Chapter 4
REY
Rey watched as shock and awe flooded Carter’s features, but he could still smell the sour tinge of fear from his mate.
With a gentle touch, he took one of Carter’s hands in his, turning it over to examine the minor cuts from the rocks around the bonfire.
“I’m so sorry,” Rey murmured, bending over to brush a soft kiss across the wounds.
Carter sucked in a breath, and Rey could sense Carter’s surprise and confusion. When Rey reached up to cup Carter’s cheek, his heart hurt and his wolf whined when Carter flinched. “Shh, little wolf. I’d never hurt you. I’m sorry our first meeting began this way.”
“Why were you so angry?” Carter whispered.
Rey felt Nick’s hard gaze on him, and he knew he’d fucked up and that he owed the other shifter a massive apology.
He gave a chagrined look at Carter. “My wolf recognized you as my mate and he didn’t like the way Nick was touching you.
I’m afraid when I was younger, I didn’t have the most control of my anger.
It’s been many years since I lost control like that.
I never meant to scare you. It tears my heart out that I’ve made you so afraid of me. ”
He watched Carter bite his bottom lip, hesitation still clear in his eyes. “I-I know you’re my mate,” Carter said.
Smiling softly at Carter’s acknowledgement, Rey asked, “Will you allow me to take you inside and clean the wounds on your hands? Please?”
It wouldn’t be long before the wounds healed, but it would be a good idea to clean the dirt embedded in them.
He held his breath while he waited for Carter’s answer.
Carter’s gaze flicked to Nick, which Rey hated, but he knew he deserved it after their first introduction being so violent.
He’d give his mate whatever he needed to build trust between them.
Carter looked back at him and nodded. Stifling a sigh of relief, Rey carefully levered himself from the ground and held his hand out to Carter.
“Come, little wolf. Let’s take care of those wounds. ”
A fine tremble went through Carter when he set his much smaller hand in Rey’s.
Rey’s wolf growled at the size discrepancy.
He’d always enjoyed men of a bigger stature, but something about Carter’s diminutive size filled him with a primal desire he’d never experienced before.
When Carter grabbed a cane that he hadn’t seen resting against the bench, Rey couldn’t stop his brows from rising in surprise.
Why did Carter need a cane? The acrid scent of shame stung Rey’s nostrils, and he saw Carter’s cheeks turn bright red, his gaze locked on the ground.
“Hey,” Rey said gently, sliding a finger beneath Carter’s chin to raise his eyes to meet his. “The cane doesn’t matter, Carter. I hope you’ll tell me what happened so I know how best to take care of you, but it doesn’t mean a damn thing to me beyond that. Understand?”
Again, Rey could see shock cover Carter’s features. Someone had done a serious number on his little mate, and Rey wanted to shred the fucker to pieces. But he kept his anger in check, knowing it would only scare Carter further. “Come. Let’s go inside.”
Nick and Thayne followed closely—a fact that reminded Rey of just how stupid he’d been to let his anger get the best of him.
He’d lost any possibility of their trusting him alone with Carter for the time being.
Carter had a slower gait, but Rey tempered his own to match Carter’s.
He’d give his mate whatever the man needed.
When they got to the lodge, Rey took Carter’s elbow in a gentle grip to assist him up the stairs, but he didn’t push Carter to accept further help.
He could see the stubborn streak in his mate doing things for himself.
Once inside, he guided Carter toward the large dining table and into a chair before going to the sink to wet some paper towels.
“Did anyone bring a first aid kit?” he asked as he returned to Carter’s side.
He settled into the chair near Carter and picked up one of his slender hands, turning it over.
He kept his movements tender while running the wet paper towel over the cuts.
A small white box came into view when Nick practically shoved it in his face, a glare still apparent on his face.
“Thank you,” he said, taking it from Nick.
Nick grunted in reply. Rey looked up at him. “I’m sorry, Nick. Truly. I spent many years in anger management and learning techniques to control myself, and tonight was inexcusable. I can only offer that I lost my head when I thought my mate was being touched so intimately by another.”
A bruise had already begun forming where Rey’s first punch had landed. Nick glowered at him. “How do I know you won’t lose that control on Carter if you get angry enough?”
“Never,” Rey bit out fiercely. “I would never hit Carter. No matter how angry I get.”
