He's a Jealous Wolf (BoyxBoy)

Chapter Twenty-Three

"What do we do?" Carter asked Alex. "There's a key under the mat if we want to go in without them hearing us?"

Alex looked at Carter. "You stay in the hall, and come in only when we tell you? Okay?"

Carter felt almost betrayed that Alex would ask that of him. "What? You want me to stay in the hall? My best friend is in there!" he pointed towards the door with an accusatory finger. "Archer?" he turned his gaze to Archer, hoping that he would be on his side.

"As much as I hate to say it, little one here is right, if Roxy has been bit she might be in her wolf form and she won't be able to control herself this early and you won't be able to protect yourself from her," he said, bending down and collecting the key from under the dark mat which lay on the floor.

"You come get me the moment that you find her, okay?" He demanded, not speaking to any one of the two in particular.

They both nodded, and as Archer pressed the key into the door, Carter turned to Alex. "Cole won't hurt you, will he?" The question came out sounding much more vulnerable than he intended.

"I'll be fine," Alex told him, reaching across and squeezing Carter's arm comfortingly.

Carter stood next to the wall and watched the two of them silently entering the apartment. The door closed behind them and it was suddenly silent and lonely in the hallway.   

Carter hoped that Cole and Roxy were both just in the apartment, watching old movies and eating popcorn, but the pooling of worry and fear in his gut told him that it was an unlikely scenario. The moments seemed to drag on and on, and Carter knew only thirty seconds had past but it felt like hours of being in the void, hours and hours of just waiting to see what the future held for someone who he held close to his heart.

The waiting was excruciating and the quiet allowed for Carter's thoughts to bounce off of the corners of his mind, was she alright? Was Alex ok? Why couldn't he hear anything? Why was this taking so long?  

His brain told him to stay in the hall, that Alex and Archer were capable people, that they would come get him when they knew it was safe, but Carter's body moved on its own accord and opened the apartment door.

He stepped inside, and the apartment was clean, quite bare except for some basic appliances and furniture. The walls were all painted a sickly white colour and there were two windows which should have been letting light into the large open planned room, but window shades covered the glass, dimming the room significantly. No one was in the kitchen or living room that he could see.

He could hear voices, murmurs of words that he couldn't quite make out. He turned towards the noises and saw that they must have been coming from behind the door at the end of the room, which he assumed would lead to the bedroom.

He stepped closer to it and the closer he got, the more clearly he could hear voices. He kept his footsteps light, listening to what was being said.

"Come on Cole, she's human, it's not up to you to decide this, she wants to stay human," the voice was Archers.

"And how many people have we unwillingly changed to expand our pack?" Cole retorted.

"Cole, think rationally about this, Alpha won't be happy with you if you expand his pack without permission." That was Alex, Carter would know that low, husky voice anywhere.

He was standing at the door now, only one move from opening the door, but he froze, he wasn't sure what he would find it he pushed the door open all the way. The door was already slightly ajar, a sliver of light coming from it, and he tried to look through it, but all he could see was the wall.