What do you do-oo-ooo on a Wednesday? Read some flash! This week my flash was inspired by 'Have a character make a promise.' So... Enjoy!
Lost Inside Chapter 41
Benny sat up
straight. He’d never heard Carlit speak a full sentence. His voice was deep,
but he hesitated and mumbled, still staring at the floor. Peten turned to
Carlit and lifted his head.
“Hey. Look at me.” He
waited until Carlit slowly listened, then continued in a soft voice. “That’s
not you. What they did to you… to me. That isn’t our fault. You aren’t what
they said.” He didn’t say breeder again. “We’ll never be hurt like that again.”
Yuri slid away from
Benny and moved quietly to kneel by Carlit and Peten. Carlit shied back, but
Yuri kept moving his hand slowly toward Carlit’s hands, still clenched in his
lap. He gently laid his fingers over Carlit’s white knuckles and squeezed.
“You don’t have to be
afraid anymore. I know how scary it is to trust again, but Benny is a good man.
He’s not like other Tiger Alphas.”
Carlit flicked at
glance at Benny. He did his best to stay relaxed and look harmless, his claws
and fangs hidden and his ears lazily erect. He didn’t like his mate touching
another male, but Carlit and Peten weren’t a threat to him; Benny was sure of
that.
“I don’t think you’re
really broken, either. I got hurt by my father, but my friend Ellis got me
help. He works with a doctor here, and he knows other doctors, too.” Carlit
whined. “Not bad ones. I mean, sometimes they like to do too many tests, but I
promise they only want to help us get better. They did stuff to me here,” Yuri
waved to his head. “It was really broken inside, and I couldn’t think right. I
didn’t even know Benny was my mate.”
Benny tried not to
think about that time. The year he’d spent apart from Yuri was more like a bad
dream than something they’d suffered through. Even with all the crazy crap they’d
been through since then, he was so thankful he had his mate back.
“I promise, on my
bond with my mate, that we won’t let anyone hurt you. When you’re ready, I’ll
introduce you to Ellis. But not until you say you’re ready.”
Carlit pulled his
hands back, but he nodded. Peten leaned across him and opened his arms. “Thank
you, Yuri. I can’t believe you’d offer to help us. After what we did….”
Yuri lurched up and
wrapped his arms around Peten in a tight hug. “It wasn’t your fault,” he said
fiercely. “You would’ve just gotten hurt. You couldn’t stop Sheshtun. No one
could.” Yuri sat back on his heels. “I don’t blame you.”
“Your mate stopped
him.”
“He did.” Yuri came
back the couch with Benny and sat down. Benny lifted his arm, and Yuri snuggled
into his chest. That felt good—just like it should.
“I had help. I never
could’ve tracked him down and stopped his sick experiments if I hadn’t worked
with Velaku. He cares about all Carthera, not just his own kind.” Benny stared
at Peten. Would he be strong enough? “You said there are other Clans involved
in Sheshtun’s plots. Do you know which one Carlit came from? Would you be
willing to speak before the council about what you know?”
“I don’t know if
Carlit can.” Peten wouldn’t look Benny square in the eyes. He fidgeted, rubbing
Carlit’s thigh.
“The more they know,
the better. Maybe the doctors can help him.”
Peten stilled. “That’s
the price? We testify or they won’t help him?” He seemed oddly relaxed.
“No!” Yuri sat up. “Benny’s
not like that. Caring about others in your clan doesn’t have to be tit for tat.
We’ll help Carlit because we can.”
The way Yuri believed
in him sent a warm wave through Benny. He loved the fact his mate trusted him.
He’d thought they’d never grow that close again.
Carlit leaned down
toward Peten. “Tired,” he mumbled.
“Okay. Umm….” He
looked at Benny.
“Go ahead.” The way
no one in the Clan would do anything in his presence without his express
permission was probably the biggest annoyance. “We’ll talk soon.”
Yuri shut the door
behind them. “Is that the kind of stuff you’ve been dealing with?” He straddled
Benny’s legs, facing him and putting his hands on Benny’s shoulders.
Benny sighed. “Pretty
much.”
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s not your fault.”
Benny groaned when Yuri dug his fingers in, kneading his sore muscles. He
gradually relaxed, some of the ever present tension draining from his neck and
shoulders. “Someone has to do it.”
Yuri slid his hands
down, rubbing Benny’s pecs. “I get that. You are a great Alpha, even if you
never thought you’d be one.”
It was true. He’d
never had a real desire to lead, even if he carried the dominant genes. When
Sheshtun merged their clans, Benny had expected to become a beta… but that was
before he met Yuri, and they realized they were mates.
Yuri traced the
ridges under Benny’s t-shirt, then pulled it up. Benny let him take it off and
then groaned when Yuri tweaked both his nipples. His mate grinned. The more
Yuri touched him, the more Benny felt like melting into the couch—except for
one part of him.
“You know,” Yuri
gasped when Benny pulled him closer with a strong grip on his ass, rubbing
their groins together, “I could help you.”
Benny kneaded Yuri’s
round ass, thrusting his hips up. “You are.” He was going to make a mess in his
pants if they didn’t move to the bed soon.
“Let me help you with
the clan.” Yuri hovered over him, their mouths a breath apart. “We’re better
together.”
His mate was going to
give him blue balls if he didn’t give in; Benny just knew it.
“Stop protecting me.
We’re partners; I can do this.”
Maybe he could. Benny
sure didn’t want to do it alone. Together they could heal the Clan—maybe even
bring them into the 21st century.
“Okay.” And it was a
simple as that.
So, what do you think? The End? More to tell?
Okay, more stories are needed, right? Of course!!
Wednesday Briefers Site
Aww man, not The End. You know I need more. :-)
ReplyDeleteDefinitely more please! Really nice caring scene with Yuri talking to Carlit.
ReplyDeleteI think that's a good ending to this story. But you have to do a sequel because there are so many more stories to tell about Benny and Yuri getting to grips with leading the clan.
ReplyDelete