Thayne wrapped an arm around Nick’s waist, pulling him to his side. “Babe, Rey is an enforcer for the pack. My father never would have given him the position if he were a cruel man. Kasey sure as shit wouldn’t let him remain in the position either.”
Nick watched Rey open the first-aid kit and take out some alcohol wipes. “This is going to sting a little,” Rey said to Carter.
Carter winced when the alcohol wipe first hit the cuts. Rey blew on his wet palm to dry the alcohol faster. “I’m sorry, sweetheart. Just a little bit more.”
It concerned him that Carter wasn’t very vocal and seemed to remain hunched in on himself throughout the entire treatment of his wounds.
Someone had abused his mate. Rey had seen it more than once in the pack.
Finding a true mate was rare, to the point many would just take a bond mate to live their lives with.
He’d run off more than a couple of assholes in his time as an enforcer.
He refused to let them continue abusing their bonded mates.
Rey glanced at Nick, a question in his eyes, and Nick gave him a pointed look as if to say they would talk later.
Once the wounds were cleaned and he could see Carter’s shifter healing had begun, Rey cleaned up everything, throwing away the paper towels and used wipes.
When he’d finished, he sat beside Carter again.
“Will you spend the rest of the evening with me, Carter? Get to know me so I can show you I am not a cruel person?”
Carter nibbled his bottom lip again, something Rey figured he did while debating what he wanted to do. He finally nodded, and Rey sighed in relief. “Thank you, little wolf. Would you like to go back outside?”
“Okay,” Carter replied.
Rey stood and patiently waited for Carter to follow suit.
They went out to the front porch of the lodge, but instead of returning to the fire, Rey gestured to some rocking chairs nearby.
The porch was lined with several of them.
Nick and Thayne chose a couple farther down, to give them a sense of privacy, but Rey knew they wouldn’t leave Carter alone with him anytime soon.
Carter settled into one slowly, and Rey took the one beside him.
“My name is Rey Featherstone,” he said. “I am the lead enforcer for the Senaka pack. I own an auto shop back in Senaka and have lived there my entire life. My house is on the edge of pack grounds, close to the forest, so I can not only patrol easier, but also because I love to run as my wolf. My parents are both gone. They weren’t true mates, but they loved each other. ”
“I’m sorry,” Carter said, sympathy in his amber-bright eyes.
Rey nodded. “It was a few years ago, but I still miss them.”
Carter fidgeted with the handle of his cane. Rey didn’t push him. He waited for Carter to decide to talk. “Um… My name’s Carter. Wilkes. Um… Nick is my cousin. I’m not important to my pack like you. I work in IT support, though I’ve been on leave for a few weeks now.”
That told Rey that someone had injured his mate a while ago.
“I don’t really know what else you want to know,” Carter said.
“Anything you want to tell me, little wolf. How old are you?” Rey asked.
“Oh, um… twenty-three. I just turned twenty-three a couple of months ago.”
Rey smiled. “Happy late birthday, sweetheart.”
Carter gave him a small smile. “Thank you.”
“I’m thirty-three, actually,” Rey said. “My birthday is in December.”
“Close to Christmas?” Carter asked.
It pleased Rey that his mate seemed to open up to him. “A week before. The seventeenth. What do you like to do for fun?”
“I like to read, and I’m really into playing World of Warcraft.”
Rey hadn’t a clue what that was. “World of Warcraft?”
“Oh, it’s an online video game.” Carter’s eyes sparkled as he started talking about the game. Rey could see his mate’s true personality peeking through. But after Carter talked nonstop for several moments, almost no breaths in between, he came to a halt, flushing. “Sorry.”
“About what?”
“I talk too much,” Carter muttered.
Frowning, Rey said, “I don’t think you talk too much. I enjoy hearing you speak.”
“You do?” Carter asked, surprise clear in his tone.
Rey gave him an encouraging smile. “I do, little wolf. Tell me, what’s a paladin?”
Carter glowed as he spoke about special abilities and going into dungeons with his guild mates.
Rey’s heart skipped a beat at how happy Carter looked right then.
He knew he’d do anything to make his mate that happy all the time.
Reaching out, he took Carter’s hand in his, entwining their fingers.
Carter stuttered for a second, but he continued talking about the game he played.
“Maybe you could show me how to play some time,” Rey said.
“Really?” Carter asked. “But Dar—” He cut himself off.
“What were you going to say?” Rey asked.