Lover Eternal

release.

'What.' He was breathing hard and did another scrub job on his face with the shirt.

'She's gone. Mary. She's gone.'

Rhage froze with the wet wad under his chin. 'What do you mean, gone?'

'Fritz waited for her in front of the hospital for three hours during her appointment. When he went inside, the clinic she hit was closed. He drove to her house. When she wasn't there, he went back and searched the whole medical center.'

Temples pounding from fear instead of exertion, Rhage bit out, 'Any signs of forced entry or violence at her house?'

'No.'

'Was her car in the garage?'

'Yes.'

'When did he last see her?'

'It was three o'clock when she went to the appointment. FYI, Fritz called you repeatedly, but kept getting voice mail on your cell.'

Rhage looked at his watch. It was just after six. Assuming sixty minutes or so for the doctor's appointment, she'd been missing for two hours.

He found it hard to imagine that the lessers could have picked her up off the street. A far more likely scenario was that she went home and the slayers found her there. But, with no sign of a struggle at her house, there was a chance she wasn't hurt.

Or maybe that was just blind hope talking.

Rhage leaped off the machine. 'I need to get armed.'

Tohr shoved a bottle of water into his hand. 'Drink this now. Phury's bringing your gear. Meet him in the locker room.'

Rhage took off at a jog,

'The Brotherhood will help you find her,' Tohr called out.

Bella came upstairs at the break of night, throwing open the door to her kitchen with triumph. Now that the days were getting shorter, she had so much more time to be out and about. It was only six o'clock, but it was pitch-black. Lovely.

She was debating whether to have toast or fire up some pancakes when she saw lights on at the far edge of the meadow. Someone was in Mary's house. Probably the warriors installing the security system.

Which meant that if she went over she might be able to see that scarred male again.

Zsadist had been on her mind since she'd met him, to the point where her diary entries were filled with speculations about the male. He was just so… raw. And after having been cosseted for years by her brother, she was dying to get out and experience something wild.

And God knew, Zsadist's brute sexuality fit that bill.

She put on a coat and traded her slippers for a pair of running shoes. Jogging through the field grass, she slowed down as she approached Mary's backyard. The last thing she needed was to run into a lesser—

'Mary! What are you doing here?'

The human seemed dazed as she looked up from the lounge chair she was lying on. Even though it was cold, she was wearing only a sweater and jeans.

'Oh… hey, there. How are you?'

Bella sank down on her haunches beside the female. 'Has Vishous finished?'

'With what?' Mary moved stiffly as she sat up. 'Oh, the alarm. I don't think so. Or at least, no one's mentioned anything to me, and it all looks the same inside.'

'How long have you been out here?'

'Not long.' She rubbed her arms, then blew into her hands. 'I was just watching the sunset.'

Bella glanced at the house, dread stirring. 'Is Rhage picking you up soon?'

'Rhage isn't coming for me.'

'Then one of the doggen?'

Mary winced as she got to her feet. 'Jeez, it's really cold.'

As she walked into her home like a zombie, Bella followed. 'Mary, ah… you really shouldn't stay here by yourself.'

'I know. I figured I was safe because it was daylight.'

'Did Rhage or one of the brothers tell you that lessers couldn't be out in the sun? Because I'm not sure, but I think they can be.'

Mary shrugged. 'They haven't bothered me so far, but I'm not stupid. I'm heading to a hotel. I just have to pack a few things.'

Except instead of going upstairs, she wandered around the first floor of her house with an odd kind of dislocation.

She was in some kind of shock, Bella thought. But whatever the problem was, the two of them really needed to get the hell out of here.

'Mary, why don't you come have dinner with me?' She eyed the back door. 'And, you know, you could stay with me until Vishous finishes up here. My brother had my place all wired and everything. It even has an underground escape route. I'm very safe there, and it's far enough away so that if the lessers come looking for you, they won't assume you're with me.'

She got ready for an argument, lining up counterpoints in her head.

'Okay, thanks,' Mary said. 'Give me a minute.'

The female went upstairs and Bella paced around, wishing she had a weapon and knew how to use it.

When the human came down with a canvas tote bag five minutes later, Bella took a deep breath.

'How about a coat?' she said, when Mary went for the door without one.

'Yes, A coat.' Mary dropped the bag, walked over to a closet, and drew on a red parka.

As they crossed the meadow together, Bella tried to rush their pace.

'Moon's almost full,' Mary said as they rustled through the grass.

'Yes, it is.'

'Listen, when we get to your place, I don't want you calling Rhage or anything. He and I… we've gone our separate ways. So don't bother him about me.'

Bella swallowed her surprise. 'Doesn't he know you're gone?'

'No. And he'll find out on his own. Okay?'

Bella agreed only to keep Mary's feet moving. 'Can I ask you one thing, though?'

'Of course.'

'Did he break it off or did you?'

Mary walked along in silence for a moment. 'I did.'

'Um, did you, by any chance… Were the two of you intimate?'

'Did we have sex?' Mary shifted the L.L. Bean bag to her other hand. 'Yes, we did.'

'When you made love, did you notice a kind of fragrance coming from his skin? Something like dark spices and—'

'Why are you asking me this?'

'I'm sorry. I don't mean to pry.'

They were almost at the farmhouse when Mary murmured, 'It was the most beautiful thing I've ever smelled.'

Bella kept her curse to herself. No matter what Mary thought, the blond warrior would be coming for her. A bonded male did not let his mate go. Ever. And that was based on her experience with civilians.

She could only guess what a warrior would do if his female took off.

Rhage walked through each room in Mary's house. In her bath upstairs, he found the cabinet under the sink open. Lined up inside there were extra toiletries, like bars of soap, tubes of toothpaste, deodorant. There were gaps