Texas Longhorn Surprise

On the Road: To combine two lives, first one must
understand the components of each.

When  Ryan  Carpenter  realizes  the  scientists  he
works  for  are  torturing  sentient  beings,  he  feels
the  need  for  penance  in  the  form  of  helping  the
shifters  free  their  comrades.  To  that  end,  Ryan
heads  to  Oregon  to  offer  aide  in  shutting  down
one of the scientist’s training facilities and freeing
any  captive  shifters.  He’s  unprepared  for  one  of
the  men,  Sam  Abbott,  a  Texas  longhorn  bull
shifter,  to  express  an  attraction  to  him.
Unfortunately,  Ryan  has  secrets  of  his  own,  and
knows if he becomes involved with Sam, a shifter,
his own transgressions against Sam’s kind would
eventually  come  out,  destroying  anything  they
might  have  built.  Walking  away—especially  for
the good of everyone—should be easy, right?

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This  book  is  a  work  of  fiction.  Names,  characters,
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living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Texas Longhorn Surprise

ISBN: 978-1-77111-656-5

Cover art by Angela Waters

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Texas Longhorn Surprise

Kontra’s Menagerie: Book Thirteen

Charlie Richards

Chapter One

apping a thumb restlessly on his thigh, Ryan
Carpenter glanced around surreptitiously as

he waited beside the luggage carousel for his bag.
Normally, he wouldn’t have to check anything,
but he’d decided to bring his M24, and that wasn’t
something he could carry on.

He tried not to come off as twitchy as he

wondered  if  any  of  his  fellow  travelers  were
shifters  like  the  ones  he  intended  to  help.  It
wouldn’t  be  surprising,  and  it  was  impossible  to
tell.  He  sure  as  hell  wouldn’t  have  known  they
existed  if  the  scientists  hadn’t  recruited  him  to
work their security.

Ten years in the military and this was how he

went out…by getting sucked into some fascist
scientist’s vendetta against another race that most
people didn’t know inhabited the planet.

Of course, at the time, he hadn’t known that

shifters  were  sentient  in  their  animal  form.  It’d
taken  watching  the  animals…er…shifters  while
guarding them for six months, followed by a guy
also  employed  by  the  scientists  and  in  the

Charlie Richards

intelligence division, to get him to realize the error
of his ways. Well, it wasn’t even his ways. Outside
what he thought of as the line of duty, he’d never
harmed an animal in his life, other than the
occasional spider or scorpion. He’d been following
blindly.

Not something I’m proud of.
He spotted his gun case—the camo colors

standing  out  against  the  pink,  reds,  and  blues  of
many  of  the  other  passenger’s  luggage.  When  he
snagged  it,  he  got  a  couple  curious  looks  from
others.  Ignoring  them,  he  kept  his  head  up  and
shoulders back while making his way toward the
exit.

“Ryan? Ryan Carpenter?”
Ryan turned and spotted a tall, slender fellow

with sandy-brown hair and a slight smile.

“Yes?”
The man stepped close and held out his hand.

“I’m Luc Laurent. Kontra sent me. He offers his
thanks for your willingness to come.”

Right. Kontra’s the leader of this pack of shifters.

He’d learned from Carson—a wolf shifter in Stone
Ridge—that shifters kept to a fairly strict hierarchy
in their groups. They had to do it to keep order,
which assisted in assuring the continued secrecy
of the race.

Ryan took the man’s hand and replied, “It’s no

problem,” all the while wondering what kind of

Texas Longhorn Surprise

shifter Luc was. He had a slight French accent and
laugh lines around his hazel eyes. Now that he’d
confirmed Ryan’s identity, he appeared to relax,
his shoulders loosening and his smile widening.

“You may feel that way,” Luc replied, leading

the way up an escalator, out of the airport, and
into a parking structure. “But it means a lot to us
to get our brethren out of…such a dangerous
situation.”

He just nodded, uncertain what to say and not

wanting, even inadvertently, to offend. Years in
the military had taught him when to keep his
mouth shut.

Luc stopped at a navy blue SUV. Taking in the

plates, Ryan noted it was a rental. He wondered at
that,  hoping  this  wasn’t  some  elaborate  set-up  to
get him alone to punish him for his part in holding
shifters hostage. Declan—the big alpha wolf from
Stone  Ridge—had  made  him  plenty  nervous,  but
he  hadn’t  seemed  the  type  to  be  vindictive  like
that.

Ryan opened the back door and placed his

duffle  inside.  Keeping  his  rifle  case  with  him,  he
settled  in  the  front  seat,  the  case  resting  between
his right thigh and the door. If he needed to duck
out  for  any  reason,  he  wanted  his  weapons  with
him.

The shifter started the vehicle, but instead of

backing out of the parking space, Luc rested his

Charlie Richards

arm on the steering wheel, turning to face him.
“You don’t trust us.”

Feeling no point in beating around the bush,

Ryan replied, “Probably about as much as you
trust me.”

“Fair point,” Luc said, nodding. Then, he

cracked a smile and stated, “Except if you were
trying to deceive us, we’d scent the lies in your
words.”

Ryan’s brows shot up. “You’re lie detectors?”
Luc shrugged. “That’s one way to put it. Unless

someone is a professional con artist, we can pretty
much  tell  if  the  average  person  is  lying  or  even
omitting  or  stretching  the  truth.  A  person’s  heart
rate  will  spike,  their  pupils  often  dilate,  and
there’s an increase in nervous sweat. To a shifter,
the  nerves  are  the  biggest  indicator  because  it
changes the person’s scent.”

“Wow, that’s—” Ryan frowned and shook his

head. How many times had he wished in the last
couple of weeks that he’d been able to tell how the
scientists were lying to him? Sighing, he slid his
gaze out the window, not really seeing the other
vehicles. “That’s a handy ability to have.”

A calloused hand landed on his arm, giving it a

squeeze. Ryan turned to see a sympathetic
expression on Luc’s face. “It’s not just lies we can
scent out,” he revealed. “Now, you’re feeling
guilty. That wasn’t my intention. I just wanted you

Texas Longhorn Surprise

to know that we appreciate your help and why
we’re trusting you to aide us.”

Surprised at the compassion in the man’s tone,

Ryan stared at the guy for a couple of seconds.
Finally, he nodded. “I really am happy to help.”

Luc returned his nod, released his arm, and got

the  SUV  moving.  After  a  few  minutes  of  silence,
the  shifter  commented,  “I  know  you  just  came
from  helping  the  Stone  Ridge  wolves,  so  I’m
hoping  you  don’t  have  a  problem  with  gay  men
expressing  their  affection.”  Luc  glanced  his  way,
shocking  Ryan  by  giving  him  a  quick  once  over.
“If  you’re  not  gay,  that’s  fine,  but  our  group  is
made of a number of male couples and should you
say  or  do  something  derogatory,  they  won’t
hesitate to retaliate.”

Licking his lips nervously, Ryan searched for

the correct response. Finally, he settled on, “I’ve
swung both ways myself a time or two. I won’t
hassle anyone.” In fact, the idea of seeing a pair of
guys openly make out was starting to turn him on.

“Like that idea, do you?” Luc asked, chuckling.

“Yeah, some of them can get a little…distracting.”

Ryan fought back a flush, suddenly glad for his

tan. “Uh, I’ll try to stay out of the way,” he
mumbled.

Grunting, Luc glanced toward him. Ryan could

see the man sweep his gaze over him again out of
the corner of his eye, but he ignored it.

Charlie Richards

He felt flattered, really, he did, but Luc wasn’t

his  type.  The  couple  of  times  he’d  been  with
another  man,  the  guy  had  been  bigger  than  him.
He  wanted  someone  who  could  hold  him  down
and  fuck  him  through  the  mattress.  He  figured,
with a shifter’s strength, Luc could do that, but it
wouldn’t be the same.

If he got horny, he’d be just fine with his right

hand.

“So, if you don’t mind my asking,” Ryan

started,  needing  something  else  to  think  about.
“How many different kinds of shifters are there? I
mean,  I’ve  seen  canine  and  feline  breeds—”  He
frowned,  quickly  adding,  “Uh,  is  that  the  right
way to say it? I don’t mean to offend.”

Luc shrugged. “We use breed or race pretty

interchangeably,  so,  no,  that  wouldn’t  offend  us.
Plus, there are probably most animals that you can
think  of,  although  the  canine  and  feline  are  the
most prevalent. We have a couple fowl shifters in
the  group,  me  included,  as  well  as  a  python,  a
warthog,  a  chameleon,  and  a  few  others.”
Grinning  suddenly,  he  winked  and  added,
“Kontra’s  a  grizzly.  I  don’t  recommend  pissing
him off.”

“Uh, no, definitely not,” Ryan muttered. His

mind reeled as he wrapped it around the new
information. So many possibilities!

“So, where exactly is this facility?”

Texas Longhorn Surprise

Grateful for the subject change, Ryan told him,

“Northeast of here, near Hogback Mountain is a
training facility. They have several shifters there at
any one time. Big, aggressive ones that they use to
teach us how to fight you all,” he admitted.

Grimacing, he remembered his own time there.

