Here Kitty, Kitty - 58. Chapter 22.3

Carl managed to persuade Tristan to give him the rest of the numbers that needed to be called. He pulled the ‘mate’ card and insisted Tristan needed to rest after the turmoil of the last few days, the use of magic, the claiming, and finally the argument with the older Nirthfell and the resulting fallout. He tucked Tristan in with a pile of research books and told him if he looked up other ways Cheryl could use the powerful beings she was blackmailing then Carl would deal with all the notifications.

Carl returned to his office and began the job of calling Tristan’s friends. To say they were surprised to hear from Tristan’s claimed mate was an understatement. Carl spent more time answering their questions about his intentions, who he was, how he had better treat Tristan right or else, than he did warning them of the dangers from Cheryl. Carl wondered if Tristan realized how much his friends—or acquaintances as Tristan insisted they were—really valued him and worried about him. They said he was selfless, always thinking of others before himself. Carl fell more in love with his mate with each call and each person telling him how wonderful Tristan was.

He dialed the last number on the list with a sigh of relief, he still had his own calls to make and it was only a few hours until dawn. He tapped his pen on the desk as he waited.

“Do you realize what time it is? Who the hell is ringing me at this time of the morning?”

Carl bit his lip to stop the chuckle that tried to escape as the female voice finished ranting.

“Miss Mills? This is Elder Carl of the Jade Coven.”

“I prefer Milly and I don’t care who you are. I only got to bed a few hours ago and I need to be up again in a few hours more.”

“I’m sorry to interrupt your rest, but Tristan Nirthfell asked me to call you to warn you about a danger to you and your mate.”

He ran through the warnings.

Milly sighed. “Thank you for calling. My mate is currently on duty in the healing center with our eldest daughter. I will call them immediately. Thank Tristan for thinking of us. Although I’m not surprised he always thinks of everyone else first.”

Carl grinned at the once again repeated compliment. “I will be sure to tell my mate you are thankful.”

He counted to ten before he had to pull the phone away from his ear at her shriek.

“MATE! When, how, and if you hurt him you’ll find out just why no one wants to get on a healer's bad side. We may know how to cure mt diseases, but we also know what and how to cause hem too.”

This made Carl freeze. Healers could cause diseases, as well as cure them? Why had none of them thought of that? They knew Cheryl had at least one healer captive. Did she have others? He needed to speak to Tristan.

“I assure you, I have no intention of hurting Tristan in any way, shape or form. Thank you for your time, I’m afraid I need to go and deal with something. Either Tristan or I will check in with you again, but don’t hesitate to call if you need us for any reason.”

Carl hung up and moved as fast as he dared to where he’d left Tristan.

“What do you know about how healers work and how they can affect people they aren’t healing?” he asked as soon as he walked in.