Charlie Richards Wolves of Stone Ridge 03 Accepting His Animal

Doctor Gordon Digby came to Stone Ridge to help rescued
shifters heal from their time abused by poachers. Finding a
mate wasn’t even a blip on his radar. Fate throws a wrench
in his plans in the form of sexy tiger shifter Grady Stryker.
The man sets Gordon’s blood on fire and scrambles his
senses. But Grady’s a detective, and the good doctor has
secrets he doesn’t want revealed, including his own animal’s
transgressions.

Detective Grady Stryker believes finding your fated mate

is the greatest gift a shifter can receive so he doesn’t
understand Gordon’s reticence, until a friend gives him a
little insight into Gordon’s past. His resolve set, Grady
realizes the best way to win his mate just may be the most
fun: seduction.

Grady’s plans get put on hold when more poachers

appear in Stone Ridge. Except these humans aren’t really
poachers. They know about shifters, and if they can’t capture
them, they’ll eradicate them. Can Grady convince Gordon to
accept him in time to stop the humans from harming more
of their friends? Or will they be too distracted to see what’s
right in front of them?

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Accepting His Animal

ISBN: 978-1-55487-967-0

Cover art by Martine Jardin

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Accepting His Animal

Wolves of Stone Ridge Three

Charlie Richards

Dedication

To my editors at eXtasy Books!

To Anjela, thank you for your honest feedback, your skills

at rooting out problem areas blows my mind. To

Latrisha, thank you for your exuberance, it always puts a

smile on my face. And to Jay, your support and

encouraging words inspire me to keep at it.

Chapter One

ordon Digby opened the door and watched the elk walk
past him out of the room. When the alpha of the Stone

Ridge wolf pack had contacted him, he’d been intrigued.
Most shifters spent their lives in human form, only letting
their animal out to enjoy a run or to protect themselves or
those they loved. But now he faced two shifters that refused
to let go of their animal forms. As a psychiatrist, Gordon
knew it was for self-preservation. They’d been abused,
beaten, and caged while in animal form. They stayed animal
so there was less emotional baggage to deal with and for
mental safety.

He’d already met with Robbie, a cougar shifter convinced

the elk was his mate. If the elk’s mate wasn’t enough to
persuade her to shift, what would? The fact certainly didn’t
lend Gordon any confidence in good matings any more than
seeing his mother’s example had.

Rising, Gordon paced the office. He grabbed his phone

and scrolled through his contacts until he found the local
wolf pack’s alpha. Hitting the dial button, he leaned against
the desk and waited.

“Declan here.”
“Hello, Declan. This is Gordon Digby.”
“Oh, hey, Doc. What can I help ye with?”
He smiled, amused by the man’s perpetual cheerfulness.

Of course, with the cute twink of a mate the man had,
Gordon could see why. Lark was adorable, although not

Charlie Richards

Gordon’s type. What was it with mated shifters that made
them hump like bunnies? “I’d like to see where the poachers
held these guys. Is there anyone in your pack that would be
willing to take me there?”

“Afraid not.” Declan’s response surprised him, but the

wolf continued. “Last I heard it was still considered a crime
scene. I can put ye in touch with Detective Stryker. He’s the
man overseeing the case. He’s making certain the poachers
are prosecuted to the fullest extent.”

Gordon bit back a sigh. Great. Red tape to get through. “A

detective?” he replied. “And you think he’d be willing to
help me?” He couldn’t hide his disbelief.

“Aye. Grady’s a good guy. A shifter. He’ll help you.”
Rolling his neck to relieve the tension, Gordon winced.

“Thanks. I’d appreciate an introduction.”

“Ye got it. Got a pen?”
Shoving off the desk, he grabbed a pen and paper. “Yes.”
After rattling off a number, which Gordon scribbled onto

the paper, Declan added, “I’ll give him a ring right now and
let him know to expect yer call.”

“I appreciate it. Thanks again, Declan.”
“Hey. Ye helped me mate. I owe you.”
Gordon scoffed. He’d punched a wolf attacking Lark,

giving Carson, the pack enforcer, the opportunity to reach
them. “You would have done the same for me. I’ll talk to
you later.”

After hanging up the phone, he let out the sigh. He eased

his large frame into the black leather office chair. Thinking of
Declan, he smiled, remembering meeting the wolf for the
first time. Not only did his size surprise the man, but so did
his scent. He’d spent the first fifty years of his life learning to
mask his scent.

Not only did he get picked on for being the fat kid by

humans in school since he had more weight than muscle,

Accepting His Animal

because his mother had been human, he’d been the only
shifter in the area. When he’d sprouted to six feet tall, he
gained enough fat to keep up the slightly overweight
appearance. He’d tried to lose the weight, but his animal
required the fat.

And once he’d moved on, Gordon hadn’t found any other

shifters of his kind, often finding himself the object of fear or
ridicule. Masking his scent had given him some measure of
relief, as other shifters tended to just be wary instead of
insulting. It was an acceptable exchange.

It had definitely surprised the alpha wolf to meet a hefty

shifter. But to the man’s credit, Declan was far more open
than other shifters he’d faced.

* * * *

“Yeah, who is it?” Pausing in typing his report, Grady
glared at the phone, as if he could convey his hatred for the
piece of equipment with a venomous look. He detested
technology.

He could almost hear Michelle’s rolling eyes. “It’s a

Doctor Gordon Digby. He says you’re expecting his call.”

The shrink. Of course. “Yeah, send him through.”
Seconds later he heard, “Hello, Detective Stryker. Thank

you for taking my call.”

His breath hitched, and his cock tightened. Grady

struggled to suppress a moan. Oh, God. Gordon sounded good.

Tasting blood on his lip where his teeth had clamped

brought Grady back from his thoughts, and he forced a
smile. “Hello, Doctor Digby. No problem. Declan mentioned
you were going to call.” He shut up, wanting to hear the
good doctor’s voice again.

“Yes. I need to talk to you about the incident at the

warehouse. Are you available for lunch?”

Charlie Richards

Hell, yeah! He wanted to meet the man with the sexy

voice. “Sure. Where?”

Gordon’s chuckle sent tingles pulsing through his cock.

“I’ve only been in town a couple weeks. You tell me.”

Right. Right. He was letting his dick do the thinking. “Of

course. Meet me at Caribou’s. Let’s say eleven thirty.”

“Caribou’s. Got it. See you then.”
The next hour dragged, but Grady managed to get his

report finished. At eleven, he couldn’t wait any longer.
Grady grabbed his coat and headed out of the station. He
entered the pub fifteen minutes early and found a table.
Wrapping his hands around his coffee cup to keep them still,
he watched the door.

Ten minutes later, a tall, slightly heavy man caught

Grady’s attention. His steel gray hair was pulled into a low
ponytail, showing off a broad forehead, high cheekbones, a
straight nose, and thin lips. He’d dressed in black jeans and
a light blue button down shirt which he’d tucked into the
waist, revealing a silver belt buckle with an intricately
carved savannah scene etched into it. Grady made out a
zebra, giraffe, and elephant among the tall grass. The man
paused just inside the door, and his gaze swept the pub.
Black. The man’s eyes were black, and their focus settled on
Grady.

He strolled toward Grady, his steps surprisingly light for

such a large man. When he was ten feet from the table,
Grady caught his scent. He felt his pulse pick up and his still
semi-hard dick fill and push against his zipper. Mate! Holy
fucking shit. I’m about to meet my mate! Keeping his face
impassive, grateful he wore tight jeans that mostly hid his
erection, he rose to his feet and held out a hand. “Doctor
Digby?”

His black eyes boring into Grady’s, the man nodded once.

“Call me Gordon. And may I call you Grady?”

Accepting His Animal

You can call me any fucking thing you want! “Of course.

Please, have a seat.” Grady felt proud that his voice came
out even.

Gordon eased onto the bench seat and lifted the menu

with one hand. The other wrapped around the water glass in
front of him. “Anything in particular good here?”

“Pretty much everything, but they make a killer bacon

cheeseburger.”

He looked over the menu again before setting it down.

“Thank you for seeing me. I need—” The waitress arrived
and Gordon cut himself off.

A wary shifter. Was that due to being a psychiatrist or

something from his upbringing? Gordon gave him a further
surprise when he ordered a chicken Caesar salad for lunch
with a cup of hot, black tea. Grady ordered the bacon
cheeseburger and settled back in his seat to study the man
across from him. If Gordon felt the same magnetic pull as
Grady, he gave no sign. Another talent of being a psychiatrist?
Having to hide one’s reaction from patients would definitely
hone that talent.

Needing to see if he could get some reaction out of the

man, he all but purred, “What are you looking for, Gordon?”

Gordon opened his mouth, only to close it and clear his

throat.

Good. I’m not the only one affected.
The doctor swallowed and tried again. “You know I was

called in by Declan to help the…injured.”

Grady nodded once. “I’d heard.” He lifted his coffee to

his lips and waited. He’d learned early in his time as a
detective to allow others to fill quiet stretches. Most did it
out of nervousness. Grady didn’t think that would be the
case with Gordon, but old habits died hard. As Gordon took
a sip of his tea, he eyed Grady and the detective could tell
the man was trying to figure out his next step. This man

Charlie Richards

didn’t do anything without a lot of thought first. Grinning
internally, he wondered if he could change that.

“I have a couple problem cases,” he admitted. “I’d like to

see the warehouse, see how they were housed. I need to get
some idea of what they went through in order to help them.”

“And you think seeing the warehouse will help with

that?”

Gordon sighed, sipped his tea, and frowned. “It’s worth a

shot.”

The doctor didn’t feel certain. Maybe he was even

grasping at straws, but Grady didn’t care. The idea had
brought Gordon to him, so he’d be grateful. “It’s not a pretty
sight,” he felt obligated to warn.

“Of that I have no doubt.”
The conversation stopped for a few moments when their

food arrived and both dug in. Grady let the silence lengthen,
content to smell his mate and enjoy his food. It suddenly
occurred to him that maybe Gordon didn’t acknowledge the
attraction between them because he wasn’t gay. Or maybe
was in the closet. Grady would have to find out, but not in
so public a place. He wasn’t shy but didn’t want to
embarrass the man. He’d get him alone and then make his
move.

“When do you want to see the place?”
Gordon’s fork paused halfway to his mouth as he

thought. “I have a couple appointments this afternoon. Can
someone be available to show me this evening?”

The idea of someone else escorting Gordon through the

forest had the hairs on the back of Grady’s neck prickling.
He couldn’t stop his eyes from narrowing, but he kept the
irritation out of his voice. “Certainly. Name the time and
place, and I’ll pick you up.”

“Oh. I didn’t mean for you to muss your busy schedule to

show me. Surely, someone else—”

Accepting His Animal

“Nonsense, Gordon,” he cut in. “I was there the night we

took the poachers down. It only makes sense for me to show
you. Now, what time and where?” He gave the man a
charming grin and watched Gordon let out a sigh.

The man nodded. “Very well. I’m staying at the Motel Six

on the edge of town. Room three-one-five. Does seven this
evening work for you?”

“I could pick you up at six, and we could hit dinner first,”

Grady offered.

“No, thank you. That won’t be necessary.” Gordon’s smile

appeared forced, telling Grady to back the fuck off.

He had no desire to scare his mate into running. Grady

grinned and grabbed his ticket, leaving Gordon’s on the
table so Gordon didn’t think he was trying to turn this into a
date. “Just a suggestion.” He rose, stepped around the table,
and leaned close. “Wear something comfortable for hiking.
The poachers used quads to get in and out, and I don’t have
one.” He paused, as if thinking, before saying, “Unless you
want to shift.”

Not giving the doctor a chance to reply, Grady headed up

to pay for his lunch.

When he got back to the station, he picked up his phone.

Dialing a number, he waited for the answering machine to
pick up. Surprise hit him when a heavily English-accented
voice answered. “Twelve years. To what do I owe this
interruption?”

The smooth, deep voice purred into the phone, causing

Grady to smile. “I would have left a message, Tanis. Why
did you pick up?”

“I owe you, and I began to think you’d died. Are you

calling to collect?”

Remembering his problem, he sobered. “Yes. I have a

name. I need to know anything you can find.”

“Done. Send everything you have to my fax.”

Charlie Richards

Grady nodded. “You’ll have it in less than thirty minutes.

One more thing.” Though silence greeted him, he knew his
associate hung on the line. “The dates may appear
inaccurate. They’re probably not.”

“Ah…someone like you?”
Grady remembered having to shift in order to save him

and Tanis. Well, he’d done it to save himself from insurgents
that had captured him in Bagdad, Tanis had been in the pit
with him, so he either had to swear him to secrecy and save
them both or kill him. Since Grady had found out Tanis was
an assassin through the ramblings of the man’s fever-
induced sleep, he figured the man could keep a secret.
Besides, having someone who dealt in information and
death owe you a favor—well, that could come in handy.
“Yes. Sort of.” A quiet moment went by, and Grady could
imagine the speculative gleam in Tanis’s brown eyes.

“Yours isn’t the only species?” he asked, slow and

smooth.

“No.”
“Well, then. This will be interesting.” Grady heard the

amusement in Tanis’s silky voice. “I think I’m honored
you’d trust me with this.”

“I know you can be discreet,” he returned calmly.
“Yes. I’ll contact you soon.”
The line went dead. Fuck, he never thought he’d actually

have to call in that favor, but something told Grady he’d
need a little extra help to learn about his secretive mate.

Accepting His Animal

Chapter Two

hitFuckDamn! No. No way was this happening. He was
not going to allow it. He didn’t need a mate, didn’t want

a mate. And he sure as hell didn’t want a cop for a mate. The
reminder of too many skeletons threatened to suffocate him,
and Gordon struggled to calm his racing pulse. He closed his
eyes and concentrated on taking long, deep breathes. Finally
regaining control, he opened his eyes and noticed a crack in
the glass he held. He shook his head and pushed away the
memories of the last time he’d let his strength get away from
him.

Grabbing his ticket, he paid and left the pub. While he

walked to his rented Grand Am, the idea of calling Declan
and telling the shifter an emergency had come up and he
had to leave drifted through his mind, but he dismissed the
idea. The shifters here needed him, and he’d never run from
those who needed him. He already had a prospective buyer
for his practice in Kansas City. He’d sold his home and
planned to look at several possible rental properties with a
realtor today.

After this evening, he wouldn’t have to see Grady again.

He’d tell him that there was no future between them, that he
wasn’t the right choice for anyone’s mate. He rolled his eyes.

It’s not you, it’s me, huh? What are you? In high school again?
His dick twitched at his thoughts of the man, and he gave it
a sharp thump with his fist. He thought about the mice and

Charlie Richards

rats that occasionally made it into the farmhouse he used to
own an hour outside the city. That got his erection under
control real quick.

He met with Phillip and Todd Abernathy, wolf shifter

brothers rescued from the poachers. Phillip, the younger
shifter, was recovering well, but his older brother
progressed much slower. He figured Todd would always
retain some skittishness, but Gordon hoped most of it would
diminish in time.

Afterward, he met his realtor and visited three homes and

a duplex. Two of the homes had potential, giving him ample
space. One even had a side entrance leading to a set of
rooms that could be remodeled into an office and reception
area. The problem was the wiring in the place. An addition
had been added to the house several years back, and
whoever had integrated the main building with the new
rooms had done a shoddy job.

He tossed the pizza box on the counter and bit into the

piece he held. Moaning in appreciation, he chewed and
swallowed. Something could be said for the local pizza
parlor. They sure could make a great slice. A knock at the
door caught his attention, catching his interest. He neared
the door, inhaling deeply. Damn. He’s early.

Pulling his bathrobe tighter around him, he felt the blood

pooling in his shaft. A glance down assured him that his
dick was securely hidden. Damn thing had become semi-
hard just from his mate’s smell. No, not his mate, he
reminded himself, the detective. He twisted the knob and
opened the door to find Grady leaning against the
doorframe.

“I think I’m early.”
Realizing he stared at the six-foot three-inch blond

Adonis, Gordon mentally shook his thoughts away. He
motioned, inviting the big, muscular man into the room. “I’ll

Accepting His Animal

just be a few minutes,” he muttered.

“Take your time,” Grady purred like the big cat he was.

Gordon watched Grady flop onto the couch in the front
room and stretch out. He wondered briefly what kind of
feline Grady shared his spirit with, but since he didn’t want
to encourage questions about his own animal, he held his
tongue. Before Gordon could shut the door to the bedroom,
Grady called, “This is a nice suite. Being a psychiatrist must
pay well. How long have you been at it?”

Leaving the door ajar, he made certain Grady couldn’t see

him from his line of sight and dropped the robe. “Seventy-
eight years, off and on,” he answered automatically. He
pulled on a clean pair of cargo pants and a sweatshirt.

“So that puts you over a hundred, right?”
He found himself chuckling. “Yeah.”
“When’s your birthday?”
He paused in tying his shoe. When was the last time

someone asked him that? Closing his eyes, he grimaced.
“My driver’s license says March twenty-sixth.”

“Your driver’s license?”
The voice from the doorway had Gordon’s head snapping

up. “Yes, my driver’s license. And don’t you know the
meaning of privacy?” he snapped.

Grady frowned. “I’m sorry. I smelled your distress and

wanted to know what was wrong.”

“My distress?” He finished tying his shoes and stood.

Shoving a hand through his still wet hair, he paced the
room. “Look. Let me make something perfectly clear. Yes, I
feel the pull of the mate-bond. No, I have no intention of
doing anything about it. It’s not that I don’t find you
attractive, because I do. It’s just that—” He saw Grady’s
lifted brow and blushed. Fuck, he was messing this up. “I’m
not relationship material, Grady. I’ve seen the way the
wolves interact with their mates. I’m not a wolf. That’s not

Charlie Richards

how it’d be with me. If that’s what you’re looking for, what
you’re expecting—” He shook his head, exasperated with
himself. “I don’t want to hurt you, Grady, but that’s exactly
what I’d end up doing.”

Grady’s blue eyes bore into him, as if reading every fear,

every secret, every insecurity. He waited, albeit impatiently,
for the man to say something. After a moment, Grady’s
smile turned predatory, and he stepped close. Before he
could move away, the big man grabbed his arm and pulled
him close. He buried his face in Gordon’s neck and inhaled
deeply.

“Yes, I can definitely smell your attraction,” he growled.

Grady’s breath across the hairs of Gordon’s neck made him
tremble. “You’ve made a hell of a lot of assumptions about
both of us. About what would happen between us. But have
you never just given in to lust, mate?” he whispered.

“Yes,” he found himself admitting. “And people get

hurt.”

“If you haven’t noticed, I’m a tiger. I think I can handle

anything you can throw at me.” Grady trailed his lips up the
tendons of Gordon’s neck, his teeth scraping over the spot he
knew his cat longed to bite. Gordon’s skin tingled and his
cock throbbed, pushing against the fabric of his briefs. How
he desired to give in to the pleasure Grady promised, but he
couldn’t allow the man to tie himself to someone such as
him. When he let his animal out, he couldn’t seem to control
it, and he didn’t want to see Grady hurt.

He grabbed Grady’s hands, stopping their roving

exploration of his chest. Pushing them away, he immediately
felt the loss, but the memory of what his animal had done to
others cemented his resolve. “Nothing can happen between
us, Grady. Not now. Not ever.”

He couldn’t hide his sorrow. It filled his voice, and he

knew his expression as well. He saw the lust glinting in

Accepting His Animal

Grady’s eyes, and for all too brief a second, he thought the
big man would ignore his warning. His blood raced at the
thought, his shaft jumping at the idea of Grady changing his
mind. The way his body felt right now, feverish, wanting,
Gordon knew it wouldn’t take much.

But then Grady took a slow step back. He smiled and

nodded. “As you wish, Gordon. I’d never force myself on
anyone.” He shrugged and moved toward the sitting room.
He paused and leveled a feral grin over his shoulder at him.
“Tigers are patient hunters, Grady. Maybe in time, you’ll
change your mind.” Before Gordon could get the
perfunctory denial out of his mouth, Grady picked up his
coat and flashed a grin. “Grab your pizza. You can eat in the
truck.”

