12. CHAPTER 11
CHAPTER 11
It had been two days since he’d claimed his mate, yet Channing hadn’t sought him out even once. That they lived in the same house made it that much worse, especially when he could hear Saleh laughing or crying but Baz had no right to go check on her.
Screams currently echoed through the entryway to the extremely large home from one of the bedrooms on the other side of the house from Baz’s suite. He couldn’t stop himself from looking in that direction in hopes of catching a glimpse of his mate or Saleh – who, despite Channing making it clear wasn’t his daughter, Baz still considered her to be.
“They don’t leave their suite,” Kylo, Yosi’s mate, said. “Ever. Obviously, I don’t know anything about her personality, but unless she was a fussy baby before coming here, I think the reason she’s been crying so much is because she’s not allowed to leave their room.”
“He’s also managed to alienate Braydon, who refuses to come visit him until Channing apologizes to him.” There was a harshness to Karim’s tone as he talked. “Not that I blame my mate, but Channing has managed to completely cut himself off from everyone.”
“He needs his mate to pull his head out of his ass.” Trust Chadwick to get straight to the heart of the matter.
Too bad Channing wouldn’t listen to Baz any more than anyone else who’d tried to reassure him over the past couple of days that he was safe at Salvation. Well as safe as possible considering the world they lived in. “I don’t think my talking to him is going to help.”
“But you are the only one who’s ever going to get through to him,” Saber reminded him. “We don’t leave for an hour. Go see if you can help him to feel safer. If it means staying here with your mate and daughter, we’ll manage without you.”
His octopus wouldn’t allow him to not try. Before he’d even decided to talk to Channing, his feet were already walking to the other side of the entryway. He was halfway up the stairs before he’d even realized he’d moved.
Refusing to think about whether or not his mate would welcome his presence or not, Baz knocked on the door. When Saleh started crying, Baz didn’t wait for an invitation, he just opened the door.
Unable to stop himself, Baz walked straight to where Channing was sitting on the floor with her in his lap as he attempted to soothe her and scooped her up into his arms. The moment she was tucked against Baz’s body she gripped his shirt in her fists and laid her head on his shoulder, so her face was pushed against the crook of his neck.
“What in the fuck do you think you’re doing?” Channing yelled as he jumped up to his feet and tried to take Saleh back. For only nine months old, Saleh was far stronger than Baz would have imagined as she refused to let go of him. If anything, she clung even tighter to him.
Her cries got louder as she fought to remain right where she was. Not entirely sure of what he was supposed to do at that point when his mate didn’t want him to hold Saleh despite the fact that their daughter made it clear she did, Baz decided it was better if he got Saleh to calm down. Maybe that way, Channing would too.
Turning from his mate, Baz held his daughter tightly and made shushing sounds in between telling her he was right there. Most of it was just nonsense words, but it went a long way to stopping the tears. If only it had the same effect on his mate, who was cursing up a storm for Baz to hand Channing’s daughter over.
Talk about being kicked in the balls – again.
Now that Saleh had stopped wailing loudly, he turned his attention to Channing even as he continued to stroke Saleh’s back in comfort. “I get you want her back, but we’re safely in your suite with no one else around. It might upset you, but she obviously feels safe with me, so I suggest you allow her to stay in my arms until she’s ready to get down.”
Damn but his mate pissed off was a sight to behold. Feet spread shoulder-width apart, jaw set and eyes blazing with fury was something to see. It wasn’t until Channing nodded once and stepped back two steps before Baz felt as if he’d made some progress getting through to the stubborn man.
His mind raced with things he could say to make their mating better, yet he couldn’t come up with anything. Still, he had a timeline. Not that he wouldn’t hesitate to stay if Channing indicated in the slightest it was what he wanted, but unless that happened, Baz didn’t think it was possible for him to stay only to be reminded he wasn’t wanted by his own damn mate.
“I get that you’re mad at me for bringing you here, but I swear it is far safer than being at the mercy of an isolated island with no way to get help if something happened to either you or Saleh.” It wasn’t exactly the most persuasive argument, but he figured if a gentle reminder that there was no medical care if Saleh had been hurt would be far more effective than anything with regards to their own mating.
Channing gasped in outrage. “How dare you? I kept her safe .”
