Astrid's Wish (18 page)

“What’s going on here?” Klaus shouted.

The man let go of Carter’s shirt, and he stumbled as he landed on his feet. He slowly turned to greet him.

“Oh, Klaus, old friend, how long has it been?”

He stood speechless for a split second as he realized who it was.

“Ivan.” His eyes darted to Carter. “Why are you here?”

“He came because of me.” Carter pushed away from the wall to come stand by him.

“Why?” he asked Carter but never took his eyes off of Ivan.

“We used to date, and he called right after the incident this morning. He claims he came to check on me because he was worried.” Carter glared at Ivan. “But we know that’s a lie.”

“Oh, baby, you know I care about you.” Ivan made to grab Carter’s hand, but Klaus stepped in front of Carter, stopping Ivan from touching him. “Klaus,” Ivan said. “Always involving yourself in matters that don’t concern you.”

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He was just about to respond when Astrid came barreling toward him. “Klaus, what’s wrong? Why did you take off like that?” Astrid asked as he came to a stop between Carter and Klaus.

“What do we have here?”

Carter stepped in front of Astrid, blocking Ivan’s view of him.

Klaus appreciated the young witch’s protectiveness over his mate.

He had known Ivan longer than he cared to admit. The man was a bottom-feeder who only cared about himself. Plus, he hadn’t worked a day in his life, living off daddy’s money. In Klaus’s opinion, the man was a spoiled brat at the age of nine hundred and thirty-four years of age.

“Ivan, just leave. I don’t want you here, so please just go.” Carter ushered Ivan toward the front door.

“You would send me away this late at night? Where will I go?”

Ivan whined.

“It’s hardly late, and you’re nearly a thousand years old, and you’re a witch. I think you will be fine on your own.” Carter grabbed Ivan by the bicep and tried to tug him toward the door.

“Baby, you sure The Warriors of the Light can’t put the son of a high-ranking council member up for one night?”

The slimy bastard used his family connections to get his way.

Klaus could never respect a man like that. Ivan had most definitely put them between a rock and a hard place.

“Of course we can put you up for
a
night,” Klaus said to Ivan.

“We’ll just need to let Ben know, and then we can get a room ready for you.”

“Not necessary.” Ivan held a hand up. “I can stay with Carter.”

“The fuck you will,” Carter snapped.

“Okay there obviously seems to be a difference of opinion between you two. But I must say I agree with Carter, separate rooms while you stay here. If Abner thought you were sharing a room with another man, he might snap.”

“Who’s Abner?” Ivan asked but turned his attention to Astrid.

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“None of your business,” Carter said, cutting him off.

Klaus saw the pleading in Carter’s eyes to not mention he and Abner being mates.

“That’s not your concern.” He looked to Carter. “Why don’t you take Ivan to Ben’s office, and he can handle getting him settled.”

Carter nodded and started walking down the hallway, not even stopping to see if Ivan had followed him.

“Thank you, Klaus, for the hospitality. It’s deeply appreciated.”

Ivan dropped his eyes to where Astrid stood behind Klaus, peeking over his shoulder. “Hello there, young man.” Ivan held his hand out to Astrid. “We haven’t had the pleasure of meeting. My name is Ivan, and yours?”

Klaus took a step forward, brushing Ivan’s hand to the side. “You better hurry up.” He nudged his chin in Carter’s direction. “I don’t think he’s going to wait for you, and I would hate for you to get lost.”

“I think you’re right.” Ivan laughed and pointed a finger at him.

“Nice meeting you, young man.”

Astrid stood with his chest pressed against his back. He then wrapped his arms around Klaus’s waist. Klaus covered Astrid’s hands with his own and gave them a small pat.

“Who was that?” Astrid’s voice shook as he spoke.

“An overprivileged brat who lives off his daddy.” Klaus turned in Astrid’s arms. “No one for you to worry about. He’s more annoying than anything.”

“If you say so.” Astrid glanced toward the hallway.

“Come on, angel. Let’s go wash up for dinner.” He walked Astrid toward the stairs that led up to their bedroom.

