Anya sped down the highway toward Ark University at top speed. The wind raged against her, its breath rough and violent as it whooshed over the thick sleeves of her jacket, the force of it threatening to throw her balance.
The engine revved and rumbled in tune with her panicked heartbeat. Its groan doing nothing to alleviate the swirling sense of dread that spread through the grounder's chest. Trees and cars and shops whizzed by in a blur, Anya paying no attention to them as she fixated on her destination and nothing else.
She desperately hoped to find Raven hanging about doing nothing more than ordinary, mundane human things. Her thumb pressed heavily on the throttle, milking that motorcycle for every bit of extra speed it would gift her.
The bike came to a screeching halt when she finally reached the parking lot. Her bike helmet flew to the handlebars in a hurry as Anya ripped herself from the bike and raced through the sea of vehicles. She scanned the area as she ran, wishing she knew what Raven's car looked like but had never seen her in it.
By the time she rushed the tall, heavy glass doors of the dorm room building, she could already sense Raven wasn't inside.
Nerves on fire, Anya shot up the wideset staircase, ignoring the odd looks from passing students. She must have looked out of place between her gang jacket, bandana, and the deranged expression on her face.
But she didn't care. She kept hurrying up the stairs until she reached the hallway, only one task at her forethoughts. She had to find Raven's room. Had to find a trail. Even if it meant running into the mechanic's ex, the human called Clarke.
She paused in the brightly lit hallway, a few students disappearing into their rooms before silence fell. Every now and then, muffled voices drifted through the walls. Anya closed her eyes to concentrate.
She was confident she could sniff out Raven's scent. It was the first thing she noticed upon meeting the gorgeous brunette. Raven's smell had hit her full force that first night. It was what drew her gaze from her group, from across the street, across the tracks. It had been so wonderfully intense.
It was like that every time they were together. As soon as Raven would appear, something inside Anya would buzz with life. Every time they made skin-on-skin contact, her blood would ignite with new energy and pure animalistic lust.
She missed that smoky scent of engine grease and soap like nobody's business. And Anya would do anything to get it back.
Anya inhaled deeply as a thousand aromas filled her, but only one immediately pulled her attention. And it wasn't just Raven she was smelling, her own scent was mixed in too. It was weak, but it was there. This brought a tiny smile to the corner of her lips. A smile that quickly faded when she identified a third smell in the cluster. Another woman. It must have belonged to Clarke.
Raven had definitely been through that hallway in the last twenty-four hours, though. Now, which room belonged to her and Clarke?
Anya looked around carefully, suddenly feeling out of place in the pristine building. Carpet lined the hallways with flawlessly clean sparkling walls of white, neat rows of what you would call hotel art hanging along the corridor.
Anya closed her eyes again, allowing her sense of smell to guide her as she moved between the maze of doors. Her feet didn't travel far before she stopped outside one. She could hear someone on the other side moving around, shuffling papers, slamming drawers.
With a sharp breath, Anya knocked.
A blonde woman a head shorter than Anya opened the door. Dark circles pulled beneath bloodshot blue eyes, her forehead creased with stress and brows furrowed in irritation.
This girl definitely portrayed someone who may have gone through a recent breakup. Her scent also mildly recognizable. Something Anya could have only picked up from Raven. This was it. This was the place.
"Can I help you?" The woman spat, obviously irritated at being interrupted.
"You must be Clarke. I'm Anya. Do you know where I can find Raven?"
Fire burned in Clarke's death glare. "Oh my god! Are you the bitch Raven cheated on me with!?"
Clarke showed no restraint in the level of volume her tone carried, causing several doors to open down the hall, curious heads poking out.
Anya remained in the doorway unfazed. "Yep, but don't blame Raven. I'm a hell of a catch."
Fury lit Clarke's glare to new extremes before she shook her head in disbelief and moved to slam the door in Anya's face.
But Anya's reflexes were too quick, and instincts sharper. She caught the door mid-slam. "Where is she?"
Anya's tone came out authoritative and demanding, a shred of hostility leaking into it.
