His Perfect Mate [Nehalem Pack 6] (Siren Publishing Classic ManLove) by AJ Jarrett (if you give a mouse a cookie read aloud txt) 📕

“Relax, kid.” Seth held up a hand, cutting off any further outburst from Carl. “I sympathize for what you and your brother have gone through but I’m not going to put four people at risk just to save one. We need to be smart about this or it won’t matter if we get Casper out or not because we’ll all be dead.”

Carl’s head fell forward and Jake took a step toward his mate. He rested a hand on Carl’s shoulder, trying his best to lend the man some of his strength. What Carl must be going through had to be sheer torture but Seth was right in his estimation of how to go about things. They needed to watch the house and wait for the perfect opportunity to attack. That would be the only way they all would survive this.

“Carl.” Jake squeezed his mate’s shoulder where his hand lay. “We’ll get him back.”

“I hope so.” Carl looked at him with red-rimmed eyes on the verge of tears. “He’s all I have.”

Jake couldn’t stop himself from pulling Carl to his chest and wrapping his arms around his mate. If he could only tell Carl what they were to each other maybe the man would trust him more. But knowing that they were mates might be distracting to Carl.

Almost timidly he felt Carl’s thin arms wound around his waist. The man’s body shook as the tears he tried to hold back ripped through his body. Jake held him tight. Carl needed to get all his crying out now because when it came time to fight he needed to be prepared and ready for battle.

Seth pulled out his laptop and mapped out a route that would take them on every back road toward Carl’s alpha’s house. They wanted to stay hidden as much as possible as to not give away their intentions. From what Carl said the alpha wouldn’t be expecting Carl to show up with help. They had to use the alpha’s weaknesses to their advantage.

They packed up the supplies they’d need to camp out for a few days. Seth only had two sleeping bags and said they’d have to share because there was no time to run and buy more. Jake found himself looking forward to nightfall. He’d be able to snuggle close and keep his mate warm.

He shouldn’t be having these types of thoughts right now but he longed to be close to his mate. He needed to show Carl that not all men were monsters.

Before they left Jake talked Carl into taking a shower. His cuts were healing but Jake guessed that it had been weeks since the man had had a proper shower. Carl tried to debate that they didn’t have time for him to take a shower but Holden intervened and said there was plenty of time and even lent the man some clothes.

With the Jeep loaded up they headed out. Clouds rolled in to cover the sun and a gray haze lay out before them. Jake thought it seemed almost foretelling of what was to come. He could lie to the others about not being afraid but he couldn’t lie to himself. The fear of the unknown had his heart racing and his palms sweating. He already had lost too many people in his life that he loved and he didn’t want to add Carl to that ever-growing list.

One town faded into another until nothing but rolling fields with trees covering the ground surrounded them. If the situation that brought them to this area hadn’t been so dire, Jake would have commented on how beautiful the scenery was. The different shades of greens and browns made for a pretty backdrop.

Seth hit the blinker and Jake leaned forward to look out Carl’s window on the left hand side. Hamilton Park.

“What are we doing here?” Jake asked.

“This park borders up next to alpha Tobias’s house,” Carl answered without even looking up at him. “Casper and I came through this way when we escaped.”

“Exactly.” Seth put the car in park. “This park is known for camping and hiking so we can leave my Jeep here without causing suspicion.”

Seth and Holden climbed out and Jake and Carl followed. The temperature had dropped and a brisk wind cut through the trees, chilling Jake to the bone. He had never been one to be bothered by the weather but he found himself shivering and he shoved his hands into his pants pockets.

As he looked around he saw a few other cars parked in the long parking lot. A ranger’s station sat off to the left but the building looked dark. Either the park ranger was out checking on campers or had left for the day.

“Jake, come on.” Holden hollered for him to come help and he rushed over to his friend. “You nervous?”

Jake grabbed his back pack and put it on. “A little. You?”

“Yeah, I am.” Holden handed him a sleeping bag. “My father was a crazy son of a bitch who had his own daughter murdered and for some reason I’m scared more now than when I had to fight my father this past summer. Something seems off here.”

Jake turned to look after Carl. He stood with his back to him facing the trees. He had to agree with Holden. Something didn’t seem quite right. “I think we just need to be overly cautious. If we don’t come home in one piece I think our families will bring us back from the dead just to kill us again,” Jake joked, trying to help ease his friends’ nerves.

“Damn right they would.” Holden grew serious. “I’m not afraid to die, Jake, I’m just not ready to leave. I’d miss out on Carson growing up.”

Carson was Holden’s nephew he just got reconnected with. The kid was a sweetheart that had grown on Jake. He understood what Holden had to lose and it made it that much more selfless what his friend was willing to give up if this situation with