Chapter 2 #3
Laughter, chatter, and the crackle of the logs on the bonfire drowned out conversations.
The scents of burning wood, food, and so many foreign shifters tickled Rey’s nostrils.
It made it difficult to identify any one thing or person.
His gaze flitted around the area, taking in the various shifters present.
He couldn’t contain his surprise at how well everyone seemed to get along.
He had expected more tension, but perhaps that’s how it’d been at the first one, each shifter wary of strangers.
They’d gotten to know each other before, most likely.
“Rey,” Kasey called to him.
Rey swallowed the last bite of macaroni, washing it down with a swig of beer, before standing. He set his plate on a nearby table and walked over to join Kasey and the big redhead. “Alpha.”
Kasey clapped him on the shoulder. “Glad you made it. I’d like to introduce you to Cole Ferris. He’s Alpha Elijah’s son and is taking over the Emerald Lake Hills pack. Cole, this is Rey Featherstone, my head enforcer and lifelong friend.”
Cole held out his hand to Rey. “Good to meet you, Rey. You didn’t attend the last summit, did you?”
Rey shook Cole’s hand. “No. My fellow enforcer Talon did. I remained in Senaka to watch over the pack.”
“This is my mate, Kai,” Cole said, nuzzling at the blond-haired male’s temple.
Rey knew better than to touch an alpha’s mate, so he gave Kai a head nod. “Hello, Kai.”
Kai smiled shyly. “Hello.”
Rey noticed a collar around Kai’s throat and wondered what that was all about. Maybe the other shifter pack had different rules about their mates? It kind of gave Rey pause about what type of people they were. Did they believe that being mates gave them ownership over the other?
Kasey tapped Rey on the bicep to get his attention, drawing his gaze away from the collar. “How was your flight?”
“It was fine. The seats are too damn small,” Rey said. He was a big man at six feet six, three hundred and ten pounds, with a broad frame to match. It was like squeezing a semitruck into a compact car parking space.
Cole chuckled. “Agreed. Though you probably have a little more trouble than me.”
The future alpha was not a small man. He stood only a couple of inches shorter than Rey, with a slightly decreased shoulder width.
“Usually have to purchase two seats if it’s a longer flight just to have some breathing room.
The airlines jam way too many damn seats in such a small space.
Not everyone is under six feet and weighing less than a buck twenty. ”
Kasey laughed, eyes sparkling with mirth. “It’s a good thing we found such a close place between the two territories or I may never have gotten you here.”
Rey snorted. “You’re probably right on that one, Alpha.”
A slight breeze kicked up, and Rey caught the sweet scent of strawberries and cinnamon.
Frowning, he glanced around, catching sight of Kasey’s brother Thayne sitting on a log bench near the bonfire next to his mate, Nick Cartwright.
Leaning against Nick’s side was a slender blond male who looked extremely somber for the occasion.
Rey took a step toward them when Nick wrapped an arm around the man’s shoulders.
A growl rumbled in Rey’s chest, rising into his throat.
“Rey?” Kasey asked, concern in his voice. “What’s going on?”
Fuck if he knew. Rey couldn’t have stopped his forward movement if he’d tried.
His gaze locked on the arm around the blond’s shoulders, and his wolf snarled at how comfortable the younger male looked.
Kasey grabbed Rey’s shoulder, causing him to whip his head around and snap at his alpha.
Surprise cast over Kasey’s features before his eyes narrowed and lips pinched.
“What the hell is wrong with you, Rey? Do I need to put you on your ass?”
Alpha power rolled over Rey, and his wolf was torn between submitting to his alpha and getting to the sweet-smelling young shifter nearby. Rey ran a hand over his face before tilting his neck, baring his throat to Kasey. “Sorry, Alpha. I don’t know what the hell is going on with me.”
Kasey released him, but then Rey’s eyes latched back on to the blond.
Rey’s wolf went ballistic when Nick rubbed the man’s arm, and Rey launched forward, slamming into Nick.
All hell broke loose when Thayne joined the fray.
Shouts, growls, and fists went flying. Rey’s head snapped back slightly when Thayne’s knuckles collided with his jaw.
Rey returned the hits, his wolf completely in control, and they rolled around on the ground, thuds from flesh hitting flesh drowning out the surprised murmurs from the others.
Rey kept trying to get to Nick, unable to make his wolf back down.
“What the fuck are you doing, Rey?” Kasey demanded, grabbing hold of Rey’s shoulder and upper arm, wrenching him away from Nick and Thayne. He forced Rey to his knees, putting pressure on several points at once.
Rey growled, glaring at Nick, teeth and eyes half shifted to wolf. “Stop fucking touching him,” he said, his voice somewhat garbled by the long canines of his wolf.
Nick looked surprised and confused, while the deadly expression on Thayne’s face should have murdered Rey on the spot. “Who the hell are you talking about, Rey?” Thayne demanded, grabbing hold of Nick and dragging him tight to his chest. “Nick is mine!”
Rey snarled. “Not him. Him.”
He swung his gaze to the blond, only to freeze at the absolute terror on the man’s face. He’d curled up as if he were going to be hit, too. Rey’s wolf whined in his head, and the fight drained from him. He went fully limp in Kasey’s grip.
“My cousin?” Nick asked, still confused. He cursed and rushed to the blond’s side, setting a hand on the man’s shoulder. A whimper sounded in Rey’s mate’s throat, and the blond flinched. “Shh, Carter, it’s me. You’re okay. Come on, cuz.”
Cousin? Rey closed his eyes for a moment and hung his head.
He hadn’t fucked up this badly since he’d been a young wolf.
His anger had gotten the better of him many times when he’d been younger.
It had taken a lot of anger management classes, meditating, and communing with his ancestors for Rey to gain control over his emotions.
“What is going on, Rey?” Kasey asked, though Rey could hear the beginning of understanding in Kasey’s tone. “I haven’t seen this side of you in over a decade.”
“I-I think he’s my mate,” Rey mumbled. His wolf prowled restlessly in his head, wanting to get near the smaller shifter, but the scent of fright clinging to his mate’s skin kept him away.
“Oh,” Nick said, glancing at Rey for a split second before returning his attention to the blond. “Shit.”
Finally, his mate raised his tear-stained face from his knees. Regret and guilt stabbed Rey when he saw those wet tracks. Nick helped Rey’s mate to his feet and back onto the log bench. “Are you okay, Carter?”
Carter. Rey couldn’t stop staring at the one the ancestors had deemed his true mate.
A dark blue t-shirt hugged a lean chest with little definition from what Rey could see in the firelight.
Tight blue jeans encased slender legs Rey would give anything to feel wrapped around his waist. Golden blond hair gleamed in the light cast from the bonfire.
But the hazel eyes staring at him in sheer fucking terror dropped Rey’s heart into his stomach.
He’d scared his true mate. He also didn’t miss the way Carter’s left hand shook when he tried to steady himself on the bench or the way he stretched his right leg out in front of him. Something wasn’t right with his mate.
“I’m sorry,” Rey said, his eyes begging Carter to forgive his irrational reaction. He held out a hand toward Carter. “Please forgive me, little wolf.”