Rescue

Jay could hear Misty's assessment from the annex. Judging by how loud the bangs were, she was incredibly powerful. He smiled to himself. He remembered his assessment when he was a child. Between the ages of ten and eleven, most kids were brought for assessments.

He was proficient in water magic. It was how he had been able to escape the traya beast. After it slashed his side, Jay had been jumped off the edge of a cliff near the river. He used his magic to stay on top of the rapids until he was far enough down the river to pull himself out. That is when he met Misty.

"You are supposed to take Misty to your home after this, right?" Haphor asked. Jay smiled. He had bought the home soon after he had come of age. It was connected to the Malkin Merchant Headquarters. After getting back from the hunting trip injured, he hadn't been able to check in. It was another thing to talk to Misty about.

The suddenness of their relationship was unexpected. Most people would find their potential mates when they were young and marry when they got older. Watching the people around him fall in love and mate had always made his heart hurt. Finding Misty felt like an incredible gift.

"Yes, we should tour the shop, too. All of the employees will be excited once they find out. Chez has been bugging me about finding a mate ever since he and his grandson moved in to watch the store."

"Like he is one to talk. Muckle still hasn't found anyone compatible." Qiya chuckled and shook her head. "He is going to feel left out now that you have found yours."

"Maybe. He went off to the southern city of Dinmar. He heard that they received a shipment of dyed silk. You never know, he might come back with a mate too!" Jay, Haphor and Qiya continued to talked about the shop and the town until the sounds from the assessment stopped. It was almost midday by this time.

"Maybe we can stop at a place to eat on the way. Do you think Misty will like that?" Jay was about to answer her when he looked up to see the high priest. His head was bleeding and Misty was nowhere to be seen.

"What happened?" Jay rushed over to the priest, catching him before he fell to the floor.

"They took her." Jay paled and his stomach felt as if it had fallen to the floor. He looked over to his mothers.

"Mother Qiya, please go find the other priests or priestesses. He will need his head to be treated." Qiya nodded and sprinted down the hall to the main entrance where most of the temple gathered. Haphor kneeled next to the injured priest and ripped part of her dress off, holding the fabric to his head to stop the bleeding.

"Let me take care of this." She said. "You go to the assessment area and see what happened." Jay handed the man over to his mother and rushed down the corridor to where Misty has taken her assessment. He looked at the damaged area would have been amazed if he hadn't been so focused finding Misty.

He sniffed the air and could smell the blood in the air. He followed the scent to the platforms and saw drops of blood scattered on the ground. He growled in anger and shifted to his jaguar form. Still following the scent, he entered to the forest to find Misty.

Jay saw the tracks of the beasts that took her. Just inside the forest, he saw a small camp with traces of three or four people. They had been lying in wait. He had heard of cases in other towns where powerful people were abducted after they did the assessment. No one had ever dared to do that in this town.

He moved fast through the forest, but it was obvious that who ever had taken Misty was far ahead of him. It made no sense to take her like this. Jay felt that the person who arranged this was a moron. As the path went deeper into the forest, Misty's scent started to disappear until there wasn't even to slighted tinge to the air. Jay sat on his haunches and looked up to the sky through the trees.

The sun was setting and the shadows were getting deeper with every passing moment. He looked around and could see several places where Misty may have gone, but without knowing exactly what direction she went, he was at a loss to continue.

He looked at the path back to the temple. Jay had sprung into action as soon as he knew Misty was missing, but now that he was out in the middle of the woods with no clear direction, he couldn't help but scold himself for his impulsiveness. Rushing headlong into this without a plan wasn't that smart.

Several hours had passed before Jay felt himself being pulled into a direction. He smiled. The mate mark was burning on his chest and he knew that Misty was wishing for him. He continued into the forest, following the pull of his Mate.

Soon he came to the entrance of a cave. Vines and leaves had been strung together to hide it. Jay pulled them aside to reveal a passage with the mark of a boar with a shackle around its neck. He began to tremble in anger. This was one of the Cixin Syndicate hideouts. Not too long ago, they had tried to blackmail his father and now it looked like they had stolen his mate.

Before he could do much more, Jay heard the sound of a huge explosion and screams. As Jay walked further into the dungeon, he saw the broken mana inhibitors. Coming across the torn cells, he found Misty's scent again along with another scent that was familiar to him. Then, there came a rush of people down the hallway.