"Alright, we need to stop off and get some gas," announced Sawyer, pulling the hand break on and turning around in his seat, quickly giving Jared and I a once over.

I shifted in the seat uncomfortably, my handcuffs scraping against my wrists painfully, causing me to grit my teeth in pain.

"If you show me I can trust you, I'll loosen them," said Sawyer, opening the car door and stepping out, starting to fill the car with gas.

Jared turned to me, shaking his head as he glared at Sawyer through the window, a growl echoing throughout the car. "You didn't have to put handcuffs on me by the way, you know I wouldn't be able to shift and escape. So why don't you just-"

"Jared, just don't," I warned, my mouth set in a firm line, sighing heavily.

"You two want any snacks? Peanuts, popcorn?" asked Sawyer, popping his head back into the car, and shrugging when he got no reply from my brother or I. "Just checking."

I watched as he gently closed the car door, making sure he had locked it, before making his way into the gas station, giving us one last warning look before he stepped inside.

"Okay, what's the plan?" questioned Jared, raising his eyebrows at me.

I shook my head, closing my eyes for a few seconds. "I don't know. Our best bet is to wait until we see Mom, and hopefully she will talk some sense into her mate."

Jared scoffed, shaking his head. "You really think she will? He's probably holding her hostage or something, our Mom isn't going to be able to do anything."

"Well, it's the only choice we have, Jared. We can't make a run for it," I growled.

Jared dropped his head, sighing. "But you can."

"What?" I asked, furrowing my brows.

"Clara, my disability shouldn't stop you from escaping. Next time we stop off, you need to make a run for it."

"That's not happening, Jared." I said between gritted teeth. "I'm not leaving you."

"You could go and get help."

I shook my head vigorously, swallowing harshly. "He'll kill you. It's not an option."

Jared sighed, nodding, taking a deep breath, fiddling with his chains. "I don't want to see her, Clara."

"I know," I replied, nodding, sadness overwhelming me as I watched my vulnerable younger brother crumble, his fingers shaking.

"She left before the accident. She doesn't know about me. She'll be so disappointed," whispered Jared, closing his eyes and resting his head back against his head rest, his Adams apple moving up and down as he swallowed harshly.

"She wouldn't think that."

"How do you know? We don't know who she is anymore. She left us," replied Jared, sighing.

"She left for love," I responded, nodding in understanding, knowing that deep down I too could never fully forgive our Mother for leaving us.

"So the love she had for a guy she'd just met was stronger than the love she had for her own kids?" Scoffed my brother, tears dribbling down his cheeks, causing me to fight back my own tears.

"Yes," I replied sadly, knowing that the love you felt for your mate was unmatched, and thought of Dylan rushed through my mind, causing my heart to long for him, leaving me wondering if I would ever see him again, and what he would do if he found out I had been killed. My heart started to palpitate, and a wave of nausea washed over me, causing me to almost gag.

Suddenly, my thoughts were wafted away at the sound of the car door opening, Sawyer jumping in carrying a very full plastic bag, passing it to us.

"I got some water and snacks for you two, and there's some deodorant in there. I need you to spray yourselves with it to cover up your scent. We don't need anyone following us."

As I jogged back to the fighting grounds, a smile making its way up onto my face at my successful mission to round up more volunteers, knowing people wouldn't say no to a powerful Alpha. However, confusion crept up onto my face as I looked around me, seeing no sign of my mate.

"Clara?" I called, listening for a response but hearing nothing but the sound of birds and crickets.

I scowled, making my way in the direction of Gia's house, jogging down towards the lake as quickly as I could, panic starting to flow through my veins. My wolf was becoming agitated, but I tried to calm him and convince him that Clara must have just gone to ask Gia to help, or she popped home to grab something.

Knocking on Gia's door, I shifted my weight from foot to foot as I ran my hands through my dark hair, longing for someone to answer the door.

"Alpha Dylan, to what do we owe this pleasure?" said Gia's Mother, smiling up at me, her black hair pulled back neatly into a tight bun at the back of her head, smiling politely up at me.

"Nice to see you again, is Gia home? I need to speak to her," I replied, attempting to look past her at a small figure that was walking towards the doorway. A surprised Gia appeared dressed in her pyjamas, her thin eyebrows raised slightly as she furrowed her brows, shooing her Mother away.

