Chapter Three
Carter
It was barely light when Carter had left his house and driven to the state park. He’d left his truck behind to hike the trails near water that he’d found from a google search that morning.
Carter didn’t know if he was looking for Aaron or those little puppies. Either way he couldn’t go back to sleep once he woke up. He tried texting Aaron but hadn’t received a response. Was Aaron still asleep? Or was he lost in that weird dream?
The dream.
Unbelievable as it seemed, Carter had been part of another person’s dream.
He’d been touching Aaron one second and the next sitting up in bed. Alone. Carter had cursed before trying to force himself back to sleep, back to Aaron, but instead had lain there with his mind whirling. Much the same as when he’d first gone to bed.
Eventually frustration had forced Carter out of bed. He’d taken a hot shower, needing to wash away the dirt he felt on his body even though a quick glance had shown him that he was perfectly clean. Carter had felt the dirt though.
After he was dressed, Carter sat in front of his laptop, trying to figure out what to search for. Typing in a search for oracles had resulted in nothing but texts on mythology. Nothing that would help Carter understand Aaron better. Or how to help the other man.
There was something about Aaron that called Carter’s protective instincts. Other than the few minutes when Aaron had been flirting with him, before the vision, and everything else that had happened, the man seemed almost sad. Troubled.
Carter had always enjoyed a good mystery and maybe that was all this was. Him wanting to figure things out. But he also wanted to make sure that Aaron was okay.
If he knew where Aaron lived, he would have gone over to make sure the man was still in bed. Not wandering around half-naked in the woods.
It was a dream. Just a dream. Except Carter had touched Aaron.
Since everyone he knew was still asleep, Carter had spent an hour googling the state park. There were three hiking paths that would take him near water. That was where he would start.
He’d been loaded up and on his way just as the first rays of the sun broke the horizon. Shifting the pack on his back, Carter left the marked trail where the printed map showed he wouldn’t be far from the water source. This was the third spot that he had tried.
It was now a few hours since he had first set out and Carter was losing hope. So far he hadn’t recognized any of the trees or area from the night before. Was this a mistake? Had it just been a dream and nothing more? No, Carter believed in what he had felt.
Aaron’s soft skin, the lost look in his eyes, the near desperation in his words as he stated he needed to figure things out.
Why was it all on Aaron? Carter couldn’t help feeling like Aaron had been dealing with too much on his own for far too long.
Even the way that Bastian had stated that they were used to Aaron’s visions bothered Carter.
Like okay, they were used to them, but what were they doing about it?
Was it touch that forced Aaron into a vision?
That was all Carter had done. Shook the man’s hand and that sent Aaron into a vision that had knocked him out.
Should Aaron wear gloves? It might seem odd to the people in town but wouldn’t it be better than Aaron just seizing and being put at risk? So many questions and yet Carter didn’t know how to help.
Turning in a circle, he realized that he’d stopped paying attention to the map in his hand and was deep within the forest.
Wait! The flowers. Carter had seen those the night before. The stems were long and the purple flowers with dark centers swayed in the gentle breeze. Had he found the spot?
Carter stuffed the map into his back pocket. Yanking the water bottle out of the side of his backpack, Carter downed several big gulps. He was getting warm now that the sun had burned off the mist from the morning.
Even the thick canopy of leaves from above that hid most of the sun didn’t keep the heat away.
He had more water and some food in his backpack just in case he did find the puppies.
And he could feel that he was close. All that hiking and he had stumbled into the right area after all. Hmm. Moving forward with careful steps, Carter tried to remember the way to the drop where he’d gone down and found the puppies.
Would they be there? Did those three little puppies exist in reality? Why else would Aaron be dreaming about them?
As he walked around, Carter tried to listen for a sound, something, that told him that there were puppies out there.
He had to be close.
Had to be.
Carter was nearly ready to give up when there was a short yip and…talking. Someone was talking? Shit! So he wasn’t out there alone. He rushed forward, over some logs, around a thick tree that had been blocking his view, of the very place that Carter had gone down the hill in the dream.
There was someone else there indeed.
“Shh, it’s okay. You’ll be okay now, I promise.”
Carter grinned. Sadly, this time Aaron was fully dressed, but he was there. “You found them.”