When Grady disappeared, Gordon let out a slow breath.

He’d never considered himself a prey animal, but damn,
that’s how he felt right now.

* * * *

Grady let himself out of the hotel room and rested his head
against a metal porch support. He sucked in several lungfuls
of air before feeling he had enough control to push away
and head toward his truck. He’d been so close to tossing his
mate onto the bed and proving his dominance. He’d smelled
his mate’s lust, seen it in his eyes. But he’d seen fear in
Gordon’s eyes too, and that had stopped him cold. What had
happened in his mate’s past to make him fear intimacy so
much?

He watched Gordon leave his room and head toward

him. Again the question of what animal shared his mate’s
soul arose. Whatever it was, Gordon feared what would
happen if Grady met up with it, which made Grady’s tiger
all the more eager to pit his strength and cunning against it.

Charlie Richards

Tamping down his animal instincts, he opened the door

for Gordon, circled around the cab, and climbed inside. He
paused, the key in the ignition. “Are you sure you want to
see this?”

Instead of answering vocally, the man fastened his seat

belt and stared at him pointedly.

“Okay.”
Grady pushed down on the accelerator and directed the

truck onto the road. Already on the outskirts of town, it only
took thirty minutes to get to where he needed to park. “Are
we shifting or not?” he asked as he slid from the cab.

He watched Gordon stare at the thick pines around them

and shake his head. “Not gonna work for me,” he muttered.

“Okay, then let’s get moving.”
Grady led the way down the narrow path. An hour in, he

paused and scented the air. “Do you smell blood?”

“I do,” Gordon confirmed after lifting his nose to the

wind. “It smells fresh. Has someone been out here?”

“We have an officer posted to keep civilians away,”

Grady growled, picking up a jog, straining his senses for any
hint of someone in the area but them. He found nothing.

After another five minutes, the trail parted to show a

long, squat building made of felled logs and tin sheets for
the roof. “Wait here.”

“You must be joking,” Gordon snapped. Grady leveled a

glare at Gordon, but the other man just shook his head. “You
are my mate, for good or bad, and it would be impossible for
me to watch you walk into danger. I’ll stay behind you, but
don’t think I’ll let you walk in alone.”

Grady lifted a brow, surprised by the vehemence in his

mate’s voice. So the man was more affected than he let on.
Giving a quick nod, he pulled his Glock from a holster
hidden at his back and led the way toward the squat
building. Easing the door open, he slipped inside the door

Accepting His Animal

and glanced around the interior. A human lie sprawled
across the floor.

His gaze darting around the line of cages, Grady moved

toward the felled man. Deputy Brody. He didn’t need to see
the deputy’s sightless blue eyes to know he was dead, the
amount of blood pooling under his chest told him that. He
shook his head at the senseless loss of life.

“You know him?” Gordon murmured.
Grady nodded. “Yeah. His name is Dan Brody. Good

man.” Kneeling, he turned the body over. A gunshot wound
gaped in his chest. Clenching his jaws, Grady let out a low
growl. “I will get whoever did this.”

Gordon rested a hand on his shoulder, squeezing briefly.

“It’ll do no good to get worked up. Let’s check the rest of the
place and see if we can find anyone. When did Brody go on
duty?”

Rubbing a hand over his jaw, Grady sighed. “Uh… seven

this morning, I think.”

“Then the scents will be fairly fresh,” he pointed out.
Taking several deep slow breathes, Grady smelled three

different humans. “I smell Brody, of course, and two others.”

“I concur, although I couldn’t tell you which one was

Brody’s. The scent of blood’s too heavy on him now.”

Grady led the way forward, the musky smell of the

second human and the lemon scent of the third intensifying.
He opened the door to the back room, revealing a low table
and several cabinets and counters. The instruments had been
taken by the police, but it didn’t take much to figure out
what the room was used for.

“Oh my God,” Gordon hissed.
Turning to look at the heavier man, Grady frowned. The

blood had drained from his mate’s face. He wrapped an arm
around Gordon’s waist and pulled him close. “It’s just where
they doped them up, baby. Calm down.”

Charlie Richards

Gordon shook his head. “You don’t understand. They did

experiments on the shifters. How many normal animals did
you find?”

Grady frowned. “It was about a fifty-fifty split. Seven

shifters and six regular animals. What do you mean?
Experiments?” What did his mate see that the police had
missed?

“Were they the same kinds of animals as shifters? Elk for

elk. Fox for fox?”

“Yeah?” Unable to help himself while seeing his mate in

such obvious distress, he brushed his lips across the shorter
man’s temple. Gordon hardly took notice. “What is it?”

“The cables attached to the bed would bind the shifter or

animal to the table. I bet you found an apparatus to hold the
animal’s mouth open.”

When he didn’t continue, Grady nodded.
Gordon shivered. “That was for forced feeding, tooth

extractions, and scraping saliva and cells from the tongue
and mouth.”

“Why do you think that’s what they were doing?”
Gordon pointed toward the trough at each end of the

table, the drain in the center, and the grooves running
toward each end. “When they washed the table, what was
too big to go down the drains was rinsed into one of the
troughs.” Gordon lifted his head, and Grady saw the
sadness in their black depths. “You won’t find something
like that on a standard vet’s table, Grady.”

“Fair enough, baby,” he stated. “I believe you. Let’s get

out of here and call in the cops.”

“You don’t have a cell phone?”
He shook his head. “I don’t like technology much, and

even if I did, it wouldn’t work out here.” Grady watched
Gordon pull out his own cell phone, checking for a signal.
When he grimaced and shrugged, Grady led the way back

Accepting His Animal

through the kennel area and out the door. A movement to
his right had his head swinging in that direction just as he
heard a hiss and click. Pain shot through his chest, and he
looked down. An orange feathered dart stuck out of his right
peck. “What the hell?” His vision blurred and his skin
goose-bumped. “Fuck.” He felt Gordon’s arm wrap around
his waist, but from the position of his body, he knew the
man’s attention was diverted. Trying to gather his wits even
as his tiger threatened to burst free, he spotted a man step
from the trees to his right. Then he felt his body shift and
darkness descended.

Charlie Richards

Chapter Three

ordon felt his mate convulse in his arms as he heard fabric
tear and fur tickled his arm where it was wrapped around

Grady’s waist. Seconds later, a five-hundred-pound Bengal
tiger flopped to the ground unconscious. An angry grunt
escaped Gordon, and he felt his animal’s rage equal his own.
“You bloody idiot,” he seethed. “What have you done?”

“Shifters are an abomination,” the man sneered. “We’ll

give him what he deserves.”

“What he deserves?” Anger boiling through his veins, he

slipped the mental chains that held his beast at bay and gave
it free rein. He felt his nose lengthen, his canines shift, his
legs and body thicken. A short tail sprouted, and his clothes
ripped, falling away from his enormous frame. His large
eyes glared at the small human twenty feet away. He bugled
angrily and started forward, the ground trembling with each
step he took.

“Fuck! You’re one of them!” The man screamed as his

trembling fingers struggled to reload the dart gun. “Harry!
Harry!”

Lowering his head, Gordon’s huge tusk skewered the

man’s chest, cutting off his cries in a gurgle of blood and
punctured lungs. Gordon tossed his massive head, and the
man went flying. The body landed on top of the tin roof with
a crash, denting the thin metal.

“What the hell?”

Accepting His Animal

Gordon swung his head back around. Snorting, he

thudded toward the second human. The shocked man
regained his wits just as Gordon charged. A dart hit his
massive shoulder, barely penetrating his thick, gray hide.
Shrugging off the prick of pain and strange tingle spreading
through his muscles, Gordon swung his head and slapped
the man, sending him flying through the trees. The man
thudded to the ground and lay unmoving fifty feet under
the cover of pines.

His aggression eased now that he’d removed the threat to

his mate, Gordon turned back and crossed the clearing to the
still unmoving tiger. Whuffling softly through his nose, he
stroked the thick orange and black fur. He received no
response. Wrapping up the tiger, he tucked Grady under his
chin and started down the narrow path. His large girth
struck tree branches above and beside him. He hunched his
shoulders and snapped the offending branches out of the
way. He could feel the toxin making his muscles lethargic,
encouraging him to stop and rest. Pushing through it, he
picked up his pace. When he reached the road, he realized
the moment he shifted the toxin would overtake his much
smaller human body.

Swallowing hard, knowing there was no help for it,

Gordon turned and headed down the road. The sun had set
by the time he trudged heavily up the driveway and circled
to the back of the house. Carefully, he lowered the large tiger
onto the deck, worried that the shifter still hadn’t woken.
Backing away from the house so he didn’t break a window,
he lifted his head and bugled loudly.

He watched the back door ease open, and Declan and

Lark stepped outside only to stop and stare. Shifting his
weight, he pointed toward Grady. Declan, while keeping a
wary eye on Gordon’s animal, moved over to the prone
tiger. Lark laid a hand on his neck and chest. Gordon knew

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the doctor only looked for a pulse, but he still couldn’t hide
his displeasure and grunted irritably. While Lark pulled out
the dart in Grady’s chest, Declan flipped open a cell phone.

“Yes, Rainy. Is Travis there?”
Without any more movement to keep it at bay, the toxin

began to take hold. Shaking his head, Gordon lowered his
massive bulk to his knees.

“Hello, Travis. Is the zoo missing a… Hold on,” the alpha

murmured.

Gordon closed his eyes and took several long breaths. His

nose and canines receded, his size melted away, and the
thick gray skin paled. Seconds later, his naked, human form
lay shivering in the grass.

“Holy fucking Christ!”
He heard Declan’s words, but the buzzing in his ears from

the drug in his system made it hard to focus. Footsteps
stopped a few feet from him.

“My God, man. Yer a bloody elephant!”
Gordon cringed at the man’s words. “Help him,” he

forced out, fighting the toxin’s pull toward sleep.

Hands landed on his arm and shoulder. “Let’s get ye off

this wet grass. Ye need to tell us what happened, Gordon.”

Oddly, the man didn’t sound disgusted or repulsed. He

sounded concerned. But Declan must not have missed the
way Gordon tensed beneath his fingers, for he said, “I don’t
care what kind of shifter ye are, Gordon, and if ye want,
Lark and I won’t tell anyone. Yer a good man. That’s all I
care about, but right now I need ye to tell me what
happened to Grady.”

“Went to the warehouse. Needed to see—” He shook his

head, trying to clear it. “More poachers killed Brody.” His
body started trembling at the memories. “One shot Grady
with something. I shifted and killed him. I couldn’t stop my
animal. Can’t control…”

Accepting His Animal

“Easy, now, Gordon. Yer just fine. Come on.” With

Declan’s help, Gordon struggled to his feet and stumbled to
the deck. But when he got there, he collapsed near Grady
and refused to move.

“No. Help him. They shot us with something, but my

animal’s size seemed to allow me to push it aside, but now
that I’m smaller…” Gordon felt the darkness descend, but
needed to share a few more things. “Need to call in Brody’s
death…and the poachers…”

“I’ll give Detective Sullivan a ring, don’t ye worry. He’s

Grady’s partner and knows about shifters. He’ll clean up the
mess.” Declan lifted the phone back to his ear. “Aye, Travis.
I need ye and Rainy to get over here. Grady and Gordon just
showed up in animal form. They were shot with something.
No, I don’t know what.”

Ignoring the rest of his words, Gordon dug his fingers

into the thick fur on Grady’s neck, rested his head on the
tiger’s shoulder, and let the darkness take him.

He jerked awake when he felt someone’s hands on his

fingers. “No,” he snarled, tightening his hold on Grady’s
tiger.

“Easy, Gordon. We just want to move you both inside. It’s

far too cold to stay on the deck all night.”

Hearing Lark’s soothing tenor, he eased his death grip on

his mate’s fur. Damn, these protective instincts had emerged
quick. But at least the buzzing in his head had diminished.
Releasing his hold on Grady, he eased away from the tiger,
finally noticing the blanket draped over him, probably more
for warmth than to hide his nakedness. Shifters didn’t worry
much about modesty. He wrapped the blanket around his
shoulders and followed the four men carrying Grady’s
prone form.

They laid Grady on a blanket spread across the living

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room floor. Gordon settled near the hearth of a roaring fire,
trying to soak in the warmth and stop the chills that had
begun wracking his body. Suddenly he felt goose bumps
ripple under his skin. “Shit,” he hissed, trying to gain his
feet. But his strength was gone, and he dropped to his knees.
“No, no, no,” he growled, shaking his head.

“Easy, Gordon. You need to rest,” Lark murmured, laying

a hand on his shoulder.

Looking up into concerned blue eyes, he managed to

grunt out, “Gotta shift.”

Lark’s eyes grew large as understanding dawned. “Oh.

Oh!” The small man grabbed his arm and wrapped it around
his shoulders. “Declan,” he called. The alpha glanced over
from where he spoke with Rainy. “Help me get him back
outside.”

Without question, Declan moved to Gordon’s other side

and wrapped an arm around his waist. “What’s going on?”
he asked.

“He needs to shift again,” Lark panted.
The two men managed to half-carry half-drag Gordon

back to the grass. He dropped to the ground and let the shift
come, praying he wouldn’t do anything to injure his friends.
As the goose bumps intensified, he heard Travis call, “Hey!
What’s going on? He should be inside!”

“No,” Declan said softly. “That would not be a good

idea.”

“Oh,” Travis murmured. “I didn’t know there were

elephant shifters.”

“I’ve never heard of shifters this large. He’s got to be

exceptionally rare,” Declan returned.

Gordon managed to lift his head to look at the others, but

their gazes held only concern and awe. Lark circled him,
coming in to rest a hand on his head and scratch behind his
ear. If it didn’t feel so damn good, Gordon would be irritated

Accepting His Animal

by the young man’s audacity.

“You need to relax, Gordon,” Lark murmured. “No one

here will harm you.”

The small human stroked his bristly head gently. Damn,

the man was perceptive. Letting out a soft groan, he laid his
head on the grass and closed his eyes.

Lark kept talking. “Travis has to draw blood. We need to

figure out what you and Grady have been injected with.
Don’t swat us with that handsome trunk of yours when you
feel the prick of the needle.”

Gordon let out a grunt to acknowledge the man’s words

right before the stab of a needle stung his shoulder. His
trunk twitched, but he managed to hold back his initial
reaction to bat the irritation away.

“Get some rest.”
Lark’s words seemed to come from a long way off, but

what a wonderful suggestion. He followed it, letting the
blissful darkness of sleep overtake him.

* * * *

Grady awoke disoriented. Growling softly, he lifted his head
and looked around. He spotted Rainy and Travis curled up
together on the couch. Travis’s head rested in Rainy’s lap,
his eyes closed and his deep breathing told Grady that the
man slept. When he lifted his gaze to Rainy, he found the
wolf’s green eyes on him. “Welcome back,” he murmured.
“We’ve been worried.”

Taking a deep, calming breath, he released his tiger. His

body shifted slowly back into that of a man. “How did I get
here? Where’s Gordon?” he asked when he could finally
speak.

“Gordon brought ye here. He left a half hour ago. He said

he had an appointment,” Rainy answered quietly, his hand

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absently stroking through Travis’s hair. “Do ye remember
what happened?”

Grady sifted through his memories. “I remember taking

Gordon to the warehouse. He wanted to see where the
shifters were held…see if he could get a feel for what they
went through. We walked inside, found Brody… God, Dan
Brody had been shot.” He shook his head slowly, trying to
remember what else happened. “We talked about
experiments in the back room. We must have walked back
out, but after that… I don’t know.”

Rainy nodded. “Sounds about right. Gordon says when

ye walked outside, a couple of men shot ye both with
something. It caused ye to shift and pass out almost
immediately. Gordon shifted, too, but he remained
conscious long enough to kill one, knock out the other, and
bring ye here.”

Shock hit his system. “Gordon carried me in tiger form?”

Damn, his mate must be big. “What is he?”

“He’s a…”
“Rainy,” Declan growled from the doorway.
Rainy dropped his head. “Aye, Alpha. Sorry.”
At that, Grady frowned. He looked toward Declan, the

question on his face. Declan grimaced. “Sorry, Grady, but
we promised him we wouldn’t reveal his animal.”

Grady let out a hiss. “But he’s my mate.”
Declan smiled. “Congratulations,” he said softly. “But we

still can’t tell ye. It’s a matter of trust, Grady. Ye know that.”

Letting out a sigh, he nodded. “Yes. Can you at least tell

me why he doesn’t want anyone to know?”

The alpha wolf cocked his head and narrowed his eyes.

“Aye. I guess that I can say…he’s an extremely rare shifter.
I’d never even heard of his kind before. I’m guessing he’s
had some bad experiences. Maybe growing up. Maybe as an
adult. Whatever happened in his past, it’s made him

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reluctant to reveal his animal to anyone.”

Nodding slowly, Grady thought about Declan’s words. If

Gordon didn’t reveal his animal to anyone, how did he ask
where to go to stretch his legs? He couldn’t imagine not
letting his tiger out on occasion to relax and romp. If he
didn’t, he knew his cat would be pissed and hard to control
when he did finally get out. Suddenly the worry and fear
he’d felt from his mate made more sense. Maybe Gordon
didn’t let his animal out, too worried that someone may see.
That meant his animal would be unpredictable once loosed.

It seemed Grady would have to change that, but first he’d

have to earn Gordon’s trust. “Perhaps he needs to learn to
play,” he whispered.

“What do ye mean?” Rainy asked.
“If you don’t let your wolf out, how long does it take to

get angry?” he asked.

Rainy grimaced. “Not long,” he admitted.
Grady grinned, liking his thoughts. “You tell me where to

take him to let his animal out to relax. There’s gotta be
somewhere in our national forest that will appeal to him.”

Declan and Rainy exchanged a long look before Declan

nodded. Rainy returned Grady’s grin. “I know a place that
might do. I’ll draw ye a map.”

Relieved that his friends were willing to help to the best

of their ability, considering their promise, Grady grinned.
Declan’s next words wiped the smile from his features.

“Ye need a cell phone, Grady. With these poachers back,

we may need to get in touch with ye at a moment’s notice.”

Grady let out a growl, but damn if the wolf wasn’t right.

Charlie Richards

Chapter Four

e couldn’t keep his mind on business. Gordon had
been staring at his notebook for half an hour, barely

hearing what Todd said as he told about having a panic
attack at the mall. He felt bad leaving Grady without a word,
but the man had still been unconscious. And Gordon knew
the big cat was in good hands with Declan. That didn’t make
him feel any better about leaving his mate.

“Doc Digby?”
The timid wolf’s voice broke into his thoughts. “Yes,

Todd?” he said, meeting the small blond’s eyes.

“Is everything okay? You’re awfully quiet today.”
“I’m sorry, Todd. I do seem to be a bit preoccupied, don’t

I?” He smiled “Perhaps we should continue our discussion
another time.” Damn, when was the last time he’d had to
end a meeting because he couldn’t focus? Never.

Todd cocked his head to the side. “Maybe it would help

to talk about it,” he murmured. “You’ve told me that often
enough.” He gave Gordon a shy smile.

Gordon chuckled. He really did like the wolf. “I’m not

sure that’s the way this is supposed to work,” he found
himself teasing. His reward was a blush spreading over
Todd’s cheeks. He let out a sigh and eased back in his seat.
Could he talk to the wolf? That wouldn’t work if he wanted
to keep treating him. “It wouldn’t be professional,” he
murmured sadly.

Accepting His Animal

“What if we talked as friends?” he asked quietly. “I know

it’s not… traditional, but even though you’re my shrink, I do
consider you my friend.”

Smiling, he leaned forward. “How old are you, Todd?” he

asked softly. It wasn’t information he normally asked a
shifter, since they aged so slowly after hitting puberty, it
didn’t usually impact how he treated them.

“Sixty-eight,” he replied, frowning.
“I’m one hundred eighty-three years old, and I just found

my mate,” he admitted. “I’m a very rare breed of shifter,
Todd. I never expected to find a mate, and to be honest, I
never wanted to. I like being alone.” Even as he said the
words, he knew it wasn’t the truth. Leaping to his feet, he
ran a hand through his shoulder length gray hair. “Damn
it!” he screamed, slamming his fist into the wall.

