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

Carl’s head snapped up so fast he became dizzy all over again. What did Anton mean? What had Tobias done?

Anton’s beady eyes roamed over Carl’s and he tried to fold his body up to appear as small as possible. “You’re weak and not worthy of him. Tobias deserves better.”

Carl didn’t say anything. He crawled up on the bed and held his hands out to Anton. He’d learned long ago to not fight back. Anton didn’t care how much pain he caused Carl and he couldn’t afford to let Anton accidently kill him in one of his tirades. If he was dead he couldn’t help Casper.

Once Anton had Carl’s hands chained together he pulled the excess chain tight so that Carl’s arms stretched above his head. Carl winced as his joints popped and he used his feet to scoot up the bed to relieve some of the pressure.

“What the hell.” Anton let go of the chain and wrenched Carl’s head to the side. “What have you done?” The man started to laugh.

Hard fingers ran over the mark Jake had left on his neck. Carl’s stomach dropped and he could feel perspiration break out across his forehead. He had totally forgotten about the bite mark and he had no way of covering it up and it wouldn’t matter. Anton would tell Tobias regardless.

“Boy have you messed up now.” Anton finished latching the chain to the side of the bed then looked back at Carl. With one last smirk he slapped Carl across the face. Pain bloomed across his upper cheek, causing his eyes to water. Anton’s laughter could be heard as he left the room.

Once the door was shut Carl immediately started to pull on the chains. His hands felt numb from the binding being so tight and there was no extra give in the length. He was stuck. He had to wait until Tobias came to him. The thought of being at that man’s mercy made his stomach start to stir. His mouth began to water and he began to gag. Only bitter acid filled his mouth but he swallowed it down.

Carl looked around the room to see if there was anything he could use to his advantage if by some miracle he could break free. It was up to him to save Casper and himself. No matter what his mind had said, his heart couldn’t believe Jake and the others had abandoned him to this fate. He had to stay strong and pray that Jake wouldn’t fail him now when he needed him the most.

* * * *

“Let go of me,” Jake gritted out between clenched teeth.

“If I let you go you can’t go down there, Jake,” Holden whispered against his ear. “They’ll see you coming and kill you before you ever reach the door. If you’re dead what use are you to Carl?” Holden gave him a little shake.

His friend spoke nothing but truths. If he ran down there like a ravenous wolf, Tobias would gun him down before he reached the drive. That’s what Jake would do if the tables were turned. He had to be smart about this.

“Okay, I get it. Now will you please get off of me?” Jake looked over his shoulder at Holden.

Holden climbed off his back but stayed close. Jake got up to his knees and looked down at the house. It looked quiet and peaceful but Jake knew it was all a façade for what really was going on behind closed doors. His mate once again was trapped in that house of horrors.

“What the fuck happened?” Jake and Holden both turned at Seth’s harsh words. “How could you just let him go?”

Jake’s lips curled back and his fist balled up. “You think I would voluntarily let my mate run into danger?” He didn’t give Seth the opportunity to respond. “You are a fucking asshole if you believe that. I love him.”

“I know you do.” Seth softened his tone. “But you need to explain to me what just happened?”

Jake flopped back to sit on his ass. He ran a hand through his hair. “He said he heard his brother then took off running faster than I’ve ever seen another wolf go.”

Seth looked from him to Holden. “Did you two hear anything?”

“I didn’t,” Holden said then turned to Jake. “Did you?”

“No.” Jake shook his head. He had been too preoccupied kissing his mate to have noticed another person’s cry for help, but not Carl. His mate sprang into action with little thought to his own well-being and no matter how much that infuriated Jake, he understood. If it were his brothers Tobias had locked up not even the hounds of hell could stop him from getting to them. The same went for his mate but he had to have a plan. Clear minds needed to prevail so they all didn’t wind up dead. He couldn’t sentence Carl or his brother to a lifetime of Tobias’s torture.

“What’s the plan now?” Holden asked as if reading Jake’s mind.

“There’s an entrance in the back.” Seth pointed out toward the house. “It looks like a way in through the basement. It’s off to the side away from the back of the house. We’ll wait until it’s dark then shift and make a run for the door.” Seth took a deep breath and dropped his head to stare at the ground. Jake didn’t like the look on the man’s face. “Jake, I’m sorry to say this but I’m hoping Tobias and the other two men in the house are so preoccupied they don’t notice us.”

Jake closed his eyes and let his head fall back. The thought that Tobias was touching his mate made his stomach turn and his skin crawl. “Then what?” he asked softly.

“Once we reach the house we’ll shift back. Get inside and search for the brothers.” Seth’s face went hard and his eyes