The Lamb Who Cried Wolf (15 page)

Unfortunately for Ray, he was two against one. Lester changed into his second form as well and lunged toward the young ram. Ray’s gun went out, but it missed its target. In a panic, Ray changed into a ram, trying to use his sharp horns to push the wolves away. He managed to fight back for a minute or so. His horn landed in Roxanne’s eye, and she howled in dismayed distress. She backed up, tossing her head around. Lester, however, wasn’t in the least bit thwarted by her pain. He jumped on Ray, burying his fangs in the ram’s throat.

Taking advantage of their distraction, Carson jumped forward and snatched Roxanne’s shotgun. Several bullet shots echoed in the clearing around their house, and Lester and Roxanne slumped down to the ground. Carson dropped the gun, as if in shock of what he’d done.

For a few moments, time seemed to stand still. Everything was just surreal. However, seeing Lester and Roxanne still on the ground forced Brody to snap out of his trance. He’d been running on pure adrenaline and it had helped him ignore the pain, but now, he needed to direct his attention toward his own problem.

The wound looked gruesome, the bone sticking out of the skin.

Brody had to hurry or his shape-shifter abilities would work against him and his injury would close too early. Carson knelt by his side, looking worried. “Oh, God, Brody. What do we do?”

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Brody looked around and found a stick. He couldn’t ask his mate to do this for him. In fact, he’d have much preferred if Carson wasn’t here to see it, even if a selfish part of him found comfort in his mate’s presence. He inserted the piece of wood in his mouth and leaned against his mate.

In one motion, he snapped the bone back into place. Horrifying pain coursed through him, and he almost blacked out at the agony. It didn’t help that the silver bullet was still lodged in his leg, polluting his blood.

He breathed through it, focusing on Carson, on his mate’s soothing voice. His abilities kicked in, and the pain began to diminish.

However, just as Brody started to feel better, Lester stirred, trying to crawl away. “I aimed for non-lethal injuries,” Carson said, still gripping the shotgun.

Whatever Carson had aimed for, the shotgun had done quite a lot of damage from up close. Lester and Roxanne were unlikely to recover soon, more so because of the silver now attacking their bodies. Still, they would live, and as such, needed to be watched.

The ram, however, didn’t move at all. Carson seemed to be studiously trying not to look in his brother’s direction. The sight of the savaged neck of the ram made Brody understand why. “I’m sorry.”

Carson sighed. “My mother is going to be very hurt. He was always her favorite.”

Carson’s voice didn’t hold any resentment, just acceptance and regret. He shook himself. “We should get you to a doctor, Brody, and call someone to help us with this.”

“Go,” Brody said. “I’ll guard our friends,” he added sarcastically.

His leg would heal, but the silver was more of a problem. Brody hoped his body would be able to fight it for a bit longer. He needed to make sure Roxanne and Lester didn’t try to attack them again.

At last, Carson returned to him. Judging by his mate’s expression and the worry that flooded their bond, Brody surmised he wasn’t in a
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very good condition. “Hang in there, Brody,” Carson said. “Help is on the way.”

Brody nodded. “We need to take the bullet out. It’s poisoning me.”

“Okay.” Carson breathed in deeply. “Take the bullet out. I’m on it.”

Even with all the panic Brody sensed inside his mate, Carson managed to focus. He retrieved their first aid kit and returned to Brody’s side.

“What do I do now? I’m no wolf medic. I know a little about sheep medicine, but beyond that…”

“I’ll guide you through it.” Brody struggled to offer his mate a smile. “It’s not actually very different.”

He’d have liked to spare his mate of this, but they didn’t have much choice. In his current state, Brody couldn’t focus enough to take the bullet out. Thankfully, Carson seemed more adept at this then he thought. He sanitized the wound, and with excruciating care, started the painful process of saving Brody’s life.

Brody managed to remain conscious just enough to watch Carson succeed in his task. Just as the bloody bullet hit the grass, his world became dark and he surrendered to unconsciousness.