Realizing his burst of temper probably terrified his

skittish patient, he turned toward Todd, but found the man
grinning. He knew his surprise must have showed on his
face, for the small man just shrugged.

“Relax. I know you won’t hurt me. Congratulations.”
Dropping into his chair, Gordon covered his face in his

hands and groaned. “What the hell am I going to do with a
mate?”

That comment received a bark of laughter from Todd.

“You don’t really need me to explain that to you, do you?”

Gordon chuckled, lowering his hands. “That’s not what I

mean, and you know it, cub.”

Todd grinned at the affectionate term. “Well, that’s good.

At almost two hundred years old, I’d hate to think I’d have
to explain the birds and the bees to ya,“ he quipped.

Grinning, Gordon nodded. He stared at the other man,

surprised at how relaxed Todd appeared. Perhaps he should
have tried this sooner. Maybe that would help the others,
too. A little gaiety in their lives was in order after all the

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hardship they’d faced.

“So? Who is she?”
His question brought Gordon out of his musings. “He is

Detective Stryker,” he said.

Todd’s grin faded slightly. “Wow. The tiger, huh? Does

he know? Is he even gay?” Then Todd gasped. “Are you
gay? Is that part of the problem?”

“Yes, I am gay. Yes, Grady is gay. Yes, the detective

knows. No, that’s not the problem,” Gordon answered,
chuckling lightly. “The problem is that I’ve been alone for
over a century and a half. I don’t know how to fit someone
into my life. I don’t do relationships,” he admitted. He
watched Todd chew on his lip for a moment, his brow
wrinkled in thought.

“I suppose it’s like working with one of us, right? Except

you’ll probably have amazing sex. I’ve heard that sex with
your mate is ten times better than with anyone else. But you
still have to talk to the person. Find out their likes and
dislikes. Fit them into your day, ya know?” Todd shrugged,
as if that said it all.

And maybe it did. Maybe Gordon was over thinking this.

He enjoyed Grady’s company, when he allowed himself to
relax. He wanted the big tiger safe. Now if he could just
figure out a way to keep his elephant away from his mate, he
should be fine. He didn’t know who would come out on top
between an elephant and a tiger, but he sure didn’t want to
see what would happen if they fought. And with how
aggressive his animal usually was, he couldn’t be sure he
wouldn’t attack his mate. Damn, wouldn’t that be
something. He’d be ostracized from the shifter community
for attacking his own mate. He frowned. I’ll just have to make
certain that doesn’t happen.

Todd reached over and tapped his hand, drawing his

attention. “Is everything okay? You got real quiet all of a

Accepting His Animal

sudden.”

“Just thinking about what you said,” Gordon murmured,

skirting the truth. Before he could say more, his cell phone
vibrated in his pocket. Normally he’d ignore it while with a
patient, but since they were talking about him instead of
Todd, he held up a finger and pulled out the cell. “Doctor
Digby.”

“Doctor Digby? This is Detective Sullivan, Detective

Stryker’s partner. I understand you may be able to identify
the men who attacked you and the detective,” the man said.
“Do you have time to come to the station?”

Gordon let out a sigh. He should have expected this. The

fact that it didn’t occur to him that he was now a witness just
showed how preoccupied the big tiger shifter made him. “Of
course, Detective. I’d be happy to help. When would you
like me there?”

“As soon as possible would be best, Doctor Digby.”
“Of course,” he said again. He glanced across the room at

Todd, who was pulling on a jacket. “I’ll be down within
thirty minutes.” Hanging up the phone, Gordon rose and
faced the younger man. “Thank you, Todd. I appreciate your
willingness to listen to me.”

Todd grinned. “I’m happy to help you, doc. You’ve

helped me immensely. I wouldn’t have been able to stand
staying here without your patience.”

Gordon paused, his brow crinkling. “Why did you decide

to stay here? Didn’t you and Phillip have a pack when you
were…taken?” He couldn’t believe he’d never asked the
young shifter that before.

The smile faded from Todd’s face to be replaced by a

grimace as he blushed. “Yeah. But after getting rescued, I
requested a pack transfer to here. I thought I smelled my
mate.”

“Your mate?” Gordon murmured, halting Todd’s

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progress to the door with a hand on his arm. “I’ve been
treating you for nearly three weeks, several times a week.
Why haven’t you said something before?”

“I can’t find him,” Todd admitted. “I thought he’d be part

of the Stone Ridge pack, but if he is, he wasn’t at the last
pack run.”

“He? You’re sure it’s a him?” Gordon asked.
“Damn, I hope so,” the younger shifter gasped, making

Gordon chuckle. “I wouldn’t know what to do with a
woman.”

He couldn’t help it. Gordon threw his head back and

laughed. At Todd’s startled look, he got out, “True, the
mechanics are a bit different, but it can still be pleasurable.”

That stopped Todd in his tracks. “You’ve been with

women?” he gasped. “But you said you’re gay.”

Gordon smirked. “I’m nearly two hundred years old,

Todd. I’ve had plenty of time to experiment.” Then he
shrugged, admitting dryly, “I was drunk every time and
horny as hell.”

Todd giggled. “Okay. That I can understand.”
He grabbed his own coat and led the way through the

outer office of the space he currently rented and used as his
clinic. A thought made him pause. “I think there was a
number of law enforcement involved with the raid on the
poacher’s warehouse. Maybe you smelled one of them.”

Todd’s brows lifted. “Really? I hadn’t thought of that.”

Then his face clouded. “But I’m kind of afraid of strange
humans at the moment, Doc. What if I have a panic attack?”

Gordon pulled Todd into a hug, offering the wolf

comfort. “You’ll be too excited to panic,” he assured. “But
even if you do, you have friends here that will help you
through it.” Pulling back, Gordon smiled and opened the
door. “Come on.”

“Thanks, Doc,” Todd said before climbing into his car.

Accepting His Animal

“Anytime,” he murmured, but Gordon couldn’t help

thinking that the young shifter had helped him more than
Gordon had helped Todd.

Fifteen minutes later, he parked his car on a side street

near the sheriff’s office and walked down the street. He
glanced over the store fronts, taking in the quaint
surroundings and quiet, down-home atmosphere. Gordon
never thought he’d end up in a small town, but found he
really enjoyed the peacefulness.

He walked into the station and stopped at the reception

desk. A heavy-set woman in a thick sweater, which looked
way too hot for the mild weather, looked up at him. “Can I
help you?” she asked in a throaty voice that made him force
back a cringe.

“I’m Doctor Digby. Detective Sullivan is expecting me,”

he told the woman.

“Just a moment,” she said before picking up the phone

and saying, “Detective? A Doctor Digby is here to see you.
Yes, I’ll tell him.” She looked up at him and gave him a cold
smile. “He’ll be right up.”

Okay, so much for small town hospitality. What crawled up and

died in this woman’s skirt? He gave the receptionist, Michelle
according to the desk plate, a grim smile and a nod before
turning away. Moments later, he spotted a tall, slender,
muscular human with dark hair weaving his way around
chairs and benches, some empty, some occupied with
officers. Gordon even spotted a man in cuffs. As he eyed the
bound man, recognition slammed through him and his
elephant mentally bugled angrily. He glared at the poacher
he’d tossed into the trees. He felt his animal strain against its
chains, wanting out to finish the job it had started in the
woods.

The human, who stood a couple inches shorter than

Gordon’s own six feet, stepped into his line of sight and held

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out a hand. “I’m Detective Sullivan. Doctor Digby?”

Ignoring the hand, Gordon growled, “Why isn’t Harry in

a cell? And how the hell is he even up?” He leaned close to
the detective and snarled, “I tossed that man fifty feet into
the trees. He shouldn’t be conscious, let alone up and
around!”

“Ooookay,” Detective Sullivan muttered, grabbing his

arm and leading him toward the back. After tucking him
into an office, which Gordon assumed was his, the man
turned to face him. “You can’t say shit like that to me in
front of everyone. One, only I know the truth about what
happened. Two, when we found him, the man you referred
to was up and around, sneaking through the warehouse. We
saw the signs of a scuffle, but didn’t know that that man was
involved. He was arrested for trespassing on a crime scene.
And three, what the fuck kind of shifter are you that you can
take a hit from the same shit that knocked Grady
unconscious in a matter of seconds?”

Gordon took a step back as if slapped. Damn, the

detective was direct. Schooling his emotions, he frowned at
the man. “What I am is not your concern. It can’t be reported
anyway. You asked me down here to identify a man, and
I’ve done that. I’m telling you that the guy chained to the
bench out there is the same man who pulled a gun and shot
me with an unknown chemical. He’s not the one that shot
Grady. That man is dead.”

Detective Sullivan’s eyes narrowed.
Gordon recognized an assessing gaze.
Finally, he nodded. “Very well. Why don’t you have a

seat and tell me your version of events?”

“Do you want the truth or the story you can report?”

Gordon asked belligerently. He tried desperately to control
his tongue, but the man out there chained to a chair had hurt
him and planned to kidnap or kill his mate. Dropping into a

Accepting His Animal

chair, Gordon rubbed a big hand over his face. “Sorry,” he
murmured.

The detective nodded. He rounded his desk and eased

into his seat. “You may as well call me Lyle. I’ve got a
feeling I’m going to be seeing a lot of you,” he said with a
smile.

“Grady told you.” At Lyle’s slow nod, Gordon leaned in

his chair. “Okay, Lyle.”

Lyle grinned. “Why don’t you start with the truth, and

we’ll go from there?”

Gordon nodded, smiling ruefully. Opening his mouth, he

started explaining how he’d met Grady for lunch and asked
to be taken to the poacher’s warehouse, thinking it would
help to see where the poachers had held the shifters, but
once they arrived, they found Officer Brody dead and a pair
of men lying in wait. The first man shot Grady, who
immediately shifted to his tiger, unconscious. Gordon
explained how he’d shifted into his own animal, but before
their attacker could reload, his animal, enraged over the
attack on his mate, had slain the human. The second poacher
shot him, but he was still able to knock him unconscious. He
explained that his animal was large enough to carry Grady
to the safety of the local alpha’s house where they both
received help from members of the wolf pack.

Lyle let him talk, his gaze fixed on him, not bothering to

take notes. Most of what he said couldn’t be reported
anyway. The shifter community wouldn’t stand for
information about them to be revealed.

“Well, that fills in the gaps in Grady’s story.” Lyle sighed.

“Now what the hell am I supposed to do about Officer
Brody’s death?” he murmured.

Gordon shook his head. “Those animals were being

experimented on, and whatever those experiments produced
made those humans stronger and harder to kill. Is there any

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evidence that points to a government or corporate
conspiracy?”

The detective cocked a head, studying him. “Experiments,

huh?”

“Like I said,” Gordon reiterated, “I threw that man fifty

feet into the woods, and now he’s sitting in your lobby. Does
he have a scratch on him? If you can find a way to take
blood samples, I’d get them to the Stone Ridge pack. Travis
and Lark already took some from me and Grady, plus Lark
has the empty darts. Maybe he can help you.”

Lyle rose, and Gordon followed suit. “I’ll see what I can

find out. Thank you for coming down and confirming my
suspicions about the guy in the lobby. I’ll find a way to hold
him.”

Relief flooded Gordon as he followed Lyle from the room

and back through the building. He paused. “Is Grady here?”

“When I dropped him off at home this morning, he talked

about coming in this afternoon, but I haven’t seen him yet.”

As he walked through the reception area, the human

chained to the chair sneered. Gordon turned and glared at
him. “You’re a freak,” the poacher hissed. “Your kind
should be eradicated!”

Gordon snarled, lunging toward him. A pair of arms

wrapped him up from behind, stopping him before he could
do something he’d regret.

“Is that a threat, Harry?” Lyle said from behind him, and

Gordon realized the detective held him steady. “You’re in
enough trouble as it is,” he warned.

“I’ll be out of here in no time,” Harry muttered crossly,

before another officer unchained him and led him toward
the holding cells in the back.

“You’re going to be in trouble, too, if you don’t release

Gordon, Lyle,” a low voice behind them growled.

The arms immediately dropped from around him. After

Accepting His Animal

giving the direction in which the poacher had disappeared
one more glare, Gordon turned. He found his mate standing
there, legs braced apart and arms crossed over his broad
chest. Even frowning at him, Grady still made Gordon’s
mouth water and his dick harden. Gordon stepped close and
settled a hand on Grady’s arm, suppressing his urge to pull
the big man close and kiss him. He hadn’t realized how
worried he’d been about the tiger. “I’m pleased to see you
on your feet, Grady. I’ve been worried about you.”

The man’s glare surprised him, but his words cleared up

his confusion. “That’s why you left me at Declan’s?” he
rumbled.

“He’s telling the truth, Grady,” Lyle murmured. “He was

just asking about you.”

“I’m sorry, Grady,” Gordon hurriedly said. “I had an

appointment and didn’t want to cancel on Todd.”

Although his frown faded, the big cat’s eyes narrowed.

“Is that why you smell like wolf?” he snapped quietly.

Before he could answer, Lyle chuckled. “I think his

cologne smells good. I was going to ask him what it was.”
When both he and Grady turned to look at the other
detective, Lyle frowned. “What?”

“It’s nothing, really,” Grady replied. “Normally humans

can’t differentiate between scents, is all.”

“And again, you can’t say shit like that out here,” Lyle

muttered, glancing around, but no one was paying any
attention to them.

Gordon blushed. “Sorry.” Damn, when was the last time

he’d forgotten to censure his tongue? And twice in one day
let alone one hour? That had to be the mate-bond fucking
with his brain again. “Look,” he said, turning to Grady. “I
need to talk to you about our relationship.”

“We have a relationship?” Grady asked dryly.
“That’s what I want to talk to you about, hmm?” Gordon

Charlie Richards

murmured, trying to convey his sincerity with a look.

“And that’s my queue to leave,” Lyle said, grinning.
Gordon ignored the leaving man, focusing his attention

on Grady. “Will you come over for dinner?” he asked. He
watched Grady blink, suddenly realizing the big man was
trying hard to keep up with his moods. He hated how much
explaining he had to do. “Please join me for dinner. I’d like
to explain some things.”

After several long agonizing seconds, Grady gave a slow

nod and Gordon let out a breath he didn’t realize he’d been
holding. “Thank you. Will seven this evening work for
you?”

“Make it eight, and I’ll be there,” Grady replied.
“Thank you,” Gordon breathed. Before he could second

guess himself, he leaned forward and quickly kissed Grady’s
cheek before hurrying from the building.

Accepting His Animal

Chapter Five

rady stared after Gordon, stunned. He lifted a hand to his
face, still able to feel the tingle of his mate’s lips on his

cheek. Letting out a sigh, he turned away from the doors
leading outside where Gordon had disappeared and headed
deeper into the station. He just didn’t understand his mate.
The man ran hot and cold, leaving Grady uncertain of how
Gordon would act when they were together.

He found Lyle in his office. “Well?” he growled.
Lyle had the audacity to grin. “I asked Gordon to come

down to take a look at the guy we picked up at the
warehouse. Damn, was he pissed when he spotted him
sitting in the lobby. I thought he was going to take the guy’s
head off right here!”

“Why? What did he say?” He couldn’t imagine the mild

mannered doctor getting upset over anything. He always
seemed the epitome of control, which aggravated the hell
out of Grady.

His partner leaned forward and lowered his voice.

“Gordon shifted and killed the poacher that attacked you.
We found that one on the roof of the warehouse. He claims,
quite emphatically actually, that the man we apprehended is
the same one who shot him, and the same one he says he
tossed fifty feet into the trees.” Lyle grimaced, and a shocked
Grady wondered what could possibly be coming next. “But
other than a few scratches that looked like they were from

Charlie Richards

walking through branches, he doesn’t appear to have a mark
on him.”

“What? How can that be? The only other shifter who’s

been in the building besides me, Ron, and Markus is
Gordon.” Grady frowned.

When he’d entered the station earlier, he’d immediately

caught Gordon’s fresh, musky scent. Seeing his mate in
Lyle’s arms had his cat snarling in rage. He’d had to fight
back his other half to keep from attacking his partner of
seven years. The smell of wolf on Gordon hadn’t made him
any happier, but once Gordon explained about Todd, he’d
understood the wolf’s scent on his mate. Otherwise, the only
other shifter scents in the building were Markus and Ron.
The wolf brothers worked as deputies part time.

Lyle shrugged. “Gordon seems to think they’re humans

that have undergone experiments to increase certain
abilities. Strength for one, and maybe increased healing?
Either way, he recommended blood samples be given to
Travis and Lark.”

A predatory smile carved Grady’s face. “The man is

spouting off about shifters, is he? He sounds delusional. We
should take a blood sample to see if we can figure out what
drug he’s on.”

Chuckling, Lyle nodded. “Now that’s a fabulous idea.

And we should interrogate him to see if we can figure out
where he got these drugs. We don’t want a problem arising
with the youth of Stone Ridge.”

“Absolutely,” Grady said. “I’ll go call Lark.” He heard

Lyle chuckle as he headed out of the office.

Two hours later, Grady stood in a small room with

Declan. He and the alpha stared through a one way glass
mirror and watched as Lark and Lyle entered the room.
Grady knew Lark worked at Sugar Creek Hospital forty-five

Accepting His Animal

minutes away. Lark and Declan’s house backed up to one of
Colorado’s many national forests, and they lived partway
between Stone Ridge and Sugar Creek, fifteen minutes from
Stone Ridge and thirty from Sugar Creek. Sugar Creek was
the larger of the two towns and just big enough to support a
small hospital.

“Lark better not be harmed,” Declan growled.
Grady nodded. “Harry is cuffed to the table and Lyle is in

there with him. He may be human, but he’s more than
capable. And if anything goes wrong, we’re three steps from
the room ourselves. You have my permission to protect your
mate,” he murmured. He didn’t add that if anything
happened to Lark, he’d roll over and let the alpha shred him.
He liked and respected the small doctor too much to
purposefully put him in danger.

Declan just let out a low growl. Lark set a small black

satchel on the table. He introduced himself and explained
that due to his erratic accusations blood work was required.
As he set two syringes on a small side table and prepared
one, Lark also made a comment that if drugs were found in
his system, he would be asked for the name of his supplier.

The man roared and lunged backward, the whites of his

eyes showing, proving his panicked state. The metal table
creaked and groaned. Grady and Declan sprinted through
the door as they heard the man thrash about. The pop of the
bolts that held the table in place giving way could just be
heard through the door as Grady reached for the handle.
Declan flew through the door he yanked open. When Grady
followed, he skidded to a stop as he took in the scene.

The poacher was still handcuffed to the table, but he’d

managed to wrench two of the bolts holding the table to the
floor free, tipping it over. Lyle was bent over, nursing his
genitals in silent agony from where the now tilted table had
rammed him. The poacher lay on the floor unconscious,

Charlie Richards

Lark standing over him with an empty syringe.

Declan crossed the room quickly and wrapped his arms

around his mate, pulling the small man’s slender body
against his own. “That man is definitely on something,” Lark
murmured. “I’ve heard of druggies getting increased
strength, but damn!”

“Are ye okay?” Declan asked, using one hand to cup

Lark’s jaw and tilt his head back.

Grady felt like an intruder on their tender moment. Lark

smiled up at Declan and nodded right before the alpha
captured his mate’s lips in a deep, heartfelt kiss. A pang of
envy hit Grady hard, and he wondered if he’d ever have that
same level of love and comfort with his own mate. Needing
something else to focus on, he turned his back on them and
walked over to Lyle. Wrapping an arm around him, he eased
his partner into a chair.

“Breathe deep, man,” he murmured.
“What do you think I’m trying to do, you ass?” Lyle

hissed back, glaring up at him from where he bent over his
legs. “The bastard managed to move the table right as I was
coming around the side, slamming the corner into my balls.”
He shook his head, agony filling every line of his face.
“Good thing I’m gay, or I’d be pissed about the possibility of
never having kids,” he fumed.