He’d learned to take down a wolf, coyote, and fox.
He’d seen some of the altered soldiers take down a
lion and tiger. He’d just started treatment to
enhance some of his own abilities—starting with
eyesight and agility—when he’d learned the truth
from Raven.

The mysterious man had set him straight about

shifters, helping him understand the truth about
the…race. Then, the guy had used shifters to save
a fox he’d become infatuated with and
disappeared. Ryan hoped he’d meet up with him
again someday, so he could thank him.

“Sounds like it’s a good thing we have a doctor

in our group,” Luc commented.

Ryan returned his focus to his shifter

companion. He nodded. “I’m sure you’ll need
him.”

Fifteen minutes of silence later, after winding

along two-lane roads dotted with more fields and
stretches of trees than homes, Luc turned the SUV
onto a gravel single track. The road disappeared
behind Ryan as the pines closed around them,
ratcheting up his tension.

Charlie Richards

He was a hell of a long way from just about

anything.

Luc sighed. “Relax, Ryan,” he said, his tone

soothing and low. “You’re safe here.”

“Months of conditioning,” he mumbled.

Shoving  the  SUV  door  open,  he  grabbed  his  case
and slid from the vehicle. Ryan inhaled deeply as
he  shut  the  door.  Tipping  his  head  back,  he
enjoyed  the  sun  warming  his  face  for  several
seconds.

If he could just remember to keep breathing, he

should be okay. He’d really like to manage to get
through his time helping the shifters and still keep
from embarrassing himself.

The fact that shifters could scent emotions to

some degree was definitely eye opening. Ryan had
no desire to reveal that some of the bigger shifters
scared the fuck out of him.

Texas Longhorn Surprise

Chapter Two

am Abbott heard the rumble of a vehicle engine
and the crunch of tires on gravel.

Must be Luc returning with that Ryan fellow.
He wasn’t certain how he felt about Kontra

agreeing to use the human’s intel to shut down a
training  facility  somewhere  around  them  in
Oregon. Oh, Sam knew they needed to shut down
the  facility.  He  just  remained  skeptical  about
trusting  a  human  that  had  worked  for  the
scientists.

Still, Kontra seemed sure, and Sam trusted his

alpha.

Returning his focus to his crossword puzzle, he

read the next clue. Seven letters. Pensive, melancholy,
or thoughtful. Sam cocked his head, thinking. He
knew that with that kind of clue, the answer
would be a synonym. He glanced at the space the
word should go and saw the second letter should
be an I and the last letter an L.

Charlie Richards

“You are such a cheater!” Land hollered,

throwing a couple pieces of popcorn at his mate,
Payson.

Payson—a hyena shifter with one or two screws

loose, but more loyalty than anyone could ask
for—laughed and threw popcorn right back at his
human mate. “It’s not my fault I’m better at chess
than you,” he crowed. “You’re just jealous.”

Land lifted a hand and pointed at Payson. “You

didn’t deny it! You did cheat! I knew it! What’d
you do? How’d I miss it?”

Looks like their chess game is done, Sam

thought, watching with amusement as Payson
grabbed Land’s hand and yanked him halfway
across the coffee table. Chess pieces went flying.

Yep, definitely done.
He watched for several seconds as Payson

pulled  a  struggling  Land  all  the  way  across  the
table,  into  his  arms,  and  laid  one  on  his  mate.
Land  immediately  stopped  struggling…well,  to
get  away  anyway.  Now,  he  wriggled  over  the
table  the  rest  of  the  way  and  straddled  Payson’s
lap  as  they  took  the  kiss  deeper  and  really  went
after each other’s mouths.

Looking away, Sam wished he could find his

own mate. He wanted that…the all-consuming
need, affection, even the fighting. I want it all, he
thought wistfully.

Wistful! Of course.

Texas Longhorn Surprise

He wrote the word into the crossword puzzle

just as he heard the door open. He didn’t look up
until  he’d  double-checked  his  work.  Yep.  That
works.  Smiling  at  his  progress,  satisfaction  filled
him.  He’d  managed  to  get  about  half  done  while
Luc made the run to the airport.

Sam looked up when their guest’s scent tickled

his  senses—smooth  and  bitter,  like  the  finest
scotch—it  made  him  want  to  take  a  big  drink  of
the  man.  The  view  of  the  guy  was  just  as  nice.
Maybe  six  foot  two,  strong,  well-muscled  limbs
and  lean  lines,  a  chiseled  jaw  and  masculine
features,  topped  off  with  shortly  buzzed  dirty-
blond  hair  and  a  piercing  hazel-eyed  gaze  that
was currently focused on Land and Payson—who
completely  ignored  the  newcomer  and  Luc’s
arrival and continued to make out.

Sam really wanted the guy’s focus on him. He

rose from his chair, placing the crossword puzzle
and pencil on the end table. “You must be Ryan
Carpenter,” he said, his deep voice finally
interrupting the kissing couple.

While a still-shy Land hid his clearly flushing

face against Payson’s neck, the hyena shifter
grinned over at the new guy. “Oh, hey, man,”
Payson greeted. “Welcome.”

“Uh, yeah, thanks,” Ryan responded, then

finally turned and focused on Sam. Licking his
lips, he nodded. “And, yeah, I’m Ryan.”

Charlie Richards

Meeting Ryan’s hazel eyes, Sam felt the blood

rush through his veins. Mate!

He opened his mouth, not certain what he

planned to say, but Luc interrupted him. “This is
Sam, Land, and Payson,” he said, pointing to each
of them in turn. “As I’m sure you can guess, Land
and Payson are fairly newly mated.” He rolled his
eyes and added dryly, “They can’t keep their
hands off of each other.”

Payson snorted while running his hands over

Land’s  spine  provocatively  through  his  shirt.
“Awe,  Luc,  you  know  there’s  no  reason  to  keep
my  hands  off  my  mate  while  we’re  in  our  own
place.”

Luc snorted. “Yeah.” He grinned and swept his

gaze over the pair. “At least the view is pretty.”
He put his arm around Ryan’s shoulders
companionably. “Don’t ya think?”

Sam couldn’t hear Ryan’s response over the

blood roaring through his veins. An undeniable
need to get Ryan away from Luc surged through
him. “Mine!” he snarled as he lunged forward.

Grabbing Ryan’s arm, Sam yanked his mate

away from a surprised Luc, who lifted his hands,
palms out. “Whoa, Sam. What the hell, man?”

Sam swung a clearly shocked Ryan around and

pressed him against the nearby wall. He
positioned his big body between his mate and the
rest of the group. “Get your hands off him!”

Texas Longhorn Surprise

“Zut, Sam,” Luc cussed at him. “What the hell

are ya thinkin’?”

Sam glared over his shoulder at first, Luc’s

scowl,  then  at  an  amused  Payson  and  a  shocked
Land.  Sucking  in  a  deep  breath,  which  filled  his
lungs with his mate’s heady scent, Sam moaned at
the  exceptional  bitter  smell  and  lowered  his  nose
to the crook of Ryan’s neck.

That’s when he smelled a slight acrid scent

permeating Ryan’s aroma. It smelled suspiciously
like panic or fear, but since Sam now held his mate
safe in his arms, he couldn’t understand the cause.

Lifting his head, Sam frowned down at Ryan.

The man he held didn’t meet his gaze. Instead, his
wide  hazel-colored  eyes  focused  straight  ahead,
staring  at  his  shoulder.  Ryan  trembled  slightly,  a
sheen  of  sweat  beading  on  his  upper  lip,  and  his
breaths coming in heavy pants.

Fuck!
Sam lifted his hands, settling one on Ryan’s

shoulder and the other he used to cup his jaw.
Ryan jerked in his grip and his eyelids slid closed.

“Hey, hey,” Sam crooned, trying to get his

instincts under control so he could reason through
what the hell was happening. He didn’t know
why the man was so upset, and his bull snorted in
the back of his mind in agitation. “Easy now.
Settle down.”

Charlie Richards

“Release me,” Ryan hissed through clenched

teeth.

Confusion flooded Sam. Why would his mate

not want him to touch him? Surely, he hadn’t
heard correctly. “What?”

Ryan swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple

bobbing. His gaze flicked to Sam’s for a split
second, but it was long enough to see the worry in
his eyes, the pupils blown wide. “Release me,
please.”

“Do as the man says, Sam.”
The throaty command from his alpha cut

through  his  senses.  It  didn’t  curb  his  need  to
figure  out  what  the  hell  was  going  on  with  his
mate,  but  when  his  alpha  commanded,  he
listened.

Fighting his instincts, Sam eased his grip and

took a step away from Ryan. He hated putting
space between them.

“Ryan, I am Kontra Belikov,” Kontra said, his

tone  sounding  softer  than  Sam  had  heard  it  in  a
long  time…unless  speaking  with  his  mate,  Tim.
“Why don’t you come over here, Ryan? We’ll get
you set up in a bedroom upstairs. You’ll be able to
recuperate  from  traveling.  I  know  how  air  travel
can suck, especially with those small seats.”

Why the hell is Kontra rambling?

Texas Longhorn Surprise

Movement from his mate drew Sam’s attention.

“Y-yeah, that’d be…” Ryan shuddered a breath.
“I’d like that. Thank you.”