* * * *

Carson paced in front of the room that held his mate. He knew Brody was still alive, since their connection remained in place. At the same time, the silver had done quite a number on Brody. His lover might not be in deathly peril, but he wasn’t out of the woods yet, either.

A voice drew him out of his musings. “Brody will be fine,” Elder Wade said. “He’s a strong man, and he has a lot of things to live for.”

Carson offered the wolf a weak smile. He’d never have thought he would ever do that, given everything the elder had done. But Brody’s
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father came through for them when it mattered. Perhaps they weren’t exactly friends, but Carson could appreciate the man loved his son.

Carson had called Liam, and Brody’s friend had been quick in rallying additional troops. Much to Carson’s shock, Elder Wade immediately provided medical assistance to Brody. Carson didn’t know what happened to Roxanne and Lester, but he’d asked the elder to keep Ray’s body safe. Again, the man surprised him and respected his request.

“Thank you for your help,” he told the elder. “I just don’t know what we would’ve done without it.”

The wolf seemed thoughtful. “To tell you the truth, we’re not the ones who saved Brody’s life. You did, at removing that bullet. My people merely hurt him.” He paused, as if considering his words. “I was wrong about you,” he finished.

It was the closest thing to an apology Carson could expect. As a rule, Alphas didn’t admit their mistakes. It gave Carson hope that maybe, one day, his mating with Brody would not be condemned.

At last, the door opened and a wolf medic appeared. “How is he?”

Carson asked at once.

“He’ll recover soon,” the doctor replied. “Thankfully, we were able to eliminate the silver poisoning before it did too much damage.”

He gave Carson a penetrating look. “The situation would have been much worse had the bullet not been removed before we arrived.” The doctor cleared his throat. “At any rate, he is awake and wishes to see his mate now.”

Excitement coursed through Carson. “Is that okay?” he asked breathlessly. “Is he well enough?”

“You know I am, little lamb,”
a rough voice came through their connection.
“Now get in here. I want to see your beautiful face.”

Without waiting for the doctor to answer, Carson burst inside the room and rushed toward the bed where Brody lay. His mate looked a bit pale, and Carson knew he would be weak and feel his lingering
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hurt for quite a while now. But the smile on Brody’s face was very real, and overwhelming relief gripped Carson.

“Come here and give me a kiss,” Brody said with a grin.

And when Carson did, everything else paled except the knowledge that this bond was here to stay and no one would ever part them again.

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Carson fidgeted on the chair, unable to contain his impatience.

After three months of putting their lives back into place, they finally had a home. Roxanne and Lester had survived, but the silver had left lasting trails on their bodies. Roxanne’s eye never healed, and Lester lost much of his mobility. Elder Wade guaranteed that the two, or anyone else for that matter, would not be a problem for Carson and Brody.

With that out of the way, Carson and Brody had officially registered as mates. It hadn’t been exactly easy, since the usual process entailed the involvement of the elders of both species.

However, they’d managed to find a way around that, through the shape-shifter agency that specialized in dealing with family relationships. They were now known as Williams-Wade, having gone with the hyphenating option, on the basis that it best suited their bond.

His mother still struggled with the situation and with the truth of Ray’s death and his attempt to kill Carson. However, she seemed to be trying to understand and making progress every day.

Carson and Brody were beginning to build a new life together. As such, Carson had brought up the topic of adopting. Their home was far too big for just the two of them. Carson wanted a family, and since they couldn’t do it the old-fashioned way, they’d have to resort to the proper channels.

After some deliberation, they’d decided to submit an application to the adoption section of the agency. The same one that helped them
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with their mate bond could offer them a baby to care for. It would take a while for their file to be processed. Even if they weren’t quite ready to receive a child in their life at this moment, by the time their request was considered, they’d be more than settled.

