank or higher. That limits the pool a little. I’m second. It would have to be an Enforcer or something like that, or an Alpha.”

She nodded. “All right. As for your work? I’ve told you, do your job. I’m going to feel bad if you’re here instead of doing your work.”

“I have all the stuff I need on my computer. I’m connected remotely to our work servers. It’s not anything I can’t do from here. Damon is handling all the stuff that is pressing at work. By the way, it seems like you and Gina are getting on. She’s sort of scary.”

“I like her. And Rhonda. I think I can make a life in Portland. With you. And with the witches here. It’s nice that she understands the situation that I’ll be in as a witch with a Were mate. She’s funny and open and I enjoy her. And yes, she’s definitely scary.”

He went off to start the bath and she checked in. Nothing new with Pam, though the police were on alert after the murder that day. Stricter security protocols in place had slowed everything down, but that was to be expected. Anything Charlie could have told them was now gone. Though certainly he must have known something or they wouldn’t have killed him.

He’d been pretty itinerant but some witches and wolves had gone over the camper he lived in, as well as the cops. They found nothing important.

She was so frustrated. Despite the wonder of having a mate and all that, she was desperate to find Allie. Here Michelle had a mate, had a future filled with so much hope, and Allie was out there somewhere alone. Alone and most likely scared. In pain.

Michelle had never in her life felt as helpless as she did right then. She had no idea what else to do. Josh had sent more wolves out that day to scour out even farther from the huge amount of land they’d searched already. They had Allie’s scent and the scent of the mages and they found nothing.

She blew out a breath and headed to the bathroom. It was steamy. He’d lit some candles, and she smiled at the sight of a robe he’d laid out for her.

The water was hot, but she slowly slid into it, adjusting bit by bit as the salts did their job, easing the soreness from all parts of her.

She closed her eyes and ran through everything she could. Every piece of evidence, the timeline she knew, all possibilities she could imagine. Maybe if she just went over it she’d think of something new.

He found her drying off and paused to watch her move. The steam carried her scent and his wolf liked that just fine. He felt so much better after talking with her, though he knew she was tortured over her inability to find Allie. Things between them, aside from all the rest, were settled, and he could relax about that at least.

For the time being. Eventually his wolf was going to push a lot harder to claim her. Each minute he was around her, the primal need to seal that bond was a greater weight on him. For now he was all right. Manageable. Barely. But soon enough it would be impossible to be around her, especially when she was upset or in danger, without the bond.

He put all that out of his head as she looked up. “Hey.”

“Hey yourself. You feeling better?”

“Physically, yes, I am. The rest? I ran through everything that has happened since I got the call that she was missing. I don’t think I’ve overlooked anything.” She shook her head. “I know she’s out there alone and I need to find her. I asked Gina and Rhonda as well as Lark and Gage if there were any spells to use to find her. I don’t have any of her blood.” She swallowed hard. “And I guess I’m glad of that, but at the same time it limits my ability to find her. Maybe.”

He leaned there against the doorjamb and watched her process. He hated how upset she was. “I understand, you know? It’s the nature of our jobs to have these experiences and frustrations. But when it’s someone you care about, it’s a million times worse. All the stuff you tell yourself on a regular case, that you’re doing everything you can, that sometimes you just can’t make it work, well it’s not comforting.”

She nodded, turning to brush her teeth.

He loved the sight of her in his space. Standing naked at the sink, doing something as mundane as brushing her teeth, but damn it, she marked his life with her presence and it was good. Even with the heartache it was good.

She pulled on the robe, and he allowed himself to move to her to hug her, kissing the top of her head. “You’re doing all you can. She’s lucky to have you. She knows that.”

“If she’s still alive. And terrified. Waiting for me to save her and I haven’t.” She pulled back and padded out to his living room. “I called her mother. She’s out of her mind with the waiting and not knowing. Thinking of every horrible scenario. She trusts me to find Allie.”

She flopped into the big overstuffed chair near the fireplace he’d turned on while she was in the bath, not wanting her to get cold.

“I told her I was doing all I could. But the words sounded so empty.” She slammed a hand against the chair arm, frustrated. “Why can’t I find her? I hate just sitting around. I need to be out there doing something. Here I am having so much good stuff in my life. You. Connecting with other witches. I’m smiling and having meals and sleeping. And she is out there.” Her voice broke.

He got to his knees before her, taking her hands, his fingers tangling with hers. His wolf needed to comfort her. It made him crazy to see her so upset. If there was anything he could do to fix it, he would. But there wasn’t.

“What is it you can do? You went through it all in the bathtub like you said. You could go stand out in the parking lot at the gas station or at the park yet again, and then what? We searched. You were there, Pam was there, I was there, Damon was there. We combed over that whole area and found little more than nothing. I sent my people out and they didn’t find anything either. And you’ve followed up on everything. Sometimes waiting is part of this game. You know that. You’re doing all you can to find her.”

“She’s alone and she’s counting on me. I’m fucking up!”

He pulled her close, the scent of her filling him until it nearly hurt.

“You’re not fucking up. You aren’t. But you aren’t a superhero either. We keep looking. We do what we can. We know that most likely they took her elsewhere. Not to the stand of park and forest we were in. So tomorrow when it’s light, how about we continue down that road we were on? We followed it for a while and found nothing, let’s go even farther, maybe take some of the side roads. There are some islands out that way. We’ll check those too. We aren’t giving up, Michelle. You aren’t giving up.”

Desire rushed over his skin, but he pushed it away. She needed comfort and that’s what he’d give her. He kissed the hands he held in his own.

“We’re in this together. You’re strong. You’re smart. You’re magnificent.”

She smiled through her frustrated tears, and he kissed her cheeks, tasting her pain and upset. Taking that into himself and giving her back love.

She turned into his touch and her lips met his and he took her mouth. Slowly, surely. She was his. He knew it. She’d agreed and certainly he was hers. There was no need to rush. Just learn and be with one another. He didn’t know what the next days would hold for Allie. But he knew Michelle would be with him either way.

His wolf seemed to find that satisfactory and eased back a little.

She slid her hands up his chest and to his throat. Her hands strong but so very soft, warm as her thumbs caressed the hollow at the base and then up to his jaw as he continued to kiss her.

“Thank you,” she murmured when he broke the kiss.

“For what?”

“For being here for me. For being so supportive. For talking me off the ledge. For opening the door into this life I could never have imagined. I’d have fallen apart if you hadn’t been helping me with this.”