“Reemeee!” A soft, low voice cried.
Now alert, Carson saw Galen, tears glistening on his face, silhouetted in the faint hallway light, clutching a well-loved teddy bear. His heart melting, Carson slowly slid out of bed, glad his mate suggested they put pajama pants on before falling to sleep. “Hey, did you have a bad dream?” he murmured.
“Uh-huh,” Galen whispered, rubbing the tears away.
“Then it’s a good thing you came here,” Carson said.
“Why?” asked Galen.
“Because my wolf knows how to chase bad dreams away so you’ll only have happy dreams when you sleep,” Carson whispered.
“Really?” Galen asked, doubtfully.
“Really…all you have to do is sit in my lap and then my wolf will find the dream that’s bad and chase it away,” Carson murmured, holding his arms wide.
Galen stared at Carson for a moment before flying into his welcoming embrace, burying his face against Carson’s chest.
Slowly rubbing the boy’s small, bony back, Carson said nothing, waiting until Galen’s breathing evened out. Then he murmured, “My wolf is ready…go ahead, tell him about your dream so he can make it go away.”
“They wuz in my room…I wuz hiding…”
A sob broke free and Carson felt the wetness of tears on his chest as Galen clung to him. Hugging the boy close to him, he murmured, “You’re okay now, sweetie. My wolf found the bad dream and chased it away.”
After a few more minutes, Galen sniffled a few times, trying to catch his breath. “Is it gone forever?”
“Maybe…but if it comes back, you just let me know and my wolf will chase it away again.”
“O…kay,” Galen whispered.
“C’mon, let’s go back to sleep,” Carson murmured.
“Can I sleep with you?” Galen asked, his tear-stained face looking up at his new-found hero.
“Yup,” Carson whispered, setting Galen on his feet before standing. “Climb up…you can sleep between us, just be careful not to wake Remy.” Following the boy onto the bed, he pulled the covers over them, then gave Galen a kiss on his cheek. “Go to sleep, sweetie. My wolf will stand guard.”
“I luv you Carsso,” Galen whispered, “and also your wolf.”
“I love you, too, buddy…sweet dreams.”
Remy listened until their breathing told him they were asleep. His heart melted when he heard Carson comforting Galen. Chuckling quietly at his mate’s solution to the problem, he knew it was going to be so much fun teasing Carson about his bad dream wolf catcher.
Chapter 30
Carson stood at the living room window, trying to figure out the source of unease that had settled in his gut. At first, he wondered if he was nervous about the gift from the Fates that Oracle would soon tell him about, but the more he thought about it, he knew that wasn’t it. Sighing, he shook his head slightly, disgusted at himself for not facing the truth.My mate is in danger…even my wolf can feel it.Admitting it, though, didn’t help ease his dread; instead it made it worse, causing Carson to fight with his wolf who was pushing for a shift. Clenching his fists, Carson began pacing, hoping to clear his mind so he could focus on exactly what danger his mate might be in.
Entering the living room, Remy stopped abruptly when he found Carson, eyes down, wearing a path on the rug while mumbling to himself. Unable to make sense of what he was saying, he walked over, blocking his mate’s path. “What’s the matter? Is my mark hurting you?” he asked.
“Huh?” Carson said, looking up.
“I asked you if your back hurts.”
“No, well just a little bit but how come you didn’t warn me you were going to do that?” asked Carson.
“Because I didn’t know it would happen,” Remy replied, shrugging his shoulders. “I did some research this morning but I couldn’t find out anything.”
“Maybe it happened instead of a light sphere,” Carson mused. “I wonder if it will happen again…you’re sure you didn’t create a light sphere?”
“I’m confused…what will happen again…the light sphere or the marking?” asked Remy.
