Chapter 14 Rey #2
Nevada shook his head. “No. He isn’t a beta or enforcer, and he doesn’t have a mate yet. You think Kasey would let him join our pack?”
Rey shrugged. “Sounds like he’d be an excellent addition. I’ll mention it to Kasey when I pick up Carter from the station in a little while.”
“The little guy applying to be a deputy?” Nevada asked, eyes twinkling and a teasing smile on his face.
Chuckling, Rey shook his head. “He’s helping with their computers. Left him with Kase and the others watching over him.”
“And you aren’t happy about that,” Nevada said. “Why don’t you head on back? I’m here now. Looks like you cleared out the ones in for maintenance. I can handle the diagnostics on the Tundra. Go be with your mate.”
Frowning, Rey said, “I’ve put a lot on your shoulders these last few days.”
Nevada waved away his concern with one hand. “It’s fine, Rey. Just remember when it comes time for salary review.” He grinned at Rey. “If I need you, I’ll call you.”
Rey eyed him for a few seconds more before capitulating. “All right. I’ll have my cell on me. Call if you need anything. Especially if Jake shows.”
“Will do, boss. Give your mate a big kiss for me.” Nevada smirked.
Rey snarled at him. “Keep your lips to yourself.”
“They aren’t my lips,” Nevada said.
Ignoring the taunt, Rey washed his hands at the sink in the garage area, grabbed his phone, and climbed into his truck. Nevada was right. He didn’t love leaving his mate for long. Not with that prick gunning for Carter.
When he pulled into a spot at the station, he noticed one cruiser was gone, and the front sat empty, including no Carter.
Heart rate increasing, Rey strode toward the back office, but he didn’t see Carter there either or in the breakroom.
Panic edged in. Did something happen? Where the fuck was his mate?
Carter’s musical laughter came from the very back area where the holding cells were, and Rey’s heart dropped from his throat to settle where it belonged.
He hurried toward the sound, eager to feel Carter in his arms again.
Carter sat on a bench in one cell with Kasey leaning on the bars, one hand in his pocket, the other scratching his chin.
If nothing else calmed Rey, Carter’s bright smile at seeing him in the doorway would have.
“Little wolf,” Rey mumbled, brushing past his alpha to snatch Carter into his arms. He buried his face in the golden hair on top of Carter’s head.
Kasey frowned at him. “Something wrong, Rey?”
He took a deep breath, drinking in the scent of his mate, before responding. “Just didn’t see anyone out front and a cruiser was gone. Thought something might have happened.”
Understanding dawned on Kasey’s face. “Sorry, Rey. Julian and Malik got a call, and Carter got curious about the entire process here at the station. Including seeing the holding cells. Though they weren’t as exciting as he thought they’d be, I think.”
Carter giggled. “I’ve never been arrested before.” He held up one hand, palm toward Rey. “See? Kasey took my fingerprints and everything.”
Rey saw the dark smudges on the ends of Carter’s fingers. Profound relief made Rey’s limbs feel weak. If anything happened to Carter, he’d rip the entire town apart.
Kasey set a warm hand on Rey’s shoulder. “I really am sorry, Rey. But I wouldn’t let anything happen to him. You know that.”
Rey nuzzled Carter, then nodded, giving Kasey a grateful but apologetic look. “Sorry, Alpha.”
Squeezing Rey’s shoulder in a reassuring grip, Kasey replied, “I understand how you feel. Seth is my life.”
Carter wiggled out of Rey’s firm embrace and patted his chest. “I’m fine, Rey. It was fun being arrested. But can we get something to eat now? I’m hungry.”
“Sure, sweetheart. Whatever you want.”
Kasey stopped them at the front of the station and handed Carter a handful of cash. “For your time today. I’ll call you when the new computers come in. We’ll arrange for Rey to bring you here again. Sound good?”
Smiling, Carter nodded. “Thanks, Alpha!”
“Call me Kasey when in public, Carter,” Kasey instructed and then turned to look at Rey. “I’ll set up a meeting at the end of next week to officially accept Carter into the pack.”
“Just let me know when,” Rey replied.
They left the station with Rey guiding Carter down the street to the diner again for an early dinner. “Did you have fun today?” Rey asked, opening the door of the diner for Carter.