Kontra held out his hand and it took every

ounce of willpower Sam possessed to remain still
as his mate walked past him. He gritted his teeth
against a growl when Kontra settled his big, broad
hand on Ryan’s shoulder and guided him toward
the stairs.

“Land, Ben, I’d like you to come with me,”

Kontra ordered softly. Then, looking over his
shoulder at Sam, he stated, “Go to your room,
Sam. I’ll be there shortly to get a report regarding
this incident.”

Sam nodded, though he couldn’t stop his frown

of  confusion.  Something  had  just  happened,
something  important,  but  he  couldn’t  seem  to
figure out what it was. All he’d wanted to do was
get  his  mate  away  from  Luc’s  possessive  hold.
How had Ryan ended up so scared?

“Yes, sir,” he mumbled.
Tim gave him a sympathetic look as he grabbed

Ryan’s  bag  where  he’d  dropped  it  just  inside  the
door. The human  still clutched a case in a  white-
knuckled  hold.  Kontra’s  mate  scurried  up  the
stairs after the retreating group.

Once they were gone, Luc curled his lip at him,

then stalked from the room toward the back
porch. Payson walked over to him and patted him

Charlie Richards

on the shoulder. “You fucked that up good, bull-
man.”

“I—” Damn, he didn’t know what to say. He

couldn’t wrap his mind around what had just
happened.

“Here,” Yuma murmured, handing him his

crossword puzzle and pencil.

Sam took them absently.
“Is he your mate?” Yuma asked.
“Yeah,” Sam whispered. When had all his

buddies arrived?

“That explains a lot,” Eli stated. “I believe he

had a panic attack. I’ll head up and check in on
him.” The tall, slender python shifter started up
the stairs, calling over his shoulder, “I’ll keep you
posted.”

“Thanks,” Sam mumbled. He’d made his mate

panic? How? That wasn’t supposed to be how the
mate-bond worked. The pull should have caused
Ryan to relax in his grip, respond to his voice,
even his scent.

Pain and fear clouded Sam’s mind. What if

Ryan didn’t feel the same attraction the other
humans in the group felt for their mate? Did that
mean something was wrong with him?

“Come on, Sam,” Caleb urged softly, tugging

his arm.

Sam didn’t fight the chameleon shifter as he

pulled him forward. On his other side, Yuma held

Texas Longhorn Surprise

his other arm. The two shifters led him upstairs to
his room and pushed him to sit down on his
queen-sized bed.

“Hey, calm down,” Yuma soothed, running his

hands over Sam’s arms and his chest.

The petting relaxed him, especially when Caleb

climbed onto the bed behind him, rested his chin
on Sam’s shoulder, and wrapped his arms around
his waist. Sam placed one hand on Caleb’s wrist
and wrapped his other arm around Yuma.

“Thanks, guys,” he whispered.
“Congrats on finding your mate,” Caleb

offered, his chin digging into Sam’s shoulder as he
spoke.

Sam gently knocked his head against Caleb’s

and whispered, “Thanks.” Sighing, he admitted, “I
freaked him out and don’t know why…or even
how. And I don’t know why I couldn’t calm him
down. Mates are supposed to be able to calm each
other down,” he finished uncertainly.

“Well, normally, yeah,” Yuma murmured,

snuggling up against him. “But maybe there’s
something in his past we don’t know about.”

“Eli said he thought it was a panic attack,”

Caleb piped in. “Don’t those have triggers?”

“I’ll have to ask him,” Sam said.
“Well, you know we’ll be there to help you just

like you helped all of us,” Yuma assured.

Charlie Richards

Two sharp knocks on the door saved Sam from

having to think up a response. “Enter,” he called,
knowing it could only be a few people.

Into the room strode Kontra, followed closely

by Eli and Emmett, Caleb’s mate. Without a word,
Emmett  sat  down  on  the  bed  and  placed  a
possessive arm around Caleb. Sam felt grateful the
white buffalo didn’t pull his mate away from him.
After  his  mate  rejected  him,  both  he  and  his  bull
needed  the  comfort  only  his  pack  mates  could
provide.

Kontra turned a chair away from the fire to face

the  bed  and  took  a  seat,  sprawling  in  the  large
chair.  He  heaved  a  sigh  and  ran  a  hand  through
his  thick  dark  hair  before  rubbing  it  over  his
goatee and mouth. He waved his other hand at Eli,
indicating he should start.

Eli sat at the head of the bed, his back against

the headboard, with the only leg cocked, his foot
flat on the mattress. His other leg dangled off the
side. “Your mate will be fine,” the doctor assured.
“He’s  dealt  with  a  lot  of  change  in  the  last  six
months.  If  I  had  to  guess,  guilt  plagues  him  for
things  I  won’t  even  speculate  about,  and  it  all
seems  to  be  hitting  him  right  about  now.”  He
leaned forward and patted Sam’s shoulder. “Give
him time.”

Sam nodded, then turned back to his alpha.

Texas Longhorn Surprise

Kontra leaned forward and rested his elbows

on  his  thighs,  allowing  his  hands  to  dangle
between  his  knees.  He  pierced  Sam  with  a  hard
stare.  “You  want  me  to  speak  freely?”  he  asked,
looking over Sam’s shoulder at Caleb and Emmett.

Understanding the meaning behind Kontra’s

words and actions, Sam swallowed hard, trying to
control the bile that wanted to bubble up his
throat. He jerked a nod. Eli already knew. He’d
patched Sam up as best he could. The scar on his
face wasn’t the only visual reminder of those days.

He prayed what the other men were about to

hear wouldn’t change their opinion of him. He
liked that, for the most part, his pack-members
looked up to him. It felt good.

“Are you going to be able to perform, or will

we need to…assist in some way?” Kontra asked,
his tone kind.

“I-I’m not sure,” Sam admitted.
Yuma rolled his head where it rested against

his chest and peered up at him. “What does that
mean?” he asked curiously. “You know we’ll all
help in any way possible.”

Sam snorted, his face contorting as tears filled

his eyes. “I can’t have you fuck my mate for me,
though, can I?”

Caleb’s arms tightened. “Of course not,” the

chameleon said. “I’ve seen you head off to back

Charlie Richards

rooms with people at clubs. Surely you don’t have,
well, performance problems.”

Seeing no way around it, Sam met Kontra’s

gaze. Looking into the understanding brown eyes
of  his  alpha,  he  admitted,  “When  I  was  twenty-
two, a pack of wolf shifters found out I was gay. It
took  eight  of  them,  and  I  killed  two  of  them  and
injured  three  others,  but  they  caught  me.  They
chained me up in the attic of their farmhouse.” He
could  hear  how  flat  he  sounded,  as  if  reciting
something  that  happened  to  someone  else,  but  it
was the only way he could get the words out.

“They held me for less than a week, but it felt

like an eternity,” he mumbled. He swallowed
hard, fighting nausea. “They used me. Raped me.
Fed me just enough to keep me alive. Kontra and
Eli saved me, at least, physically.” He swallowed
hard and finally finished on a whisper, “I haven’t
had anal sex since.”

Texas Longhorn Surprise

Chapter Three

yan leaned his head against the headboard
and closed his eyes, concentrating on his

breathing. He couldn’t believe the way he’d
flipped out. The man—Sam—hadn’t hurt him. In
fact, the shifter manhandling him had been damn
sexy.

And that’s why I freaked out. I responded to the

man. I wanted to submit to him, be held down by him,
and feel more of his touches.

He knew humans paired up with shifters all the

time. There were several human males here, in
fact, but never had he considered doing it himself.
Of course, he hadn’t realized they were even a
sentient race until a few months ago. Still, did that
make him prejudice? He didn’t like that idea.

Shit!
A soft knock sounded at the door. Ryan cracked

an eyelid and called, “Yes?”

Charlie Richards

The door opened to reveal one of the human

mates—Ben, if he remembered correctly. “I
brought you a cup of coffee.”

Ryan didn’t drink coffee, but he didn’t want to

be  rude,  either.  He  beckoned  Ben  forward.  “That
was thoughtful of you,” he murmured, taking the
cup.  He  wrapped  his  fingers  around  the  mug,
enjoying  the  warmth  even  if  he  didn’t  intend  to
drink the liquid.

“How you holding up?” Ben asked, cocking his

head. “Your color’s better.”

Frowning at the steaming black liquid, Ryan

asked, “Why do you think Sam behaved the way
he did? Luc told me I’d be safe, so I don’t
understand why Sam pulled me away from him.
What was the point?”

He didn’t understand shifters and their

behavior. He assumed just about everything the
scientists had told him was a lie, so that meant
Sam had a reason for what he did. So what was it?

To his surprise, when Ryan finally focused on

the silent human sitting several feet away, he
spotted a blush heating Ben’s cheeks. “What?”

Ben shrugged. “I can tell you what I think, but

you’d have to ask Sam to know for sure.”

“Okay,” Ryan replied, drawing out the word.

“What is it you think?”

“I think Sam probably believes you’re his

mate.”

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“His mate?” Ryan frowned. He’d heard the

term before, but wasn’t entirely certain what it
meant. “What does that mean?”

Nibbling his bottom lip, Ben appeared deep in

thought for several minutes. Finally, he said, “To a
shifter, a mate is…kinda like the love of their life.”

