Chapter 4 #2
Carter shook his head. His breathing increased a fraction, and Rey could hear Carter’s heart racing.
Instead of pressing him again, Rey squeezed his hand gently.
“It sounds like a fun game. I don’t have a lot of time with the shop and my enforcer duties, but I’d really like to try it with you some day. ”
Laughter floated to where they sat, and Rey glanced at the bonfire to see Kasey seated in a wooden chair with Seth on his lap, Seth’s head resting on Kasey’s shoulder.
Rey’s heart ached to see the sheer trust and love on Seth’s face.
He could only hope Carter would look at him that way one day.
He knew he had a lot of ground to make up for after the first impression Carter had of him, though.
“Rey?”
“Yes, sweetheart?” Rey turned his attention back to his mate.
Carter gave him an uncertain look. “What happens now?”
“What do you mean?” Carter shrugged. Rey shifted until he faced Carter fully. “Do you mean tonight? Or do you mean after the summit?”
“Tonight… Both.”
“Well, tonight, I hope you’ll continue to tell me about your life, and if you’ll let me, I’d like to kiss you good night.
” Carter’s eyes widened and his breath caught.
Rey hid a smile, pleased he affected his mate.
“After the summit, I’m hoping by then I can convince you to come home with me to Senaka so we can continue to get to know each other.
I can show you where I live, where my pack lives, and hopefully, you’ll let me claim you. ”
“Y-you want to claim me?” Carter whispered.
Rey lifted Carter’s hand to his mouth and pressed a kiss to the back of it. “Of course, my sweet little wolf. More than anything.”
“But you don’t kn-know me,” Carter said. “You could hate everything about me.”
“You could hate everything about me, too,” Rey pointed out.
Carter furiously shook his head. “No. I couldn’t.”
Rey chuckled. “I’m sure there will be things about me that will drive you crazy, sweetheart. It’s inevitable, but that’s all part of a relationship with someone.”
Shame once again flooded Carter’s expression and scent. He looked away from Rey. Rey knew there had to be something in Carter’s past which made him react as if he were ashamed of who he was. “Do your injuries carry over into your wolf form, sweetheart?”
Carter tensed, and the odorous scent of shame deepened. Nodding, Carter kept his gaze locked on his lap. Rey squeezed Carter’s hand again. “Hey, remember what I said? I only ask so I know what you can do, what you can’t, and how to care for you.”
Peering at Rey from underneath his lashes, Carter nibbled his bottom lip. “I can shift and walk or trot, but running isn’t a possibility, yet.”
“Well, then, how about we shift and go for a walk together. Let our wolves get to know one another. Okay?” Rey wondered if Seth could do anything for his poor mate.
There were only a select few in the pack who knew of Seth’s status as a Rho, a rare and once in a century form of shifter who manifested an ability of some type.
Seth’s ability was healing. Would he be able to help Rey’s sweet mate at all?
“Okay,” Carter said.
Rey stood and held his hand out to Carter. “Can’t wait to see your beautiful wolf form.”
Carter blushed, and Rey smiled gently as they took the stairs at a slow pace to the ground. There was still a possibility of humans being close by, so they waited until they reached the coverage of trees before Rey halted. “Go ahead, little wolf. Shift.”
After a slight hesitation, Carter closed his eyes, and Rey blinked against the bright light cast by Carter’s magic as he changed into his animal half.
He sucked in a deep breath at the deep dirty blond of Carter’s coat and the way his hazel eyes flashed a gorgeous amber color.
Dropping to one knee, Rey settled a hand on Carter’s head, scratching between his eyes.
Carter leaned into the touch, eyes going half-mast. “You are simply stunning, my mate.”
Rey chuckled when Carter appeared to preen slightly at his praise.
He ruffled Carter’s fur and stood, closing his eyes to call forth his own shift.
He knew what Carter would see, having seen his own wolf reflected in the creeks and rivers of Senaka dozens of times: pitch black fur and bright amber eyes.
Shaking out his fur, Rey approached Carter, nuzzling at his throat and rubbing against him.
Anyone who scented Carter would know he belonged to Rey, a fact that sent delight and pure possessiveness racing through him.
