Free Divine Savior by Kathi S. Barton Page A

tended to make things easier on themselves, not harder. She would have come in the easier route everytime. The scent on the little girl, Becca, that was not what he had thought either. It was all over her. Colin knew then that the woman had been hugging Becca, loving her. More than likely showing the child the only love she had ever experienced.
    “Stalking her?” Phillip asked condescendingly. “For God’s sake, vamp, why? Is she that pretty, sexy...what the hell?”
    Colin felt the growl moving along his chest and worked hard to contain it before it moved out beyond his lips. To a place where he was sure would get him into trouble.
    “Well...hum...you see, I...well, I believe...shit! She’s my mate, damn it.”
    Colin hated admitting it now. Especially to these people, when he had only just realized the truth for himself. If the woman had disliked him before, she would surely hate him now, he thought with a grimace.
    There were times when a person could only take so much, and poor Phillip had reached his limit, apparently. He burst out laughing. He had started his chuckle standing up, and then progressed to leaning down on his knees, to the point of sitting on the floor, still laughing like a loon. Every time he chanced a look up at Colin, Phillip would laugh even harder. Colin just glared more severely at him. Damned man was gonna have a heart attack if he didn’t stop soon. Then Colin thought that that might not be such a bad idea; it would serve him right. It wasn’t as if Colin had purposely gone out to find his mate and to piss her off, damn it.
    “Do you know how to find her?” Melody wanted to know. “This girl, Colin, is powerful—unskilled, but powerful all the same. I want to find her, meet her as soon as possible. She could hurt herself, or someone else without some sort of training.”
    “She did hurt someone. Me,” Colin grumbled peevishly.
    “Oh, you don’t count. You provoked her. You said so yourself. Don’t you have some sort of special bond or radar detector or something to find each other?” Mel asked him. Colin could hear her impatience in her voice and tone.
    “No, we haven’t. I mean we didn’t. She and I haven’t—we...I haven’t bonded with her yet. We haven’t exchanged blood. All I have is her scent, her smell that I smell because she is mine. And well...we haven’t had sex yet either. Not that it’s any of your bloody business, but I thought she was someone else. I’ve made a mistake, a horrible mistake with her.” Colin shuddered at the magnitude of what he had done to her. “Oh my God, I have to find her, to explain. She was right. I wanted to kill her, hurt her, and I know nothing about her. I didn’t even try to find out, just assumed and accused. Please, you have to help me.”
    Colin was begging, but at this point, he really didn’t care. His mate was out there and she needed him. Not as badly as he did her, but he wanted her with him.
    Phillip stopped laughing now. He came over and offered his hand to Colin to help him up. He hoped. It was either that, or he was going to laugh at him again.
    “We have ways, my boy. All is not lost, Colin. Come on. We have her string now, something we can follow her with. And every time she uses her magic, no matter how small, we’ll get closer. You’ll see, we’ll find her for you, for both of us.” Colin hoped so.
    Colin called to his friend and master, Aaron, in the way only vampires could. He mentally reached out to him, begging for Aaron to come to him. He needed his friend. Aaron answered immediately, assuring him that they were on their way; they would be there soon. Colin felt Sara’s love for him pour into his soul, helping to calm his troubled heart. Colin had never exchanged blood with Aaron’s mate, but he could speak to her as easily as Aaron because she was a part of magic that was all his kind and what all the other magical beings used to live, to survive. He let her reach into him, find what he had done.