Grady couldn’t hold in the light chuckle. Even in agony,

his friend still managed to joke. “We have a doctor on sight.
Want me to ask him to check you out?” he teased.

“Are you kidding?” Lyle grunted. “Then I’d really lose

them! If you didn’t notice, his mate’s a little obsessive!”

Grunting in acknowledgement, Grady turned to see Lark

bent over the unconscious Harry. Declan stood close behind
as the doctor withdrew several vials of blood. “Well,” he
said. “I’m done. Is Lyle okay?”

Lyle finally straightened in his chair and nodded. “Damn,

Accepting His Animal

that hurts.” He hauled himself to his feet and crossed to the
poacher. “What did you do to him?”

“While he was busy shoving the table into you, I stabbed

him with a sedative. Dropped him like a stone,” he said with
a grin. His mirth faded. “There’s definitely something odd
about him. Declan swears he’s human, so he shouldn’t have
been able to rip the table free, even on drugs. I’ll get lab
work started on these and see what I can find,” he said,
holding up the vials of red liquid.

Minutes later, the alpha and his mate were gone, and

Grady and Lyle carried the unconscious prisoner back to his
cell. “Well, I don’t know about you,” Lyle said, locking the
door, “but I’m headed home to an icepack and a beer.”

Grady nodded. “You still dating that twink you met a few

weeks ago? You could have him kiss it better,” he teased.

“Hey, Bobby isn’t a twink,” Lyle grumbled. “Besides, he’s

out of town on business. The electrical company he works
for sent him somewhere for training.”

“You haven’t had a vacation in nearly two years, Lyle.

Why didn’t you take leave to go with him? A few days of
vegging would have been good for you,” Grady said,
following Lyle back to his office.

Lyle shrugged, not meeting his gaze. “I’ve only known

him two weeks. It’s not that serious.”

Grady leaned against the doorframe and watched his

friend tuck several folders into his briefcase and pull on his
coat. “I thought you really liked this one,” he commented.

“I do,” Lyle said, straightening. Then he grimaced. “I just

don’t think he’s ready to settle down. He still likes the bar
scene just a little too much.”

“Settle down!” Grady’s brows shot up. “I’ve never heard

you talk of settling down before. You’ve always proclaimed
eternal bachelorhood.” He frowned. “What happened?”

Blushing, Lyle’s gaze slid away from him. “Guess you

Charlie Richards

and your friends finding mates is rubbing off on me. I never
thought Rainy would settle down, but look at him and
Travis. They’re inseparable.”

“Yeah, I see what you mean,” Grady replied. “Maybe

Bobby will surprise you. And if he doesn’t, you’ve never had
any trouble finding someone to occupy your… time,” he
said, smirking as he clapped a hand on Lyle’s shoulder.

“Sure,” his buddy said dryly. “Because there are so many

gay men in Stone Ridge…”

Grady shrugged. “I’m being surprised every day.” Then

he waved. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Lyle chuckled. “I hope not. It’s Saturday. We have the

next two days off for a change. Go woo Gordon.”

At that, he laughed. “Right.” He turned and headed to his

office. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to woo Gordon, but since
he still couldn’t figure out the man, he knew he had his work
cut out for him. He hoped this dinner would be a good
thing. Maybe a bottle of wine would help loosen up his
mate. Yeah, that’s what he needed, Grady decided.

Walking into his office, his thoughts were interrupted by

his phone. He strode around the desk and grabbed the
receiver. “Detective Stryker.”

“Hello, Detective,” a smooth, deep voice answered.
His brows shot up. “Tanis.” With all that happened in the

last twenty-four hours, he’d forgotten about putting in a call
to the assassin.

“I have the information you’re interested in. I’m not

certain you’ll like it.”

“Damn. I was afraid of that,” he murmured.
“I found a birthdate from nearly two hundred years ago.

This same individual was held captive in a secure lab for a
number of years while a teenager.”

“Let me guess,” Grady growled, his tiger close to the

surface at the thought of someone holding Gordon and

Accepting His Animal

hurting him. “This was a research lab that did experiments.”

Tanis remained quiet for several seconds before Grady

heard a soft sigh. “Unfortunately, yes. That was revealed
after some kind of accident brought attention to the facility.
An animal got loose in the labs and killed a number of
people before escaping. The animal was never identified or
recaptured.”

“Shit,” he hissed. “What else.”
“I’ve compiled everything into several files. I’ve emailed

you the location. When you click the link, the system will
ask for a password. In all caps, type the country and four
digit year we met. You’ll have access to the link only once, so
either save the files to a new location, memorize them, or
print them out,” Tanis commanded.

Grady nodded, even though he knew the assassin

couldn’t see it. “I appreciate this. Thank you. Now I owe you
one.”

A low chuckle sounded through the phone. “In that case,

you can repay me by not arresting me next month. I’m going
to be in your neck of the woods.” Grady frowned, and when
he didn’t respond right away, Tanis murmured, “Oh, don’t
worry, Detective. It’s not for business.”

“Oh, no?” Grady asked. “Are you telling me you’d travel

to the mountains for a vacation? No offense, Tanis, but you
strike me more as a beach man.”

“Hmmm,” the man grunted. “You’re probably right in

that, but oddly enough, I have family in Sugar Creek.”

“Seriously?” If he hadn’t been sitting down, he would

have fallen over in shock.

“Seriously,” Tanis said dryly. “See you around,

Detective.”

Grady put the phone back in the cradle, shock still

coursed through his system. “Well, I’ll be damned,” he
murmured as he booted up his computer. Shaking off the

Charlie Richards

surprise, he found the email and clicked the link. True to
Tanis’s word, a box for a password popped up. Carefully,
Grady typed in the country and year he met Tanis, hit enter,
and held his breath.

Relief filled him when another pop-up box appeared with

two pdf files, one word doc, and six jpeg pictures. He
quickly downloaded everything to a folder on his desktop
and opened the first pdf file. It was a compilation of
newspaper articles about Crescent Moon Research Facility.
He read about an animal attack that killed six workers and
left two others in intensive care. Grainy pictures showed a
hole in the building’s wall the size of a large truck, rocks and
debris everywhere. Another shot showed a trampled fence.

Another article told how one of the survivors of the attack

had died on the operating table while the other was being
monitored in intensive care. Another short article said the
last survivor would live, but would have to go through
extensive therapy to regain the use of his legs.

Scrolling through the jpeg files showed what looked like

crime scene photos. Seeing as it was over one hundred fifty
years ago, the quality of the pictures weren’t much better
than the newspaper, but he could make out destroyed lab
equipment and tables. Glass and unidentifiable liquids
covered the floors. Bodies lay at obscene angles, leaving no
doubt in his mind that they were dead. But it was the cages
with animals stacked on one wall that made Grady cringe.
Even through the photo, he could see the terror and
desolation in the animals’ eyes. Damn, most of those caged
animals were shifters.

Letting out a growl, he slammed his fists on either side of

his monitor. Someone had been doing experiments on
shifters over a century ago and now they were doing it
again. Was it the same group? Or a different one? Grady
didn’t know, but he planned to find out.

Accepting His Animal

He pulled up the word doc next and realized it was

Tanis’s notes. First he saw Gordon’s full name, Emmanuel
Gordon Dyggeby and grimaced. No wonder the man changed
his name. Spotting his date of birth, he realized the shifter
was one hundred eighty-three years old, born in Savannah,
Georgia, and his birthday was early next month. Grady
smiled, thinking about what he’d like to give the man as a
gift. Shaking his head, he refocused on the notes.

Gordon attended Grayson Elementary School, Grayson

Middle School, and was in his junior year at Crescent Moon
High School when he’d disappeared. His mother had died
two weeks later, an apparent suicide. It wasn’t until fifty
years later that Gordon, with his new name, resurfaced on
the grid, and enrolled in a Midwestern State college. He
graduated eight years later with a Masters in Psychology.
Odd choice, considering his past, Grady thought. Tanis’s
notes also outlined every move Gordon made for the last
one hundred years, including alias’s used, businesses
owned, offshore bank accounts, client information,
neighbors, and acquaintances. It didn’t escape Grady’s
notice that no one was listed as friend or lover in Tanis’s
files. He wondered how the assassin knew the difference.

The last pdf was copies of police files on the Crescent

Moon Research Facility. He shivered, not even wanting to
know how Tanis had acquired this information. Reading
through the file, he learned how someone had sent an
anonymous tip about illegal research and the consequent
take down of the facility. This was two years after Gordon’s
escape.

Closing the files, Grady ran a hand over his jaw and

sighed. Well, shit. No wonder his mate was so wary. He sure
hadn’t had much happiness in his life. Glancing at the clock,
he realized he’d be late if he didn’t hurry. Although he knew
he couldn’t reveal all the information he had about the man,

Charlie Richards

Grady planned to make Gordon as happy as he’d let him
tonight. Tomorrow was soon enough to meet with Declan
that they weren’t dealing with ordinary poachers.

Accepting His Animal

Chapter Six

ordon paced the sitting area of his hotel room. Okay,
asking Grady to his suddenly-too-small hotel suite was

probably not the best thing to do, but it was too late to
change plans. He glanced at the clock, noting it was five
after the hour. His mate was late. Had the big cat changed
his mind? Had he decided that dealing with Gordon’s hang-
ups would be too much of an effort? It wouldn’t be the first
time someone felt that way about him.

A knocking caught his attention, and he practically ran

the six steps to the door. Pausing for several heartbeats to get
his scrambled reactions back under control, Gordon opened
the door to find Grady casually leaning against the railing
across from the door. A sexy smile eased the big blond’s
square features.

He had to remind himself not to drool as Grady pushed

away from the rail and stalked toward him as only a cat
could. “Sorry I’m late, baby,” Grady murmured. Before he
could respond, the detective brought up a hand and sank it
into the hair at the nape of Gordon’s neck. He drew him
forward and pressed a spine-tingling closed mouth kiss to
his lips. Gordon wanted to whimper when Grady drew back
and grinned, his blue eyes twinkling. He held up a bottle. “I
didn’t know what you were serving, but I hope it goes with
cabernet sauvignon.”

Gordon grinned, relieved beyond measure that his mate

Charlie Richards

had arrived. Drawing him into the room, he nodded. “I
ordered Chinese. It should be here any minute.” A thought
occurred to him. “But I don’t have an opener.”

Grady’s grin widened, showing off pearly white teeth.

“Gotcha covered.” He pulled something from his back
pocket and held it up, a corkscrew.

He chuckled. “Thanks. I don’t have wine glasses either, so

I hope you don’t mind drinking out of tumblers.”

At that, Grady set the corkscrew on the table before

wrapping his large paw of a hand around Gordon’s
shoulders and drew him forward. “I’ll tell you a secret, sexy.
I brought the wine to take advantage of you. It’ll do the job
regardless of what we drink it out of.” Then he winked.
Releasing him, Grady sauntered over to the tiny alcove that
held a cupboard and mini fridge.

He stared after him, watching as Grady opened the wine,

pulled out two tumblers, and poured them both a drink.
Was the man serious? Would Gordon let him? Before he
could decide, another knock sounded at the door. He paid
for the food and set in on the coffee table. When he turned
around, he found Grady standing right behind him. If he
didn’t know the man was a tiger, he’d wonder how he
moved so silently.

Grady handed him a glass and smiled. “Thank you for

inviting me,” he purred.

A shiver worked its way up Gordon’s spine, and self-

preservation forced him back a step. “I didn’t know what
you liked,” he said hurriedly. “So I got a little of everything
and a lot of the most popular dishes.”

Gordon hurried to the cupboard in the nook and grabbed

a couple plates and silverware. He took an extra few seconds
to get his racing pulse under control and will his erection to
deflate before he turned back around. Seeing Grady
lounging on the love seat did nothing to ease the blood

Accepting His Animal

pumping through his veins and everything to further tighten
his groin. Damn, the man is fine.

Long, toned legs, strong calves and thick thighs were well

defined in his form fitting jeans. Grady draped his muscular
arms over the back of the sofa, making his tight fitting shirt
show off his defined abs and pecks that Gordon wanted to
lick all over.

Setting the silverware on the coffee table, he knelt on the

floor and started opening containers. Grady leaned forward
and they both loaded up their plates. They ate in
companionable silence for several moments, Gordon’s mind
racing as he tried to think of something to talk about. Finally
he sighed. “I think you can tell I’m not very good at this.”

“At what? Eating?” Grady teased.
Gordon smiled, motioning between them with his fork.

“This. Dating. Relationships. Any of it. If I don’t talk to
someone about business, I don’t talk to people. I’m not good
at small talk, or—”

“Hey,” Grady interrupted, halting his stream of

confessions. “Just relax. You’re nervous.” Gordon wondered
at Grady’s understanding smile, but Grady kept talking, not
giving him time to think about it for long. “Since we don’t
really know each other, let me start by telling you a little
about myself.”

He could feel the tension in his shoulders ease. Grady

didn’t expect him to tell about himself right away. Gordon
still didn’t know how much he could share with the law
officer.

“I’m one hundred thirteen years old. I grew up in

Laramie, a small town in southern British Columbia.
Between that and being a tiger, I don’t have trouble with the
cold winters here in the Colorado Rockies, and I’m more
than willing to keep you warm,” he added with a wink.

Gordon started to stutter a response, but Grady just

Charlie Richards

grinned and kept talking. “I moved here seven years ago.”
The smile suddenly faded as the big man thought back.

Gordon wished he could do something to bring that smile

back. He reached over and grabbed Grady’s hand. “You
don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to,” he murmured.

The other man gave his hand a squeeze. “It’s fine,” he

said softly. “I don’t work for just Stone Ridge. I’m actually
an employee of the county. On occasion, if the need is there,
other towns will request me to come and assist in solving a
crime.”

Frowning, he thought that an odd arrangement. “How’d

that come about?”

“Seven years ago, a serial killer plagued the area. The

local force didn’t have the ability to handle the issue, so the
county decided to pool town recourses and request aid by
bringing in a homicide detective full time. I recognized the
signs of a rogue shifter gone feral.” He paused, took a sip of
his wine and stared off into space. “I worked in Milwaukee
at the time and needed a change.”

He grimaced. “I’d already been living there eighteen

years, and I knew if I didn’t move on soon, my lack of aging
would start raising suspicions. I knew there was a wolf pack
in the area, so when I saw the opening, I requested their help
to get the position.”

“They helped a non-wolf shifter get into the area?”

Gordon asked, not able to hide his surprise.

Grady nodded. “They liked the idea of having a shifter on

the force. It ended up opening the door for others. Now we
have two of Declan’s wolves working part time, too.”

“What happened with the feral shifter? Did you catch

him?” Gordon fought back a shudder at the idea of Grady
facing off against a feral shifter, but he knew it was part of
his job, and probably not the most dangerous part.

Nodding again as he shoveled another forkful of noodles

Accepting His Animal

into his mouth, Grady swallowed before answering. “Yeah.
It was a rogue cougar that kept just on the outskirts of
Declan’s territory, so he couldn’t do anything about it. His
territory starts ten miles south of Stone Ridge and runs north
to the city limits of Sugar Creek.”

“That’s a big area,” Gordon murmured. When he’d

moved here, he hadn’t realized the pack was that large, but
he should have known. He still couldn’t wrap his mind
around the fact that the alpha would ask unknown shifters,
himself included, into his territory. He’d never experienced
the open welcome Declan gave him from any other shifter.

“He’s got a big pack. Fifty-three members was the last

count I heard,” Grady shared.

Rubbing his thumb over Grady’s knuckles distractedly,

Gordon asked, “Have you been partnered with Lyle for
long?”

“The entire time I’ve been here,” Grady murmured. His

gaze fixed on the hand that Gordon rubbed. “I met Lyle my
first day on the job. Damn, the man acted like a backwater
hick just to piss me off,” he said, chuckling. “I caught him
making out with some twink, and it shocked the hell out of
him that I didn’t beat him up. I couldn’t leave the guy in the
dark, so I explained I was gay, too. He’s been fine ever since,
and we’ve found the town fairly accepting of the gay
lifestyle.” He shrugged. “They’re not going to throw any
pride parades, but we don’t have to worry too much about
slander either.”

Gordon fought back the wave of jealousy at Grady’s

words about Lyle. Their easy camaraderie was evident. His
thumb paused in its travels over the detective’s skin. Seeing
his tension, Grady rose from the couch, stepped around the
coffee table, and pulled Gordon up to stand in front of him.
He wrapped his arms around Gordon, pulling him flush to
his body from thigh to chest. Heat flared through Gordon’s

Charlie Richards

body everywhere Grady’s touched him, flushing his body
with need. His cock, which had never softened fully,
stiffened nearly instantly, filling almost to the point of pain.

He knew if Grady decided to seduce him, he’d be all for

it. And if the man didn’t, well, maybe Gordon would take
matters into his own hands. The need he felt for his mate
was nearly overwhelming.

Grady lowered his head slightly, his lips hovering near

Gordon’s and he could feel the other man breathe against his
lips as he murmured, “Nothing has ever happened, or will
ever happen, between me and Lyle. I plan to convince you
that you’re it for me.”

He couldn’t fight back the groan that shuddered through

his body at the intense look in Grady’s blue eyes or the
sultry timber of the man’s words. He closed the distance
between their lips, latching onto the man in a deep, hungry
kiss. Mouths opened and tongues joined in the fray as they
battled each other for dominance. Grady matched Gordon
thrust for thrust and nip for nip until finally Gordon gave in.
He wrapped his arms around the sexy shifter’s neck and let
Grady control the kiss.

He wasn’t disappointed. The man tangled a length of

Gordon’s hair around his fist and used it to tilt Gordon’s
head, giving the man better access to his mouth. Grady’s
exploration slowed, and he mapped Gordon’s mouth using
his tongue and lips. Gordon’s prick pressed painfully
against his pants zipper, straining to break free. When
Grady’s other hand landed on his ass and pulled his groin
tight against his own, he couldn’t stop the low groan that
rumbled through his chest.

Feeling Grady’s hard cock through the layers of material

between them, Gordon thrust against it. Exquisite tingles
raced through his body. Grady growled into his mouth, still
refusing to release his lips. The hand on his ass kneaded the

Accepting His Animal

cheek it held while rocking Gordon’s shaft against his again
and again.

Pleasure swamped Gordon, and his brain shut down. The

only thing that mattered was this man and the sensations
buffeting his nerve endings. His hands roamed the hard
muscles of Grady’s back, feeling them shift and dance under
his fingers. His cock ground against Grady’s, their similar
heights allowing them to line up perfectly. Gordon’s body
tingled, his balls pulling tight to his body as his cock ached
for release.

The realization that he was about to come just from

kissing and rubbing had Gordon trying to back off. His mate
growled and broke the kiss, but didn’t release him. Grady’s
blue eyes, blazing with heat and lust, bore into him.

“Gonna…gonna…” His brain must have melted, because

he couldn’t get the words out between pants.

“Yes,” Grady growled, his voice dropping deep with

desire. “Come for your mate. Show me how much you enjoy
my touch, so I can lick it off your cock when you’re done.”

Grady’s words were the final straw, and Gordon lost it.

His body jerked as his cock pulsed in his pants, spilling his
load into his boxers. Grady continued to grind them
together, heightening the sensations and prolonging
Gordon’s orgasm. He knew if Grady hadn’t been holding
him, he would have melted into the floor.

Mind-numbing contentment filled Gordon, as he closed

his eyes and rested his head on Grady’s shoulder. He
couldn’t remember ever coming so hard from such little
stimulation, but, damn, the man kissed like a god! He felt
Grady gently nudge and pull him, and he blindly followed
the man’s directions, too wrapped up in post-orgasmic bliss
to care what was happening. Seconds later, he felt something
hit the back of his knees, and he realized Grady was gently
lowering him to the bed.

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The question must have been in his eyes when he pried

them open to stare up at Grady. “I told you,” Grady said,
reaching for Gordon’s pants. “Now I get to clean you.”

