“Makes sense,” Peter answered, relieved. He would hate to think there was anything wrong with theirbond.
Protective urges swept through him. He had to suppress the impulse to swear impossible vows to keep Quain safe and happy. After giving up hope for a mate, he now had Quain in his life, as a partner by his side. Giddy bubbles filtered through him like New Year’schampagne.
Perhaps this was his reward for turning away from kidnapping and experimenting on test subjects for an insane mad scientist. He should get a badge for it, like a BoyScout.
“We need to get this bracelet off before we do anything else. I’m worried the wizards might be able to track me through its magic, and I don’t want to be found and dragged back there.” A hint of hysteria in Quain’s voice jarred Peter’s momentary contentment at standing and talking to hismate.
“I wouldn’t let that happen.” He had taken down tougher people than a fewwizards.
“You might not be able to stop them. My drivercouldn’t.”
The sorrow in Quain’s hazel eyes had Peter pulling him into his arms, careful of his wounds. “Shh, don’t worry. We’ll go to the pack house and get your bracelet taken care of. I dare anyone to try to attack then. We take care of our own.” Anthony would help them fix thisproblem.
“Thank you.” Quain went on his tiptoes and kissed Peter’s cheek. “I’m sorry. I didn’t want our first meeting to begin with me needinghelp.”
Peter shrugged. “That’s what mates are for. If I can’t protect you, I’m a poorpartner.”
“Just know I can do that same. I’m not exactly a housecat. And I wouldn’t think less of you if they took me. There were several of them lasttime.”
“I don’t know much about lynx, but I know you can take down large game. I won’t underestimate you in eitherform.”
A satisfied smile curled Quain’s lips. “You are very wise for awolf.”
“Hey, none of that speciesism crap. It’s bad for our relationship.” Peter let a teasing smile cross his face. He wouldn’t take any true slights to his kind, but he could tell Quain hadn’t really meant theinsult.
“I’ll be good.” Quain raised his hands in innocentappeal.
“Well, don’t be too good.” Peter grinned, then pressed a kiss against Quain’s softlips.
Chapter 4
Quain took a careful breath,trying to get enough oxygen into his lungs without freaking out his mate by wincing in pain. It had taken him several quick visions to hunt Peter down. Somehow his need to find Peter had taken control of his psychicabilities.
Running had gotten old fast, but he didn’t trust just anyone to remove the bracelet or the wizards not to hunt him down. Exhaustion dragged at him and some of his wounds had reopened. Worried about recapture, sleep had eluded him. Tonight, he would finally be able to relax. Being in his mate’s company did a lot to ease his tense muscles. This close to Peter, the fear riding him began to fade. Nothing bad would happen with his mate beside him. Strength and confidence oozed off Peter in reassuringwaves.
Peter’s voice pulled Quain out of his bleary thoughts. “Give me a minute to lock everything down, and I’ll take you to Anthony. He’ll get that damn bracelet off. I can tell you’re more injured than you’readmitting.”
“Once I can shift, it will heal most of it.” Quain didn’t see any point in whining. It wouldn’t magically fix his wounds. “Do you believe I’m a seer?” Over the years, he had stuck mostly to socializing with his family because he didn’t have to justify himself to them. The few times he had reached out to others had been met with scorn for his “claimed” abilities. He instinctively stiffened against the verbal blow. If Peter didn’t accept him, he didn’t know what he’ddo.
“I believe you.” Peter gave Quain’s tense shoulder a gentle squeeze, careful of hiswounds.
Quain nodded and offered a small smile. Relief eased through him, a warm emotional tide. “Okay. Are you sure your Alpha Mate will heal me?” He had heard rumors about Anthony Carrow. Unsubstantiated gossip by covetous strangers spoke of his extraordinary abilities. No one was certain of the scope of Anthony’s power, but everyone agreed that the Moon Pack was a group to annoy at your ownrisk.
The mysterious hand of fate made his Peter one of the infamous pack. Wolf shifters were tightly bound to their pack, and Quain, while not a pack animal, wouldn’t do anything to destabilize his mate’s comfort or happiness. While he might not enjoy the idea of belonging himself, he wasn’t stupid enough to take Peter away from the strength and protection of having a powerful group behind him. They would need as many allies as they could get to prevent the wizards from trying to recapture Quain. If mating with Peter got him Moon Pack protection, he wouldn’tobject.
“Do you mind hanging around for ten minutes or so? I’ll try to make it fast.” Peter stood on the balls of his feet as if unwilling to leave Quain unsupervised during thattime.
“No problem.” Quain tried to smile, but it probably came across more as a grimace than the reassuring grin he was attempting. His nerves crackled lightning fierce, and he would swear a tsunami had ripped through hisinsides.
Peter rushed around, trying to tidy up as quickly aspossible.
What would happen next? The few people he knew who had mates had talked about immediately pouncing and bonding in a rush of passion. Peter appeared rather self-contained for someone who just found his mate, but he probably was taking Quain’s injuries intoaccount.
His inner cat urged him to brush against the wolf shifter and mark his territory. Quain resisted. Any bump to his wounds right now would end in him screaming and not in a sexyway.
Peter scurried to the back office and vanished out of sight for a few minutes, setting Quain’s lynx on edge. His inner beast didn’t like their mate hidden fromthem.
“Shh, easy. He’ll be right back.” Some shifters would label him odd for talking to himself, but alongside his psychic powers, Quain had long stopped caring what othersthought.
