Terrance woke up feeling completely refreshed; he was rut-free, Mason had dropped off his favorite coffee to be left in the fridge so he could heat it up when he woke up, and he could see the aforementioned Omega later that day.
He skipped out of bed, showering the sweat off of his skin before brushing his teeth and putting on clothes. He did a quick wash of all of Mason's clothes that he borrowed and folded them all in a bag while drinking the coffee, dusting the top with extra cinnamon.
After all of that, he sent a quick text to Mason to tell him he was heading to the cafe. He didn't get a text back, which was slightly confusing since Mason always sent back a 'if you enter my cafe I'll call the police' or a similar text, but he didn't dwell.
However, when he got there, he was surprised to find that Mason wasn't working. It was only his one employee, Lucille, and he didn't pick up much of his mate's scent.
Henry's was in the air, though, so Terrance went to the back only to find Henry on his phone, talking with someone, the bitter scent of anxiety and fear in the air.
"What's wrong?" Terrance asked, making Henry jump and turn around. "Where's Mason?"
Henry sighed and told whoever he was on the phone with that he'd talk to them later before hanging up and putting his hand on Terrance's shoulder.
"He's gone," Henry said sadly. "I was calling my brother. He's a private investigator and is going to help me find him."
"What do you mean he's gone?!" Terrance asked, pushing Henry's hand off of his shoulder and bolting for Mason's upstairs room. "That's not even funny to joke about!"
Henry followed helplessly as Terrance pulled the door open and sprinted up the stairs looking in every room for his mate, calling his name and telling him he didn't think his joke was funny.
Eventually he stopped, making eye contact with Henry, hoping to find a smile or any sign that Mason was still there. It was then that Henry handed Terrance a note, a solemn look on his face the whole time.
Terrance took it, opening the paper and squinting at the neat, cursive handwriting.
Don't come looking.
-E
Growling, Terrance balled up the paper and threw it across the room, only for Henry to run after it and grab it.
"We need that!" Henry snapped, glaring at Terrance. "That's evidence!"
"Evidence of what?!" Terrance asked angrily, slamming his fist on Mason's desk. "He's an adult and the note doesn't specify anything! No one is going to go after him! There's no evidence of a struggle or a fight, no one's received any cry for help, and on top of that, his parents and stupid arranged marriage mate are involved and they're rich enough to pay the cops to not do anything!"
Henry stopped glaring, taking in what Terrance was saying. He sat down on Mason's bed, putting his head in his hand.
"We can't give up," Henry mumbled.
"I'm not giving up! I'm being realistic!" Terrance growled, before his face lit up slightly and he pulled his phone out of his pocket.
Henry furrowed his eyebrows. "What are you doing?"
"Calling my friend, Kanae, before I call Ezra."
"What do you hope to accomplish by that?" Henry asked with an eye roll. "He'll just hang up."
Terrance hummed. "I can trace the signal of the other phone... I just need a computer science major, which she is."
"Is that the one that came in for a job?"
Terrance nodded.
"If she's a computer science major, what's she doing trying to work at a cafe?" he asked, leaning back against the wall that stood beside Mason's bed. "Shouldn't she be looking for a computer-type job?"
Shrugging, Terrance held his phone to his ear, listening to it ring. "She doesn't like doing the same thing over and over again," he said as Kanae answered. "Hey, K!"
"What did you do?"
"Why do you assume I did something?" Terrance whined. "I'm trying to fix something and I need your expertise."
"...where are you?"
Terrance gave her the location before hanging up and sighing, feeling a touch of relief. "At least we'll know where he is," he said, tapping his foot on the ground impatiently.
"We'll find him," Henry promised, forcing a reassuring smile. "He's strong and doesn't let things get to him. We have nothing to worry about."
•••
Mason was on the verge of murdering someone.
After spending an hour in a car, then blindfolded and put on what he assumed to be a plane, then dragged into a room and thrown a small bag of clothes, Mason was ready to murder anyone who came into his room.
No, not his room.
The room he'd been shoved into and forced to sit in for hours.
He didn't even have his phone! Even if he didn't have a way to tell Terrance where he was, he'd at least like to be able to tell him that he was okay. There was no doubt in Mason's mind that if Terrance had finished his rut that he went to the cafe and was probably falling into a panic realizing that his mate was gone.
His mate.
Mason paused in his thinking.
