CHAPTER 20 | mother told me there would be days like these

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"What do you mean, you've lost him?"

The sound of Daniel's voice shook Parker from her sleep. She raised her head and looked around the room to find him. Sunlight streamed through the window. She checked her watch—it was just after eight a.m.

Daniel was on the phone, deep in conversation, all the while eyeing up a vase on the cabinet.

She pointed at the broken chair and table. "Don't you think you've destroyed enough of the hotel room already?"

"I want you all back here on the double." He pressed the end call button and pocketed his phone. "Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you."

She swung her legs off the couch and stretched. "What did I miss?"

"They lost him on the outskirts of the city."

Parker froze. "What happened?"

"That's what I want to know." He rubbed a hand over his dark stubble. "The teams are heading back here now. Simon's waiting for them downstairs."

She had showered, changed, and was eating her breakfast by the time the team shuffled into the suite.

"Where are the others?" Daniel said.

Simon grabbed two apples from the fruit bowl. "I sent them for a run and told them to get some rest." He threw one of the apples at Kyle. "Here Jonas Brothers, catch."

When Daniel threw an angry glare at his beta, Simon quickly dropped his shoulders and skulked to the other side of the room. The others looked decidedly sheepish and kept their eyes downcast.

Daniel crossed his arms over his chest and glared at his team. "What happened?"

Parker threw them a wan smile in support. Daniel's tone was enough to make anyone flinch.

Vic thrust her hands into her pocket. "We can only track effectively when there is a scent. Without it, we are as blind and useless as Humans." She looked over to Parker. "No disrespect intended."

Parker shrugged. "None taken." Like their wild wolf cousins, Werewolves' sense of smell was far superior to Humans.

Simon reached for one of the maps on the table and pointed to a section of the map. "The team was hidden far enough away and downwind."

Vic pointed to a central area. "Once he left the club, we were expecting him to head back to the hotel." She traced the path. "But halfway back, he went into a parking garage where he got into a vehicle and headed away from the city. He must have suspected that someone was trailing him, because he led us on a merry dance throughout the city before we lost him."

Daniel studied the map. "He's naturally suspicious. If he thought he was being tailed, you would've lost him much earlier."

Parker wandered over to the computers that had recorded the footage of Matheo from the night before. Curious about what happened after she fell asleep, she replayed the videos.

While she scanned through the footage, Daniel strategized over the different routes that were possible, and broke the map locations into zones, allocating them to the teams. He was also placing someone near the hotel in case Matheo returned.

The pack, engrossed in their conversation and planning, did not notice her sudden flurry of activity. She had fast-forwarded through most of the recording, only to pause at the point where Matheo exited the nightclub. A chill washed over her as she watched a malicious smile cross his features.

She shuddered. What must his alpha be like? How could something be worse than this?

On the one-hundredth rewinding and scrutinizing of the scene, her eyes were drawn to a small part of the screen. A rush of excitement shot through her body. To make sure she wasn't seeing things, she rewound once again and replayed the section.

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