“Both I guess, although I’m not eager to experience the pain I felt last night too soon,” Carson said.
“I’m sorry,” Remy replied, “I wanted it to be special last night, but then it was ruined by your back being marked.”
“Hey, babe, no, don’t think that…trust me, it was amazing!” Carson said, taking his mate’s hands and kissing them. “I loved every moment of it. Besides, my brothers are going to be so jealous when they see it. I bet Zane will want one and knowing Kieran, he’ll also be pestering Logan for one.”
Giggling, Remy said, “Well, I refuse to do it to anyone else. This is for you, only.”
“Good,” Carson growled, “because I’d hate for my wolf to have to attack my brothers.”
“No, that wouldn’t be a good example for my brothers, either,” Remy smirked. “Now, what had you so agitated when I came in before?”
Frowning, Carson was torn between being honest versus protecting his mate by not causing him to worry. Then remembering Jackson’s advice about being honest, he replied, “My wolf and I know you’re in danger but it’s driving us crazy that we don’t know what it is. I can’t prepare…I’m wondering if I should ask my brothers for help…but they’ll want to know what the problem is…and frankly, I just don’t know what to do.”
Leading his mate over to the sofa, Remy sat down, pulling Carson next to him. “Other than what I told you yesterday, I don’t know of anyone else who wants to hurt me. I’m having some problems at the winery and with some of the other businesses, but nothing that’d put me at risk of injury.”
“What kind? Employee problems?” asked Carson.
“No, not at all. There’ve been a number of incidents…vandalism mostly. They started after Artur’s death…small stuff that wasn’t even worth the time it took to investigate and document but the night before you arrived, seven vats of wine were ruined.”
“Ouch!”
“No kidding! That’s when I realized it was more than petty stuff. When Henri went to pick you up, I assembled all the data in a report for you and was shocked at the impact on the bottom line.”
“Do you suspect the same person is doing it?”
“Maybe…but I’m not sure because there wasn’t anything left at the scene, except for the last one, that would lead me to that conclusion.”
“What did you find at the last one…where the wine was spoiled?”
“Someone dropped bugs into the vats and…” Before Remy could finish, Hunter opened the front door and walked in with Fionn.
“Knock knock…hey, Carson,” Hunter said, smiling, “thanks for getting us the new accommodations. They’re perfect.”
“It is, because no one can hear us, right mate?” giggled Fionn, “Hi, I’m Fionn. Are you Remy? I hope you don’t mind but I took a picture of your outfit yesterday and sent it to my friend Ki. Now he wants to get a pair of pants like the ones you were wearing. He said, and I quote, ‘my ass is going to be so hot in them.’ By the way, this here is my mate, Hunter.”
“Hi, Remy, nice to meet you,” Hunter said. “I’m Carson’s cousin. Welcome to the pack.”
Remy quickly stood. “Nice to meet you too, both of you. If you’ll excuse me, I’ll bring in some refreshments. Would you prefer coffee or tea?”
“Babe,” Carson rose, “let me help you.” Putting his hand on the small of his mate’s back, he gently steered Remy out of the living room and into the kitchen. Once the door was shut, he asked, “Are you okay? I’m sorry they barged in without knocking.”
Smirking, Remy replied, “He did say ‘knock, knock.’ But it’s fine. I didn’t expect them so soon, that’s all. I also didn’t expect Artur’s son to be so friendly. His father was never that way…well maybe with his brother.”
“Fionn is nothing like his father,” Carson said. “According to Jackson, his father nearly killed him and it was just by luck Kieran and Logan found him in time.”
“You’re joking,” Remy gasped. “I would have believed it of his brother Eideard, but Artur…I can’t say he was warm and fuzzy but he was good to me, especially when my parents died. He tried to kill his own son…why?”
“He wanted his son to marry a woman and Fionn refused because he’s gay.”
“So was his father. What’s the big deal?”
“No, he wasn’t,” insisted Carson. “He was married to Fionn’s mother.”
“I don’t know anything about that, but trust me, Artur was gay. Just about every weekend, he had his latest boy toy running around the chateau naked. I stayed away after accidentally coming upon them one time, doing the nasty.”
“No fucking way!”
“Yeah, and after that, I also made sure to keep my brothers away from there on weekends, when no one was there except Artur.”