Sure, he'd sarcastically called Terrance his mate before... but never seriously thought it in his head. He knew that he didn't see himself ever making Terrance leave, and he was aware he was falling for him... but he didn't ever think of Terrance as much past a current boyfriend.
"Of course I have to fall for him while I'm being held in some stupid room," Mason muttered, laying on the bed and gazing at the ceiling. "Stupid, dorky Terrance. The stupid Alpha that I'm stupidly falling for."
Mason sat up when he heard the doorknob shake. He wanted to shift, but he was almost positive an Alpha would be sent fo collect him and would force him to shift back, and he didn't want to be naked in front of an Alpha who wasn't his.
"There I go again with calling him mine," Mason mumbled as the door opened.
As he guessed, an Alpha walked in. He had dark skin with grey eyes and he looked almost piteous. The scent of pine surrounded him, but it was ruined by the bitter scent of Ezra that came into the room after him.
"You need two Alphas to collect me?" Mason asked with a scoff as the two Alphas entered the room. "I knew you lacked confidence, Ezra."
Ezra chuckled as he entered and sat on the bed, making Mason back away with a glare. "You're scrappy. I don't trust you to resist attacking my men," he said, holding out a tiny box. "Put this on."
"You put a collar on me when I was ten and I had to keep it on for seven years," Mason deadpanned, picking up the box. "So forgive me for this."
He threw the box across the room, never breaking eye contact with his nemesis.
Ezra scowled. "You always have to be so difficult, don't you?"
"It's part of my charm," Mason said, glancing at Ezra's sidekick who seemed extremely uncomfortable and as if he'd rather be anywhere else. "My mate appreciates it."
"Too bad you won't see him again," Ezra said, making Mason growl. "Unless it's his corpse."
Mason would've charged at Ezra and attacked him, but he preferred to keep his distance and wait until he could escape. He instead leaned on the wall and forced himself to settle down, knowing that any trouble he caused could be taken out on Henry and Terrance.
"Why am I here?" Mason asked. "Where am I?"
"I needed a place for you to stay while I sorted things out with your parents," Ezra responded, looking at his watch. "And it's actually almost time to meet with them. They're waiting for us at their home."
"So we're in New York?"
Ezra chuckled. "There's not much you can do with that information."
Mason scowled, but Ezra's phone rang before he got the chance to growl back.
The Alpha answered the phone and looked confused.
"How did you get this number?" Ezra demanded, his Alpha tone coming out and making Mason wince slightly. "I told you to not get involved."
"Who are you talking to?!" Mason asked, making Ezra growl and order his sidekick to take Mason out to the car. "If that's Terrance I want to talk to him!"
"Come on," the Alpha assisting Ezra murmured, gently nudging Mason. "We don't want to be on his bad side today."
Mason huffed, pushing the Alpha's hand off of him. "Don't touch me."
"Sorry."
"I don't like being grabbed."
"Sorry," the Alpha repeated, removing his hands and leading Mason to an elevator to a parking garage, ushering him into a car. "I didn't meant to upset you."
Mason gave him a growl. "If you didn't want to upset me, you'd let me leave! I'm not some child that gets to be ordered around! I'm an adult who's being kidnapped and kept away from his mate!" he yelled, slamming his hand on the car's seat, making the leather thus under his hand.
The Alpha winced at his aggression. "I'm sorry. I'm just doing my job."
"How would you feel if your mate was taken away?" Mason asked, baring his teeth. "You wouldn't be happy about it and take pity on someone who was just 'doing their job' would you?!"
"I don't have a mate," the Alpha said, his tone showing he didn't want to talk about it. He looked over and saw Ezra walking toward the car, clearly annoyed. "Please buckle up, sir. It's time to go."
Ezra slid into the car beside Mason, leaning over the Omega to lock his door. "Wouldn't want you running off," he mumbled, pulling out his laptop and setting it on his lap.
"Was Terrance the one who called you?" Mason asked, not caring that Ezra was annoyed with him. "I want to talk with him."
Ezra glared at him. "Stop asking about him. He doesn't matter to you anymore," he grumbled. "You should be focusing on how you're going to act at dinner tonight."
"As I usually do," Mason mumbled. "I'll make sure my parents know I hate them and I'll make sure they know I hate you."
"Don't be rude."
"Don't kidnap people."
Ezra turned back to his work, choosing to ignore Mason.
That didn't bother Mason in the slightest; his focus was on one thing and one thing only:
Escape.
Comments (1)
See all