Seconds later, his pants were pulled from his legs, along

with his shoes and socks, and Gordon’s cock and balls were
exposed to Grady’s hungry gaze. The flesh in question
twitched, filling again as the blood in Gordon’s body flowed
south. Gordon watched in awe as Grady crawled onto the
bed between his knees and leaned over. Keeping his eyes
fixed firmly on Gordon’s, Grady snaked out a tongue and
gave him a long slow lick from testicles to the tip of his cock.
Never would he have guessed that the other man enjoyed
giving head, but the look of deep satisfaction on Grady’s
face as he slowly cleaned the cum from Gordon couldn’t be
faked.

“Mmm,” Grady murmured. “Delicious. Want a taste?”

Gordon’s eyes widened, but he couldn’t stop the nod. Hell,
yeah, he wanted a taste! Grinning, Grady leaned up and
thrust his tongue deep, allowing Gordon to taste the salty
essence of his release.

When Grady broke the kiss, his smile turned smug.

“Now, would you like to suck me off? Or shall I fuck you
into the mattress?”

It’d been a long time since Gordon bottomed. Being a man

his size, people just always assumed he topped. His asshole
fluttered and his cock jerked at the idea of Grady reaming
him. “Please fuck me, Grady,” he whispered, unable to hide
his pants of desire.

Grady eased off the bed, and quickly stripped, almost as if

he thought Gordon would change his mind if he took too
long. No way in hell! Gordon’s jaw dropped when Grady
revealed his thick, ten inch, uncut cock. Seeing his look, a
very naked Grady paused at the foot of the bed. “Don’t
worry. I won’t hurt you,” he promised.

Accepting His Animal

“No,” Gordon whispered. He wanted that monster cock

to split him wide open and give him the reaming of a
lifetime.

“No?”
Hearing the confusion in Grady’s tone, Gordon jerked his

gaze away from the beautiful piece of meat and up to the
detective’s face. He saw the worry creasing Grady’s face and
realized the man got the wrong impression. Whipping his
shirt over his head, Gordon grabbed the lube from under the
pillow and popped the top. Kneeling on the bed, he turned
around and presented his ass. He reached back and thrust
two fingers deep into his ass, relishing the burn as he
prepared his hole. “Don’t want you to be gentle,” he panted,
rocking on his fingers. “Need you hard, Grady. Need you
now.”

Grady let out a low growl and yanked Gordon’s fingers

out of his ass. “Mine,” he snarled, slapping a big hand
against one round cheek.

He couldn’t stop the whimper of need as Grady shoved

him down on the bed, pinning him with his well-muscled
body. He heard the snick of the lube and knew that Grady
was slicking up his dick. Gordon’s body trembled with
excitement, his need ratcheting up another notch. His cock
twitched and jerked underneath him, pre-cum oozing from
the slit.

When the head of Grady’s mammoth cock finally rubbed

up against his hole, Gordon tried to shove back and impale
himself on the dick. Grady held him still, not allowing him
to move as he bumped his crown against him, applying the
slightest delicious pressure to his hole, but not enough to
enter. Gordon groaned in frustration.

“You want this?” Grady hissed into his ear, sending

shivers over his neck. He pressed his cock against Grady
again and Gordon nodded quickly, needing so bad to feel

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his mate’s cock in his ass. “I can’t hear you,” Grady growled,
taunting him by rubbing against him again before moving
his shaft away.

“Please,” Gordon forced out. “Please, fuck me, Grady. I

need your huge cock to fill my ass.”

Grady gave him what he wanted. Thrusting forward, the

tiger popped the bulbous head of his dick through the ring
of protective muscles and pushed, shoving his cock inside
until Gordon felt Grady’s balls slap his ass. The delicious
burn spread through his ass, and Gordon relished the stretch
and feeling of fullness.

“Is this what you want,” Grady grunted into his ear. “My

cock in your ass?”

Gordon moaned, trying to move under Grady, but with

no success. “Yes. Oh God. Yes, Grady. Please move.” He
knew he begged, but with his body on fire with the desire
for his mate, he couldn’t make himself stop.

Grady slid slowly out only to slam back home, filling

Gordon’s ass again and again. Nothing felt better than
Grady’s cock filling him, stretching him. Gordon knew
Grady’s cock was made to fill his ass. Without slowing or
breaking stride in his pounding rhythm, Grady wrapped
one arm around Gordon’s chest and hauled them both
upright. With his other hand he reached around and gripped
Gordon’s aching dick in a tight fist.

Gordon let out a cry of pleasure as the pounding cock in

his ass pushed his dick through the tight fist over and over
again. “Come for me,” Grady growled. “Squeeze my cock,
baby.”

He couldn’t have refused the order even if he’d wanted

to. Gordon’s balls pulled up to his body and shot stream
after stream of seed across the comforter, pillow, and
headboard. He let his lover take his weight as he felt waves
of euphoria swamp his system and his dick pulsed and

Accepting His Animal

jerked, Grady continually jacking his cock to extend his
pleasure. It felt like his balls turned inside out before he
stopped. It was only then that he felt the warmth in his ass
and the tremble of the body behind him signifying Grady
had found his own release.

Gordon sighed, letting his head drop onto Grady’s

shoulder. Why the hell did I fight against this? He’d been an
idiot to deny himself something so incredible. In fact, he
couldn’t wait to do it again. When Grady pulled his
softening cock from his ass, he whimpered at the loss.

Grady kissed the back of his neck and encouraged

Gordon to lie down. “I’ll be right back. I’m just getting
something to clean us up.”

He might have murmured a response, but the pull of

sleep on his boneless body was too strong to be sure. His last
thought before sleep sucked him under was that Grady
hadn’t tried to claim him, and he was surprised to find how
disappointed he felt.

Charlie Richards

Chapter Seven

rady woke with a heavy body draped over his chest and a
hard on throbbing against his stomach. He smiled. Damn,

it had been a long time since he’d slept this well. There was
definitely something to be said for finding and holding your
mate.

He gently traced the bumps of the man’s spine, enjoying

the feel of his mate’s skin. He’d shared a lot with Gordon
last night. Grady hoped the man would soon feel
comfortable telling him about his own past but didn’t bank
on it. The man played his cards close to his chest.

Pushing the thoughts away in favor of something more

exciting, Grady shifted his hips and rubbed his hard cock
against Gordon’s naked hip. He was rewarded with a grunt
from Gordon as the man shifted and pressed his own
morning wood against Grady’s hip, which also gave him
added pressure against his own cock.

Grady kept his movement slow as he ground against

Gordon, giving them both stimulation. He didn’t want either
of them to come until he felt certain his mate was fully
awake to enjoy it. After last night, he realized the best way to
convince the man that they could make a go of it was
through patience and sex, lots of sex. He grinned to himself
and inserted a leg between Gordon’s, giving his mate better
leverage.

Gordon’s groan sent a tremor of desire through Grady’s

Accepting His Animal

body, the vibrations settling in his balls and making his
prick jerk. He fought his lust and kept a moderate pace,
wrapping a hand around Gordon’s hip to keep them still.

At that, Gordon’s eyes cracked open, and he growled.

Damn, that’s a sexy sound! Grady grinned up at his mate right
before he flipped them. Gordon let out a startled squeak that
quickly turned into a moan as Grady settled between his
thighs and rocked their cocks together. Waves of pleasure
radiated through his body as Grady ground his pelvis into
the other man.

He kept part of his weight on one forearm and buried his

other hand in Gordon’s hair. Staring into Gordon’s black
eyes filled with lust, he rubbed his leaking cock against his
mate’s. Their pre-cum combined, giving them a smooth,
slippery glide. He watched Gordon’s eyes slide to half-mast
and his breathing hitched, telling Grady of his impending
orgasm.

When his mate’s eyes began to slide closed, Grady

growled, “No. Keep your eyes open. I want to see.”

To his satisfaction, Gordon’s eyes popped back open,

staring directly into his own. Grady hid nothing from his
mate, not his growing feelings for the man, or the lust he felt
burning through him, nor the fear that Gordon would walk
away.

Gordon’s eyes widened as he read everything in Grady’s

clear blue eyes right before his mouth opened on a cry of
ecstasy and his body shuddered. Warm jizz splattered
between their bodies. The smell of Gordon’s cum had
Grady’s balls pulling tight to his body and the telltale tingle
shooting up the base of his spine. He didn’t fight it. His body
tensed and his cock erupted, mixing his seed with his
mate’s. Letting out a low groan of pleasure, Grady enjoyed
the delicious waves that crashed over him.

When he could think again, Grady smiled down at his

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mate. “Good morning,” he murmured, kissing his lips
lightly.

“Wow,” Gordon murmured. “Now that’s a wake-up call I

could get used to.”

Grady grinned, liking the sound of that. His pleasure

must have shown on his face, because suddenly Grady saw a
flash of panic in Gordon’s eyes. Ignoring it, he eased off the
bed and held out a hand. “Come on. Let’s get cleaned up
and then I’ll take you to breakfast. What do you say?”

After a brief hesitation that had Grady’s heart hammering

in his chest, Gordon nodded. “Sure. That sounds great.”

Gordon settled his hand in Grady’s, and he hauled his

mate to his feet. Smiling at the naked man, he let his eyes
rove over Gordon’s large form. True, he had a small spare
tire around his mid-section, which was odd for a shifter, but
Grady could see the muscle definition of his arms, pecks,
and legs. A weak man, Gordon was not. Seeing the man’s
thick cock lying semi-hard against his thigh, he felt his own
prick perk up.

When his roving gaze reached Gordon’s face, he saw a

faint blush and the man wouldn’t meet his eyes. Placing his
free hand under Gordon’s chin, he brought Gordon’s gaze to
his. “You’re sexy-as-sin and I plan to fuck you in the shower.
Do you have lube in there?”

Since Gordon just opened and closed his mouth in shock,

Grady took the matter into his own hands and found the
lube they’d used last night before dragging Gordon into the
bathroom. He spun the nobs, found the temperature he
wanted, and turned back to his mate. He grinned. “You’re
not a morning person, are you?” he teased.

Gordon shook his head. “I don’t function well until I’ve

had at least two cups of tea,” he admitted.

“Good thing I’m not going to ask you to do anything.” At

Gordon’s disappointed look, he chuckled. “Don’t worry,

Accepting His Animal

baby. I’ll take care of everything.”

Grady pulled Gordon into the shower stall and closed the

door. It wasn’t built for more than one, and both of them
were large men, but that was okay, because Grady planned
to be standing close to his mate, very, very close!

Picking up the soap, he worked up a thick lather and

started running his hands over Gordon’s muscular back. He
massaged the skin under his fingertips and heard Gordon
moan deeply. His mate rested one forearm on the wall, his
head against his arm. As he worked the suds around the
man’s sides and over his chest and stomach, Grady pressed
close to his mate’s back and rubbed his rejuvenated cock
along Gordon’s ass crack.

He followed the happy trail of gray hairs down Gordon’s

chest to the nest of curls surrounding a very erect cock.
Avoiding his prick, he washed the hairs, one hand lowering
to fondle the heavy orbs hanging beneath. When Gordon
started to rock against him and reached for his cock, Grady
batted his hand away and released his balls.

“What…don’t stop,” Gordon panted.
Grady chuckled, dropping to his knees behind him. “Not

stopping,” he promised.

Knowing he didn’t have much patience left in him, Grady

made quick work of Gordon’s legs and feet. His hands rose
to the full cheeks in front of him, his soapy fingers
massaging the gorgeous mounds. He pulled the cheeks
apart, exposing the pretty puckered hole hidden between
them. Rubbing the pad of his thumb over it had Gordon
groaning and pushing back toward him.

Not able to resist, Grady leaned forward and swiped his

tongue over the wrinkled skin. Salt, soap, and a musky
flavor unique to Gordon burst across his tongue. It made his
cock jerk between his legs, eager to explore that hole again.

Gordon sucked in a breath at the intimate touch and

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started to straighten. “No,” Grady warned, spreading a
strong hand across his upper back and pushing him back
forward while pulling Gordon’s hips back toward him. Once
the man settled again, he used the hand on his hip to pull his
ass apart again and dove in for another taste.

He nibbled, sucked, and nipped Gordon’s sensitive skin

until the man squirmed with need. Finally, he straightened
his tongue and shoved it through the tight ring of muscle.
Gordon cried out, and Grady heard the pleasure in his
shout. He tongue fucked his mate until Gordon rocked back
against him, riding his face with shameless abandon.

Grady reached around and grabbed Gordon’s bobbing

prick. Wrapping it in a tight fist, he jacked the man in time
with his tongue’s thrusts, loving the sounds of pleasure
pouring from his mate’s mouth. Without warning, Gordon
stiffened then shuddered, his muscles tightening around
Grady’s tongue as he came. Gordon’s cock pulsed in his fist,
and he continued to jack the thick meat in his hand, ringing
every last drop of cum from the man’s body.

When Gordon stood trembling against the wall for

support, Grady could put off his own need no longer. He
stood, grabbed the lube from the shelf, and squirted a
generous amount onto his fingers. Desire and lust made
being gentle nearly impossible as he shoved two fingers into
Gordon’s ass, quickly moving on to three fingers. As
apology, he made certain he hit his mate’s prostate with each
thrust of his fingers.

“Now. Fuck me now,” Gordon pleaded, rocking back on

his fingers. “Need you, mate.”

He froze for two seconds, shocked at Gordon’s words. He

didn’t know if the man said it due to the heat of the moment
or what, but he couldn’t deny him. “Yes,” he hissed. He
removed his fingers, lined up his aching shaft, and slammed
home, burying himself balls deep inside Gordon’s tight ass.

Accepting His Animal

Gordon cried out, and Grady froze, thinking he’d been

too rough. But Gordon pushed his ass against him, begging.
“Move. Oh God, please move.”

Grady quickly complied, drawing his cock out until just

the head remained in Gordon’s tight heat before slamming
back forward. He picked up a fast rhythm, jacking his hips
forward in short staccato strokes that pegged Gordon’s
gland every time. Leaning over his mate, Grady reached
down, and was pleased to find Gordon’s shaft hard and
dripping again. He jacked his mate’s cock as he stroked his
own in and out of Gordon’s welcoming body. The man’s
body seemed to suck him greedily back in with each stroke.

As the tingling in his spine heralded his impending

orgasm, he felt his canine descend. The urge to sink his teeth
into Gordon’s neck and mark him as his own nearly
overwhelmed him. He found himself wrapping his jaws
around the point where Gordon’s neck met his shoulder
before he realized what he was doing.

Fighting his beast, Grady managed to release Gordon’s

shoulder and clench his jaw shut just as his orgasm ripped
through him. He growled low in his throat, his body
vibrating. He refused to open his mouth and risk claiming
the man without permission, but each time they came
together, it became harder to control the urge.

Resting his head on Gordon’s back, he felt the shudders

racking his mate’s body and knew the other man had gotten
off again as well. He ran his hands over the man’s chest,
sides, and stomach, loving the feel of the wet skin trembling
under his touch. After a couple moments, the strangle-hold
Gordon’s body had on his dick eased as his mate came down
from his orgasm. He nibbled the skin where his skull met his
spine, eliciting a shiver from Gordon.

“Why?”
Still enjoying his own afterglow, Gordon’s strained

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question didn’t make sense to Grady. “What?” he asked. The
metallic taste of blood filled his mouth, and he realized his
fangs had ripped open the inside of his lips.

“Why didn’t you claim me?”
That certainly wasn’t the question he’d expected, and

neither did he expect the hurt and anger in the other man’s
voice. Damn. He allowed his softening cock to slide from his
mate’s body and Gordon quickly turned to face him. Gordon
lifted a hand and swiped it across the corner of his chin,
holding it up to show the blood.

“You must have not wanted me pretty badly,” he snarled.
Grady’s brows shot up as Gordon reached for the door.

Regaining his senses, he grabbed the man’s arm before he
could get out. He spun him around, forcing Gordon to face
him. “Now hold the fuck on,” he growled, his own ire rising.
Damn, the man sure knew how to jump to conclusions. “I
didn’t claim you because I refuse to do that to you without
asking permission. We hadn’t even talked about it yet. Why
the hell do you think I’d claim you without asking?”

By the time he was done speaking, Grady was practically

shouting. Gordon’s jaw had dropped and the stricken look
on his mate’s face had his heart practically breaking. “You
wouldn’t?” Gordon whispered.

Just what the hell had happened to this man to think that

he’d do something like that without asking? His eyes never
leaving Gordon’s, he reached behind the man and turned off
the now almost cold water. Then he wrapped his arms
around Gordon and pulled him close. Grasping his chin,
Grady forced the man to look him in the eye. The haunted
shadows he saw had Grady wishing he could take away all
the man’s pain.

“Gordon, I would never bind you to me without your

permission. That would be wrong.” He pressed a gentle,
chaste kiss to Gordon’s lips and smiled. “I’ll admit I want to

Accepting His Animal

claim you with every fiber of my being. I want to shout it
from the rooftops that you’re mine.” At Gordon’s shocked
look, he chuckled softly. “You’re an amazing man, Gordon.
Anyone would be honored to have you as a mate.” He grew
serious again. “Now tell me why you thought I’d claim you
without permission.” Dread filled him, thinking he already
knew the answer, but he waited patiently for Gordon to
speak.

Gordon tugged his chin trying to break free, but Grady

persisted. Finally, Gordon whispered, “My mom says Dad
claimed her without permission. He claimed her,
impregnated her, and took off when I was two. I don’t
remember him.”

Grady wondered if he’d really taken off, because the idea

of a shifter willingly leaving his mate was foreign to him.
His look of disbelief must have reflected on his face because
Gordon finally managed to pull his face free and break their
gaze.

“It’s what she said,” he whispered. “I wonder sometimes

if it was the truth though. She lied a lot.”

The inner turmoil he heard in his man’s voice made

Grady’s stomach clench. He pulled his mate tight to him and
tipped his head, rubbing his cheek over Gordon’s neck and
face, trying to comfort the man. “I’m sorry that happened,
Gordon,” he murmured. “But it won’t be like that between
us. I won’t leave you,” he promised.

“What if I leave you?”
The whispered question told Grady so much. Not only

did Gordon worry about Grady’s commitment to him,
Gordon worried about his own ability to commit. He
believed his father walked away from his mate. What was to
stop him from doing the same to Grady? Lifting his head,
Grady pinned a hard stare at Gordon. “I will track you down
and bring you back home. Make no mistake about that. I will

Charlie Richards

not let you leave me.”

A look of intense relief washed over Gordon’s face. No,

Grady would never give up on his man. It wasn’t in his
make-up. This was it for him. Gordon was it.

“Come on. Let’s get dressed. I’m starved, and I’m sure

you could use a cup of tea.”

Accepting His Animal

Chapter Eight

ordon followed Grady to his truck, looking forward to
their breakfast date more than he remembered looking

forward to anything in a long time. After the man popped
the locks, Gordon settled into the passenger seat as Grady
climbed behind the wheel. As he slid the key into the
ignition, the trill of a phone broke the silence.

Frowning at the unfamiliar ring tone, Gordon pulled his

cell out of his pocket. “It’s not mine.” He looked over toward
Grady, his brow lifting in surprise as he watched the
detective pull a thick phone out of his pocket. “I thought you
didn’t have a cell.” He wanted to kick himself at the almost
accusing tone of his voice. He hadn’t meant it that way.

Grady grimaced. “Declan talked me into buying one.

Since these guys aren’t poachers, he wants to be able to get
hold of me whenever. Besides, I should have sucked it up
and gotten one years ago,” he added with a shrug. Frowning
at the still ringing phone, he carefully pushed a button and
held it up to his ear. “Detective Stryker here.”

Gordon couldn’t stop the amusement filling him when he

watched Grady pull the phone away from his ear, stare at it
for a second, and then put it back up to the side of his head.
“Hello?” the tiger asked again. The next time he said it, it
almost came out a growl. “Hello? I can barely hear you.
Speak up.”

After a second, Grady disconnected the call and dropped

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the phone onto the bench seat next to him. “I ought to chuck
it out the window,” he grumbled irritably. The discarded
phone immediately started ringing again.

