WINTER'S BROKEN MATE

EPISODE 7

Back in the club,

Amy was having a blast with a handsome gentleman when, like an avalanche, it knocked her unsteady. Her dance partner with American good looks steadied her.

“You alright, love?” he asked concerned, surely whoever he’d end up with would be a lucky woman.

“Yes, yes, yes. I am. But I would like to be excused.” Amy said quickly. Her eyes darted around the dance floor, looking for the man with that powerful scent. It seemed to be everywhere and nowhere, at the same time it was driving Amy mad.

“Okay, if that’s what you’d like.” He picked her hand and delicately kissed her knuckles. Amy smiled at his gentleman's antics and watched him walk away. She was quick to return to the task at hand, finding the person wearing that infuriating scent. She was sure she looked half deranged; but somehow, she didn’t care.

“Looking for me?” she heard a buttery smooth voice whisper in her ear. Amy turned around so quickly, she was surprised she didn’t get whiplash. Her breath hitched at the sight of the man in front of her. He was the epitome of the male body; Amy was sure he’d been covered in some fashion magazines. He stood at 6,2 feet with long chocolate brown hair, dark brown eyes, a strong jaw and thin kissable lips. He smelled like sunshine and something more dangerous, something she couldn’t yet put her finger on, but she would, she had a lifetime to figure it out.

“Dance with me,” he said as he held her waist and pulled her closer to him. Amy went without protest. Mate! She thought she had found her mate, he was eye-candy. She couldn’t wait to tell her sister, but right now she wanted to get lost in the arms of this man.

“Mate,” he whispered into her hair, and Amy cuddled impossibly closer into his arms. He held her close, and they danced till Amy’s legs started to ache.

“Would you like to take a break?” His sultry voice came as his breath danced around her neck. Her whole body was alert, he chuckled, it made her want to unsteady him as much as he did her. She rose on her tiptoes as whispered in his ear,

“Of course, darling. Want to get me a drink?” he growled lowly, and she smiled. There, that ought to teach him not to mess with her. He took her hand and headed towards an empty booth. A waiter came along and they ordered their drinks, which came shortly after. For hours they seemed to talk about everything and nothing, it seemed like 7th heaven.

Halfway through the night, Amy realized she did not know her mate’s name.

“What is your name?” she asked.

“Drew Bennett,” he said with a painful smile, did he not like his name? She thought it was gorgeous. It suited him; she’d decided.

“Drew,” she tried it, and she liked how it sounded. He smiled again, but a faraway smile that seemed to cause him pain.

“Are you alright?” Amy asked concernedly.

“Of course, I am darling,” he said while playing with the few errant strands of her hair. “What is your name, darling?” he asked calmly

“Amy Farrington.” She chirped happily.

“Amy,” Drew said, the name rolling off his tongue beautifully, Amy thought.

“A beautiful name. You are beautiful darling, breath taking.” Amy felt her heart expand with love for the man that was her mate. He stared intently; as if he was branding her image in his head. He lingered for a few moments before he stood up abruptly.

“What is wrong?” Amy asked, a bit rattled.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered so lowly a human wouldn’t have heard him amidst the noise.

“For what?” Amy asked, “Drew?” she said; concern evident on her face.

“I Drew Bennett reject you Amy Farrington as my mate.” Then he walked away. Amy felt her heart stop, mates weren’t meant to be apart. She sat there dumbfounded as she watched her mate disappear into the crowd. Paralyzed. The pain rippled through her body in waves, but she refused to break down in this place. She would find her sister and go home. She dragged herself from the booth and went looking for Casey. She found Shay and her friends a while later. Like on autopilot, she inquired,

“Have you seen my sister?”

“No honey, we thought she was with you.” Covey said.

“Are you alright darling?” Shay asked Amy

“I’m fine, just tired. I want to find my sister and go home.”

“Okay dol,l we’ll help you find her. I’m sure she’s in here somewhere.” Amara offered, but Amy had a knot in her stomach that warned her of impending doom.