“Uh, but he doesn’t know me,” Ryan pointed

out.

“Doesn’t matter,” Ben replied. “It’s scent that

tells them who their mate is. Sure, they can fall in
love and spend their life with someone who  isn’t
their  true  mate,  but  once  they  meet  that  special
someone  designed  by  Fate  to  be  their  other  half,
claiming that person and spending the rest of their
life  pleasing  and  taking  care  of  them  is  pretty
much all they think about.”

“Uh…” Ryan’s fingers tightened on the mug

nearly to the point of pain. “Is there a choice?” He
whispered the question, almost afraid to hear the
answer.

Ben gave him an understanding smile. “There’s

always  a  choice.  Sam  would  never  force  himself
on you. He’s too nice a guy for that.” Ben rose and
crossed  to  the  door.  Pausing,  he  looked  over  his
shoulder and said, “Bonding with a shifter is a big
decision  because  it  completely  changes  your  life,
but ask yourself this…what would you give up to
find someone who’d love you unconditionally?”

Charlie Richards

The other man didn’t bother waiting for a

response. He just headed out the door.

Ryan set the coffee cup aside and rose from the

bed. He stood before the window and peered out,
staring  at  the  trees.  He’d  never  really  thought
about love before. He’d been in one relationship—
with  his  high  school  sweetheart,  Rebecca.  When
he’d join the Marines, she’d tried to stand by him,
but  Rebecca  hadn’t  been  cut  out  to  be  a  military
wife.

He sighed, thinking about the woman he’d left

behind.  The  sex  had  been  okay,  but  not  great.  It
wasn’t until he’d taken a dare from a gay military
buddy  and  allowed  a  twink  in  some  backwater
bar  to  suck  him  off  that  he’d  realized  he  enjoyed
cock more than tits.

Laying his hand on the window, he closed his

eyes and struggled to relax. He’d come here to do
a job, and he’d do it. If he avoided Sam, the shifter
wouldn’t have the opportunity to get attached to
him, right? Then, he could go home and forget all
about men that could turn into animals.

But what do I do with myself after that?
He’d never planned to make the military his

life, but since his mother had died in a car accident
while  he’d  been  deployed  six  years  before,  he’d
had  no  reason  not  to  reenlist.  After  his  second
tour,  he’d  had  enough  and  when  he  could,  he’d
gotten  out.  Doctor  Marlow  had  recruited  him,  at

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first calling  it  security. When he’d  finally  learned
the  truth,  after  undergoing  rigorous  background
checks  and  physical  tests,  he’d  begun  to  feel
uneasy  about  the  whole  thing.  Finding  out  that
shifters were sentient had been the last straw, and
he’d  rebelled,  helping  a  fellow  soldier  bring  the
corporation’s headquarters down.

Not exactly something that shines company

loyalty on a resume, Ryan mused.

A knock interrupted him, again, and he

wondered how these guys thought he’d get any
rest if they kept popping in on him. “Yeah?”

Kontra strode into the room. His gaze focused

on him where he stood, and Ryan fought back a
shiver at the shifter’s intense scrutiny. “We need
to talk.”

“Is this about Sam?” Ryan asked uncertainly.
“Well, we will have to discuss that, too,” he

said. “But I want to talk about the facility we’re
going to shut down,” Kontra stated, crossing his
arms over his broad chest. “How large is it? How
many people normally train there at a time? What
kind of defenses does it have?”

Okay, these kinds of questions he could handle.

“Do you want me to tell just you or should we go
somewhere and gather the others?”

“You think you’re up to handling a room full of

shifters, Ryan?”

Charlie Richards

Kontra didn’t beat around the bush, did he?

Ryan  shrugged.  “Don’t  know  until  I  try.  As  long
as  no  one  touches  me  or  grabs  me,  I  think  I’ll  be
fine.” God, I hate admitting weakness. Where the hell
does this tension come from? Except, he knew. He’d
nearly  been  killed  by  a  wolf  shifter  at  the  very
facility he was about to lead these men to. If they
found out he’d killed the wolf, would they turn on
him?

Ryan had no way of knowing and prayed he

wouldn’t ever need to find out.

“Come on, then,” Kontra beckoned. “I’ll have

everyone assemble in the great room downstairs.”

Nodding, Ryan slowly followed. The second he

left the safety of his room, he wanted to turn right
back around. Being in the military, in charge, this
weakness fucked with his head, and he knew it.
Ryan took a deep breath and kept walking.

When he arrived back downstairs, he noticed

the room filled with men. He spotted Payson and
his  lover,  Land,  as  well  as  Luc,  but  the  others  he
hadn’t  met,  yet.  Then  his  gaze  landed  on  Sam,
who  sat  on  a  couch  between  two  smaller  men.
Each had a hand on his arm. Even though each of
the smaller men were flanked by two other, larger
guys,  the  urge  to  cross  to  Sam  and  demand
answers  rode  him  hard…or  just  to  kiss  him  and
order a good fucking.

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Groaning mentally, Ryan did neither, willing

away the blood suddenly pooling in his dick,
making him half hard. Instead, he perched on the
arm of an unoccupied E-Z chair on the perimeter
of the group.

“Everyone,” Kontra called, getting the men’s

attention. “This is Ryan Carpenter. He’s going to
give us specifics on the scientist’s training facility,
then we’ll make plans.”

For the next half an hour, Ryan explained

everything  he  could  remember  about  the  facility.
He  knew  it  was  possible  that  things  had
changed—things  like  the  number  of  guards,  the
number  of  shifters  held,  or  even  the  number  of
trainees. He told the shifters this.

Kontra said it was no problem. They’d done

this kind of thing before and knew how to
improvise on the fly.

Ryan sure as hell hoped so.
“There’s one other thing,” he said, finally.
“What’s that?” Kontra asked, tilting his head.
Payson leaned forward, his eyes narrowed. “I

know.”

Ryan’s brows shot up. “Huh?”
“I know the last thing,” the shifter—hyena, if

Ryan

remembered

correctly—said.

Payson

smirked, his dark eyes glittering. “The shifters are

Charlie Richards

probably drugged, right? They won’t know which
way is up, let alone who’s friend or foe.”

Responses ranged from gasps to snarls to stony

and angry expressions. Everyone turned to look at
Ryan. He did his best not to cringe under the focus
of over a dozen men, but knew he’d  failed  when
Sam  growled  softly  and  glared  at  the  others.  If
he’d  been  sitting  next  to  the  shifter,  Ryan  just
knew  the  man  would  have  placed  himself
between Ryan and all his friends.

That knowledge kinda made Ryan feel…warm.
Not willing to examine that realization too

closely, Ryan tore his focus away from the big
shifter and swept his gaze over the rest of the men.
He didn’t really meet any of their eyes as he
nodded. “Yeah. That’s about right.”

He wondered how Payson knew that, but

figured it’d probably be better if he didn’t know.
Especially, if it was because of his suspicion…that
Payson had been held captive at some point.
Keeping his gaze turned to the floor, Ryan waited
for their responses.

For several seconds, no one spoke. Finally,

Kontra stated simply, “Everyone be careful. Don’t
assume a captured shifter will back down because
you’re a shifter, too.”

Everyone nodded or otherwise murmured their

agreement. Then, Kontra told them that they’d
leave at six. Taking into account the two-hour

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drive, that would put their arrival at about eight.
They’d have forty, maybe forty-five, minutes of
daylight to check out the place and get into
position. Everyone nodded and stood, pairing off
and heading either upstairs or toward the back.

Ryan couldn’t believe it. That was it? He’d just

told them that their fellow shifters could be
drugged and dangerous and all that was said was
to be careful?

A shadow fell over Ryan, yanking him from his

thoughts. He peered up and found Sam standing
over him.

Oh, shit!
Perhaps Sam scented Ryan’s trepidation, for he

lowered into a crouch before him. The man’s
fingers flexed where they rested on his knees. He
lifted one hand. Ryan tensed. Sam moved it to his
own face, running his thumb over the bit of scar
that marred his left eyebrow.

Ryan couldn’t help thinking that the scar

running down the shifter’s cheek didn’t detract at
all from the man’s sexiness. Once again, his dick
started to fill.

“I’m sorry I scared you before,” Sam

murmured, grimacing. “I wouldn’t have hurt you.
I’d never hurt you.”

Ryan opened his mouth, gaping, and for several

seconds, no sound came out. Snapping his jaw

Charlie Richards

shut, he sucked in a sharp breath, swallowed hard,
and tried again. “Why did you grab me?”

Sure, Ben had his theory, but Ryan needed to

hear it from Sam.

“You’re my mate,” Sam stated simply, no

hiding, beating around the bush, or coy games. “I
didn’t like another man touching you. Especially
an unmated one, so I acted on instinct. I needed to
get you away from him.”

“Ben told me that might be the case,” Ryan

admitted softly. He racked his brain for something
to say. Mates were a pretty big deal to shifters. He
understood that. Except, Ryan also knew that, if
Sam found out about his past, he wouldn’t want
him anyway, so, the best thing to do would be to
keep the man at a distance, regardless of what his
ever-thickening shaft thought. Stupid cock.