Aaron jolted, letting out a little scream as he fell over. He snapped his chin in Carter’s direction and scowled. “You scared me.”
Carter chuckled while making his way down the hill.
Aaron had a blanket in his hands that was wiggling around. He was holding the blanket close to his chest but that didn’t stop a tiny black nose from peeking out.
Reaching him, Carter knelt and peeled the edge of a soft blanket down so he could see the three little pups from the dream. “They really exist.”
Aaron hugged the blanket tighter. “They do.”
“Are they okay?” Carter asked softly. Aaron seemed upset. He still had dark circles under his eyes but there was something more.
“I think so.” He sighed. “I found what I think was their mama dog and some siblings.”
Carter winced. “Not good?” What was a litter even doing out this far? Had some asshole dropped them off in the middle of the state park? Where natural predators were all about?
“They were killed.” Aaron swallowed hard. “I think the mama dog managed to hide these three. The others…” He shook his head.
“I’m sorry that you saw that,” Carter said sincerely, placing his hand on Aaron’s shoulder.
“At least we found them finally,” Aaron said.
One brave little one poked his entire head out of the blanket. Carter gave the pup a gentle stroke. “I brought food and water.”
Aaron gave him a small smile. “Cool. I was so panicked when I woke up that I just borrowed a blanket from Bryce and ran to find them.”
Carter brought his backpack around to set it on the ground beside him. Aaron placed the blanket gently between them before unwrapping the three little ones.
“Wow,” Carter drawled. “A dragon blanket? That’s a tall order for such little ones to live up to.”
Aaron rolled his eyes, but the smile Carter received this time was much more natural. “I borrowed it from Bryce.”
He said those words like they should make sense to Carter.
“Bryce is mated to Axel. A dragon shifter,” Aaron said.
“A…yeah…you told me that yesterday.” Carter nearly spilt the water he was pouring into a small plastic bowl he’d packed. Had it only been yesterday morning that he’d stumbled into this giant secret? Fuck! It seemed like so much had happened already.
“And you didn’t believe us,” Aaron accused.
That wasn’t true. Well, maybe a little. Carter sighed as he finished pouring a small amount of water into the bowl. He set the bowl close to the pups.
The brave one, Carter was starting to see the differences between the three now, was the first to sniff the water before he began to drink. This boy had a white spot on his right ear that distinguished him from the other two.
The smallest one, a quick look revealed a girl, had a white spot on top of her head. And the middle was pure black, even under a coat covered in dirt except for one back paw. That was also a boy.
Two small boys and a girl.
Three precious little pups that had been through more in their very young lives than should have happened.
Carter had never had a pet before. He’d been too busy in Boston, trying to work his way up the ranks of the Boston PD. Now he wondered if he had been missing out. Would a dog have helped Carter feel more settled? Not that it would have been fair with the long hours he’d worked.
He’d been almost certain they’d have a cat when Hudson had first found Bas. The feline version, not the boyfriend. Although now Carter knew they were one of the same.
Digging out the jerky he’d brought, Carter didn’t look at Aaron as he asked, “What are you going to do with them?”
“Get them out of here for sure,” Aaron said. “They’re not safe here.”
“Are you going to take them home?” Carter questioned.
Aaron nodded. “Unless you know a better place for them?”
A better place? Carter broke the jerky into small pieces before glancing over at Aaron, who looked back at him with a grin. “What?” Carter asked, suspicious.
“You have a very nice big house,” Aaron said.
He did. And wasn’t that just what Carter had been thinking about? “Puppies this young need a lot of attention and care,” he pointed out.
“They do,” Aaron said. “I can take them.”
“But?” Carter knew Aaron had something on his mind.
“I just don’t know how settled I can get them with the family,” Aaron said.
“Not only is there a lot of them, but we have several big predator shifters. Even though they would love and care for these three, their scents might be scary for such little ones. Especially after what I think happened to the rest of their family.”
Carter pressed his lips together as Aaron batted his eyelashes at Carter. Like he already wasn’t the cutest thing ever and needed to pile on the cuteness.
Aaron picked up the little girl that was chewing on a piece of jerky. “Can you say no to this face?” he asked, holding the little girl up beside his own face.