Chapter 16 Rey
REY
Rage tore through Rey as he hit send on the email he forwarded to Kasey. If he could have, he’d have been out there, hunting the son of a bitch himself, but he wouldn’t leave Carter alone.
His phone rang a couple of moments after he forwarded the email, and he saw his alpha’s name on the screen. “Kasey.”
“Heard from the prosecutor this morning. He’s been spotted in Cheyenne. Local P.D. reported it, but they lost him.”
Rey cursed, his grip tightening on his cell until he heard the plastic creak in protest. “If he comes near my mate, Kasey, all bets are off. I’m going to end him.”
Kasey sighed into the phone. “As the sheriff, I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that. As your alpha, I say gut the fucker. I’ll back you whichever way it goes.”
“Thank you, Alpha.” Rey glanced at his mate, who sat on the sofa watching Nevada work on a car in the shop. “I’d like to request we inform the rest of the pack of the situation. I know you’ve informed some, but if everyone knows, they’ll be on alert to strangers more than usual.”
“At the run tonight, Rey. We will initiate Carter into the pack, and I’ll tell them then.”
“Shit. I forgot about it being the full moon. All right, we’ll be there.” He ended the call with his alpha. Carter glanced at him, a questioning gaze on his face. “The pack run is tonight, as well as you being accepted officially into the pack.”
Carter’s eyes widened. “I forgot.”
“So did I,” Rey replied ruefully, standing from the desk and approaching the couch. “I’m going to go help Nevada clear out the regular maintenances, then we’ll order some lunch in.”
He grabbed the messenger bag he’d brought with him from the house and handed it to Carter. “I know it’s been a crazy couple of weeks with everything going on and we’ve either been here or in bed, so I thought you’d like to play your game for a while. I brought the laptop from home.”
Gaping in surprise, Carter took the offered bag, awe in his voice when he said, “Really?”
Rey smiled and brushed the backs of his fingers over Carter’s cheek. “I thought you could use the chance to relax for a while.”
Carter beamed, set the bag on the cushion next to him, and launched himself off the sofa into Rey’s arms. “Thank you!”
“Anything for you, little wolf,” Rey said gently. “Why don’t you get set up at my desk?”
It pleased Rey when he saw how happy he’d made his mate.
There was a bounce in Carter’s step again when he snatched the laptop and moved to the desk.
Within a couple of minutes, Carter had his laptop out, turned on, and the game booted up.
“I’ll be in the shop if you need me,” Rey said to Carter, who hummed an acknowledgement.
Amusement set in when he saw Carter had already checked out and appeared lost in the game.
He didn’t say anything else before leaving the office, keeping the door open so he could hear Carter.
Nevada stopped cranking the wrench in his hand and looked at Rey, waiting expectantly.
Rey told him what happened and Kasey’s edict.
Anger built on Nevada’s face. “If I catch the fucker, I’ll gut him for you. ”
Rey set his hand on Nevada’s shoulder, squeezing lightly. “Thanks, Nevada.”
“I’ll help patrol after work,” Nevada said, returning to tightening a bolt. “Can’t see that little guy hurt.”
Giving a sort of fake possessive growl, Rey replied, “Trying to steal my mate still?”
Nevada held his hands up in a placating gesture. “Never, Rey. I like him. As a little brother. He’s a funny dude. Sweet. Hope my true mate is just as adorable.”
He tossed a rag at Nevada, who caught it in one hand. “You’ll find yours one day, Nev.”
There was a glint of loneliness in the smile Nevada flashed him. “Maybe. I hope so.”
They lapsed into silence, working on the cars to get them out of the shop as quickly as possible.
Rey made a mental note to speak to Kasey about Nevada’s cousin that night, too.
He needed to get someone else in there to replace Jake, fast. Jake hadn’t come around or called since Rey had left the voicemail about his being fired.
Which surprised him. Maybe even worried him a touch. “Have you spoken to Jake?”
Nevada shook his head. “No, but Malik found him holed up in his car, drunk off his ass, outside the Wolf’s Den a few nights ago. They put him in a holding cell until he sobered up, then sent him home with a warning. I think he’s home licking his wounds.”
“Can you swing by and check on him before the run tonight?” Rey asked. “I would, but I don’t want to bring Carter into that situation, and I won’t leave him alone.”
“Sure thing, Rey.” Nevada frowned. “Good thing he’s a shifter or I’d be worried he drank himself into a coma.”