"Dylan, are you okay? It's kind of early."

"I know, I'm sorry, but Clara isn't here is she?" I asked, swallowing slightly as Gia shook her head.

"No she isn't. I haven't seen her today, I literally just woke up."

"Okay, she was at the fighting ground with me and I went to go and round up some more volunteers for Jared's search party, but when I came back she was gone, so I assumed maybe she came to see you. I would call her, but I left my phone at the cabin," I said, scratching at my stubble.

"Oh, well she's probably at home, but I would definitely love to help find Jared, and I'm sure my parents would too, so I'll get showered and dressed, and we'll meet you guys."

"Thanks, Gia. Everyone's meeting down by the lake in about thirty minutes," I said, offering a small smile, turning and strolling along the path towards Clara's house, hoping that she just went to see her Father quickly without letting me know.

"Good morning, Alpha Dylan," a young woman said eagerly as she passed me, smiling flirtatiously. I nodded quickly in response, averting my eyes and quickening my pace, my wolf just longing for my mate.

I didn't care about other women anymore, not since I had met Clara. She was my entire world and I couldn't imagine being with anyone but her. She amazed me everyday how strong she was, and I knew she was perfect Luna material. Excitement raced through me at the thought of bringing her back to meet my Mother, knowing they would get along incredibly well.

A mate had never been something that I had been particularly excited about, I never longed for one like everyone else did. I was pretty happy being left alone to just do my own thing and get on with my life the way I wanted to. My Mother always told me when I met my mate, my feelings would change, but I didn't believe her. I didn't know I could feel this in love with someone, and all I wanted to do was let Clara know.

I sighed as I rounded the corner towards Clara's house, making my up to the door and ringing the bell a few times, hoping that my beautiful mate would open the door.

"Good morning, Mr Mason," I said politely as Clara's Father peered through the door, looking me up and down.

"Alpha Dylan, nice to see you," he replied, opening the door fully and forcing a smile, looking rather uncomfortable.

"I was wondering if Clara was in."

Mr Mason shook his head, shrugging. "She said she went to look for Jared about ten minutes ago, I gathered she went with you? She was in a big rush, but I thought that was just because I was giving her a lecture about her little outburst at Alpha Paul."

"Outburst?" I questioned, furrowing my brows.

"Yes, I'm afraid she spoke to Alpha Paul with quite a lot of disrespect. I don't want her to end up getting punished, so I would appreciate if you could have a word with her, since you are her...mate."

I nodded, swallowing, clearing my throat awkwardly. "Gia isn't sure where Clara is either, so I was really hoping she was here. She didn't say where she was going did she?"

Mr Mason shook his head, sighing. "I hope she hasn't gone to look for Jared on her own."

"I don't think she has, she was waiting for me by the fighting grounds whilst I gathered up a few more volunteers for the search party, but when I came back she was gone."

"I'll call her, um, why don't you come inside?" asked Clara's Father, gesturing for me to follow him inside as he grabbed his phone, settling down on the couch, holding the phone up to his ear.

I quietly stepped in, raising my thick brows at Mr Mason as he pulled the phone away from his ear, sighing and shaking his head, placing the phone onto the wooden coffee table.

"No answer," he stated, pushing himself to his feet, grabbing his coat. "I'm going to head into the town centre to hand out some flyers with Jared on, and then I'll be back to join the search, you're welcome to stay here and wait for Clara if you would like, Alpha Dylan."

"Please, just call me Dylan, Mr Mason," I replied, nodding once as Mr Mason made his way past me to the front door.

"And you can call me Patrick."

I chuckled, furrowing my brows slightly as Clara's Father cursed under his breath, his eyes darting around the room in confusion as if he was looking for something.

"Are you okay?" I asked, slightly cocking my head.

"I can't find my car keys. They're always on this hook here," grumbled Patrick, patting his pockets, confusion masking his face.

"Have you misplaced them?" I questioned, worry masking my face.

"No I always put them on this hook without fail, they're gone."

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I hope you all enjoyed this chapter!

Did you enjoy Dylan's POV? I usually don't like putting other people's POV's in stories, but I felt like I needed to for the story to make sense!

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Lots of love xxx