Then, when he was finished here, he could

walk away, allowing Sam to find someone better.
His blood heated, this time from jealousy, at the
idea of another touching Sam. He quickly
squelched the reaction.

With his plan firmly in mind, he stated, “I’m

not gay, Sam,” which was sort of true. He’d
always considered himself bisexual. “I’m sorry.
This isn’t going to work.”

Sam blinked, his brows drawing together. The

blood leeched from his face, expressing his inner
turmoil. The man licked his lips, obviously

Texas Longhorn Surprise

struggling for some response that might change
Ryan’s mind. Finally, his whispered hoarsely, “I
know I could please you.”

Ryan managed to suppress his shudder, but

could do nothing about the way his cock pressed
insistently against his fly, clearly more than happy
to take the shifter up on his offer. He just bet this
man  could  please  him…and  then  hurt  him  when
Ryan’s  transgressions  against  his  kind  came  to
light.  And  Ryan  knew  they  would.  Skeletons
always seemed to find the worst possible time to
pop out of their closets.

Evidently, Ryan didn’t hide his rising desire as

well as he’d hoped. Of course, all the guy had to
do was look down at his crotch. At this point,
Ryan knew—if he looked—the ridge of his
erection would be clearly displayed.

Sam leaned forward and pressed his lips to

Ryan’s, sliding his tongue along the seam. He
gasped at the surprising move, giving Sam access
to his mouth, which he took full advantage.

Feeling the slick slide of Sam’s tongue against

his own, coupled with the feel of thick, calloused
fingers cupping his jaw, massaging the tendons of
his neck, caused his cock to throb. He just about
came in his jeans when Sam moved one big hand
to cup him.

Ryan gripped the man’s wide shoulders, but

instead of shoving him away, he found himself

Charlie Richards

clutching Sam tighter to him, his fingers digging
into hard muscle. Sam must have taken that as a
sign of participation…or, at least, permission.

Sam worked open Ryan’s fly and pulled out his

ridged  dick.  The  first  stroke  of  those  calloused
fingers  forced  a  strangled  moan  from  him.  Sam
released  his  lips,  only  to  lower  his  head  and,
without  warning,  swallow  Ryan’s  throbbing
erection,  surrounding  his  cock  in  warm,  moist
heaven.

“Holy shit!” he screamed as his body bucked.
Sam rode out the movement, never releasing

him. He sucked hard, and Ryan felt as if his brains
were being drawn out through his cock. It felt
beyond amazing, and Ryan never wanted to leave
this new hot haven he’d found for his prick.

All too soon, he felt his balls pull tight against

his  body.  Ryan  tried  to  warn  Sam,  threading  his
fingers  through  the  other  man’s  short  dark  hair
and  tugging,  trying  to  get  his  attention.  “S-Sam.
Sam, please.”

Sam didn’t back off. Instead, he peered up at

him through his lashes, his eyes dark and intense.
The man on his knees growled softly, sending
vibrations through Ryan’s already over-sensitized
erection.

Ryan’s mouth sagged open in a silent scream as

his cock exploded. Seed pulsed up his shaft in
powerful spurts, crashing wave after wave of bliss

Texas Longhorn Surprise

through his system. He doubled over—curving his
torso around Sam’s head where he pleasured
him—as the most intense orgasm of his life sent
him reeling.

“Sam!” he finally groaned, tears threatening at

the corners of his eyes, knowing—even as ecstasy
pinged through his system—he’d never feel this
amazing again. Sam had ruined him for others
with only a blow job.

His new lover moaned around his still jerking

flesh, sending a fresh set of tingles through his
groin. “Fuck,” Ryan whimpered, spots dancing
across his vision.

Prying his eyes open—shit, when did I shut

them—Ryan  peered  down  at  the  man  who’d  just
given  him  the  most  amazing  pleasure  of  his  life.
Sam rested his head against Ryan’s thigh, his own
breathing  ragged.  He  had  one  hand  gripping
Ryan’s  thigh  and  his  other  arm  down  his  pants.
From  the  man’s  heavy-lidded,  sated  expression
and his soft panting breaths, it didn’t take a genius
to figure out that he’d come to.

Sam tipped his head and peered up at him,

smiling  tentatively.  Ryan  stared  down  at  Sam’s
mouth,  the  mouth  that  had  given  him  so  much
pleasure  and  that  he  could  so  easily  become
addicted to.

The sobering thought hit him like a bucket of

ice water. This could never happen again. He had

Charlie Richards

to push this amazing man away, for both their
sakes.

Swallowing hard, he dropped back against the

cushions and covered his face with his arm. “Shit,
that was a mistake.”

Texas Longhorn Surprise

Chapter Four

am reared back, landing on his ass. No lover
ever wanted to hear those words right after

blowing  the  man  of  his  dreams.  His  heart
squeezed  in  his  chest.  His  mate  had  been  into  it.
Ryan had come, and from the way his entire body
had  clenched,  he’d  come  hard.  Sam  racked  his
brain,  trying  to  figure  out  how  pleasing  his  mate
could be a mistake.

“I-I don’t understand,” he mumbled. “You

enjoyed it.”

Sitting up, Ryan quickly tucked himself away

and  did  up  his  pants.  “Yeah,  well,  I’m  a  guy.
Someone  sucks  my  dick,  I’m  gonna  enjoy  it,
right?”  Ryan  snapped.  Glaring,  he  added,  “Look,
maybe  it’d  just  be  better  if  we  kept  our  distance,
okay? I don’t plan on sticking around when this is
said  and  done,  so  there’s  no  point  in…”  He
paused and waved his hand between their bodies,
indicating the two of them.

Charlie Richards

“Never mind,” Ryan grumbled, jumping to his

feet. “Just stay away from me.”

Sam watched his mate run up the stairs. Rising

to his knees, he used a handkerchief he kept in his
back  pocket  to  clean  himself  up,  then  tucked
himself  away,  all  the  while  debating  whether  or
not  to  go  after  him.  Anger  slipped  through  him
like a slow burn. Not at Ryan, but at himself. He’d
already freaked Ryan out once, and after hearing
the  human  pronounce  that  he  wasn’t  gay,  Sam
should have taken it slow. He should have figured
out  a  way  to  woo  his  mate,  win  his  affection.
Instead, he’d practically attacked him.

Groaning, he dropped his head forward onto

the chair’s cushion and inhaled his mate’s aroma
where it still clung to the fabric. His dick made a
valiant effort to rise again, but then the scent
beneath Ryan’s base odor caught his attention.

Desire and panic.
Why? What would cause his mate to panic once

again? Was it that he desired Sam? A  man? How
could that  be? He was in a house surrounded by
gay  men.  No  one  would  judge  him,  especially
since  they  all  knew,  by  this  point,  that  Ryan  was
Sam’s mate.

“Sam?”
Lifting his head, Sam found Eli staring down at

him. The python shifter’s gaze swept over him as
his eyes narrowed in concern. He glanced toward

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the stairs where Ryan had disappeared, then back
at Sam.

“Everything all right? Ryan seemed a

bit…freaked out.” Eli frowned. “Again.”

Rising to his feet, Sam sighed. “No,” he

admitted.  “I  don’t—”  He  paused  and  shook  his
head.  “Ryan  says  he’s  not  gay,  but  his  scent  was
off.  So…”  He  drew  in  a  breath,  let  it  out  slowly,
then  admitted.  “I  kinda  sucked  him  off  and  then
he ran away.”

Eli smirked. “Your skills that bad?”
Sam scowled. “Fuck off,” he snarled, turning

away.

Sighing, Eli grabbed his arm. “I’m just teasing.”
Grimacing, Sam nodded. “I know.” And he did.

He also knew he was wound really tight right
now, and that none of his buddies would blame
him for that, either.

Eli cocked his head, and for several seconds

appeared  lost  in  thought,  staring  at  the  beams
holding up the lodge’s vaulted ceiling. Sam knew
his  friend  was  doing  the  same  as  him,  trying  to
understand  the  human’s  actions.  Finally,  Eli
stated, “I’d normally tell you to take it slow, since
he’s human and all. However, this actually makes
me  wonder  if  he’s  not  feeling,  well,  guilty  over
something. Maybe he has a girlfriend?”

“Awe, shit,” Sam mumbled, thinking about

that. “I didn’t even ask.”

Charlie Richards

“Well,” Eli said, his thin lips curving into a

smile. “We do have a nearly two-hour drive ahead
of us. Ben took Ryan coffee and chatted with him
before  the  meeting.  I’m  sure  Mutegi  can  find  out
what  they  spoke of and start a conversation with
Ryan in the van. Perhaps we can get a little more
information  out  of  him.”  Eli  wrapped  one  arm
around Sam and gave him a sideways hug. “We’re
there for ya, buddy.”

Feeling better knowing his pack had his back,

Sam didn’t even need to force his smile. “Thanks,
man.”

Several hours later, those going to the facility

trooped out of the lodge. The human mates stayed
home,  along  with  Yuma,  Lamar,  and  Eli’s  wolf
mate,  Sam.  Those  men  were  preparing  the  house
for  possible  wounded  and  drugged  shifters,
including  bolting  chains  to  several  steel  bed
frames that they’d found at Good Will.

