Free Cherished: True Mates Book 5 (BBW Wolf Shifter Romance) (A Craggstone Paranormal Romance) by Olivia Arran

clicked on the light revealing an empty bed, covers thrown in disarray. “He can’t have gotten far,” he said, striding toward the other door and opening it.
    Adrenaline spiked, my world crashing down around me. “I have to find him! Where could he have gone?” Why had he run? What had I done?
    Firm hands gripped my shoulders, forcing me to focus.
    “We’ll find him, I promise.”
     
     

CHAPTER TEN
    Oliver
    Grabbing her hand I tugged her along the corridor, searching the darkened corners for any sight of Josh.
    He wasn’t here. Taking a deep breath, I pulled the air into my lungs, tasting the layers of scent, searching for the right one. It was faint, a trace of his essence barely discernible.
    “He came this way, but it was a little while ago.”
    Ana whimpered, her face screwed up in distress, tears pooling in her eyes.
    Leading the way, we clattered down the stairs to the main house, our noisy arrival causing everyone to stop and look.
    “Have you seen Josh?” I growled, trying not to admit to myself that I was worried. Because that wouldn’t help anyone, least of all Ana. Or Josh.
    Blank faces looked back at me, then everyone started firing questions.
    “When did you last see him?”
    “Where do you think he’s gone?”
    “If I knew the answers to all that, then I wouldn’t be asking, would I?” I gritted out, grinding my teeth.
    James silenced the crowd with a raised hand. “Have you checked the bond? The bears report that the mother-offspring bond evolves from the mating bond.”
    Bond? “Why would we have a bond?”
    “Because you’re mates.”
    If only it were that simple. “Bert has prior claim. Until he releases her—”
    “But have you checked?”
    I hadn’t, not because I was scared, but because I— Well, fuck, I was scared. Everyone described the bond with a kind of awe, like it was the most beautiful thing in the world. And having witnessed at least four of the group find their mates, I knew that the bond formed at first touch, tentative and fragile, but definitely there .
    But I also knew that Ana already had a bond with Bert, and even though it was only one-sided and she hadn’t accepted the mating and the Mother of All didn’t recognize it—
    “What are they talking about, Oliver?” Ana’s quiet voice broke through my racing thoughts, dragging me back to the room.
    “The mating bond. James is thinking we could maybe find Josh through it.”
    Her lips parted to form a perfect “O” of surprise, her brow scrunched up in confusion. “But we’re not mated.”
    “The bond forms when you find your mate,” I explained gently.
    “So, look already.” She crossed her arms expectantly, her mouth set.
    I ground my teeth, the weight of everyone’s gaze beating at me. Stop being a wuss! Closing my eyes, I focused inward, searching my soul for the link of light everyone spoke about.
    I swallowed back a pathetic cry of relief as a thin line appeared in my mind’s eye, spindling off into the dark. Following it carefully, panic started to swell, as the thready line wavered, the life pulsing through it fading and trailing off, inches away from what I instantly recognized as Ana’s soul.
    Forcing myself to take a closer look, I carefully widened my view, focusing on Ana. Her soul was beautiful, as gorgeous and pure as the woman herself, pulsing with love and kindness. About to open my eyes and deliver the bad news I froze, something niggling at me.
    Craning my head to the side, I peered closer. There! A blackness, as small as a pin, digging in deep, a snaking cord of throbbing black oozing out and disappearing into the distance. Bert. I wanted to wrap my metaphorical fists around the cord and rip it out, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t do a damn thing, not while he still had his claws in her, blocking me.
    How am I going to tell her? Then a thought struck me. Josh was a shifter, which meant he bonded too, without another shifter stimulating the mother-offspring bond.
    “Have you