But now, when they actually sat in the adoption agency, Carson’s idea seemed more and more silly. Several other couples were waiting, some same-sex like him and Brody. There were no wolves, however, or any other carnivore among the homosexual pairings. More importantly, there were no predator-prey matings. In fact, most of the couples were of people of the same race, and they didn’t seem happy about Brody and Carson’s presence.

Brody squeezed his hand, offering silent comfort.
“It’s all right,”

he said through their bond.
“They hate what they can’t understand.

But we’ve come such a long way. In time, people will accept us.”

On instinct, Carson leaned closer to his mate. He received several ugly—well, uglier than before—looks, but he ignored them. His mate was right. They’d convinced Brody’s father that they were true mates.

Beyond that, everyone else could go to hell.

Finally, their names were called by the receptionist and they were led into a spacious office. A stern-looking female owl-shifter sat at the desk. “Brody and Carson Williams-Wade, correct?” she said without preamble.

Carson nodded. He opened his mouth to add something polite and appropriately impressive, but the woman didn’t give him the chance.

“I looked over your file, and I found it quite surprising that someone like you would want to apply for adoption.”

Carson heard derision in her voice, and his heart fell. It would seem adopting wouldn’t be as easy as Carson had hoped. Hell, she didn’t even introduce herself.

“Why would you be surprised?” Brody asked. “I noticed other same-sex couples waiting in line.”

The owl glared at him. “Don’t be obtuse. They are real couples, not like you.”

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“I don’t believe you have any authority to judge our bond,”

Carson shot back, anger flaring at her disdain.

“Very well. You might be right there.” The owl smiled tightly.

“But either way, what I meant to say is different. We are concerned of what would happen to a child growing in such unusual circumstances.

As you can imagine, a carnivorous child would grow up to try to eat you, Mr. Williams, while an herbivorous one would be eaten by Mr.

Wade.”

The way she separated their names irked Carson, and also made him realize their pasts had been investigated. “How can you say such a thing?” he asked. “We would be the most loving family for our children.”

“I’m afraid it simply doesn’t work that way.” The woman gave them a penetrating look. “I’m sure you’ll come to understand it soon.

Of course, once you find other partners, you are both welcome to try again with your respective mates.”

Brody looked like he was ready to lunge at her. Realizing that if they stayed, they’d have more to lose than to gain, Carson pulled his mate out of the room. A fist squeezed his chest with the weight of his crushed dream. He’d wanted so much to give Brody a real family. His vision blurred and he struggled to keep back his tears.

Brody hugged him tightly.
“Hey, don’t cry. There are other
ways.”

What other ways? Shape-shifters only had the authority of this agency that ruled over all cases. Adopting a human was out of the question. They could try finding a wolf or a sheep to donate eggs for them, but what woman would be willing to agree to it?

Carson forced himself to calm down and nodded. He couldn’t give up, not so soon.
“You’re right. There’s always a way.”

Brody released him from the embrace and glowered at the other couples currently staring at them. “What? What are you looking at?”

Carson felt a small measure of satisfaction as several of the people present winced. Still holding Brody’s hand, he stalked out of the
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adoption agency, head held high. They’d find a way to complete their family, he just knew it.

* * * *

Later that day

The shrill sound of the telephone woke Carson up from his slumber. By his side, Brody grumbled and got out of bed. “Whoever it is better have a good reason for calling.”

It was only three in the afternoon, but both of them had succumbed to emotional exhaustion. Neither Brody nor Carson had been in the mood for sex, so they’d just fallen asleep in each other’s arms.

They must have slept at least a couple of hours, but Carson still felt exhausted. He waited for Brody to get rid of their caller so that they could go back to bed.

All of a sudden, Brody’s voice came through their connection.

“It’s from the adoption agency. This guy Skylar Pierce says he saw
our file and he’d like to meet us.”

Instantly, all tiredness fled Carson. He got up and stared at Brody in disbelief. The owl had been more than a little clear that they wouldn’t have a chance in adopting. But perhaps Carson and Brody had just run into a bad person and they still had a chance.