Sam knew he wasn’t the only one who didn’t

like  the  idea  of  chaining  up  a  fellow  shifter,  but
they  had  to  think  of  the  safety  of  their  pack.
They’d  need  to  figure  out  if  the  shifter  was
dangerous  due  to  drugs,  fear,  or  even  brain
damage.

During the drive, Sam sat behind the driver’s

seat, which was occupied by Kontra. Ryan sat in
the front passenger seat. Next to Sam on the short

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middle bench was Mutegi, Ben’s mate, and in the
very back sat Vail—a wolf shifter—and his mate
Draven—a vampire warlock.

Luc drove a van they’d also rented,

accompanied  by  Eli.  The  back  was  empty  in  the
anticipation of bringing home the injured. Payson
had  flat-out  refused  to  get  in  either  vehicle  and
followed  on  his  bullet  bike.  Emmett  and  Caleb
also chose to ride their motorcycles.

“Hey, Ryan,” Mutegi started, drawing

everyone’s attention. “Ben says you did not drink
the coffee. Was there too much cream or sugar in
it?”

Ryan half turned in his seat as he addressed

Mutegi. “I, uh…I don’t actually drink coffee.
Never could learn to stand the taste,” he admitted.
“I just didn’t want to appear rude and refuse it, ya
know?” He grimaced. “Sorry about that. Hope I
didn’t offend.”

Mutegi lifted one, nearly black-skinned hand,

waving away Ryan’s apology. “No, no. It is fine.
What do you drink, then? A favorite tea?”

“My momma always made amazing sweet tea,

but it’s hard to find good sweet tea out here,”
Ryan admitted. “Otherwise just water, mostly.”

Sam filed that tidbit away, then wondered how

in the hell Mutegi planned to segue into what he
really wanted to know.

Charlie Richards

“Ben also says he told you a little about mates

and that you are Sam’s mate, yet you do not wish
to mate with him. Why is this?”

Okay, the direct approach. Sam just bit back his

growl  upon  scenting  Ryan’s  immediate  unease,
given  away  by  the  blood  draining  from  the
human’s face and the spike of anxiety in his scent.
Ryan  glanced  toward  Sam,  then  immediately
lowered his gaze.

Mutegi’s dark-eyed focus remained on Ryan,

grinning, showing off white teeth. It was the only
bit of white on the dark African. “I ask only so we
may help our friend move on when you leave. It
will be difficult for him, you understand.”

“Difficult? Why?” Ryan asked, frowning.

Pinning a confused stare on Sam, he said, “I
thought if we didn’t bond and I left, you’d be free
to mate whomever you choose.”

Sam swallowed hard and looked out the

window,  struggling  to  figure  out  how  to  explain
that he’d be devastated when Ryan left. Depressed
and hurt that his mate, the one Fate chose for him
had  rejected  him.  His  animal  would  constantly
fight for control, so he could track down his mate.
How  could  you  explain  something  like  that  to  a
non-shifter and make him understand?

“It’s not that simple,” Kontra said, saving Sam

the trouble of figuring out how to answer. “Even
though we can choose to mate with someone else,

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once we’ve met that special someone, if we tried to
be with another we’d be fighting our animal every
step of the way. We are our animal, sharing some
of  the  basic  instincts,  heightening  our  need  to
please,  protect,  and  care  for  our  mate.”  Kontra
paused  and  glanced  toward  Ryan,  who  stared  at
him, his mouth slightly open, the shock rolling off
of him nearly in waves.

Smiling tightly, Kontra returned his focus

forward and continued, “If our mate isn’t near, it
makes  it  difficult  to  do  that,  so  we’re  driven  to
hunt  him  or  her  down,  so  we  can  fulfill  not  only
their  needs,  but  our  need  to  care  for  them,  too.
Finding

someone

replace

Fated

mate…well…” Sam saw Kontra’s big shoulders
lift in a shrug, although he couldn’t see his alpha’s
expression. Finally, he murmured gruffly, “It’s
next to impossible.”

“I, uh…” Ryan obviously didn’t know how to

finish that.

Wanting his mate happy, even if that meant

letting him go, Sam softly told him, “I don’t want
to force you into anything, Ryan. You said you’re
not gay and you plan to leave. I understand that. I
might not like it, but I’ll respect your decision.”

His bull bellowed with grief in the back of his

mind, and Sam swallowed back the bile that rose
in his throat at the very idea that Ryan would
leave. He stared out the window, unwilling to see

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acknowledgement  or  thanks,  or  even  pity,  on  his
mate’s face. It wasn’t until Kontra started slowing
the  SUV  and  everyone  began  grabbing  their  gear
that  Sam  realized  Ryan  hadn’t  ever  actually
answered Mutegi’s question.

In the dim light of twilight, the eleven men

crept through the trees. They’d parked on a
service road six miles north of the place and
circled southwest. According to maps, and Ryan’s
memory, they’d come up behind the facility where
an expansive training yard backed up to a seventy
foot cliff face.

The group should have no trouble repelling

down, if they could take out security. Once they
estimated they were within a half mile of the cliff,
the men paused and Luc stripped down.

Sam struggled with his desire to place his own

bulk between the naked man and Ryan, and only
his mate’s staring pointedly in the other direction
helped him maintain control. Fortunately, Luc
didn’t stay nude long, quickly shifting to his
European Eagle owl form.

While Luc did that, Draven settled on the forest

floor and mumbled a short spell. Slowly, the
vampire warlock’s eyes glazed over, giving him a
vacant look. Vail stood over his mate, his gaze
roving over their surroundings, guarding Draven.

“And we’re connected,” Draven mumbled.

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Luc hooted softly, ruffling his feathers.
“Okay, be careful, Luc,” Kontra warned. “If

guards see you and seem suspicious, you get the
hell out of there.”

Hooting again, Luc spread his wings and took

to the sky. They watched him circle higher and
soon he disappeared from sight. Sam knew it was
ridiculous, but he actually felt relief that the only
other unmated shifter was no longer near his
mate.

Draven’s grunt pulled Sam out of his musings.

“Damn,” the warlock muttered.

“What’s wrong?” Vail asked quickly, crouching

beside him.

“Technically nothing,” Draven replied. “I just

didn’t  realize  I’d  have  a  problem  with  the
heights.”  The  warlock  grimaced,  which  looked
really  odd  since  his  eyes  were  still  glassy.  “It’s
making me a bit queasy.”

Vail rubbed Draven’s back slowly. “You gonna

be okay?” he asked, his expression one of worry as
he looked from his mate to Kontra.

“Yeah,” Draven whispered. “Just keep touching

me. It’s soothing.”

“I’m not going anywhere, love,” Vail assured.
Sam smiled at the display. For years, Vail had

claimed to never want a mate, then, once he’d met
Draven, it’d come out that Vail’s line had been
cursed by a jealous witch. Draven had been able to

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figure out the spell she’d used, including the fact
that somehow, Vail’s selfless actions helping gang-
member’s mates had, at some point, already
broken it. Sam was happy for the wolf shifter. He
was happy for all his buddies, if a little jealous. He
tried to remind himself that some of his friends
had had trouble claiming their mates, too.

Sam hoped like hell he could figure out a way

to change Ryan’s mind.

“Okay, Luc’s coming up on the facility now,”

Draven  murmured.  “It  looks  like  the  cliff  is
seventy  feet  and  abuts  three  different  training
grounds.  There  are  two  large  garage  doors  that
open into each training ground and one standard-
sized door in between each of those.”

“The large doors are where the animals would

be  released  from,”  Ryan  commented  softly,  then
his eyes widened and his face flushed bright red.
“Shit. The shifters. It’s where the shifters would be
released  from.”  He  took  a  step  away  from  the
group  and  rubbed  the  back  of  his  neck  uneasily.
“Sorry.”

Kontra held up his hand. “Relax. It’s an

understandable slip, considering how you learned
about us.”

“Fuck, don’t do that!” Draven snarled.

“Asshole.”

Vail growled. “What’s wrong? What’s going

on?”

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“Luc’s swooping around doing aerial

acrobatics,” Draven grumbled, gripping his
stomach and breathing deeply through his nose.

Payson snickered. “He’s a damn bird. What do

you expect?”

“Wait a minute,” Draven murmured. “Veer

back  left….Yeah,  get  lower,”  he  said.  His  eyes
narrowed,  although  he  didn’t  actually  appear  to
be  seeing  anything.  “Is  that  a  break  in  the  fence?
Damn, it is! Where are the closest cameras?”

Sam shifted his weight, bringing him closer to

Ryan. He didn’t like how the human stood alone,
his arms crossed over his chest, and eyed each of
them carefully. He didn’t expect the man to be
relaxed…none of them were. They were about to
go into a fight, but surely he knew he was part of
the team.

“Are you okay?” Sam couldn’t help but ask.
Ryan seemed surprised to find him so near, his

brows shooting up as he peered at him. “Oh, yeah,
fine.” He turned, summarily dismissing Sam’s
concern, and asked, “Draven, what side of the
facility is that break?”

“South

side,”

answered

absently.

“Approximately thirty feet or so from the corner.”

