He would’ve offered to help organize things, but without Peter’s knowledge of the shop’s layout, he would hinder what probably was an automatic routine. Besides, moving any farther would be detrimental to what was left of his health. It was a miracle he had made it that far. Staying conscious took all the attention he didn’t give to hismate.
After several minutes, Peter returned. “Sorry it took so long. I had to call Anthony to make sure he was at the pack house and let him know we were coming.Ready?”
“Yes.” He tried not to show his relief or how much his injuries hurt. Peter shut down his garage to take care of Quain, and he didn’t want to appearungrateful.
“You’re going to hell!” a man shouted behindhim.
Startled at the voice, Quain spun around to find a scowling wild-eyed man standing behind him. His injuries screamed at the sudden movement. It took all of his energy not to black out or shriek in pain. After blinking rapidly to hold back tears, he turned his attention to the guy who had surprised him. The thin man standing before him had the well-worn appearance of someone who had seen better days. His tattered collar and stained denim pants added to his unkempt look. Clutched in a tight grip, he carried a large placard with the words “Jesus Saves” scrawled in bright redmarker.
“What?” Quain tried to understand why would this person be invading Peter’sgarage.
“Have you repented?” the crazed man asked in a sharp tone. He steppedcloser.
Quain instinctively stepped back. The man’s wild eyes and fetid breath didn’t encourage closeness. “What am I repenting for?” Who was thiswacko?
“You’re a sinner! You must repent!” the manscreamed.
“Get away from him!” Peter growled, moving to stand between Quain and thepreacher.
“You will burn in the fires of hell!” heranted.
“Listen, mister, I have to tolerate you on the street corner, but now you’re on my property. Get out, or I’ll call the cops and have you arrested for trespassing.” Peter’s voice dropped to deeper, menacingtones.
Quain placed a hand on Peter’s back, hoping to calm him. If Peter attacked the crazy guy, he would never make it to Anthony. Right then, he needed healing more thanprotection.
“Your day will come.” The man’s voice quieted to a threatening whisper, somehow scarier than his previousscreaming.
“Go!” Peter pointed a finger toward the open garagedoors.
Without another word, the preacher stomped backoutside.
“Sorry about that,” Peter said, but kept his attention on the intruder until he left their sight. “This is the first time he’s come into the shop. If he does it again, I’m going to have him arrested for trespassing. It’s bad enough when he does it outside where he scares customersaway.”
“Don’t worry about it. Fanatics like that can’t be reasoned with.” Quain rubbed a hand up and down Peter’s arm, enjoying the tight muscles and smooth skin sliding beneath his fingers. Pain spiked, but he ignored it in favor of touching his mate. If he could block out things during captivity, he could do it while enjoyinghimself.
Peter turned back to Quain. “Ready togo?”
“Yes.” Quain couldn’t express how much he really wanted to have this bracelet off. Everything ached, and what didn’t ache hurt like the burning fires of hell. He didn’t say anything more. He didn’t want to upset Peter with his true condition. He would rather let his mate think he had minor injuries andbruises.
“Then let’s get out of here.” Peter’s gaze turned concerned as he eyed Quain’s wrist. “If Anthony can’t remove it, we’ll figure something out. I won’t let your lynx stay trappedforever.”
“I appreciate that.” Right then, he was more worried over meeting Peter’s pack than whether the bracelet could be removed. Quain’s stomach ached as a knot of fear grew. Crowds of strangers, even Peter’s pack, ratcheted up his natural anxiety over meetingpeople.
“No problem.” Peter wrapped a careful arm around Quain and gave him a quick side hug before releasing him. “I don’t want anything to happen to you. You’ll need to tell the Alpha and Anthony about your captivity so they won’t think you’re a spy. We’ve had a few people try to infiltrate our pack in thepast.”
“Did any of them survive?” He couldn’t resistasking.
“Yes, but I heard a few times it was close. I haven’t been a pack member for long. I don’t know all their historyyet.”
“Really?” He yearned to know more about his mate. Every drop of information added to his shallow pool of knowledge. “I would’ve thought you belonged to them longer.” The familiar way Peter spoke of the pack had sounded as though it was a natural inclination to go to themfirst.
“As I said, I was a mutant for a while, and before that, I lived in a different state. Lorus Korl is the scientist who changed me and dragged me here. Once he mutated my DNA, he kept me under his control. There aren’t a lot of places a mutant can get a job, so it was either stay with him or starve. Anthony found me when the pack was looking for one of their missing members. He changed me back, and I joined them a little whilelater.”
“I’m glad you wererescued.”
The pain in Peter’s voice twisted Quain’s heart. A flashback to his former captivity had him wanting to wrap Peter in his arms and claw anyone who dared harm him. He was a little surprised he could feel any of their bond while wearing the bracelet. It had suppressed most of his other instincts. If it hadn’t, he would’ve ripped out the throat of his captors longago.
A drop of blood dripped from his sleeve to the concrete floor. Peter stared at the red splat on his otherwise cleanshop.