Carter wasn’t who he’d expected for his mate.
Not when his own proclivities in bed tended toward larger-built men.
He wondered if he’d always have to be careful with Carter during sex.
He shoved the thought away. His ancestors knew what they were doing.
Carter would be perfect for him in every way.
Besides, Rey knew it would probably be a minute before he could claim Carter sexually, anyway.
If his reaction to Rey at the beginning was anything to go by, that is.
After their walk, Rey would try to get Nick by himself and see what he could learn from the other shifter.
Nick must know what had happened to Carter.
Who had hurt his mate? Nudging Carter, Rey guided his mate deeper into the forest. He carefully gauged Carter’s steps, keeping his own slow and steady.
Carter didn’t stumble, but Rey could see the fine tremor in his mate’s right back leg.
He didn’t push Carter to go far. They stopped to rest near a small outcropping of rocks overlooking a deep ravine.
Rey flopped to the ground beside Carter, who sat on his haunches next to him.
He heard Nick and Thayne following them but ignored their presence.
It chafed that they still didn’t trust him with his mate, but he couldn’t fault them for their wariness, either.
It was his own fault. Hopefully, they would see he truly wasn’t a violent man by the time the summit concluded.
Somehow, he doubted Nick would allow Carter to go to Senaka with him on his own if he didn’t convince them of his sincerity.
Which made him wonder how Thayne would react.
Thayne wouldn’t be able to go to Senaka with Nick.
He’d been banished almost a year ago because he’d broken pack law and turned a human.
Even though he hadn’t done it intentionally, pack law didn’t care.
Created Ones were dangerous and feral. They endangered every shifter in the world with their penchant for violence, blood, and animal instincts.
If Thayne set foot on the Senaka pack lands ever again, the penalty was death.
Rey knew it had hurt not only Kasey, but their parents as well.
They could only see Thayne while at the summit or if they traveled outside of pack lands.
Rey sat up and leaned into Carter gently.
He rubbed his head over Carter’s, enjoying the tantalizing cinnamon and strawberries scent his mate emitted.
It broke his heart that anyone could have abused the smaller male.
He knew without a doubt someone had hurt Carter deeply.
Not just physically, but emotionally as well.
Carter seemed ashamed of who he was. Rey hoped that over time he could restore Carter’s confidence and true self.
The small glimpse he’d had on the porch of the lodge had shown him a happy, carefree young man.
He nudged Carter after an hour, tossing his muzzle back toward the lodge.
Carter nodded and stood, stretching slightly.
Rey waited until Carter began walking to fall in beside him.
At the edge of the forest, just inside the tree line, both shifted, and Rey took Carter’s hand in his instantly.
Carter flushed and looked at the ground, but he didn’t pull away.
Nick and Thayne weren’t far behind them.
Thankfully, they hadn’t disturbed his and Carter’s time together.
Rey wanted a chance to get to know his mate without babysitters.
By the time they reached the bonfire, it had burned down to glowing embers, and many of the surrounding shifters had departed. He spotted Kasey and Seth seated on the front porch of the lodge, watching over the remaining seven or eight still relaxing and talking nearby.
Rey stayed by Carter’s side as they took the steps up to the porch. “Alpha.”
Kasey smiled at Carter. “Hey, Carter. How are you feeling?”
Carter tilted his head a fraction, baring his throat to the more powerful shifter. Rey didn’t like it, but he knew, or rather hoped, Kasey would be Carter’s new alpha soon and Rey would have to get used to it. “I’m okay,” Carter replied, giving a quick glance at Rey. “Um… Seth said… um…”
Seth pressed a quick kiss to Kasey’s cheek and hopped up. “Yep. Let’s go inside and chat a little, hmm?”
Rey realized there must have already been a discussion about Seth trying to heal Carter’s injuries. He tried to follow them into the house, but Seth shook his head at Rey. “We’ll be back out soon, Rey.”
He opened his mouth to argue, but Nick came forward. “Let’s talk, Rey. I’m sure Carter will be fine with Seth.”
Now would be a good time for Rey to question Nick about what the hell had happened to his mate. Reluctantly, he watched Carter and Seth enter the lodge. “Will Seth be able to help?”