Before the already angered man could pick up the

offending piece of equipment, Gordon took pity on him and
grabbed the cell. “Detective Stryker’s phone,” he answered.

A very, very faint response came from the unit. “Hold on,

please.” Placing the call on hold, he scrolled through the
various options on the phone until he located the volume.
Just as he’d suspected, it was turned all the way down.
“Why didn’t you pick one that has volume buttons on the
side?” he muttered.

Grady shrugged. “The lady said this one was free with

my contract.”

Gordon fought the urge to roll his eyes. After fixing the

problem, he lifted the phone back to his ear, and said, “Say
that again, please.”

“Is this Gordon?”
Declan’s deep Irish lilt sounded from phone, making

Gordon smile. “Yes, Alpha. Grady just had a little technical
difficulty. Here’s the detective.” He handed the phone back
to his mate with a smirk.

“Smug bastard,” Grady growled without heat, his eyes

dancing merrily. Gordon just grinned. “Hello, Declan.”

Due to his heightened shifter senses, he was able to make

out Declan’s side of the conversation fairly easily. “Good
morning, Grady. Me mate and I need to speak with ye about
the blood samples we took yesterday.”

“Wow. He’s got results already?”
“A few. Enough to raise a few eyebrows if they ever fell

into the hands of someone else. Do ye have time to come
over?”

Grady glanced toward him, silently asking his thoughts.

Gordon shrugged. “Sure. But you owe me and my mate

Accepting His Animal

breakfast.”

A low chuckle sounded from the phone. “Of course. Since

I know he’s already with ye, I’d expect nothing less. Sorry to
interrupt yer plans.”

“Not a problem. I have some things I need to discuss with

you, too. I’ll see you in twenty.” Without saying goodbye,
Grady disconnected the phone and tossed it back to the seat.
He started the truck and grimaced in Gordon’s general
direction. “Sorry, baby. I’ll take a rain check and buy you
breakfast another time.”

Gordon smiled. “Not a problem. What blood samples?”
“We took blood samples from the poacher we caught. I

guess something really is amiss.” Grady frowned. “Damn
humans and their experiments. When I find out who’s
behind these, I’m…”

“Easy, Grady,” Gordon said, resting a hand on his mate’s

leg. He could almost feel the anger radiating from the man’s
body and saw the white knuckled grip he had on the
steering wheel. It seemed an extreme reaction, making him
wonder if there wasn’t more going on.

Before he could ask, Grady turned to him and smiled.

“Sorry, but some humans think that anyone or anything
different doesn’t have rights, and it really pisses me off.”

“I can see that,” he replied. After several minutes of

silence, Gordon glanced at Grady once more. “So, am I
allowed to ask what you need to discuss with Declan? Is it
about the poachers?”

“They’re not poachers,” the detective replied quickly.

“And it doesn’t look like this is the first time these kinds of
experiments have been done.”

Gordon tensed, his hands fisting in his lap. What did

Grady know? He knew he’d gotten a little hot under the
collar at the warehouse, especially when he saw that table.
Memories of being tied down, needles being forced into his

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skin swamped him, making his breath hitch. The fear, the
pain, the helplessness enveloped him.

“Hey, you okay?”
A hand on his arm pulled him back from his morbid

thoughts. “Yeah. Yeah, I’m good.” Damn, he needed a
subject change. “Just still haven’t had my tea yet,” he said,
tossing a forced smile Grady’s way.

Grady chuckled. “We’ll be at Declan’s soon. I’m sure he’ll

have some for you.”

Gordon nodded absently, returning his gaze to the forest

beyond the window. He let silence fall between them,
surprised to find it was fairly companionable and
comfortable. A few minutes later, they bounced down the
long, gravel driveway lined with tall pine trees to pull up in
front of Declan’s large wooden cabin. Gordon smirked,
staring at the building as he slid out of the truck. The place
looked like a huge hunting lodge, and the inside looked
about the same, complete with hardwood floors, wood
furniture, and rustic décor.

Striding up to the house, the door opened before they

reached it. Declan stood in the doorway, looking
thunderously angry. “Come on,” he growled. “Lark is
cooking breakfast.” Then the man turned and disappeared
into the house.

Gordon’s brows shot up. “Damn. I’ve never seen him that

angry.”

“Neither have I,” Grady muttered, leading the way inside.
Gordon frowned, knowing Grady had known the alpha

for seven years. This didn’t bode well. “What the hell do you
think happened?”

Grady shrugged. “Probably something to do with the lab

results.”

“Shit,” he hissed.
Stopping in the dining room, Grady slipped behind him

Accepting His Animal

and wrapped him in his arms. He eased back against him,
enjoying the contact. In silence, they watched Declan take
the plates Lark handed him, the contrast between the short,
five-foot-five blond and the six-foot-three African American
reminded Gordon of Fate’s sense of humor. But the love and
affection showing in both men’s eyes as they kissed lightly
and moved into the dining room told Gordon that Fate
really did know what she was doing.

Lark’s smile appeared tight. “Hey, guys. Thanks for

coming over so early.”

Gordon took the cup of tea the man offered, totally

ignoring the plate of food Lark set in front of him as he took
a small sip of the black liquid from heaven. He moaned in
appreciation of the rich Earl Grey brew. Damn, Lark made
good tea. “Thank you for this,” he muttered before taking
another, larger drink.

He caught Grady’s amused expression, but chose to

ignore it. Grady eased him into a chair, Gordon blissfully
involved with his drink. He hadn’t been lying about not
being able to function without at least two cups in the
morning. After being up for several hours, and yes the sex
was spectacular and he couldn’t wait to do it again, he still
couldn’t wait to enjoy that first cup of soothing wake-up
juice.

After he downed the first drink, Lark quickly replacing it,

Gordon was finally willing to turn his attention to the plate
of bacon, sausage, eggs, and hash browns. He pushed the
meat to the side, not interested in it this early in the
morning, and mixed the eggs and potatoes. He doused them
with ketchup, mixed them up, and started eating.

He caught Grady eyeing his bacon, an inscrutable look on

his face. Catching his eye, he winked at the man. “You want
these, mate?” he whispered.

Grady’s eyes snapped up, desire flaring in his blue eyes.

Charlie Richards

“Hell, yeah,” he all but panted.

Well, damn. He loved that response to calling him mate

and couldn’t wait to do it again. Picking up a slice of cooked
pork, he held it to Grady’s lips. The big man leaned forward
and wrapped his lips around it, taking care to flick his
tongue out and lick Gordon’s fingers. Heat flooded Gordon’s
system, remembering how that tongue felt on his lips, his
chest, his cock…

“Were we that sappy when we first mated?”
Declan’s amused comment reminded Gordon where he

and Grady sat. He flushed, glancing at the two grinning
men. “Sorry,” he muttered.

Lark winked. “Don’t worry about it. We know what it’s

like to explore a newly found mate.”

He glanced sideways to see a blush heating Grady’s skin.

Suddenly the big man reached out a hand, wrapped it
around the nape of Gordon’s neck, and pulled him in for a
scorching kiss. It was over before Gordon could even begin
to respond. “Eat, babe,” Grady commanded after releasing
him.

Once first rounds of food were finished, Grady took a

second plate filled with meat and eggs, while Gordon
enjoyed seconds of hash browns. “So, what had you so
angry when we arrived, Declan?” Grady asked after
swallowing.

The dark man’s brows drew together as he ran a large

hand over his smooth scalp. “Lark was able to get some
preliminary results this morning, telling us that the man’s
DNA has definitely been tampered with. It looks like it’s
been bonded with a shifter’s, but he doesn’t have the
equipment to figure out which kind, or how it was done.”

“The equipment?” Gordon asked, confused. “Doesn’t

Sugar Creek Memorial have everything you need?”

“I can’t work on it there,” Lark admitted. “Doctor Carlyle,

Accepting His Animal

Travis’s father, is the head doctor there. He’s a bigoted ass
who disowned his son after he came out. He knows I’m a
friend of Travis’s, so he keeps an eye on me. I’m not on his
shit list at the moment, since he has a new intern to torture,
but if I try to use the lab there, he’d make sure to find a way
to toss me out in no time.” Grimacing, the small man shook
his head.

Gordon had heard about how Travis’s father had reacted

badly when his son came out of the closet and started dating
Rainy, but he didn’t realize the man would take his anger
out on his son’s friends. Bastard.

Lark started talking again, and Gordon refocused his

attention. “Declan set up a lab in the basement two weeks
ago, filling it with the essentials, but we haven’t been able to
get all the extras yet.”

Taking Lark’s hand, Declan smiled. “After finding out

how much ye enjoy exploring DNA, how could I not indulge
me mate? Especially since yer findings could help shifters.”

Grady lifted a hand, drawing everyone’s attention. “What

about Doctor Carmichael?”

“Ailean? What about him?” Declan asked.
“Well, he’s working at Canton City Hospital. They’re

larger, so they should have everything you need to figure
out what’s been done to this guy. Right, Lark?”

Declan grimaced. “He’s a prejudice ass, but ye’re right. I’ll

give him a call.”

“Prejudice ass?” Gordon murmured. “How so?”
Lark chuckled. “He’s prejudiced against humans. He’s a

cat shifter, and doesn’t like them. I can’t figure out how he
turned into such a good doctor!” When Declan’s eyes
widened, his mate shrugged. “He has a great bedside
manner and really knows his stuff.” Lark turned back to
Gordon. “He treated me once when I got attacked outside a
club. He’s really good.”

Charlie Richards

Possibilities passed quickly through his mind. “Prejudice

could stem from any number of things, the top ones being
upbringing, a perceived threat, or an actual attack. He may
have inherited his feelings for humans from his parents or
other adult figure while growing up, or he could have been
attacked, either mentally or physically, by humans when too
young and inexperienced to defend himself.”

“Then why become a doctor?” Grady asked.
“Control,” Gordon said with a shrug. “He wants control

over humans, so he learns how to heal them…or kill them.”
Seeing everyone staring at him in surprise, he blushed.
“Those are just possibilities. I couldn’t tell you for sure
without meeting the man.”

Lark’s face brightened. “That’s a great idea! We could

have a BBQ.” He turned to Declan. “Find out if he can come
over this afternoon, so I can talk to him about using his lab.
Then we could have Gordon invite the rescued shifters, and
we can get blood samples from everyone at the same time.”

Gordon nodded. It was a good idea. “If Ailean will come,

I’ll convince the shifters still in the area to be here. The fox
sisters have already left. They’d only been in Colorado for a
couple weeks and have already headed back to Idaho where
they were kidnapped. Their family drove down to pick them
up last Tuesday.”

Declan nodded. “I heard from their parents. They wanted

permission to enter me territory. I was happy to grant it.”

A low growl had Gordon whipping his head around to

face his mate. “There are shifters being kidnapped in Idaho
and no one thought to tell me?” he roared. “Where?”

Oh, shit! Why didn’t I think of that? In his defense, it had

happened before he’d met Grady. Gordon rested a hand on
his mate’s arm, trying to soothe him. “I’m sorry, Grady. I
only spoke to them twice, and they left very quickly. They
live in Warm River, south of the Tarhgee National Forest

Accepting His Animal

where they were kidnapped from while on a camping trip.”

Grady let out a slow breath. “I’m sorry. I just found out

yesterday that there used to be a group working in Georgia,
too, but don’t know if it’s still in operation. To find a third
site so soon just…” He closed his eyes and rubbed his
forehead. “It’s frustrating. Someone knows about us, and I’d
really like to find out who and put a stop to these damn
experiments.”

His words made Gordon pale and his heart start beating

faster. Georgia? What did Grady know? Surely it can’t be
connected to me. Gritting his teeth, he pushed the thoughts
away and patted the man’s arm. “We’ll get them,” he
assured. Turning to Declan, he said, “Give Ailean a call.
Let’s see if we can set this up.”

Declan nodded and stepped from the room. Grady stood

as well before pulling Gordon up and into his arms. “I’m
sorry I yelled, baby,” he murmured, burying his face in his
neck. Gordon felt the man let out a long sigh, his warm
breath raising the fine hairs at his nape. Concerned, Gordon
pulled him tight against him, holding his mate. “Now that
I’ve found you, the idea of someone taking you away tears
me apart,” the big man whispered.

“Hey,” Gordon said, gently rubbing Grady’s back. “I’m

right here.”

When Grady pulled away, Gordon knew his confusion

showed on his face. The tiger chuckled. “Sorry, baby.” But
he offered no explanation for his comments.

Before Gordon could even begin to form a question,

Declan reappeared. He settled into his chair and pulled Lark
onto his lap. The small man immediately snuggled close,
nibbling the bottom of Declan’s chin. The alpha wolf grinned
down at Lark. “Miss me?” he teased.

Lark shrugged. “Gordon and Grady are hot together.”
Declan lifted an amused brow, before pecking a kiss onto

Charlie Richards

Lark’s upturned lips. “Behave for a moment, sexy little
man.” His dark eyes fixed on Gordon and said, “Ailean will
be here at four to meet with Lark. I’ll call me beta and
enforcer and explain what’s going on. Gordon, have the
others meet here at five or so, if possible. Does that work for
you?”

Gordon nodded. “I’ll call them and see what I can do.”
Declan grinned at his mate, who’d started nibbling on his

neck again. “Something ye need, baby?”

Grinning impishly, the small blond glanced meaningfully

at the clock. “It sounds like we have some time to kill.”

Laughing, Declan slid a piece of paper across the table to

Grady. “This is instructions to the place Rainy told ye
about.” The large man stood, Lark wrapping his legs around
his waist, happy to be carried by Declan. “Why don’t ye take
Gordon and check it out after making yer calls?”

Gordon chuckled as he watched the pair leave the room.

“I think we’ve just been dismissed,” he muttered as Declan
finally gave his mate the attention Lark had been asking for,
kissing the man he carried and striding from the room.

Grady laughed softly as he picked up the map. “Yup.

Seems that way. I’m going to call Lyle while you contact the
rescued shifters.” Grady winked at him and headed to the
deck.

Pulling out his own phone, Gordon started making his

calls.

Accepting His Animal

Chapter Nine

rady led the way through the forest, following Rainy’s
directions and praying his plan didn’t backfire. Growing

up without a shifter parent or guardian, Gordon had never
learned how to accept his animal. Instead, he’d suppressed
it. The control the doctor must have to keep his beast under
wraps all the time boggled Grady’s mind. He couldn’t
imagine forcing his tiger to stay hidden all the time. If he
never let his animal out, he knew it would pop out at the
worst possible moments.

Grady almost stumbled as his mind reeled. That’s why

the man didn’t get close to anyone. Gordon’s animal must
come out at odd times, making him worry if someone spent
a lot of time with him. He needed a way to get his mate past
the fear he had of his animal. If he needed to be a little
devious to do it, then so be it. It didn’t matter if his mate ran.
Grady vowed he’d follow the man to the ends of the earth
and back again.

Realizing he was practically power walking, he worried

the pace he set may be too much for Gordon and glanced
over his shoulder. Gordon didn’t seem to be having any
trouble keeping up with Grady. Catching his look, Gordon
smiled before his gaze strayed back to the forest around
them, taking in the pine trees and listening to the rustling of
the animals scampering through the underbrush.

Reaching the next scent marker, Grady wrinkled his nose.

Charlie Richards

Gordon bumped him with a shoulder, chuckling. “It’s not
that bad a smell,” Gordon teased.

“Damn wolf piss,” Grady grumbled. “It doesn’t help that

my cat wants to shift and cover the scent.” He smiled when
Gordon laughed at his admission. It was much better than
his mate asking questions about why they were headed to
the clearing. After he’d told his mate that there was possibly
a connection to the shifter poachers, Gordon’s jaw had
tightened and his eyes had narrowed. Until now, the man
hadn’t said another word.

A few moments later, the sound of rushing water reached

his sensitive ears, and he scented moisture building in the
air. Fifteen more minutes of walking had a clearing opening
before them. Long cut trunks littered the massive space, and
dilapidated buildings crumbled around the edges. Sweeping
his gaze over the area, he took in the falling structures and
moss-covered walls. Grady spotted five buildings; two
sheds, a long barracks cabin, and two large machine shops.

The roofs of one of the sheds had caved in and deadwood

lay at odd angles around the small building, probably from
where it had bounced off the shack as it fell from the nearby
trees. The rest of the buildings still had their roofs intact, but
several windows were broken and the doors of the
bunkhouse stood ajar. His detective instincts itched to
explore the insides, wanting to learn more about the people
that left the area behind.

The largest building caught his attention, and through a

gaping doorway, Grady saw a large circular saw attached to
a conveyor belt. A log rested on the belt, still waiting for
someone to throw the switch to the rusted out generator and
cut it. A look over his shoulder showed short ten and fifteen
foot pine trees filling a gap of eight feet wide with fifty foot
pines towering over them on either side. It was then that
Grady realized they’d been hiking up an overgrown logging

Accepting His Animal

road. The deserted feel to the place told him no one but
Rainy had been here in years. Perfect.

Gordon’s panting gasps finally caught his attention, and

Grady turned to stare at Gordon. The man’s pale face
worried him, and Grady lifted a hand to his cheek and
turned his head to face him. The black of his pupils had
widened, dilating his eyes and telling him that the man’s
animal fought for freedom. Damn, how did Rainy know that
this would be the place?

His gaze swept over the clearing again, and this time he

spotted what had seemed to set the man off. A twelve-foot
waterfall cascaded over a cliff at the far end of the clearing,
forming a deep pool thirty feet across and emptying into a
wide stream that the loggers must have used to transport the
cut beams.

Stepping in front of his mate, he cupped Gordon’s cheek

and kissed him gently. He loved the feel of his man’s lips.
“Easy, baby. Just let it go,” he encouraged.

“No,” Gordon murmured.
“Why?” His heart ached at his mate’s almost panicked

look.

The man shook his head. “Can’t let him hurt you,” he

grunted. The skin on his arms rippled as he fought his shift.

Frustration filled Grady. How could he get the man to

accept his animal if he wouldn’t shift? An idea formed and
he smiled. Gordon just needed to relax. Latching onto his
mate’s lips, he kissed him deeply, exploring his mouth.
Breaking the kiss slowly, he nibbled on his lips for a second
before sucking Gordon’s lower lip. He released it with a soft
pop and began working down the man’s jaw.

Gordon’s deep groan encouraged him, and he began

unbuttoning the man’s shirt. “You would never hurt me, my
mate,” he whispered against Gordon’s skin, punctuating
each word with a kiss on each inch of newly exposed flesh.

Charlie Richards

He worked his way down the man’s chest, flicking his
tongue over his mate’s nipple before nipping it.

A shudder of a different sort worked through Gordon,

much to Grady’s satisfaction. He worked the man’s shirt off
his shoulders, letting it drop to the ground as he kissed his
way to Gordon’s other nipple, giving the puckered flesh the
same treatment. Releasing the reddened nub, he dropped to
his knees and opened Gordon’s pants. He quickly worked
off Gordon’s remaining clothes and shoes, leaving his
panting mate gloriously naked in the late morning sun. He
licked and kissed his mate’s thighs, enjoying the man’s skin,
and loving the taste.

“You must stop,” Gordon whimpered, his hands

clenching and unclenching on Grady’s shoulders. Gordon’s
words said no, but his body screamed yes. The man
wrapped his hands around Grady’s skull, pulling him closer
to his jutting cock.

“No, baby,” he whispered. “You need this.”
Before Gordon could object again, he swallowed the

man’s erection. Gordon moaned loudly, his enjoyment clear
as he rocked his hips forward, pushing his shaft further past
Grady’s lips. Grady let him move freely, tightening his lips
to create deep suction as Gordon thrust in and out of his
mouth. He swirled his tongue over the sensitive cap,
dipping his tongue into the small slit at his head. A groan
echoed through the clearing, telling of Gordon’s enjoyment.
Grady stiffened his tongue, stroking along the throbbing
vein running the length of Gordon’s cock. Next he massaged
the glans beneath the cap.