“I did!” Carter launched into a full recount of everything about the station’s computers, being “arrested and booked,” and how Kasey had told him all about the Senaka town history.
The only time his mate stopped to take a breath was when Bridget came to take their orders.
Rey responded with hums or occasional nods.
Though never arrested, he’d been in the station on more than one occasion while a deputy processed someone, so he knew the general idea of what they did.
But he didn’t tell Carter that, just listened and paid attention to the foot traffic outside the big window.
Until they caught Darryl, Rey wouldn’t be able to rest easily or fully relax.
“Nice work today. We should start putting together the plan for your business this weekend.” Rey slid out of the booth and grabbed a pen from Bridget’s apron with a smile, then returned to the table, where he plucked a napkin from the holder.
Laying the paper napkin flat, he started drawing a simple computer monitor with a keyboard in front of it and in block letters wrote “Friendly” above the drawing and “Reboot” below it.
“I’m not much of an artist, but I get by.
My first business cards were simple, but they did the trick. ”
“Oh, I like it!” Carter said. “I can’t even draw a stick figure. Not that I didn’t try. My parents bought me so many books, sketch pads, and pencils, but I just couldn’t get the hang of any of it.”
“There’s a bunch of sites out there where you can design the front of your card right on the site, then they’ll custom print and ship them to you.
” Rey jotted down a couple of things Carter would also need for getting started.
“Since you’ll be mobile, you won’t have a whole lot of overhead.
You can use the office at my shop and the one at home for your home base.
There’s enough room in both so we can set up a desk for you.
Is there any other hardware you’re good at?
You could add to the services you offer, if you want. ”
Carter hummed, scrunching his nose as he thought about Rey’s question. “Well, I installed security cameras a few times, and my boss even had me help set up his television. Even mounted it on his wall.”
“That’s good. We can add various electronic installation to your offered services.” Rey made a few more notes. “Until you get established, I don’t think you need to worry too much about being incorporated yet. But once you turn a profit, for tax purposes, it’ll be better to create an organization.”
“I can use the money from Kasey to order the cards,” Carter said, beaming proudly at Rey.
Rey wouldn’t take any money from Carter for a damn thing. Not if he could help it. “We should see if Nick can send your things from California. Until then, what if we head into the city this weekend to get some new clothing for you, too?”
Carter frowned. “I don’t know. Do they have a thrift store there? I can use a little of what Kasey gave me to get a few things.”
“I’ll buy you the clothes, sweetheart.”
A mulish expression came over Carter’s face. “I can pay for my things.”
Rey studied Carter, silent, contemplating the best way to get his mate to take what he offered. Then, an idea came to him. “How about we consider it a loan? You can pay me back once you start making money.”
Carter considered his offer for a few moments, then nodded. “Okay. A loan.”
One of which Rey would make sure Carter never paid a single cent of. No one had taken care of Carter the way the man deserved, and Rey intended on giving Carter whatever the man wanted. Whether or not he accepted it willingly.
“Hey, Rey!” came from next to Rey’s elbow, and he jerked, surprised someone had approached and he hadn’t noticed.
His wolf growled low but recognized his packmate and fellow enforcer and settled down quickly. “Hey, Talon.”
“Saw you through the window and thought I’d come in and meet your mate.” Talon turned to Carter, who stared up at him, eyes wide. He smiled at Carter. “Hey, I’m Talon Blackwell.”
Carter blinked, mouth parted, and then he squeaked.
Talon flicked a glance at Rey, a small frown on his face.
Most people found Talon intimidating at six feet seven and with a frame as broad as Rey’s.
With a resting bitch face, Talon smiled more often to set people at ease.
It rarely worked on strangers because of Talon’s overwhelming physical presence.
He had more tattoos than Rey, but the black Henley and well-washed blue jeans he wore covered most. Several visible ones lined the backs of his fingers and hands.
“Carter, this is Talon. He’s also an enforcer for the pack.”
Swallowing, Carter held out a hand to Talon, who promptly took it, his hand dwarfing Carter’s. To Rey’s wolf’s relief, Talon didn’t hold on for long, just gave a small squeeze and released Carter. “It’s nice to meet you, Carter. How are you liking Senaka so far?”
“I-it’s really great. People are super nice here.”