“Hmm,” Ryan mused, rubbing his thin upper

lip  with  one  thumb.  “There  are  three  rotating
cameras  near  there.  If  they  haven’t  changed  the
timing  sequence,  there’s  a  seven  second  gap  on

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almost every panel. There’s twenty yards between
the  fence  on  that  side  and  the  building.  There
should  be  an  emergency  exit  ten  feet  from  the
corner  of  the  building,”  he  continued,  his  eyes
narrowed,  obviously  searching  his  memory.  “If
one  of  you  knew  how  to  open  a  door  without  a
handle, that’d be a good place to enter.”

“Won’t it trip an alarm?” Eli asked, frowning.
“Yup, which will bring everyone to you,” Ryan

confirmed. “There are several rooms on that
hallway, giving us plenty of cover to take out the
guards.”

“I can do it,” Draven claimed.

Texas Longhorn Surprise

Chapter Five

yan stared at the guy who’d been essentially
seeing the facility through Luc’s eyes as the

owl shifter flew over the building. Owl
shifter…who’d have thought? Of course, the warlock
could do it. He probably had some kind of spell to
open locked doors.

“You got a spell for that, babe?” Vail asked

what everyone was probably thinking.

Draven shrugged. “A good telekinetic spell

should work. Just tell me how far down the
release bar is, and if you push straight, up, or
down, and I’ll see about releasing it.”

Nodding, Ryan told them, “If we start heading

down now, we can be in position in probably forty
minutes.”

“Why so long?” Kontra asked even as he

motioned everyone to get ready. He turned to
Draven and murmured, “Pass the info to Luc and
have him meet us around there.”

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Ryan shouldered his rifle and unconsciously

touched  the  handle  of  the  pistol  strapped  to  his
thigh. He hadn’t been certain which he’d need, so
had  no  problem  lugging  the  extra  weight.  “The
cliff  tapers  a  bit  to  the  south,  but  we’ll  need  to
travel about a half mile out of the way to get to a
location  where  it’s  safe  to  climb  down.”  He
glanced  around  at  the  collection  of  men.  “It’ll  be
far  quicker  than  setting  up  the  repelling
equipment for only a forty foot climb.”

Payson snickered. “We could just jump. We’re

all pretty agile,” he stated, winking.

“Well, I’m still mostly human,” Ryan replied,

snorting.

“Mostly?” Sam stepped closer…close enough

for Ryan to feel the man’s body heat, to smell his
earthy scent, distracting him…until Sam’s next
question.

“What’s that mean?” Sam pressed.
Damn it. Ryan’s jaw tensed at his slip of the

tongue. He hadn’t planned on sharing that he’d
started the altering process. He shrugged and
started walking briskly toward the section of cliff
he planned to climb down.

“It means,” he said, deciding if he didn’t

explain,  Sam  would  just  keep  asking.  Shifters
seemed  to  be  a  tenacious  lot.  “I  agreed  to  go
through  the  same,  uh,  enhancements  that  a  few
others have gone through. Doc Marlow offered it

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to the top soldiers in different fields to assist their
ability to fight against…” He paused and gulped,
glancing back at the group of men following him.
“Well, you all, not to put too fine a point on it,” he
stated, fighting back a flush.

“And what’s your field?” Kontra asked.
Hearing only curiosity in the big man’s tone,

Ryan glanced over at the alpha bear shifter. The
man’s expression gave nothing away.

“Sniper,” he stated shortly.
“I thought you were a guard,” Sam

commented.

Ryan shrugged. “I pulled guard duty at that

facility in between, um, tests.”

Suddenly, Ryan’s arm was grabbed in a firm

but gentle hold, drawing him to a stop. He turned
and  faced  the  man  holding  him,  not  surprised  to
discover  Sam  staring  at  him  with  a  concerned
expression  on  his  face.  He  swept  his  gaze  over
Ryan as if assessing for injuries.

“They did tests on you? Are you all right?” Sam

didn’t give Ryan a chance to reply before using his
free hand to cup Ryan’s jaw and tilt his head up.
Peering into Ryan’s eyes, Sam asked urgently,
“Did they injure you?”

The contact on his face and the concern evident

in  the  bigger  man’s  tone  caused  Sam’s  blood  to
heat  in  his  veins,  and  his  heart  pounded  in  his
chest…and  not  completely  from  arousal.  He

Charlie Richards

felt…cherished. He swallowed hard, trying to get
moisture to his too dry throat. “I’m fine,” he
forced out, his words coming out softer than he’d
have liked, making the moment seem far too
intimate.

“You sure?” Once again, Sam appeared to make

a visual inspection of Ryan—not that he could see
much considering the black jeans and black, long-
sleeved shirt Ryan wore.

Ryan fought his desire to mirror Sam’s move

and cup the other man’s jaw, to touch and soothe
the  creases  on  his  lips  and  brow  caused  by  his
concerned  frown.  He  lost.  Gently,  Ryan  lifted  a
hand  and  wrapped  it  around  Sam’s  nape,  the
warm skin beneath his fingers causing even more
heat to bloom in his body, sending blood south to
his thickening prick.

While sifting his fingers through the short dark

hair at the back of Sam’s neck and massaging the
tense  tendons  underneath,  Ryan  stared  deep  into
the  shifter’s  dark  eyes.  “I’m  fine.  They  take  the
health of their human subjects very seriously. I’m
sorry  I  can’t  say  the  same  for  their  shifter
subjects.” He leaned forward, intending to kiss the
man, but caught himself just in time. With a shake
of his head, Ryan released Sam and stepped back,
pulling  from  the  shifter’s  grip.  “We  need  to  help
your people.”

Texas Longhorn Surprise

Maybe it was because Ryan mentioned the

captured  shifters,  but  Sam  let  him  go,  nodding
once. Turning  around and starting again through
the  forest,  Ryan  found  he  missed  the  warmth  of
the big shifter’s calloused palm against his cheek.

Damn it!
Clearing his mind of what ifs, Ryan picked up a

jog.  The  sooner  they  shut  this  facility  down,  the
sooner  he  could  get  the  fuck  out  of  Dodge  and
away from temptation. His  heart tightened in his
chest at that thought, making it difficult to breathe
for several steps.

He forced those thoughts from his head and

concentrated  on  the  area  around  them.  In  ten
minutes,  they  arrived  at  the  cliff.  It  took  Ryan
another  five  to  scramble  down  the  twenty  feet
without  a  rope.  Twenty  minutes  after  that,  Ryan
crouched  down  behind  some  foliage,  the  shifters
around him, and peered through the brush at the
hole in the fence line.

Ryan pointed out, first one camera, then a

second. “You got two options,” he whispered.

“What are those?” Kontra asked.
“We can do what I already proposed, or…”

Ryan glanced at the two cameras again, just to
confirm what he thought. Yep. “I could shoot the
cameras out, allowing all of you to rush in at the
same time.”

Charlie Richards

Payson grinned, his expression gleeful. “Oh,

let’s do option number two,” he stated, already
stripping off his shirt.

“I’m game,” Vail stated, doing the same just as

a buck-ass nude Luc joined them.

“Game for what?” the man said, taking his

clothes from Mutegi.

“Fast and furious,” Payson said, snickering.
Ryan turned to Kontra, knowing he’d have the

final say. The shifter’s eyes were narrowed as he
took in the structure. “How quick is the guard’s
response time?”

Ryan thought about that a second. “You’ll have

at least six military trained guards hitting this end
of the building in under five minutes.” He turned
to Draven. “If you can get that door open within
ninety seconds, we’ll have no trouble getting to
the rooms we can use as cover.”

“How is the door set up?” Draven asked.
“Your standard push-bar style at waist height,”

Ryan replied, indicating with his hand about
where the bar would be.

Draven shrugged. “Shouldn’t be a problem.”
“Let’s do it,” Kontra replied.
Ryan heard a yip and turned to find a grinning

hyena—its tongue lolling as if it were laughing—
sitting next to a large brown wolf. He took a step
back, away from the animals, before catching

Texas Longhorn Surprise

himself and stopping. Trying to cover his slip,
Ryan glanced around at the others.

“I gotta admit, I’m a little surprised more of

you aren’t shifting,” he blurted his first thought
upon seeing the guns in the men’s hands.

Kontra shrugged. “A few of us might, in the

heat of battle, but for most of us, getting through
doors or down hallways wouldn’t be easy in our
animal forms.”

Caleb snorted. “Or we wouldn’t be much good

in animal form for a frontal attack,” he pointed
out.

Ryan didn’t know what kind of shifter Caleb

was, and his confusion must have been apparent,
for the shorter man chuckled. “I’m a chameleon. If
we’d been sneaking in, my shifting would make
sense.”

“Ah,” Ryan squeaked.
“Let’s get this party started,” Emmett stated,

hefting his Glock.

“Right,” Ryan replied, refocusing. He lowered

himself  to  the  ground  and  crawled  through  the
brush, searching for the perfect spot. It took him a
second  to  realize  he  wasn’t  alone.  Glancing  over
his  shoulder,  he  found  Sam  mimicking  his
movements,  staying  a  few  feet  behind  him.  Ryan
lifted a brow in silent question.

Sam just rolled a shoulder in a semblance of a

shrug.

Charlie Richards

Ryan got it anyway. Sam didn’t want his mate

in danger.

