meager belongings were stored safely in his cabin in New Mexico. There they would remain, until the day he died.
There hadn't been enough contact, both physical and emotional, to fully claim her. There had
been enough for the bonding process to start, though. When the hired divers found his clothing she'd been wearing that night, his soul died, leaving behind a broken shell of a man. He'd waited a year before having that done, just hoping it wouldn't be necessary. His hope had been in vain.
Marrok hadn't claimed her the night they'd been together. He wasn't sure if it was a blessing or curse. It didn't matter, though. The wolf had found her, just to have her cruelly yanked from his life.
There was no coming back from that, ever. For him, there wouldn't be a second opportunity. Taylor had been it.
Inside, he felt raw, the news reopening every wound he'd buried deep. Nicole had never
returned either, and no bodies had ever been found. Of that, Marrok was certain. He had a direct link to any and all missing person cases, and he checked the database often. It was as if both women had been wiped completely off the face of the earth. It was unbearable for him, and impossible for him to ever find closure, not that closure would have helped. Closure would be a death sentence for him.
Although he believed he would never find her, he still held a tiny shard of hope that he was
wrong. It was why he continued on. Should that be removed, there would be no reason for living anymore. The wolf would be ready to pass on from this plane to the next when he had solid proof there was nothing left for him here. Werewolves got one mate, and one mate, only. Should she be dead he'd join her in the afterlife, without a second thought. Wherever Taylor went, he followed. No matter what.
A werewolf mating was so involved that the average human mind wouldn't be able to
understand it. Most humans would move on, finding someone else to love. A werewolf never could, and they didn't even want to. Wolves had two souls, the animal and the human. A mate was designed by fate to be the complete other half to both of their two souls. A mating went far beyond love, it was bliss.
The first fifteen years after she disappeared had been spent in complete isolation in his cabin in New Mexico. After that, he had wandered the world for a year. Late one night, in a small-town bar in Missouri, he met Alexander and Connor and made a split-second decision to transfer into the local pack. It was the second largest pack in the whole world, and he'd needed the change. He hadn't regretted it.
Marrok cut across the empty street. Headquarters was fully lit up, but it generally remained that way. It was their version of a police department, but it also doubled as a hospital and state-of-the-art lab.
He walked up to the plain, one-story building. Although it looked small from the outside, below ground was a completely different story. It was safer for the pack that way, and Marrok respected how carefully Alexander and Ivan had designed this town. Connor saw him coming, and he hurried over to the glass door to open it for him.
The other guardians on duty watched him curiously, but Marrok ignored them. “I want to talk to the escaped werewolves,” he bit out, stalking to the elevator and pushing the down button.
Connor followed him, his expression concerned. “I can't imagine what you're feeling right now, Marrok, but the wolves aren't in any condition to answer questions.”
“I don't care,” Marrok hissed, his eyes glowing red from rage and anger. Connor's eyes grew
wary, unused to ever seeing the other guardian lose control. “We are talking about my mate. I don't care if I have to tear apart the entire state of New Mexico. I want answers. ”
He jabbed the button several times, but the elevator moved too slowly to suit him. Marrok
pushed past Connor and walked over to the metal door leading to the stairwell, shoving it hard enough to nearly break it. Connor