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bodily needs. Orange meant shifter, one that needed light food at first.
Kedi got chicken soup and a single piece of fresh bread. Betts had
several huge vats of soup ready and waiting. Some heavier than
others, but all were easy on the stomach and as tasty as Betts s
cooking always was.
Kedi ate the soup. Charlie, who was also hungry by that point, had
his own rather bigger bowl of chicken soup, with added vegetables
and lentils. They ate side by side at the kitchen table, Charlie shooting
glances at Kedi between mouthfuls to make sure he was not
imagining the boy was really there. After three bites of the bread and
halfway through the soup, Kedi began to flag. He had fumbled the
spoon a couple of times, and his head was drooping with tiredness.
The weary boy followed Charlie as Charlie led the way back up to
the first floor and along to one of the smaller bedrooms. There were
two beds in the room, the other one already occupied by a huddled
shape under the covers. Charlie laid Kedi down on the free bed and
pulled the duvet up and tucked it in around him.
84 Violet Joicey-Cowen
 Don t go.
 You want me to stay until you fall asleep?
 I want you to stay.
 I can stay until you go to sleep. Their conversation was kept low
so as not to disturb the other person.
 Don t leave me.
 I will be back tomorrow.
 Please!
 Shhhhh& shhhh& It s okay. Charlie settled himself gingerly on
the edge of the bed and cuddled up to Kedi. He stroked the boy s hair,
his fingers combing through the soft, fine strands until he knew Kedi
slept, and then he slipped quietly from the room.
Alpha Second 85
Chapter Nine: Perry
Perry s hands were deliberately light on the steering wheel as he
drove back to Carden. One side of the wheel had been flattened where
he had gripped rather too hard when he first got into the car. There
were still things going on back at Blue Gables, but the worst had been
taken care of, and the next shift of people were looking after
everything. It was half four in the morning, and everyone was tired.
There were a couple of others in the car with him. They had been
involved with the rescue and helped with the aftermath. Sam, Perry s
Beta, had been one of the truck drivers. He had stayed with the truck
and driven its fragile and wounded cargo back to Blue Gables. He had
known enough to suspect the state they would find their new charges
in, and upon seeing them, he had stayed afterwards to help for as long
as he could. Gerry sat in the back seat. He shared a house with
Hannah and a couple of the others who had no mate yet. Gerry had
been on one of the other teams during the rescue, with Cass,
Cameron, and Davin.
All three men were silent as they made their way home, trying to
absorb the sights they had seen. The abuses inflicted on their fellow
shifters were horrifying. The terror of some of those they had only
been trying to help had been heartbreaking, and others had sat in the
filth in total apathy, not even seeming to notice when they were being
taken away from their cells and abusers.
Perry opened his front door, very glad to be home. His wolf and
his heart were both in agreement. They wanted the comfort of holding
his mate in his arms. He ached to wrap himself around Charlie and
never let him go again. His arms felt empty without his mate in them.
86 Violet Joicey-Cowen
 Charlie, he allowed himself to whisper out loud,  I need you. The
house felt colder when Charlie was not there. The sight of some of the
people had reminded Perry of just how far Charlie had come in the
few weeks since he had come back into Perry s life. Then a thought
occurred to him. Maybe I don t have to wait. Maybe Charlie is
waiting for me to be the one to make the first move. The thoughts
made his heart beat faster. He dropped his keys on the old oak stand
by the front door, in the china bowl with the pheasants painted around
the outside. He had been staring at the bowl for several minutes while
his thoughts wandered. He walked toward the stairs so he could go up
and shower, then grab a few hours rest. His heart had lightened a
little, and he was now looking forward to seeing Charlie again, to
trying to talk to him. As his foot rose to land on the first step, he heard
a loud knock on the front door.
Perry let his head fall back for a moment, and he stared at the
ceiling. No rest for the wicked Alpha. He sighed to himself.
He opened the door to see an equally exhausted-looking Sam,
accompanied by a rather sleepy-looking boy in a pair of dark-blue
pyjamas, one of Sam s sons. Is that Astley or Miles?
Hmmmm& Astley, I think, he decided. What are they doing here?
Oh, Sam, go home, go to sleep.
 Sam, what s up? Perry yawned after he spoke, too tired to beat
around the bush.
 Sorry to come back, Alpha.
Perry rarely insisted on his title being used. He preferred to be on
friendly, easier terms with the members of his pack, and only insisted
on his title being used in official situations when he needed to enforce
his authority. The pack had all been using the title since they had left
the warehouse earlier in the night. Perry knew they must be needing
to feel the security of their pack and had not commented other than to
use his Alpha Voice more and reinforcing his Presence.
 I looked in on the kids as soon as I got home. I& uh& needed to
check on them, after tonight& needed to know they were safe. Astley
Alpha Second 87 [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]