His mate continued to whimper, his body shuddering and

his thrusts becoming erratic. Knowing he was close, Grady
doubled his efforts with his mouth while he reached up and
massaged Gordon’s balls, rolling them in his palm. Gordon
stiffened and let out a roar, his cock pulsing in Grady’s

Accepting His Animal

mouth. Grady sucked down stream after stream of warm,
salty seed, relishing his mate’s musky essence. He suckled
gently until Gordon’s cock softened. Letting it slide from
between his lips, he licked the remaining traces from
Gordon’s body.

Gordon’s trembling legs gave out and he dropped to his

knees in front of Grady. “Please,” he whispered. “Don’t let
me hurt you.”

Grady leaned forward, capturing Gordon’s lips for a brief

kiss. “You won’t. Everything will be fine,” he promised.

The other man grimaced before nodding, an agonized

look on his face as his body shuddered and his skin rippled.
Grady knew the look wasn’t from pain, but from fear, as his
now relaxed mate could hold back the shift no longer. He
gave Gordon’s lips a quick kiss before standing and stepping
away from Gordon, instinctively giving the man room. He
quickly stripped as he watched Gordon release his animal,
wanting to be ready to shift immediately if needed.

Gordon’s skin darkened to a slate gray, thickening and

hardening. His legs lengthened and bulged. A tail jutted
from his butt, and something longer and thicker grew from
his now massive head. Slowly, the head tilted and one large
black eye focused on him. “My God, Gordon,” Grady
murmured. His eyes widened for a split second as he
realized what stood in front of him, an Asian Elephant.

The animal lowered his head, lifted its trunk, and let out a

thundering bugle. Glad he hadn’t been in cat form or his
eardrums may have been burst, he grinned and lifted a
hand. “You’re magnificent, baby. Absolutely magnificent.”

Seeing the wariness in his mate’s eyes, he held out a hand

and stepped forward slowly. The elephant lifted its trunk
again, this time sliding it across Grady’s palm. It moved up
his arm to his chest. Grady stepped closer, careful to remain
between the long, three foot tusks, and ran his hands over

Charlie Richards

the elephant’s massive head, loving the texture under his
fingers as much as he enjoyed the feeling of his mate’s touch,
even in this form.

It wasn’t until he felt the flexible prehensile tip of

Gordon’s trunk wrap around his naked cock that he realized
what had the animal’s attention. Jumping backward, he
chuckled in surprise. “Hey now. That’s for later, handsome.”

The creature grunted softly and bumped him with his

head. “Okay, okay. Go play and I’ll be right there.”

Grady moved off, and let his tiger out, his body flowing

seamlessly through his shift. Seconds later, a five hundred
pound Bengal tiger watched the elephant lift a large beam of
wood with his trunk and toss it across the clearing. He sat
watching Gordon traipse around the clearing, flinging logs
and knocking over small trees. If he could have chuckled in
cat form, he would have. Gordon looked like he was having
a blast. Jumping forward, he joined his mate to romp around
the clearing.

Thirty minutes later, Gordon headed for the water. Never

more grateful than now that he was a tiger shifter and not a
lion shifter, Grady padded after him. Tigers enjoyed playing
in water, and he quickly joined his mate in the lake for a
refreshing swim. He paddled around the elephant, using a
big paw to splash the larger animal.

The elephant bugled softly, splashing him back with his

trunk. Grady hissed at his mate, but there was no heat
behind it, and they both knew it. Swimming close, he
sheathed his claws and climbed onto his mate’s broad back.
He leaned over the side and chuffed loudly, staring down
into one of Gordon’s large eyes.

The elephant turned its head, staring right back at him.

He dipped his trunk into the lake before lifting it over his
head and spraying his own back, dousing the cat in the

Accepting His Animal

process. Grady couldn’t stop the indignant yowl at the
unexpected shower, and he nearly lost his footing when
Gordon started to move. His mate grunted softly several
times as he headed deeper into the pool.

Grady held on until he realized where his mate headed

and jumped back into the water and swam to shore.
Flopping down on a log, he stretched out to sun while he
watched his mate shower under the waterfall.

His fur was dry by the time the elephant made his way

out of the water. Gordon stopped beside him and Grady
watched his skin ripple, heralding his shift. The man quickly
shrank, muscle and bone rearranged, and tendons popped.
Seconds later, his sexy mate stood naked before him.

Gordon knelt by the log and buried his hands in Grady’s

fur. He purred loudly, loving the feel of his mate’s hands on
him, regardless of the form. Gordon leaned close and
whispered, “Shift back, mate. We have things to discuss.”

A tremor of anticipation went through him, and he

quickly let the shift flow through him. Seconds later, he
rolled to his back in human form and leered at his naked
mate. “What do you want to talk about, sexy?”

Prowling forward, Gordon straddled his hips and leaned

over him, his face inches from Grady’s. He smiled at him.
“Us.”

“Yeah?”
“Oh, yeah.” A look of doubt crossed the man’s face. “If

you still want me after what I have to say, that is.”

Dropping his legs to either side of the log, he sat up and

wrapped his arms around Gordon’s back. “There is nothing
you could tell me that would make me want or care for you
any less, Gordon.”

He saw Gordon’s eyes fill with disbelief. “What if I told

you I killed people?” he whispered, no longer able to meet
his gaze.

Charlie Richards

“I’ve killed people, too,” Grady admitted in an attempt to

reassure the man.

“This is different,” Gordon insisted, his eyes snapping to

Grady’s as he gripped his shoulders.

The skin on skin touch made it hard to focus on talking,

but Grady forced himself to listen. He knew whatever his
mate was going to say, it was important to the man, and he
had a pretty good idea he knew what it was about, too,
Gordon’s time in the Georgia clinic.

“I’ve never been in the military, and I’m not a cop,”

Gordon whispered.

Grady pulled one hand from Gordon’s waist and thrust

his fingers into the man’s long wet hair, holding his head
still and forcing him to meet his gaze. “Were they
threatening you? Hurting you? Hurting someone you care
about?” A pained look entered his mate’s eyes and Grady let
out a slow breath, hoping his next words wouldn’t undo
everything he’d worked for. “This has to do with how you
know so much about experiments on shifters, doesn’t it?”

His mate tried to rise, but Grady tightened his hold,

refusing to allow the man to escape. “Gordon, I love you.”
He saw Gordon’s eyes widen in shock, but pressed on,
knowing the man needed to hear it. “I know I’ve only
known you a few days, but I love you. I love your desire to
help others. I love your loyalty to clients. I love your
protectiveness of me.” He grinned. “Yes, I know that’s part
of why you didn’t want to reveal your animal to me. You
were worried your elephant would hurt me. I’m flattered.”

Kissing him quickly, he went on. “Tell me what you think

is so horrible, and I will tell you how much I love you
anyway,” he vowed.

The pain and disbelief filling his mate’s eyes broke his

heart, but he held steady. Finally, Gordon whispered. “Yes, I
was experimented on. I was fifteen when my mother sold

Accepting His Animal

me to the scientists. I didn’t know it at the time, of course. I
thought I’d been kidnapped, but I found it out later. I was
kept in a cage for nearly three years before one of the human
scientists fucked up my sedatives and I gathered enough
strength to break out. I killed six men to escape.” Gordon’s
black eyes held a bleakness Grady had never seen in a
shifter. “If my own mother didn’t love me, how can you?”

“Let me claim you,” Grady whispered. Damn, that hadn’t

been what he’d planned to say! But by the shock and hope in
Gordon’s eyes, it was the right thing. “Let me prove to you
how much I want you, baby. I need you more than my next
breath.”

Gordon groaned, his eyes closing as he rocked their

groins together, making Grady’s semi-erect shaft fill almost
instantly. “Take me, Grady.” Black eyes filled with lust and
need snapped open and stared hard into Grady’s, making
him shiver with desire. “Make me yours, my mate.”

A low growl erupted from his throat, and he pushed

Gordon from his lap. His mate landed on his knees, a
surprised look on his face, but Grady didn’t leave him alone
for long. He swung off his perch, because there was no way
he was having sex on a log, even if the bark had been
stripped off. He put a hand between Gordon’s shoulder
blades and shoved him down. He knelt behind his mate,
pushing his thighs wider with his knees, and rocked his
hard leaking cock along the crack of Gordon’s ass. “Is this
what you want, mate? Me to take you? Claim you as my
own?”

“Yesss,” Gordon hissed, rocking back against him.
It was then he realized his pants were on the other side of

the clearing, along with the lube. Fuck! He started to rise, but
Gordon reached back and grasped his hip. “No, don’t leave
me. Take me now.”

He heard the worry and panic in his mate’s voice and bit

Charlie Richards

back a groan. “I don’t want to hurt you,” he admitted. He
may be a dominant SOB, but he didn’t want to injure his
mate.

“You won’t. I like the burn, remember?” Gordon looked

over his shoulder at him, lust and need filling his gaze and
he rocked back against Grady’s aching shaft. “I don’t need
the lube.”

Giving in, Grady returned his hand to Gordon’s back and

shoved him forward. He gripped Gordon’s hip tightly,
knowing he’d probably end up with bruises, and damn if
that didn’t excite him even more. His cock bobbed in
anticipation, slapping his stomach and smearing pre-cum as
he bent over and nipped his mate’s right cheek.

Gordon groaned and rocked his ass back into Grady’s

face. Using his free hand, he separated Gordon’s ass cheeks.
Lowering his head, he swiped his tongue across the
puckered flesh of his mate’s star. His musky scent, combined
with dark flavors unique to Gordon, flooded his senses,
spurring him on, and he ran his tongue lovingly over the
entrance again. Gordon shuddered beneath him, groaning
his name. He smiled, reveling in the sounds Gordon made.
Stiffening his tongue, he slid it past the first ring of muscle,
liberally coating the man’s sphincter with his spit as he
tongue fucked his mate.

Moans and whimpers filled the clearing as Gordon rocked

back into each thrust of Grady’s tongue. A litany of “More,
god more,” and “Please, Grady. Now, my mate,” was music
to Grady’s ears. His cock throbbed between his legs,
reminding him that he couldn’t wait much longer.

Pulling back, he heard Gordon mewl in protest as he spit

into his hand and lubed up his cock. Fire shot through his
system at his own touch, and he had to grip his base tightly
to keep from shooting right then. He rubbed a hand up and
down his mate’s spine, assuring him that he was still there,

Accepting His Animal

as he regained a modicum of control. “Easy, baby,” he
whispered, leaning over the trembling man and guiding his
cock to Gordon’s entrance. “Push out for me,” he
commanded.

To his surprise, a low growl came from his mate and

Gordon shoved backward. Gordon’s greedy hole swallowed
Grady’s cock, eliciting a howl of pleasure from Grady as hot
heat massaged his dick, overshadowing Gordon’s low
groans of delight.

Not willing to allow his mate the role of dominance,

Grady wrapped one arm around Gordon’s chest and pulled
them both to their knees, Gordon’s back flush to Grady’s
chest. The other hand dropped to his mate’s waist and
pulled him closer. He used his knees to spread Grady’s legs
a little wider, allowing him to slide a bit deeper into
Gordon’s ass. He held the man there, not moving, thrilling in
the hot, rippling confines swallowing his dick.

Gordon whimpered, trying to move in his grip, but the

position had removed Gordon’s leverage. “Please.”

That one word was all Grady needed. His canines

lengthened as he slid his cock halfway out of Gordon’s tight
passage before he slammed back inside. He jacked his hips
forward and back in a swift rhythm, like a piston in an
engine, taking what he needed. The grunts and gasps from
Gordon told him he pleased his mate just as much, hitting
his prostate with every thrust.

He dropped his hand to his mate’s jutting cock, wrapping

his fist around it tightly. “Come for me, mate,” he ordered.

Gordon jerked in his arms, his body obeying his

command. Cum spurted over his hand and the ground as
Gordon cried out. Grady felt the muscles of his mate’s
rectum clench down on his cock, holding him tight. Leaning
forward, he sank his canines into his mate’s neck. Gordon
screamed, his body shuddering as another orgasm hit him

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without warning. Grady held him tight as blood flowed over
his tongue. The taste of his mate flooded his senses, and
Grady groaned low in his throat as he drank it down
greedily. Three thrusts later, his own orgasm overwhelmed
him. His cockhead swelled, flooding his mate’s rectum with
burst after burst of seed. Lifting his head, Grady roared his
release, the sound echoing through the forest.

Minutes later, his orgasm began to ebb. He buried his face

in his mate’s neck and growled, “Mine.”

Much to his satisfaction, Gordon let out a sigh of

contentment followed by, “Yes, yours. As you are mine.”

A smile creased Grady’s features, and he kissed the back

of Gordon’s neck. “Hell, yes.”

Accepting His Animal

Chapter Ten

alking into the clearing behind the alpha’s house,
Gordon took in the figures on the deck. Declan

sprawled across a lounge chair with Lark curled up in his
lap. He wondered if he and Grady would ever be like that.
No sooner had the thought popped into his head than Grady
wrapped an arm around his shoulders and pulled him close.

“Let’s go find a chair. I want to hold you.”
Gordon smiled over at him. “Sounds good.”
The pair made their way to the deck. Lark grinned up at

them. “Hey! Welcome back, guys. Can I get you a drink?”

He waved the man’s offer away as Lark started to rise.

“Stay put, Lark. I’ll get something for us.” Gordon glanced
at the others. “Anyone need anything?”

The man he pegged as a cat shifter, cougar or panther

maybe, lifted a nearly empty beer bottle. “If you wouldn’t
mind?”

Declan grinned and waved at the man. “Gordon and

Grady, meet Doctor Ailean Carmichael. He’s agreed to help
us.”

“Excellent. I’ll be right back out with that beer. Excuse

me.” He gave Grady a quick kiss before slipping through the
sliding doors and into the kitchen. He’d seen the intrigued
look on the doctor’s face, and knew what it meant. The man
had been scenting him, trying to figure him out. He grinned,
realizing the idea of Ailean knowing what he was didn’t

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bother him nearly as much as it would have in the past.
Opening the refrigerator, he spotted the beer. He pulled
several out and headed back to the deck.

After handing one to Ailean, he felt two strong arms pull

him down on the nearby chair. He settled between Grady’s
open legs, his back to his mate’s chest, and handed the man
a beer. “Thanks, handsome,” Grady murmured, kissing the
mating mark he’d left on the top of Gordon’s shoulder.

Declan chuckled. “It smells like congratulations are in

order.” Gordon fought back a blush, but didn’t think he’d
succeeded by the grin on the alpha’s face. “I’m happy for ye
both.”

“Thank you,” Grady answered immediately before

leaning forward and pressing another kiss to the back of
Gordon’s neck.

Gordon fought back a shiver and nodded his thanks as

well. It was then that he realized Ailean hadn’t taken his
stare off him. Grady must have noticed it as well, for he
growled, “Got a problem, Doctor?”

Ailean’s gaze snapped to Grady before he smirked. “No.

Of course not. Sorry. I’m just trying to determine your
mate’s scent. I’ve never smelled anything like him.”

To his surprise, amusement filled Gordon instead of

irritation. He glanced around at the others seated on the
deck, knowing they had his back. It was a heady feeling to
know he’d been accepted by these men. It made accepting
his animal so much easier. He grinned at Doctor Carmichael.
“And I doubt you will again. I’ve never met any like me
either,” he admitted.

The man lifted a brow. “Really! I’d be interested in

hearing more. Would it help if I told you I’m a black
panther?”

Gordon cocked his head, staring in amazement. He knew

most panther shifters considered blacks an anomaly, and

Accepting His Animal

ostracized them from family gatherings. They didn’t have
close-knit groups like lions, but panthers still made certain
they all had someone to go to if they needed help or
sanctuary. A black panther wasn’t afforded those luxuries.
To tell him, Ailean either considered Declan a close enough
friend to back him, or had enough money to buy personal
security and didn’t need other shifter’s approval. Knowing
Declan, it was probably the former.

Smiling, he relaxed against Grady and said, “I’m an

elephant. Asian to be exact.”

Ailean’s eyes widened. “Really? I thought they were

extinct!”

His face paled. “Extinct? I know I’d never met another of

my kind, but surely I’m not the last! I just thought they were
overseas!”

“Easy, baby,” Grady soothed. “Just because we’ve not

seen any other elephant shifter in centuries, it doesn’t mean
you’re the last. Once we’ve figured out things with these
humans and they’re experiments, then we’ll search for them,
okay?”

Calming at his mate’s soft words and hands caressing his

back, Gordon nodded. “Thank you.”

“Anything for you, baby,” the big detective murmured.
“We all will,” Lark stated firmly from Declan’s lap. “But

first, we need to get ready for our guests. Did you get hold
of everyone?”

Gordon nodded and glanced at his watch. “They should

be here in less than thirty minutes.”

Declan rose, easily lifting his small mate and setting Lark

on his feet. “Well, then. Ye and Ailean get together
everything ye need from yer lab, and the rest of us will start
working on supper. Sound good?”

Everyone nodded and got to work.

Charlie Richards

Todd and Phillip lounged on chairs next to each other.

Gordon spied Grady standing nearby talking to the brothers
and he headed that way. He eyed the pale green wraps
around both men’s arms, indicating where blood had been
drawn. “Hope that didn’t hurt too much,” he said. He’d
been worried Todd would flip out when one of the doctors
got near him with a needle, but with the support of his
younger brother, the man managed to get through it with
only a small amount of distress.

Phillip glanced at his brother before shrugging. “Not bad.

It’ll be fine in a few minutes.”

His gaze shifted to Todd. “I’m proud of you, cub,” he said

softly.

Todd beamed. “I’m glad to help.”
Nodding, Gordon looked around the clearing. The elk

grazed nearby, a green bandage around one foreleg. “Have
you seen Robbie yet?”

Grady shook his head. “No. Travis arrived a few minutes

ago. He said Robbie’s expected home around six and he and
Rainy will both be here after that.”

He lifted a wrist and stared at his watch. “It’s already five

thirty. Why didn’t Travis just wait?”

“I was hungry.” The man in question plopped onto a

chair next to them and grinned, settling a plate on his lap
holding a huge T-bone steak with a pile of fries on the side.
They all laughed.

Gordon rose. “Those fries look good. I think I’ll get

some.” He stepped over to his lover and gave him a soft kiss.
“Do you want anything, stud?”

Giving Gordon a heated smile that went straight to his

balls, Grady kissed him again. “I could definitely use some
meat,” he growled.

He chuckled self-consciously, his cock jerking in his jeans.

“Behave,” he groaned.

Accepting His Animal

“Not likely,” Grady whispered in his ear before licking

the curve and sucking lightly on the skin just behind it.

Moaning, Gordon eased out of Grady’s arms. “I’ll bring

you a steak.” He turned away from his mate before the tiger
shifter did something to make him cream his boxers.

A few moments later he carried two plates back to the

lounge chairs, one piled with salad, fries, and a small steak,
while a twenty ounce rib-eye dominated the second plate
with a few fries tossed on top. He handed the latter to
Grady, who took it and gave him a quick, appreciative kiss.

Halfway through his plate of food, Grady’s cell phone

rang. Gordon popped a fry into his mouth as his mate
answered. “Stryker here.”

“Grady! Thank God. I tried Alpha and Gordon, but

neither are answering. It’s Robbie. He got home five minutes
ago. I told him about the poachers and the BBQ and he
freaked.” Gordon could hear Rainy’s voice as the worried
man nearly yelled into the phone. He pulled his phone from
his pocket and realized it was dead.

“Take a deep breath,” Grady said, interrupting the wolf.

“Where is Robbie now?”

A heavy sigh sounded over the phone. “He shifted and

took off! I think he’s headed toward the warehouse.”

“Easy, Rainy. This isn’t your fault,” Grady soothed. “We

have the guy in custody, so the woods are fine. I’m sure he
just needs to blow off some steam.”

“Damn, I hope so. Maybe I shouldn’t have said anything

until we got to Declan’s.”

Grady’s phone chirped, and he jerked it away from his

head and stared at it. “What’s that mean?” he asked, turning
to Gordon.