“Okay, let’s hurry.” The girls got up and all went about looking for Casey. Fifteen minutes later, they decided she wasn’t in the club and went to check if she was outside. Amy's nerves were a wreck, what if something had happened to her sister? She would never forgive herself. She tried to catch Amy’s scent, but since they’d earlier masked their scents, she wouldn’t be able to. She became frustrated. Shay had asked her boyfriend and the other bouncer who’d said he’d seen her get some fresh air, but that was a while ago. He showed them the direction in which she went.

Amy caught the scent of blood, even though she discerned it was human, she was nonetheless terrified. She got to the alley where there were pools and spatters of blood on the ground, she could feel the terror among her friends. Perhaps she could smell faint traces of her sister and something completely foreign, another wolf perhaps? She decided to call her sister’s phone, and when she saw it light up on the ground a few feet from them, fear gripped her. Amara picked up the phone from the ground, which seemed to have fallen from her bag, which was a few feet from where Covey was standing.

“Maybe she’s back in the room,” Shay offered encouragingly. That glimmer of hope Shay had offered seeped into the darkest depths of her soul, the parts that dreaded the worst.

“Yes, let’s go.” Johnny offered to drive them to the hotel. When Amy got there, she ran up the stairs like a streak of lightning. Everyone else tried to keep up, but couldn’t. Amy barged into the room shouting her sister’s name, but the state of the room clearly told her no one had been there for hours.

She fell onto the bed defeated, and that’s where the rest of her friends found her.

“She’s not here,” she whispered to Shay, who was now sitting beside her.

“We’ll find her sweetie; Johnny is already calling the police. She will be okay.” Shay offered. Large, hot tear drops fell down her face, and Shay embraced her warmly.

“She has to be okay. She’s my sister, she’s been through so much already. I was supposed to keep her safe.” Amy’s heart broke for the second time that night.

“Can we call somebody for you? Perhaps your parents?” Amara asked.

“…Oh God! Our parents! They’ll be heartbroken; she was their everything. How will I tell them?” Amy cried harder, her head was pounding and her heart crushing, her body crumbled beneath her, Shay tried her best to keep her steady.

“The police will be here in a few minutes,” Amy heard Johnny say. She saw the looks of pity in the faces of those around her. She was crying and her sister was missing. She had to pull herself together. The police arrived two minutes later and asked a bunch of questions. They also insisted on calling Amy’s parents and informing them. Amy had to change and head to the police office. They went back to the club, and after seeing the blood, they opened an investigation immediately.

The next morning Amy’s parents had arrived in the city, and they found their daughter asleep in the captain’s office, her face tear-stained. The next couple of hours took a toll on every member of the Farrington family. Bret Farrington tried to keep it together as best he could. The officers initially thought she was dead, but when they ran tests on blood found in the alley, it was discovered to be the blood of a certain crook with a rap sheet a mile long. They deemed the case of Casey Farrington a missing persons case.

Casey wasn’t dead that should give her comfort, but somehow it felt like wherever she was, it was worse than death. Maze felt it, the pain Casey was going through. She kept it to herself, didn’t want to rile her family up, but she felt it. A mother knows when her child is in trouble.

"Hold on baby, for as long as you can. We’ll never give up on you, I promise." She sent her thoughts to the universe and prayed to the moon goddess that her daughter would hear her. They gave a statement to the police and went on air to announce and plead to the masses, to whoever sees their daughter, to contact the police.

That day was horrible, but the months to come would be even worse. Over the next few weeks, the only calls they received were from well-wishers. No one had seen Casey or knew anything about her whereabouts. The police advised them to go back home just in case Casey went back there. After two months, Brett and Maze went home and prayed Casey would come back to them. Amy, on the other hand, refused to leave the city. Her wolf was weak from losing her mate, but she managed to find strength long enough to find her sister. And she would find her sister, that she vowed. Even if it was the last thing she did, she would bring her sister back into the loving arms of their parents, she’d make whole the family she broke; that was a promise!