As of late, every little thing came off as suspicious to him, and Ivan arriving at the warrior compound just seemed to be another. It made perfect sense for him to want to check up on his boyfriend, but Carter made it seem like they were no longer together, so why would he show up unannounced? It didn’t make since. But Ivan didn’t like
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being told no, so he probably couldn’t get it through his thick skull that Carter no longer wanted him.

“You coming?” Astrid asked from the top step. Klaus had stopped midway up as his brain started to jump to conclusions. He needed to lighten up and focus on the real threat that surrounded his mate, not worry why a man he couldn’t stand would suddenly show up to check on his latest bedmate.

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All through dinner, Astrid could feel Ivan’s eyes on him. At first he thought he was just imagining it, until he caught the man boldly staring at him. He didn’t smile and didn’t wink or say “boo,” just stared at him like he was trying to figure out some sort of puzzle. It baffled him, but he shrugged it off. Maybe Carter had told him he was part fairy, which was a rarity in their world.

Once the dinner dishes were cleared, Ben invited Ivan, along with the other warriors, for a drink. Ivan accepted and left the room but not before checking to see where Astrid was. Astrid made a deal with himself that if Ivan kept up his eye stalking, he would say something to Klaus. But it wasn’t against the law to look at people, and he didn’t want to dump more stress into Klaus’s lap if he was just overreacting.

Astrid wandered around the upstairs hallway. He stopped by Trevor’s room and played some video games with him. Before too long, he bored of that and went back to wandering the hallway. He passed a cracked door and peered inside. Carter sat in a chair, reading something. The door squeaked when his shoulder nudged it open.

Carter looked up and smiled at him.

“Astrid, what are you up to?” Carter’s voice was gentle and not annoyed to have his peace and quiet interrupted. This made Astrid like the man just a tad more.

“Nothing. I’m just bored. What are you reading?” Astrid asked from the threshold of Carter’s door.

“Oh, this?” Carter held up a flimsy booklet. “It’s called a comic book. Haven’t you ever seen one before?” He shook his head no.

“Then come on in and take a look.”

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Astrid smiled as he entered the room. Carter got up from his chair and went to sit on the bed where there would be more room for them to sit comfortably. He climbed on the bed and sat on his knees as he looked over Carter’s shoulder at the colorful book in his hand. Astrid loved books with pictures, and this book had pictures all over it.

Carter enlightened him on what comic books were all about, that they usually revolved around superheroes saving the day and putting the bad guys in jail. He explained that there were different kinds and some were even collectors’ items, whatever that meant. Astrid didn’t know.

Astrid liked the bright, colorful artwork and the different frames that jumped across the page. And he could classify them as reading material because there were bubbles filled with dialogue among the characters, telling a story. It was a fun kind of book that he could really get into.

“I can’t believe you’ve never seen one of these before,” Carter said in disbelief. “My childhood wouldn’t have been the same without these bad boys.” The smile on Carter’s face fell away. “Shit, Astrid, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to bring that up or be insensitive.”

His friend sat with his shoulders slumped and his head hanging down. It hit him quickly that Carter was remembering Astrid’s memories and how he didn’t have the privilege of having things like comic books.

Sadness swamped him at seeing Carter beat himself up for speaking his mind. Carter shouldn’t feel like he had to censor himself when they were together. His childhood wasn’t ideal, but it wasn’t going to define who he was now.

He rested his head on Carter’s shoulder. “It’s okay, Carter. My childhood wasn’t perfect, but I have a great life now. So let’s not dwell on my past, but look toward the future instead.”

Carter laid his head on top of Astrid’s and nodded. They sat quietly for a few minutes, and Astrid thought it best to change the
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subject. And he was dying to know what was going on between Carter, Abner, and even Ivan.

“Carter, can I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

“Do you love him?”

“Love who?” Carter asked, and he could feel Carter’s body tense under his ear where his head lay.

“Ivan.” Astrid rubbed small circles on Carter’s shoulder to ease the tension that knotted the witch’s muscles.

“Oh, hell no.” Carter laughed out loud. “Astrid, he and I just spent some time together, but nothing serious like that.” He patted Astrid’s knee. “Don’t get me wrong, things were fun between us, but it was never going to be a love match.”