Gordon took the phone and realized he had another

incoming call. “You’re getting a call from your partner.
Want me to swap them?” Grady nodded, and Gordon held

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the phone to his ear. “Rainy, this is Gordon. Lyle’s calling
Grady. I need to answer it.”

“Okay. I’ll see ye all in a few. I’m on me way over.”
Gordon signed off and then answered the second call

before handing the phone back to Grady. “You’re going to
have to learn how to do that, Grady,” he chuckled.

Grady grinned. “Why? I got you?” Before Gordon could

come up with a quick remark, Grady lifted the phone to his
ear. “Stryker here.”

“We’ve got a problem. Harry escaped.”
“Fuck!” Grady roared. “How the hell did that happen?”
“An officer took him out of his cell for his one phone call.

On their way back to the cell, Harry overpowered him and
escaped.”

“I’m on my way,” Grady said.
“No. Officer Sandy already woke. He’ll be fine, but he

said Harry’s phone call was local.”

“Local?”
“Yeah.”
Realization dawned on Grady. “There are more in the

area,” he said slowly. His eyes widened. “Shit. Trace that
call. I’ve got to go.” After an affirmative response from Lyle,
Grady turned to Gordon. “There are more of them.”

He grimaced, nodding. His gaze swept over a trembling

Todd who now rested in his brother’s arms. “I heard.”

Declan stepped onto the porch. “What’s going on?”
“The guy we caught escaped, plus there are more of them

in town,” Grady told him. “And Robbie’s out running.”

Gordon scowled, stepping off the porch. “I’ve got to find

him. If he’s caught again…”

Grady dropped a hand on his shoulder, stopping his

words. “I know. I’ll go with you. Rainy thought he was
heading to the poacher’s warehouse.”

He nodded, heading toward the door. Declan stepped

Accepting His Animal

aside, letting him pass, and he spun to look at the alpha. The
large man’s grim expression swept over those on the deck.
“Me place is here, Gordon. Me mate and pack are here. Sara
will be home in twenty minutes. They need me protection.”

Gordon nodded. “I understand. Call me if he turns up

here.”

“Permission to go, Alpha,” Carson asked, stepping onto

the deck. Shane followed, but didn’t say anything. Gordon
figured it was because his place was at the alpha’s side.

Declan nodded. “Granted. Keep me posted.”
“Yes, Alpha.”
“I’ll go with you, too.” Doctor Carmichael rose from his

chair, downed the last of his beer, and followed Grady
toward him. “I’d like to see this place anyway.”

“Thank you,” Gordon said. He glanced around the area

and frowned. “Where’s the elk?”

Grady followed his gaze, sweeping the empty area. “Shit.

She’s gone after her mate.”

Charlie Richards

Chapter Eleven

t took twenty minutes to reach the opening of the trail.
Twenty minutes of glancing between the road and his

phone, but Grady heard nothing from his partner. Reaching
the trailhead, he, Gordon, Ailean, and Carson piled out of
his pick-up. Without a word, they started jogging down the
trail.

Thirty minutes in, they smelled it. Blood. Grady’s tiger

growled in warning, and he knew what it was trying to tell
him. “We have company,” he whispered.

Carson nodded, having smelled it, too.
“How many?” Ailean asked.
“Two,” Grady replied.
“Lemongrass is back,” Gordon murmured, scenting the

wind. “And someone I don’t recognize.”

“Lemongrass?” Carson asked curiously.
“He was here a couple days ago with the human I tossed

on the roof.”

Grady slowed to a prowl and glanced at his mate in

surprise. “There were three that day?”

Gordon nodded. “Yeah. I recognized lemongrass, cedar,

and then Harry smells kinda like burnt grass.”

Nearly stumbling in surprise, Grady whipped his head

around. “And you didn’t say anything?”

His mate stopped and frowned. “I thought you knew.”
He shook his head. “Sorry, babe,” he said, pulling him

Accepting His Animal

close and kissing him to remove the worried lines around
his mouth. “I don’t remember anything after walking out of
the back room. I don’t even remember walking outside.”

“Damn. I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”
He started walking again, tugging Gordon behind him.

“Don’t worry about it. We all know now.” He glanced at the
others, who were busy scanning the trees all around them,
watching their backs. “Okay. We could have two men out
here somewhere. This guy who smells like lemongrass and
Harry, who smells like burnt grass.”

“I only smell the lemongrass,” Ailean hissed. “And the

blood scent.”

Carson caught Grady’s eye and nodded his agreement.
“Keep an eye out everyone. If you’re hit with a dart, it’ll

take you down,” Grady warned.

After an acknowledgement from everyone, they started

moving swiftly. Suddenly, Carson stopped, holding up a
hand. “He’s that way,” the wolf growled, pointing to the left.

Grady nodded. “Let’s take this bastard down,” he said,

whipping his shirt over his head.

“Uh, don’t you want to arrest him?” Ailean asked mildly.
Reaching for the button of his jeans, he shook his head.

“I’d like to take him alive, but I’m not a detective today.” He
glanced around the group as he shucked his jeans. “Today
I’m a shifter, and they’ve declared war on us,” he growled,
rage filling him at those who’d injure others for no other
reason than that they’re different.

Carson stripped as well. “I’ve got your back. Let’s hope

we don’t have to kill him.” A feral look crossed the Native
American’s face. “I’d love to question him.”

Grady’s brows lifted, but he didn’t comment. Instead he

turned to Ailean and his mate, who were staring at them
solemnly. Gordon shook his head. “I’m no good to you
shifted, Grady. I won’t even fit through the trees.”

Charlie Richards

“I’ll stay with him,” Ailean said. “We’ll find the source of

the blood.”

Grady nodded. Stepping forward, he took his mate’s lips

in a heated kiss. “Be careful,” he whispered.

“The same to you, stud,” Gordon murmured back.
Grady smiled. “I will. I have something to live for now.

I’ll be fine.”

Giving him one more quick kiss, Grady stepped back.

Gordon and Ailean began moving away, continuing to
follow the trail. From the corner of his eye, he spotted
Carson already shifting and followed suit. Fur rippled under
his skin and sprouted. He dropped to his hands and knees as
his limbs cracked and popped, reforming underneath him.
His tailbone lengthened. His head squeezed and shifted, his
ears and eyes changing position, his jaw lengthening and
reforming. Seconds later, he and Carson left their clothes
behind and loped into the forest.

Ten minutes later, the lemongrass scent seemed to divide

and they realized the human must have been all over the
forest. He’d moved in concentric circles, like a search
pattern, and Grady wondered what he’d been looking for.

Carson pointed his snout off to the side, asking if he

wanted to split up. Grady shook his head, unwilling to
separate until they knew where their prey hid. They scented
over the tracks, decided on the freshest, and kept moving.

A few minutes later, a crack rang through the forest,

making them pause. Grady and Carson exchanged a look,
and then took off in the direction of the gunshot. Nearing the
clearing’s edge, they slowed and began to circle the area.
They spotted the human lying on his belly, quickly
reloading a rifle.

An angry bugle sounded through the forest and Grady’s

heart stopped. He froze and listened.

“Gordon, no!”

Accepting His Animal

Ailean’s voice cutting through the silence spurred him

into action. He spotted Carson already creeping up on the
poacher and focused on his own approach. He wasn’t close
enough to do anything when the man picked up a dart gun
and fired it into the clearing. He couldn’t stop his snarl as he
charged. The poacher rolled to his back, grabbed a second
dart gun and fired. He watched Carson drop in front of him.
Grady leaped over the enforcer’s body and attacked. The
reflection of sun hit metal as the human pulled a large
hunting knife.

* * * *

Gordon hated leaving his mate’s side, but knew he could do
nothing to help the tiger. He couldn’t prowl the forest and
hunt with him. His animal wasn’t designed for that. So he
jogged behind the doctor, following the scent of blood.

His gaze swept the area, but could see nothing but trees.

Even the tiger and wolf had disappeared. They paused on
the edge of the clearing, both searching. A soft whimper and
movement drew their gaze away from the trees to a tawny
form near the squat building the humans had used to house
the animals.

“Robbie,” Gordon whispered. He looked at Ailean. “It’s a

trap, isn’t it?”

The other shifter growled angrily. “Yup.” Then he turned

to look at Gordon. “I have to help him, trap or not. You don’t
have to come.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Gordon returned. “If you’re shot,

they’ll be no one to help him. I’ll cover you.”

“Thanks,” Ailean replied, relief evident on his face. When

he started unbuttoning his shirt, the jaguar grimaced. “Shit,
Grady’s going to kill me if something happens to you.”

Gordon gave him a cocky grin he didn’t feel. “I’m a pretty

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100

big animal, Doc. It’ll take a hell of a lot to take me down.”

“Not if they just shoot your ass,” he grumbled.
“This is a trap, remember?” Gordon replied, stripping his

slacks. “They want us alive.”

Ailean just frowned and grabbed his clothes as Gordon

started to shift. A moment later, a huge elephant followed
the doctor across the clearing. When they reached Robbie,
the cat hissed and tried to rise.

“Easy, Robbie,” Ailean crooned, setting his bag down.

“We’re here to help. I’m Ailean Carmichael and you know
Gordon. I’m a doctor. Once I have you patched up, we can
have Gordon carry you out of here. How does that sound?”

The cat eyed them both, but finally quieted. Gordon

settled his bulk to the ground, keeping himself between the
cats and most of the tree line. He eyed the forest, but saw
nothing. He didn’t even know if the human was near. All he
could smell was the blood oozing out of Robbie’s side, so the
human could be anywhere.

He moved his head to watch Ailean and the crack of a

rifle broke the silence. Pain erupted through his leg and he
bellowed. He swung toward the source of the shot and rose,
intending to find the bastard who’d shot him.

“Gordon, no!” Ailean shouted behind him. He turned to

look and saw a fresh bloom of blood on the cougar’s
backside. Shock filled him. The rifle had been powerful
enough to go completely through his leg and hit the cougar.
One shot he could probably live through, but two?

The prick of a dart hit his flank. He grunted in irritation,

and moved back toward Ailean. He couldn’t let the doctor
get tranked. He’d shift and pass out.

The bounding form of an elk crossed the clearing, her

green bandage flashing as she traversed the area and
stopped next to the doctor and the cougar.

Ailean jerked his head up to look at her. “You! Good. I

Accepting His Animal

101

need a pair of hands to hold this bandage in place so I can
wrap it.”

When she did nothing but stare at him, the jaguar

growled. “Shift, damn it! Do you want your mate to die?”

To Gordon’s shock, the elk form melted away, revealing a

too slender woman with raven hair, brown eyes, small
breasts, and long legs. She dropped to her knees and
replaced Ailean’s hands on Robbie’s side. The animal
immediately began to purr, and he watched her smile.

A wave of dizziness hit him and Gordon had to focus on

his breathing. He couldn’t move around and keep his
adrenaline up like he had last time, so the tranquilizer was
hitting him much faster. Or they’d upped the dosage.
Snarling and snapping sounded from the bushes, and relief
mixed with worry filled him. Grady had located the human.
He prayed Carson would watch his mate’s back.

Fear filled him as a yowl echoed through the forest. He

started moving again, but his bleeding leg buckled, the
drugs and blood loss having taken its toll. Gordon groaned,
his massive body shaking the ground when he landed.

“Shit! Gordon?”
He heard Carmichael calling his name, but could barely

lift his head to look at him. He noticed the woman now wore
his shirt, Robbie had several bandages wrapped around his
body, and the doctor was headed his way. Hands on his
head had him jerking, squealing angrily when he could
hardly lift his trunk.

“Easy, babe,” Grady’s soft voice filled his head.
Gordon let out a low moan as his mate’s hands slid over

his stubbly skin.

“Everything will be fine.”
“The poachers?” Carmichael asked, already kneeling next

to Gordon.

“Lemongrass is dead. I can’t find any trace that burnt

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102

grass is still in the area,” Grady replied while stroking
Gordon’s trunk gently.

His body shuddered, but this time it wasn’t from lust. He

could feel the chemical in his veins begin to burn. Shit, they
must have hit me with a concentrated dose. Summoning the last
of his strength, Gordon initiated a shift. Pain tore through
his system and, as soon as he had the ability, he screamed.

“Gordon,” Grady called, trying to break through the wall

of pain flooding his senses. “Gordon, what is it?”

He took in a shuddering breath and managed to unclench

his jaw. “Overdose.”

Blackness overtook him.

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103

Epilogue

ey! How are you feeling?”

The voice roused him from a doze, and Gordon

grinned up at Todd from where he stood next to the chair.
“I’m doing okay. The doc says I’ll be able to take the cast off
tomorrow.”

He held up his right arm and the cast that had held

together his shattered bones for the last two days. God bless
a shifter’s accelerated healing ability. He didn’t know how
humans tolerated the bulky, itchy contraptions for eight
weeks or more. Having his arm bound from shoulder to
fingertips already drove him nuts.

The bones had been cracked by the bullet passing

between his radius and ulna, and him moving on it had
shattered it the rest of the way. Passing out from the
overdose of modified tranquilizer had actually been a
blessing.

Cocking his head, Gordon looked around. “Is Grady

home? I didn’t hear him walk in.”

Todd shook his head, blushing. “No. I knew you were

home. I could smell you, but you didn’t answer when I
knocked. I used your doggie door.”

The small man’s blush intensified when Gordon laughed.

“Well, at least it’s in the back door,” he finally got out. “No
sense showing your cute ass to the neighbors.”

While he’d been laid up, Grady had gone through his

“H

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104

paperwork and found the sale papers for the home he’d
chosen. At first he’d been angry the man had gone through
his things without asking. Grady had patiently waited for
him to stop yelling, then he’d explained the realtor had
called his phone and told him that Gordon’s papers had
been filed with the banks and courts. The house was
officially his.

Grady had used a few favors he’d picked up from other

law officers to get the keys released to him. He’d then driven
Gordon to the home, where he revealed that he’d only
moved his bed. After a world-class blowjob, Gordon had
apologized for his outburst. Grady had chuckled, and then
fucked him into the mattress.

Todd’s voice brought him back to the present. “You think

I have a cute ass?” he teased.

Gordon took in the five-foot-seven-inch, brown-haired

wolf. He looked a lot like his brother, except Phillip was
straight, stood just over six feet, and had green eyes instead
of brown. He’d never seen a wolf shifter as small as Todd,
and made a note to ask his friend about his parents
someday.

Grinning, Gordon nodded. “Oh, yeah. Your ass is cute.”
A low growl echoed from the doorway. “You’d better still

be doped up on pain killers, mate.”

Gordon stood and crossed the room to the detective,

sliding his good arm around the glaring man. He grinned at
the taller shifter. “Mildly, but I’m mated, not blind.” He
leaned forward and brushed his lips over Grady’s. “Mmm,
that’s nice,” he murmured.

Grady chuckled before gripping Gordon’s hips and

slanting his mouth over his mate’s for a better taste. His
tongue delved deep into Gordon’s mouth, stroking his teeth
and exploring his mouth. Gordon moaned softly, his cock
filling and pressing against the front of his sweats. His mate

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105

eased the kiss to a finish, and Gordon leaned his head on
Grady’s shoulder, loving how his mate’s kisses blew his
mind.

He heard Todd clear his throat and turned to look at the

man. The small wolf’s flushed face grinned at them. “That is
so hot,” he moaned. “Keep going.”

Grady chuckled. “Perhaps another time, Todd.”
Gordon had to bite back a laugh as Todd pretended to

pout. “Not into exhibitionism? But you’d be so hot!”

At that, Gordon did laugh. “You little scamp,” he said,

trying to suck in a breath. “No wonder you don’t mind
showing off your ass!”

Grady’s brows ratcheted up. “You did what?”
If Todd’s ears could have caught fire, they would have.

“Gordon wasn’t answering. I wanted to make sure he was
okay, so I crawled through the doggie door. I undressed on
your porch, carried my clothes in my mouth, and then put
them back on in your kitchen.”

Gordon released his mate, still trying to control his

laughter, and crossed to Todd. He hugged him tightly. “Ah,
cub. It’ll never be bored with you around, huh?” He heard
the small man giggle into his chest. He looked up and
winked at his mate. “See, Grady? Cute ass, huh?”

The big tiger must have caught the look in his eye,

because he swaggered toward them. “Hmmm,” he growled.
He landed his hands on Todd’s shoulders, and Gordon
released him. Grady pulled the man backward a step, still
keeping him at arm’s length. “Oh, yes, I can certainly see the
appeal. Your cute ass will make some dominant shifter very
happy, pup.”

Todd stiffened in his arms and Gordon watched his eyes

widened. Grady must have realized his blunder at the same
time, because he spun the small man back around and
pulled him close. “Damn, Todd. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean

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106

it like that.”

“No,” the wolf muttered, struggling to get away.
Grady immediately released him, his hands lifted in

placation.

Gordon reached for him, but immediately dropped his

hand when Todd skittered away, still staring at Grady with
huge eyes.

Heaving a sigh, Grady tried again, “Todd, please. I…”
“That scent,” Todd whispered. “Who have you been

with?”

“Uh, my partner, Detective Sullivan,” he answered

slowly, his brows lifting in question as his gaze strayed to
Gordon.

Understanding dawned and Gordon asked, “Your mate?”
Todd nodded slowly, still staring in amazement at Grady.
At Grady’s frown, Gordon turned to his mate. “Todd

thought he smelled his mate the day he was rescued. That’s
why he convinced his brother to stay with him here in Stone
Ridge.”

Grady let out a breath and nodded slowly. After a glance

between them that Gordon couldn’t decipher, he said, “He’s
supposed to join us for steaks in half an hour. Do you want
to stay?”

A slash of fear crossed Todd’s face before he clenched his

jaw and nodded. “Yes. Thank you.” He glanced between
them and forced a nervous smile. “If you think I’m ready.”

“Of course, you’re ready,” Gordon replied. He gripped

Todd’s shoulder in his good hand. “If he’s your mate, there
won’t be any problem.” He looked at Grady for
confirmation. “Right?”

“He’s right, Todd,” Grady assured. “Why don’t you go

grab a beer for us all from the kitchen? Then you can help
Gordon with the salad?” After the man slipped from the
room, Grady turned to Gordon and pulled him into his

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107

arms. After giving him a thorough kiss, he whispered,
“Lyle’s dating someone.”

And then the look made sense. “Oh.”
A throat cleared from the doorway. “Wolves have great

hearing,” Todd whispered. “What am I going to do?”

Gordon frowned and turned to Grady. “How serious are

we talking?”

The tiger looked extremely uncomfortable, but Gordon

wouldn’t let him dash Todd’s hopes that easily. “A few
weeks,” he said with a shrug.

“Oh, good. Then he hasn’t had time to get too attached.”

Gordon crossed the room and wrapped an arm around
Todd’s shoulders. “We’ll just help you steal him.” He looked
at Grady and lifted a brow. “Won’t we?”

Grady stared at them for about thirty seconds, and Todd

fidgeted next to him. Finally, an uncontrollable smile crossed
the tiger’s face. “Absolutely. You don’t mess with Fate.”

Before he could say more, his phone rang and he picked it

up. Gordon led Todd into the kitchen where they started
preparing the salad and seasoning the steaks. A few minutes
later, he heard Grady’s footsteps, and he turned. His smile
died on his lips when he saw the shell-shocked look on his
mate’s face.

Grady’s gaze swept between them. “Lyle’s been

kidnapped.”

About the Author

Charlie lives on a mini ranchette in Utah with her handsome,
supportive husband. She started writing fantasy when she
was eight, and after stumbling onto her first erotic romance
at nineteen, she realized her true calling. She now focuses
on writing erotic romance, often of the paranormal variety,
with heroes and heroines of all kinds. You can often find her
curled up with her laptop and a cup of tea or glass of wine,
creating her next story, which could pair a sexy hero with an
adventurous heroine…or maybe with another handsome
hero. Charlie enjoys horseback riding, jump lessons with
Apache, watching movies with her husband, and listening to
her muse tell her about her next project.

She can be reached at ch.richards2010@yahoo.com
Or visit her at www.charlie-richards.com