Clarke backed away with a huff and snatched up her cell phone, pressing a few buttons before placing it to her ear.
"You call security on me, bitch, and you're gonna regret it." Anya promised, taking a step into the room.
Clarke rolled her eyes. "I'm calling Raven, so you'll leave me alone."
"She hasn't answered her phone all day. Otherwise, I wouldn't be here."
Clarke actually looked concerned as she hung up. Then she tapped the screen a few more times, seemingly calling someone else.
"Hey, Peri. It's Clarke. Is Raven over there?"
Something about Clarke being so casual with Raven's mother sent an unexpected twinge of jealousy through Anya. Would she ever be casual with this 'Peri' one day?
Clarke fell silent for several seconds. A sinking feeling settled in Anya's stomach as the other blonde's brows furrowed.
"Okay, yeah. I'll call you if I hear from her."
After Clarke hung up, Anya couldn't wait any longer. "Well?"
Clarke sighed. "Peri saw her this morning. She said Raven was fine when she left. She has some weird tracking app that says Raven's car is still in her driveway, so she's probably still there."
Anya couldn't help but wonder why this news didn't alleviate her nerves any. Shouldn't she be relieved? No, she couldn't relax until Raven was standing right in front of her.
"Give me their address," Anya demanded.
Clarke turned angry again. "No! I don't know you. I'm not telling you that."
"Then just tell me the neighborhood. I can find her, Clarke. But I need to know where she's been."
The earnest in Anya's voice must have struck the right note in Clarke because her rigid stance loosened considerably.
After a long sigh, she said, "Arcadia Estates."
Anya didn't even say thank you before rushing from the room and running down the corridor back out to the parking lot where her bike was parked.
As she mounted her bike, another came to park beside her. She knew the woman by scent and sense before she even removed her helmet.
Commander Lexa.
Anya paused to take in the rare sight before her as the commander stripped away her grounder gear to reveal clean, simple civilian clothes underneath. The brunette's hair was freshly washed, and face scrubbed of the dark commander eye makeup she usually wore. She looked like any other college student on campus. Lexa shot Anya a mischievous look as she dismounted.
"Here for Clarke?" Anya asked.
Lexa nodded.
Anya's gaze roamed over Lexa's attire of a dark low cut tank top and pair of skinny blue jeans. Although a casual outfit, it accentuated Lexa's curves in all the right ways and was sexy as sin. It was also an unusual combination for the woman Anya had known all her life.
"What are you planning to do? Seduce Clarke into being abducted!?"
Lexa rolled her eyes as she tucked her gear under her bike seat compartment. "I just need to insert myself into her life, for now, to see if she's infected or not. Don't worry. I have a plan. And what about you? Have you found your Raven?"
Anya sighed, "No. But I have a lead. I'm starting in Arcadia Estates."
"I'll return home in a couple of hours. Find me by sundown," Lexa ordered as she hurried off toward the dorm building.
Anya gave a wave of understanding before sliding down her helmet visor and revving the motorcycle to life. Without hesitation, she sped off toward the snobbiest side of the district.
It was no surprise for Anya to learn Arcadia Estates was a gated community. She rounded the corner of the high risen concrete wall and parked her bike against an area with some overgrown brush, hiding the motorcycle from sight.
After securing her helmet and gloves beneath the seat, she pocketed the key and scaled the wall with little effort. She landed on the other side with ease, staying low along the hedges as she passed the giant mansions one by one.
The streets were quiet, the windows of the homes dark. Rich people didn't seem to do much. It only made Anya's getting around that much easier. She followed her nose through the pristine wavy streets and straight to Raven's car, a sleek, dark red tesla roadster.
The expensive sports car matched Raven's personality to a T. Hott, sleek, sexy, fun as hell, adventurous, and could handle the heat.
After peeking through the car windows, Anya headed straight for the door, knocking rapidly.
No answer.
She tried the doorbell.
Silence on the other side.
She tried knocking and ringing the door simultaneously like a crazy person.
Still nothing.