Alcohol still affected shifters, but their systems burned through it faster than humans.
They had to drink longer and larger quantities of alcohol to keep the buzz provided by the liquid.
Rey rarely drank more than a couple of beers, and mostly because he enjoyed the taste more than he wanted to get drunk. “Yeah. I would be, too.”
They worked in silence after that, knocking out vehicle after vehicle.
When lunch came around, Rey ordered some food to be picked up at the diner and sent Nevada to get it while he continued working on the next car in the second bay.
He’d checked on Carter a few times, but every time he’d found his mate so engrossed in the game, he hadn’t even received an acknowledgement of his presence.
Being ignored didn’t sit well with his wolf, but Rey knew his mate needed the escape, so he didn’t press for a response.
Instead, he’d just left the office again and gone back to work.
When Nevada returned with the food, Rey pushed Carter to take a break. Carter pouted at him. “But we’re about to head into a raid.”
Rey chuckled. “They’ll still be there when your stomach is full. Now, up. Let’s sit outside and get some fresh air.”
Sighing, Carter reluctantly advised his in-game friends and stood, leaving the game logged in. “Okay, but I gotta get back quick. They said they’d wait.”
The entire time they were eating, Carter fidgeted in his seat, jamming his food as quickly as possible into his mouth.
Rey’s heart lodged in his throat with every stuffed-cheek mouthful his mate took.
It seemed impossible for anyone to chew the food enough not to swallow it whole at the rate Carter was going.
“You’re going to choke if you don’t slow down, sweetheart. ”
Carter tried to mumble something around his food, but Rey couldn’t understand. “Chew, swallow, then talk.”
“Sorry,” Carter finally said, smacking his lips together. “The group is waiting for me, and I don’t want them to go without me.”
“They said they’d wait, right? So just take a few extra minutes to enjoy your food. You’re vacuuming it down like you haven’t eaten in weeks.”
A blush spread over Carter’s cheeks. “I’m sorry.”
Rey shook his head. “I’m not trying to make you feel bad, sweetheart. I just don’t want you to choke. My heart can’t take it.”
Thankfully, Carter gave him a sheepish grin and slowed down.
Rey’s heart settled back into his chest. Amusement set in when Carter finished eating, looked at him, and impatiently waited for Rey to give him the okay to leave the table.
He reminded Rey of a little kid who hadn’t wanted to eat his veggies at dinner.
But it also pleased him because it showed Carter wasn’t afraid of being who he really was around Rey.
He knew his mate still thought Rey would leave him if he saw the real Carter, but nothing could be further from the truth.
“Go on. Get back to your game,” Rey said, smirking.
“Thank you!” Carter shouted, leaping from the table and rushing back into the building to the office.
Nevada laughed. “I have a nephew who is a gaming addict. Carter reminds me of him.”
“I’m just happy he’s happy,” Rey replied, shrugging and gathering the remains of their lunch to toss in the trash. “I don’t think he’s had enough of that in his life.”
“He’s cute, Rey. You lucked out.” Nevada stood, threw out his own garbage, and returned to work.
By the time Rey glanced at the clock again later, he saw it was after five and they needed to get home so he could shower and change for the pack run. He heard Carter yelling into the microphone on the laptop about more dots. “Aww, come on, Joker! You just aggroed the mobs! No AOEs!”
Rey paused in the doorway, leaning one shoulder on the doorjamb while wiping grease from his hands.
Carter’s hair stuck up in several directions as though he’d run his hands through it more than once in frustration, and he had a focused, stern look on his face as he button-mashed the keyboard.
The screen was lit up with flashes of light and various little cartoon characters running around a giant creature.
His mate looked absolutely adorable in his intensity.
“Little wolf?” Rey said, moving closer. Carter ignored him, still engrossed in the game. “Sweetheart, we have to get going.”
“Winter, watch out for his tail!” Carter shouted.
A tinny voice came through the laptop speakers. “Yeah, yeah, Priest. Relax! I got it!”
The little character Carter controlled had the name WhollyPriest above it. Rey drifted closer, once again trying to get his mate’s attention. He kept his words human appropriate since he knew the others could hear him. “Carter, we have the meeting tonight.”
“Yo, Priest, who’s the wanker in the background there?” someone groused in a British accent through the speakers.
Rey lifted an eyebrow. Wanker?
“Shut up, Bron! It’s my boyfriend. Don’t call him a wanker,” Carter snapped. “Let’s get this guy down. I gotta go.”