The little boy giggled.
Bas did it again. He wasn’t the best with children, just didn’t have the experience, but he knew he needed to calm the boy if they had any chance of coaxing him out of his hiding place.
The boy grabbed Bas to pull him close to his chest. He roughly petted the top of Bas’s head. Bastian winced but allowed it.
Several long minutes passed until he heard the pounding paws of the rescue team.
Logan came into view first. The lion shifter shoved his nose under the log they were hidden under.
Bas called out to him.
Logan lifted his head and turned toward the others.
Bo shifted. “Carl?”
“Who’s there?” the little boy asked.
“We’ve been looking for you, buddy,” Bo said calmly. “Can you come out.”
Carl hugged Bastian tight. “Are the bad dog things still out there?”
Again with the dog things.
“Well, we have a lion, bobcat, bear, panther, and I’m pretty sure you have our margay,” Bo replied.
“No, the mean spotted dogs,” Carl said. “They chased me.”
“Don’t worry, buddy. I won’t let no mean dogs get you. Your mom and dad are really worried about you,” Bo said.
“I’m scared,” Carl told them.
Bas licked Carl’s cheek. He was getting a real bad feeling about what might have happened to the boy. The report from the council about the rogue hyena pack had come right at the perfect time.
“We have a dragon,” Bo said. “Wouldn’t it be cool to see a dragon?”
“Yes.” Carl’s voice was small. “He won’t eat me?”
“No, I promise he won’t eat you,” Bo replied with a chuckle. “His mate would be really mad at him.”
“Okay.” At first Carl tried to wiggle out while still trying to hold on to Bas. When that didn’t work, he released Bas and climbed out on his own.
Bas followed, relieved when he spotted Carl staring at Logan with a look of pure happiness.
“He’s so pretty!” Carl gushed.
Logan pushed out his chest as he preened. Logan really did like when he was called pretty.
“Why don’t you hold on to his mane and Logan will lead us to your parents,” Bo suggested.
That sounded like a wonderful idea to Bas. Logan could be on kid duty and he could start worrying about how Hudson was doing.
Chapter Ten
Hudson
The front door opened slowly. Hudson rose from where he’d been almost asleep on the couch. He hadn’t felt right going to bed when Bas and the rest of the family were still out in the forest.
Bryce had gotten the text message that the boy had been found safely and the guys were headed back. Their little party on the porch had broken up as everyone went to their respective cabin or the main house to wait on their mates.