“Good,” he said excitedly. “Then you and Abby can be together.”

“Astrid.” Carter breathed out a heavy sigh. “It’s not that easy. I think I might have already screwed things up with Abner.”

“What do you mean?” he asked.

“Well for starters, the way I treated him when I first arrived, then Ivan shows up, and”—Carter worried his lower lip with his teeth for a moment before he spoke again—“and some other stuff took place, but I’m not going to discuss those things with you.”

“Is it about sex?” he asked without shame. He was a grown man, and he understood the wants and needs that came along with finding a mate.

Carter’s cheeks blushed a pretty rose color. “Yeah, we’re not having this conversation.”

“I understand, but Carter, I’m here anytime you want to talk.” He shifted and brought his legs out to stretch in front of him, and he yawned as he realized how tired he had become.

“Dude, stop that.” Carter yawned wide. “Don’t you know that’s contagious?” Astrid started to giggle, and Carter smiled in turn.

“Well, little man, I say we call it a night. I’m sure Klaus will be
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looking for you soon.” He stood up and offered a hand to Astrid.

“Come on, I’ll walk you back to your room.”

He took his hand and let Carter pull him to his feet. They headed toward the open door, and then they were stopped dead in their tracks.

Their path was blocked by one man Astrid really didn’t want to be alone with.

“Leaving so soon?” Ivan asked as he smiled at the both of them. It wasn’t a friendly smile. Astrid had seen that smile before but on a different face. That smile promised nothing but pain and misery. He knew they had to get away, but how?

He tried to get his tongue to work, but it lay limp and heavy in his mouth as if it were numb. Panic had him rooted to the spot. Like so many times before in his life, he was trapped.

“Ivan, get out of my room,” Carter shouted at him, oblivious to the danger they were in.

Ivan stepped into the room and shut the door behind him. The distinct sound of the lock clicking into place caused Astrid’s breathing to speed up. Bad memories filled his mind, and he couldn’t stop the slide show of the past from replaying in his head. Astrid tried to open his mouth to scream or something but couldn’t make his vocal cords work. “I think it’s time I teach you some manners, my dear Carter.” And with that, Ivan pulled back his balled-up fist and punched Carter in the face. Carter never saw it coming and had no time to react. He took the full brunt of the hit and fell in a heap to the floor. Terror held Astrid hostage as he watched Ivan proceed to beat Carter until the man passed out.

When Ivan was done with Carter, he stood up and wiped his bloody hands on a handkerchief. He stuffed the small square of material back in his pocket then turned to him. Alarms were going off in Astrid’s head, telling him to move, run, and escape, but he was helpless to do any such thing. He couldn’t even react to help save his friend.

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“Astrid, my boy, this wasn’t how I foresaw our little family reunion taking place, but we all have to make do.” Ivan glided as if on air over to where he stood shaking uncontrollably. “Now, son, why don’t you give your father a proper greeting.”

My father?

That was Astrid’s last thought before his eyes rolled back into his head, and the blackness of unconsciousness consumed him.

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Klaus had gotten distracted talking with Ben and Quinn and lost track of time. Two hours had passed since he left Astrid sitting at the kitchen table finishing his dessert. Now that he was free, he wanted to find his sweet little mate and partake in his own special kind of dessert. He wore a huge smile as he walked down the hallway in search of Astrid.

He checked their bedroom first, but no sign of his angel. Heading back down the stairs, he checked the kitchen, TV room, and the indoor pool area, Astrid’s three favorite places, but still no luck finding him. He headed for the stairs, assuming he must be with Miles or Trevor. The latter caused his head to start hurting. He felt for the guy who drew the short stick and got Trevor as a mate. A handful didn’t come close to describing that kid.

As he came around the corner, he saw Ben climbing the stairs.

“Ben, have you seen Astrid?”

Ben stopped in midstep. The man held a plate in his hand, eating a piece of chocolate cake. “No. Have you checked your room? He might be there waiting for you.” Ben waggled his eyebrows.

Klaus laughed at Ben’s teasing. “I did, but he wasn’t there. Maybe Miles has seen him.”