Talon widened his smile. “Senaka’s a great place to live. I won’t keep you guys from enjoying the rest of your meal. I just wanted to stop by and introduce myself. If you need anything, Carter, and Rey here isn’t available, just hit me up.”
Carter nodded, eyes still huge in his pale face.
Talon clapped Rey on the shoulder and meandered to a nearby table, where a couple of other pack members sat.
Rey almost chuckled at Carter’s reaction to Talon.
His mate had seemed intimidated but not afraid.
“Talon’s got the biggest heart around. I think if it weren’t for his size, he wouldn’t have become an enforcer. ”
“I can see why he is,” Carter said, still watching Talon for another moment.
“Why don’t we go for a run when we get back to the house?” Rey asked.
“Don’t you have to go back to the shop?” Carter asked, frowning.
“Nope. Nevada’s got today handled. Though I will have to go in tomorrow.
Saturdays are always swamped by people bringing their vehicles in for servicing since it’s usually the day many are off work.
With Jake gone, Nevada is going to need me there.
I also need to put out the word I am looking for someone else.
” Rey grunted. “Shit, forgot to bring up Nevada’s cousin to Kasey earlier. ”
“Nevada’s cousin?” Carter asked curiously as they stood up.
Rey stopped at the register to pay the check, then guided Carter out of the diner with a hand on his lower back.
“Nevada’s cousin, Stone, is looking for a new start.
He lost his parents a little while back and he’s thinking of moving here.
With having to let Jake go, Nevada said he’d be an excellent addition to the shop, but Kasey has to approve his relocation. ”
“So, he’s a shifter?” Carter asked once in the truck and on the road.
“Yeah.”
Carter gave Rey a puzzled glance.
“What?”
“Well, Nick told me that your pack didn’t believe anyone other than Native Americans could be shifters. True shifters. But there are other packs out there.”
Rey nodded. “We’re only aware of a handful of others, about four, including your former one. Mostly because of Senaka pack members mating into those packs when encountering their true mates while traveling.”
“But don’t those packs have other races in them, too? I mean, they can’t all just naturally be Native Americans in those packs, right?”
Humming, Rey didn’t rush to answer Carter, choosing to contemplate Carter’s question instead.
After a few moments, Rey finally said, “I guess we were na?ve to believe it was only Native Americans, sweetheart. None of us have ever gone to those packs for a visit before, or at least not that I’m aware of.
And the ones who found their mates who moved here, their mates were Native American, which just reinforced those beliefs.
Things changed when Seth moved here, and we discovered the existence of your pack. ”
“Why haven’t the other packs been invited to the summit, then? I mean, wouldn’t it make sense for them to go as well? Even our packmates might meet someone from those other packs.”
Rey smiled at Carter. “You’re right, sweetheart. I guess it just was never considered. I’ll bring it up to Kasey when I talk to him about Nevada’s cousin. What a great idea, Carter.”
Carter beamed and bounced in his seat at Rey’s praise.
The subject triggered another round of Carter’s chatter as he asked questions about the other packs and wondered about other races within them.
Rey answered when he knew Carter expected an answer, while just letting his mate ramble on when he clearly didn’t.
When they reached the house, Rey led Carter into the woods, where they shifted.
Rey loped next to Carter, enjoying the sight of his sandy-blond fur rippling in the breeze and the way his tail wagged excitedly.
The trees of the forest always calmed Rey and his wolf.
Fresh air mixed with the scent of the foliage, the sound of his paws digging into the earth, and the way the surrounding creatures went about their lives soothed his soul.
The other animals knew they were there, but they were so used to the wolves in their territory, they barely reacted at all.
Some of the smaller prey animals still found places to hide or were wary whenever one of them drew too near, but there was a sense of harmony between them.
Too bad humans couldn’t live in such a peaceful coexistence with the creatures on the planet.
The sun had long since set by the time Rey urged Carter back toward the house.
Whenever Carter became distracted by something, Rey gently nudged his mate back on track.
Once inside, Rey said, “Why don’t you go hop in the shower and get warm?
I’ll be up as soon as I make sure everything’s good down here. ”
Carter smiled. “Okay, Rey.”
Rey watched Carter for a second, then went about locking up the house at a fast clip, eager to join his mate.