The Lost Mate

Max

I had a system for checking every new non-mundane place I searched, carved by long practice. The first step was to go to wherever the most action was happening, and talk to whoever was the most chatty. People interested in other people’s business were goldmines of information, and most loved to share the wealth.

This time I was in luck, because the woman who I first approached in front of Rustknoll’s no-nonsense pack house remembered me, which cut down a lot of time explaining what I needed.

“I prayed to the moon goddess for you every night,” she told me as she dragged me around her pack, stopping to talk with various people who seemed to know no more than she did, Nash trailing behind us like a skulking shadow. “I’m disappointed to learn that she didn’t grant my request.”

“Thank you,” I told her, even though the words tasted bitter. I was increasingly convinced such things were in vain. If the moon goddess even existed, she was aloof and well above caring about individuals of our species.

“And you heard about the disappearances in the human town? Well, there was a young couple that went missing a few months ago, and it caused quite a stir amongst the oblivious humans. I was actually surprised at the uproar, because it wasn’t the first time it happened and they never really took so much notice before.”

“How many people have disappeared around there?”

“Oh, at least a couple unexplained disappearances every year. Usually they come up with some explanation like the person got lost hiking or something mundane like that. And maybe that’s true, I don’t know. But the hunters came in huge numbers and investigated that most recent one. Apparently the young female who disappeared was the daughter of some important human, and they were worried that it would cause ripples of questions among the oblivious humans.”

I’d been in the town before briefly on my first search, and from what I could remember, it hadn’t seemed very large as far as human centres were concerned. Maybe ten thousand humans at most? It was quite a high number of unexplained disappearances for a population that size. Like the Rustknoll alpha said, I didn’t see how it could be connected to Lillian since this was nowhere near where she had disappeared. But without new leads I didn’t have a better option, so maybe I’d go ask around the human town again.

“They actually went to all the nearby packs in the area and asked us to report if anything came up. I’ve never been too fond of the hunters myself, but I do feel bad for the poor ignorant humans if something is snatching them. How are those poor weak things supposed to defend themselves without wolves?” She tutted.

“That’s what the hunters are for,” I pointed out dryly. Protecting the humans from the supernatural was literally the mission statement that was written in the accords. They gained some authority in protecting the mundane while helping supernatural species remain secret.

“Cassie here, she knew one of the disappearance victims from work,” the woman told me as she took me down to a basement that smelled sharply of chemical detergent. I wrinkled my nose at the burning sensation, but didn’t comment. “Yeah, she’s right here.”

A female werewolf, maybe twenty, was loading laundry into machines. She glanced over at the footsteps of our approach, and the woman leading me around introduced us swiftly. “Well, I ought to get back to work since I don’t think I can be much more help to you, Max. But good luck, and may the moon goddess bless.”

I thanked her without reacting to another moon goddess reference, and turned my attention to Cassie. “Sorry to bother you. I was hoping to ask you a few questions.”

“About Marissa?”

“Is that the human who went missing recently?”

She scoffed. “Well, not the human that everyone cared about. Marissa disappeared...oh, I don’t know, two years ago now? Three? That other couple was just a few months ago. They did look for Marissa, but eventually everyone said she was a runaway and not much got done. I think the human authorities tried a bit harder, but no one ever did find her.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.” I couldn’t help but sympathize with others who had lost people they loved, be they human or werewolf.

She shrugged. “I didn’t know her that well. We just worked together. But it does bother me, though.”

“Yeah.” I paused. “What do you think happened to her?”

“Well, I don’t think she ran away. She didn’t seem the type, not really. She had a good life, she had plans, she was saving up for school. And I wasn’t the only one who thought that, the humans we worked with did, too. And her parents were absolutely crushed. I mean, I know you can’t always tell what’s going on behind closed doors, but she smelled healthy, never had old injuries, she never smelled like strange men. She was straightforward in a naive sort of way, the sort who wouldn’t last for ten seconds on the street.”

I nodded. There was probably no relation to my mate, but what if there was? She sounded as sweet as Lillian, and I sympathized with her family. It was worth at least looking into the details of the incident, since it may have been around the same time Lillian disappeared. My wolf perked with interest and I cautioned myself not to get my hopes up again.

She sighed, and continued, “But anyways, the hunters asked me a bunch of questions about her. Nothing came of that though, either, as far as I know. Are you going to look into it?”

“I might.”

“I’m glad to hear that. She deserves not to be forgotten. Do you think Marissa’s disappearance is related to your lost mate?”

I smiled grimly. “Probably not. But I’ll follow any possible leads I find.”

She wished me good luck, and I went on my way. Nash hadn’t come down into the laundry area, and I assumed it was to save his nose from the overwhelming scents, but he also wasn’t outside when I emerged back out into the light.

“Nash? You okay?” I asked.

There was no answer for a moment long enough for me to worry that he’d gotten into trouble again. I let out a relieved breath when he finally responded, “Yeah.”

“No one’s giving you trouble?”

A harsh laugh crossed the mind link. “No one remembers me.”

There wasn’t really anything I could say to that.