The mate of his nanny

Chapter 111: No Time To Lose

Edrick

Once again, the elevator took far too long to carry me down to the lobby. As soon as the doors opened, I shot out across the lobby and bolted toward my car, ignoring the strange looks from the concierge and maintenance staff. I climbed into my car and sped off in the direction of the Rogue district with only one goal in mind: finding Moana.

Traffic began to slow me down, but I didn't care. I broke a lot of traffic rules and would likely be pulled over later, but only cared about getting to the Rogue district in time. I could pay off the police and use my status to get out of any tickets, but I couldn't use my status and my money to save Moana if she was already dead.

I was so furious with Kelly. How could she do this? I trusted her to do the right thing and try to be a better person, and once again, she had failed me. I felt like such an utter fool for letting her trick me. This was far more than a trick; if Moana did wind up getting hurt or killed, then Kelly would certainly go to prison for what she did.

I would make sure of it.

When I finally arrived at the entrance to the Rogue district, I came to a screeching halt alongside the curb and jumped out of my car without a second thought as to whether my car might get stolen or damaged. As I ran into the dark and gloomy district, I only had my goal of finding Moana on my mind. To hell with my car. As long as I found Moana, everything would be okay.

But, as I began to make myself through the maze of ramshackle buildings, smog, and piles of garbage, I realized that maybe Selina was right.
Even as an Alpha, the Rogue district was an entirely different beast.

It wasn't unheard of for werewolves to come to the Rogue district and get lost by accident, never to be found again. No one knew exactly what happened to these werewolves that got lost, although there were plenty of ideas: trafficking, murder, drugs... The list could go on, and that was only for werewolves. For humans?

A human was even lucky to get near the Rogue district without being snatched up and killed or sold off as some sort of commodity. A beautiful woman like Moana would be an easy target for Rogues. Even just the thought of the things that they would make her do here made me sick to my stomach, and compelled me to run faster in my search for her.

"Looking for somethin', handsome?" a woman cooed from an alleyway. I ignored her at first, but then stopped and turned to face her. She was clearly a prostitute, dressed in all red latex with a cigarette in her hand. She was tall and skinny with high heels that made her almost as tall as I was, and as I approached, I could tell from her gaunt cheeks and wrinkled face that she was a drug user.

"You look like you can afford $200 for an hour," she said with a grin, revealing a row of blackened, crooked teeth.

I grimaced and shook my head, but pulled out my wallet anyway. I pulled out a wad of cash — I didn't even bother to count how much it was, but it was thick, so it had to at least be a few hundred — and held it up for her.

The woman went to snatch it, but I jerked it away. "I'm looking for someone," I said, holding the cash out of reach. "A woman. Long red hair and freckles. And she's pregnant. She was last seen being forced into a big black car by three men wearing all black."

With a frown, the woman shook her head. "I ain't seen anyone like that," she said, staring hungrily at the cash in my hand.

I sighed and went to put the cash back in my wallet — but before I could, the woman suddenly spoke up. "Wait!" she said, dropping her cigarette. "I did see a big black car drive in here a couple hours ago. It went that way." She pointed her long, bony finger down the street. When I looked at her, I couldn't be exactly sure how truthful she was being, but I knew that she was my only choice right now. Finally, I tossed the wad of cash at her.

"Thanks," I said, walking away while the woman greedily counted her money.

I kept going in the direction that she pointed. As I walked past the gaggles of meth heads and homeless people, I began to feel a new level of disgust for this city. The mayor was really allowing this? Sure, these people were Rogues, but... Most of them probably didn't ask to be Rogues. I knew it was bad, but not this bad.

Either way, I couldn't stop and think about it. I picked up my pace and began to run again, focusing on finding Moana even as the sky began to darken and rain began to pour. The only thing I cared about was her safety.

But the longer I ran about wildly, the more I realized that I was just reaching a series of dead ends. This district was massive; I would never find Moana like this. I cursed out loud as I ran, feeling my heart start to sink as I imagined Moana becoming one of the poor souls who got trapped here against their will. It made me so sick I thought I would throw up, but I still kept running, praying somehow that I would turn a corner at any moment and find her standing there. But I never did.

Until...
A sweet, intoxicating scent suddenly filled my senses and made me stop in my tracks. I sniffed the air, my eyes widening. I knew that smell. I had experienced it once before when we were playing in the maze at the amusement park, and another time when I hugged Moana in the living room at the penthouse.

Before, it had been weak and easily played off as perfume or the distant scent of someone else, but now it was far more powerful and intoxicating. It made my head reel, and I shut my eyes, stumbling back a bit. When I opened them again, I could feel that my eyes were glowing as my own wolf awakened. Somehow, we both knew that this was our mate's scent.

But that wasn't just it.
It was Moana. It was her scent.
I didn't have time to stand there and ponder how she had a scent as a human. All I knew was that I had to follow it if I wanted to find her.

I immediately began sprinting in the direction of the scent, letting it guide me down streets, around corners, and through alleyways. I didn't care if my frantic running gathered attention, or if I would exhaust myself, because I knew that Moana was the one who was creating this scent — and if she was the one who was creating this powerful, intoxicating scent, then I was certain that she was still alive.

When I finally turned the last corner, the scent became even more powerful. There, in the middle of the street in the dark and the rain, laid Moana.