The dig that somehow Baz hadn’t, wasn’t missed by him. “I never said you didn’t. But we all know things can happen from falls to illness. Nothing anyone can control. How would you get help if that happened?” When Channing opened his mouth as if to reiterate he was more than capable of taking care of Saleh, Baz interjected, “Not just with her. If you had been hurt or gotten too sick to get out of bed, who would have taken care of Saleh?”
That stopped Channing in his tracks for a full minute. “No,” Channing said loud enough to make Saleh cringe in Baz’s arms.
Not about to allow his little girl to feel scared again, Baz once more made shushing noises which miraculously was enough to cause Channing to modulate his voice lower.
“You don’t get to say that when I did everything to ensure she was happy and safe ,” he emphasized that word again insinuating Baz had put her in harm’s way. “I would have walked through hell, injury or sickness be damned to not let her down.”
“Until you wouldn’t have been able,” Baz said softly. He shook his head when Channing started to argue. “No. You don’t get to pretend you’re invincible. Anything could happen, no matter where we live. You already mentioned the islanders hadn’t interacted with you much. If anything had happened to you, how long would it have taken for anyone to help Saleh, who wouldn’t have been able to feed herself or even get water to drink?”
The pure rage that burned in Channing’s eyes was only tempered by the doubt of what would have happened if Channing had been incapacitated, or worse, dead. It wasn’t much, but in the end, when Channing again kicked Baz out of his room, it was all he had to cling to.
For long minutes, Baz closed his eyes before he made his way back to the foyer where he found the others once more but this time in full gear as they prepared to leave.
All eyes stared right at him with silent questions in their eyes. Not really wanting to admit he hadn’t made any conceivable progress, he muttered, “I never should have taken them away from the island.”
He hadn’t even been aware anyone had heard him until Chadwick snorted in derision. “Really? Because there is such a place in the world that’s actually safe?” He cackled as if that was the funniest thing in the world, going so far to slap his thigh several times. Then, because he hadn’t really been laughing but pretending, he stopped and straightened as he gave Baz an eye roll. “I think we all know that place doesn’t exist. Channing’s just too terrified to understand that at the moment.”
Baz was certain his mouth was agape as he stared at Chadwick.
“What?” Chadwick said as if he were offended by the silent insinuation that Baz was shocked by his insight. “I can be understanding.” Then he cocked his head to the side, a sure sign he was about to be sarcastic once more. “I just don’t like to allow others to believe I give a shit about their issues, otherwise they’re going to keep coming to me to solve their problems.”
Saber wrapped his arms around his mate from behind. “Stop acting like you don’t care, kitten. We all know you’re soft on the inside. No amount of sarcasm can hide that.”
Chadwick whirled on his mate to face him while wagging a finger at him. “You take that back or you’ll be sleeping on the couch for the next week.”
Saber grinned and waggled his eyebrows at his mate. “Like you can stay away from me for that long.” Before Chadwick could say anything to refute that claim, Saber glanced over at Baz. “You certain you want leave when your mate needs you?”
His octopus tried to refuse to leave, but Baz didn’t think he could handle Channing’s constant rejection. “I’m going,” he told the Alpha.
“Lord help us from stubborn mates,” Chadwick muttered under his breath.
That had Kylo barking out a laugh. “Hello, kettle…or are you the pot?” Kylo frowned as he tapped his finger against his chin. “I can never remember how that’s supposed to go.”
Chadwick started to open his mouth, but Saber had been ready and placed his hand over his mate’s mouth to stop him. Chadwick flipped Kylo off instead, which only made Kylo laugh even harder.
“As much fun as all this has been…” Yosi interrupted them. “The intel is telling us there is a force heading toward two of the sites we’re about to liberate. If we’re going to do that before they arrive, you need to head out.” Then his friend glanced in his direction. “We’ll keep your mate and daughter safe. I promise.”
Baz smiled at him, knowing Yosi would do as he said. “Thank you.” Then he turned to Saber. “I’ll get the helo ready.”
Ignoring the ache in his chest at the thought of leaving his mate and daughter, Baz headed outside. Typically flying always gave him a thrill. He could only hope it would lighten his mood this time, too.
If only it was that simple.