With an agitated grumble, she took out her cell phone and dialed Raven's number. A familiar ringtone sounded from somewhere inside.
She reached for the handle and was surprised to find it unlocked.
Cautiously, Anya stepped inside, an unusual odor hit her immediately. A smell not usually associated with sitting out in a human's home. Meat. Raw meat.
Anya moved through the foyer, inhaling deeply.
"Raven?" she called out, her voice echoing through the mansion.
No answer.
Anya tracked the scent through a hallway, her boots echoing on the hardwood floor as she followed the scented trail to the kitchen. Her heart raced as she took in the scene.
A small slab of pork laid on the floor. The fridge door hung wide open. Raven's phone sat on the countertop. The mechanic's scent was everywhere, a mixture of that unique Raven fragrance and fear.
"Raven?" Anya called again, only to be met with further silence.
After glancing over the scene, Anya decided quickly what to do. The grounder snatched up the meat and placed it on an empty plate in the fridge's center shelf then closed the door.
Her hypothesis of the situation was Raven was indeed experiencing symptoms of Anya's blood inside her. Raven had probably been spooked by her reaction to the raw meat and taken off. And if she was right—in which she desperately hoped she wasn't—then Raven was indeed infected.
Anya crossed the hall back to the foyer, trying to figure out where to go next. She didn't exactly want to hang around waiting. Raven's parents could return soon. Not an encounter she wanted to talk her way out of.
She looked to the carpeted staircase and decided to investigate. If she could find a stronger, more recent scent of Raven, she could find her faster, track her further.
It was more difficult in the city and places where there were a lot of humans to pick out specific scents. Part of her couldn't wait for Raven's turning just so her smell would be more potent. More specifically, she couldn't wait until Raven carried Anya's scent more completely.
As she ascended the stairs, she smirked to herself for a brief moment as it finally dawned on her that she would be taking Raven as her mate. Her smile quickly failed when she next thought of whether Raven would even accept such a proposal.
Lexa was right about one thing. They'd only known each other a short time. What if Raven didn't feel the same? Anya knew it in her bones that Raven was the one. She sensed it in her entire being from the moment they first laid eyes on each other, although she hadn't known it at the time.
What if Raven reacted badly to what Anya had to tell her? What if Raven didn't want to turn? Guilt flooded Anya as she turned down a hallway and followed Raven's scent through the house.
Everything was happening so fast. And it was all happening out of order. Anya should have maintained her distance. They should have drawn things out. Gained trust. Allow love to form more slowly and naturally. Anya would reveal her secret, then Raven could have considered what that meant for her. And once Raven had time to adjust to it, Anya could make the offer.
Finding Raven's room was easy. The smell was strongest in here. Raven slept in the bed the night before, the sheets still messed up. The walls were laden with science posters, space stations, and a few sexy but tasteful posters of female engineers in jumpsuits sporting a healthy amount of cleavage while welding the side of heavy machinery and spaceships.
Raven's thin red sweater caught Anya's eye, causing her to rush over, grab it up and press her nose against it with a deep inhale.
And suddenly it was all Anya could smell. The scent she never wanted to leave her. Suddenly, the air shifted around her. Anya spun around, following her nose through the house, down the staircase, and out the front door.
After closing the door behind her, she made her way down the street until she met another wall of fear on top of Raven's scent.
Raven was in trouble. Or perhaps just frightened. Either way, Anya had to move quickly.
She hurried through the neighborhood, taking off into a sprint while following the invisible trail through the city streets, pass the university, and down the town's edge toward the tracks.
Relief fell over the blonde as she realized Raven's direction must have been an instinctual one. Raven had retreated to the forest. It would be easier to track her in there. That was Anya's home. She knew the grounds well.
It also meant she could… shift. Which meant she could move faster, track and smell more masterfully. She had this. She'd find Raven by sundown. She was sure of it.
However, once Anya crossed the tracks and entered the forest, a whole new sensation overwhelmed her.
Trepidation.
Raven wasn't alone. Another odor infused the area. A scent Anya did not want around Raven unsupervised.
Luna.