Page 17 of Entering a New World

I hadn’t even reached the parking spaces in front of the building when the door was ripped open. Gray’s imposing figure stood in the doorway, all six and a half feet of him illuminated by the lights behind him, his almost waist long black hair whipping in the wind.

“Get Jasper!” I heard him shouting just as I killed the engine.

The next moment, he was at my side, steadying me and my mate.

“What the fuck did you do?” he shouted, tugging at the rope connecting me to my mate.

“He was losing consciousness.” We had no time for me to explain my whole thought process. Fortunately, Gray seemed to understand what was going on without more words. He gripped the ropes and ripped them apart, catching my unconscious mate before he could slide off the vehicle.

Cradling Levi against his chest, Gray waited until I’d gotten off the ATV, then handed my mate over. Together, we ran back inside, where more than ten people were already waiting for us. Some had blankets in their hands, others were equipped with towels, and I even saw Jeanne holding what looked like mugs filled with tea and cocoa. All in all, we barely managed to get through the door and lock it behind us.

“Let them through!” a firm voice bellowed and the crowd parted for us, forming a path. At the end of said path, right in the middle of the big foyer, Jasper was waiting for me, his doctor’s bag in hand.

Relief filled me upon seeing him.

“Get him upstairs,” he said, nodding towards the stairs.

“We have one of the guest rooms ready,” Grayson added. “I had a feeling you might need it. Third floor, the last room on the right side.”

Gratitude flooded my system, combined with a whole lot of shame because dammit, I should’ve never let it come this far. I should’ve listened to Gray. In failing to listen to my Alpha, I’d risked my mate.

Even though my mate’s clothes were soaked with water, he barely weighed anything, his slender body no match for my shifter strength, so running up the stairs with him in my arms was no problem. I’d take care of the wet trail we were leaving behind later.

Jasper and Gray followed suit as did a couple other packmates, especially those I worked with closely. However, once we entered the room, Jasper grabbed all the blankets and towels, then firmly shut the door in everyone’s faces.

“You need to get him out of his clothes,” he told me.

Hesitating for a second, I looked at my packmate. “All his clothes?”

Gray snorted, but Jasper just gave a grim nod. “Everything that’s wet. Considering how long the two of you have been out there, I’d guess everything is wet. Now is not the time for modesty, Rhett. Get him out of his clothes and place him on the bed, please. Then get rid of your own clothes.”

I carried Levi into the en-suite bathroom, laid him down on a bathmat, and started carefully removing layer upon layer of soaking wet, cold fabric. Jacket, sweater, shirt, undershirt, shoes, socks, jeans, and boxers, until he was lying in front of me completely bare, and the only sign he was still alive was the even rise and fall of his chest.

Not wanting to miss even a second, I covered Levi with a towel, then got up and ripped my clothes to shreds without hesitation. I could replace them. Hell, the pack basically had a standing order on sweatpants and shirts because those got shredded on a regular basis.

Gently, I tried drying Levi with the towel, then picked him up, cradled him in my arms, and carried him back to the guest room where I placed him on the bed just as Jasper had ordered me to do.

He didn’t waste a second.

Immediately after I’d laid my mate down, Jasper shoved me aside and got to work. He covered my mate with one of those foil blankets, then placed the comforter over it before getting his stethoscope out.

My irritation grew upon seeing someone else caring for my mate when I should be the one providing for him. My wolf was pissed. He didn’t get why I was being shoved aside.

I did get it, but I didn’t like it.

The worry swirling in my gut mixed with my wolf’s anger, the guilt I was feeling and the utter fear of losing my mate before I’d even really had a chance to get to know him.

“Hey.” Gray placed a hand on my shoulder and turned me around so I could face him. “Take a deep breath, okay?” He stared at me, his warm, brown—almost black—eyes firmly trained on me until I followed his advice and inhaled slowly and deeply. The corner of his mouth twitched. “Again.” I did, and he smiled at me, his hand still firmly on my shoulder, keeping me from turning back around to my mate.

I hated not being able to see him. My instincts were screaming at me to get my eyes back on him so I could make sure he was fine.

“Your mate is in good hands,” Gray said, his rough voice unusually gentle. “Jasper will help him, but you need to give him room to do so, okay? You did a good job, Rhett.”

I wanted to protest because no, I really hadn’t done a good job at all, but Gray levelled me with a stare and shook his head. “You did,” he reiterated, squeezing my shoulder a little. “You were trying not to overwhelm him. I admire your willingness to put your mate’s comfort first. Did it work out? No. But you didn’t know the storm would change directions or pick up speed, and neither did I. If I had known the weather would turn this badly, I’d have ordered you to bring your mate. But I didn’t.”

“Because you trusted me not to endanger him.” I laughed hollowly, my throat constricting. Who willingly put his mate in this much danger?

“Because you’re a good judge of character. Because out of the two of us, you’re the one that’s levelheaded. You’re the one who thinks things through before acting. You were willing to put your mate first and to wait until you’d formed a solid plan, even though I know not barging in and taking control over the situation must’ve killed you and your wolf.”

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