“I know what to do,” Carter said stiffly. “I’m a cop for this town.”
“It’s too dangerous.” Aaron grabbed Carter’s hand that was still on his knee. “You have to promise me that you won’t get involved.”
Carter growled. “No.”
“No?” Aaron squeezed Carter’s hand tighter. “You can’t say no. These are evil men. Shifters with strength that you can’t match.”
“I’m a cop,” Carter repeated.
“A human! You could get hurt!”
“And you?” Carter challenged. “You aren’t a shifter either.”
“No, but I work with them. I’m surrounded by them.”
“And apparently so am I,” Carter responded. “I have one staying down the hall at this very moment.”
This wasn’t going as Aaron had planned. “You’re not listening to me.”
Carter pulled his hand away to cup Aaron’s face. “I think you’re not listening to me. I can help with this. I want to help you.”
“You…shouldn’t. I should protect you,” Aaron said.
“How about we protect each other?” Carter asked. He leaned forward while dropping his gaze to Aaron’s lips.
Was he? Would he?
A soft whine came from beside them and Carter moved away. “I should take them out to use the bathroom.”
Aaron shouldn’t feel disappointed. It was better this way. “Sure. Okay.”
“And you should try to get more sleep.”
That wasn’t going to happen. Aaron slipped his phone from his pocket. He’d go ahead and send Leo a text. They needed to talk. He’d try to avoid waking up Bas for now. Leo was the planner and they needed to have a meeting. Plus Bas was going to lose his mind when he heard there was a direct threat to Hudson and the rest of the mates.
Aaron wasn’t ignoring what Carter offered. He just needed a second opinion.
Chapter Five
Aaron
“Change of plans,” Leo announced from the front of the table inside their conference room. His eyes were practically glowing with how his anger radiated from him.
Aaron winced. He had a feeling that this was because of what he’d shared with the guys about the dream from the night before. Bas had already put his fist through the wall. A very nice wall in the conference room that was never going to be the same.
“What change?” Aspen asked from the seat next to Aaron. He was wringing his hands while rocking back and forth in his chair.
Aaron wanted to pat Aspen on the back and let the little fae know that everything was okay. Leo and Bas’s anger was toward the threat to the family not at them. Going with his instincts, Aaron did rub over Aspen’s shoulder. He’d initially been against having Aspen in the room as they discussed the hyena pack, just to protect Aspen from the evils of the pack.
Bas had insisted that Aspen was part of the team and could decide if he wanted to sit in the meetings. Aspen had insisted he did. Still Aaron worried. Aspen was such a sweet kid. A breath of fresh air in the office when the rest of them were used to dealing with the worst of the worst.
The dark feeling from the dream had remained with Aaron hours later even after sharing with Carter. Once Aaron had explained everything about the hyena pack and their suspicions, not holding back any longer, he’d felt empty and cold.
Carter had insisted on putting on an old movie and sitting with him until Aaron had fallen back asleep. It felt like he’d gotten a few hours of restful sleep with his mate by his side. It was getting harder for Aaron not to think of Carter as his mate. He didn’t know what to do anymore.
“We go hunting,” Bas declared. He was still vibrating with fury.
Aaron tuned back into the conversation happening. He understood that Bas was angry, although they needed to be careful. Aaron wasn’t exaggerating that there was something wrong with the hyena shifters. They were just pure evil.