Nick sighed. “I hope so. Carter has been so depressed since he came out of the coma.”
“Coma? What the fuck?” Rey barked.
Nick winced and waved a hand at one of the rocking chairs. “You might want to sit down for this.”
Rey claimed the seat Seth had vacated. “Tell me.”
“Carter’s always been a bit of a chatterbox.
He was practically born that way. He started talking before he was two.
It’s always been hard for him to make friends because of his excitable nature and his love to talk.
” Nick frowned and leaned against the railing of the porch.
“I think that’s why he falls so fast for whoever shows him the slightest bit of attention.
That has brought an endless string of losers into his life.
Men who used him for his money, sex, whatever they could.
“He’s dreamed of finding his true mate, like most of us do.
I think after not finding you at the last summit, he returned home even lonelier than before.
He met Darryl not long after we got back to Emerald Lake.
A couple of months later, even though I tried to talk him out of it, he moved in with the bastard.
I didn’t notice right away because of additional responsibilities with the pack and being relatively newly mated myself, but Carter’s daily phone calls and visits tapered off. ”
Nick winced and ran a hand through his hair.
“It was about three and a half months into their relationship that I realized Carter wasn’t calling anymore.
He wasn’t texting me. He’d gone radio silent.
When I reached out to him, he sounded different.
Withdrawn. Nowhere near the usual animated person I know him to be.
It wasn’t until I got the call from the hospital and one of our pack members that I found out about Darryl’s physical abuse. ”
A chill trickled down Rey’s spine. “What. Happened?” he growled.
Pain and regret flooded Nick’s features.
“The bastard beat him unconscious. He almost died. If it wasn’t for a neighbor, Carter would have.
There was extensive trauma to his brain, and he was in surgery for several hours.
Afterward, he was in a coma for a week. When he finally woke up, he couldn’t use his left hand at all and his right leg could barely hold him up.
Something happened to his motor functions because of the swelling in his brain. ”
“Jesus,” Rey said, his heart aching for his little wolf. He cursed himself mentally all over again for the way he’d reacted in front of Carter. The fight had sent his precious mate into a panic attack. Regret heavy on his heart, he said, “Tell me the fucker’s dead. Tell me you killed him.”
Nick shook his head. “When the neighbor called the police, Darryl had already left the house, leaving Carter for dead. The police found and arrested him and he’s in jail awaiting trial right now. For assault and battery and attempted murder.”
Rey cursed, his hands tightening on the arms of the chair until he heard the wood crack. “If he ever gets out, I’ll gut the son of a bitch.”
“Carter has been in physical therapy since getting out of the hospital. His shifter healing helped with most things, but the brain… it’s such a complicated organ.
Our shifter doctor, Oliver, believes Carter will regain full control of his hand and leg, but it’s going to take time.
The hope… The hope is Seth can help make that time shorter. ”
Rage boiled beneath the surface the longer Rey thought of the prick who’d injured his sweet mate. “I want to take him back to Senaka with me.”
“I think we should wait and see if Seth can heal him or not. He really shouldn’t miss his P.T. sessions,” Nick said. “It’s also up to Carter and if he wants go with you.”
Rey glared at Nick. “He’s my mate.”
“That may be so, but it is his choice,” Kasey interjected. “You can’t force him. Especially after having been through something so traumatic.”
His alpha was right, but it didn’t mean Rey or his wolf had to like it. He grunted but relented, releasing his tight grip on the chair arms.
“He will also need to go back to testify against Darryl,” Thayne said. “If not, the fucker will walk.”
“Not in this lifetime,” Rey snarled. “If he walks, I’ll hunt him down and eviscerate him.”
“I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that,” Kasey said. Rey knew Kasey was only half teasing. The man was the sheriff and had to uphold the law, but his alpha also knew how human law wouldn’t stop Rey from protecting his mate and destroying the bastard who’d hurt him.
Before anyone could say more, Seth opened the front door of the lodge and came out with Carter. Rey stood immediately, his eyes locked on his mate. He moved to Carter’s side, taking Carter’s hand in his once more. “How’d it go?”