He did his best to dismiss the man. As long as

he didn’t cause a problem with Ryan’s shot, Sam
could  stand  or  lie  wherever  he  wanted.  Since  the
cameras  were  a  hundred  feet  apart,  he’d  have  to
sight  quickly,  but  the  shots  weren’t  tough.  The
whole point of removing the cameras was to hide
their  numbers  from  the  guards  and  trainers
within.  Ryan  didn’t  remember  hearing  about
hidden cameras on the exterior, so hoped the plan
would work.

Sighting down the barrel, Ryan peered through

the scope. He took his time, checking first one shot
then the other. In his element, Ryan’s lips curved
into a small smile as his pulse slowed. Time
seemed to stand still.

He let out a slow breath and squeezed the

trigger,  moved  his  M24,  and  fired  again.  Almost
within  a  heartbeat,  both  cameras  shattered.  Ryan
leaped  to  his  feet  and,  already  on  the  run,  slung
his rifle over his shoulder.

Two four-legged forms bounded past him and

Ryan recognized Vail and Payson. They easily
wriggled through the hole in the fence and loped
forward. He reached the broken section, and to his
surprise, Draven actually reached it right next to
him. His eyes widened in shock when he saw the

Texas Longhorn Surprise

man’s red eyes and the claws extending from his
fingers.

“Holy shit,” he hissed, stumbling back a step as

he watched Draven easily slice through the metal,
creating a large enough gap for any of the men to
leap through.

He nearly jumped out of his skin when a set of

large hands landed on his shoulders, but then he
recognized  Sam’s  masculine,  earthy  scent.  It
soothed him, which he found odd in and of itself.
Still,  he  looked  over  his  shoulder  and  knew  his
wide-eyed  expression  held  a  request  for
clarification.

Sam didn’t disappoint. “Draven is a vampire.”
“Vampires exist?” Ryan hissed. How the hell

had he missed that little tidbit?

“Come on,” Sam urged, guiding him forward.

“I’ll explain later. We have work to do.”

“Damn it,” Ryan growled when he turned and

saw everyone else had already reached the door.

Getting his ass in gear, Ryan shoved aside his

trepidation,  jumped  through  the  hole,  and
sprinted  toward  the  door.  “Everything  okay?”
asked  Mutegi,  who  had  paused  to  hold  the  door
open for him.

Ryan just grunted and headed inside, peering

down the long hallway. The white walls and rows
of doors were the same as he remembered. Just as
the emergency exit slammed behind him, he saw

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two guards round the corner at the end of the hall
forty feet away. Acting on instinct, Ryan ignored
the shifter’s shouts of warning, dropped to one
knee and brought up his rifle. He fired two shots
and the guards crumpled.

He stayed where he was, waiting. Another pair

of guards appeared, and he downed one with his
last  shot  while  someone  standing  over  his
shoulder  took  out  the  other  man  even  as  he
reached  for  his  Glock.  He  took  the  lull  as  an
opportunity to reload. As he did that, another pair
of men appeared.

Before he could bring the rifle back up, the men

each snapped off several shots.

Ryan dove toward the nearest doorway,

executing  a  shoulder  roll.  The  sounds  of  growls
and  snarling  reached  his  ears  as  he  regained  his
feet  in  the  room.  He  started  to  peer  into  the
hallway, but a broad-shouldered body blocked his
view. Sam scowled at him.

For a second, Ryan thought the man would yell

at him, considering how protective shifters
seemed to behave regarding their mates. Instead,
Sam cleared his expression, gave a sharp nod, and
stated, “Nice shootin’, Tex.”

Ryan grinned, a surprised snort escaping him.

“Thanks.”

Sam turned and both of them peered out of the

room. Taking in the third pair of dead men, Ryan

Texas Longhorn Surprise

cringed. He wasn’t certain if the men had died
from the several gunshot wounds on their chests
or from having their throats torn out.

“Fuck,” he mumbled.
Sam didn’t comment. He headed down the hall.

Averting  his  gaze,  Sam  slung  his  rifle  over  his
shoulder  and  palmed  his  pistol.  He  followed
warily,  watching  for  more  guards.  He  needn’t
have  worried  since,  at  this  point,  almost  all  the
shifters were between him and the end of the hall.
Only Mutegi remained behind him, watching their
sixes.

Following the African’s lead, Ryan shifted his

focus  between  the  emergency  exit—after  all,  if
they’d  managed  to  open  the  door,  surely  the
guards would be able to as well—and peering into
each room they passed to make certain they hadn’t
miss  anyone  as  they  trekked  deeper  into  the
training facility.

He heard the occasional shout of clear as well as

the  pop  of  gunfire.  At  one  point,  Kontra  ordered
Ryan  to  lead  Sam,  Mutegi,  and  Payson  to  the
control room and take control of security. Kontra
yanked  a  fire  escape  map  off  the  wall,  and  Ryan
pointed out the route to the holding pens.

Ryan moved swiftly down the hallway, his

firearm at the ready, and led the small group
toward the control room. They ran into two pairs
of guards. Ryan and Sam both dropped one in the

Charlie Richards

first group while Payson seemed to have a grand
time mauling one of the men in the second group.

While his partner dove away from the hyena,

leaving  his  friend,  the  guard  popped  off  a  shot
toward  Ryan.  Pain  flared  through  Ryan’s  arm  as
he  slammed  into  the  wall.  Grunting,  he  pushed
forward just as Sam’s arms wrapped around him
and tugged him sideways.

Mutegi popped off a shot and the pop-pop-pop

of the guard’s gun ceased.

“Fuck, where are you hit?” Sam snapped,

urging Ryan to the ground.

Ignoring the man’s guiding hands, Ryan moved

away. “I’m fine,” he growled. “Just a flesh wound.
Let’s  keep  going.”  He  didn’t  know  when  the
guard  had  stopped  screaming,  but  now  that  the
way  was  clear,  they  needed  to  get  moving.
Gritting  his  teeth  through  the  pain,  Ryan  strode
past the bodies and pointed to the T-junction.

“The control room is down the left corridor, the

first  door  on  the  right,”  he  stated.  After  another
couple of steps, Ryan  felt a wave of dizziness hit
him.  He  shook  his  head  and  kept  moving,
ignoring  the  roaring  in  his  ears.  He’d  been  shot
before, and knew it would pass. He just needed to
keep moving, keep his adrenaline levels high, and
he’d  be  fine.  His  sleeve  would  staunch  the  flow,
although  it’d  be  horribly  painful  to  remove  and
clean later.

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Payson bounded past him, and he let the hyena

take point. The shifter paused, peering both ways,
then disappeared to the left. Ryan hustled after
him. Pausing at the T-junction, he frowned.

Why the hell do I still hear roaring in my ears? And

why is it getting louder?

Just as suddenly as Payson had disappeared, he

reappeared  and  bounded  past  Ryan.  To  Ryan’s
shock,  the  hyena  snarled  and  snapped
aggressively  as  he  stopped  halfway  down  the
corridor, facing the other direction.

What the hell is the hyena doing?
Just as the thought passed through Ryan’s

mind, a massive gold and black tiger prowled
around the corner. Payson growled low, clearly in
warning.

The tiger focused on Payson for all of a second,

then  the  beast’s  nostril’s  flared  and  the  shifter’s
focus  fixated  on  Ryan.  A  low  rumble  rolled
through  the  creature.  Ryan  paled  and  his  hand
slapped  to  his  upper  arm,  sending  pain  spiking
through him even as he tried to staunch the flow
of blood that the animal had clearly fixated on.

“Oh, shit,” Ryan hissed. He didn’t want to kill

another  shifter,  so  he  holstered  his  weapon  and
yanked  at  his  shirt.  If  I  can  clean  up  the  blood,  it
won’t  focus  on  me.  The  irrational  thought  flitted
through  his  mind  even  as  pain  tore  through  his

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shoulder. He bit back a roar, except…he still heard
one.

His arms still tangled in his shirt, Ryan snapped

his head up to see the tiger charge. Payson headed
the shifter off, but it was only a matter of time
before the beast reached him. A hyena was no
match for a tiger.

A warning shot thudded into the wall near the

tiger’s head, fired off by Mutegi. The animal
ignored it.

Sam roared. Fabric tore, bones cracked, and

Sam’s  body  contorted  and  changed.  Payson
managed to harass the tiger long enough for Sam
to finish his shift. Ryan watched in  shock  and an
impressive  amount  of  awe  as  Sam—now  a  two
thousand  pound  Texas  longhorn  bull,  complete
with sharp cloven hooves and deadly, nearly four
foot horns—bellowed a challenge before charging
toward the shifter.

Texas Longhorn Surprise

Chapter Six

age—and fear—like Sam had never felt
before coursed through his veins, driving

him forward. One thought reverberated through
his brain. Protect my mate! To that end, he barreled
down the hallway toward the tiger shifter.

The slick linoleum floor made purchase

difficult, so Sam couldn’t move as swiftly as he’d
have  liked,  but  he  still  managed  to  build  up  a
pretty  good  charge.  With  his  head  lowered,  he
slammed  into  the  big  cat,  who’d  been
momentarily  distracted  by  Payson  snapping  his
jaws at the beast’s haunch.

Twisting and leaping, the tiger managed to

avoid most of Sam’s hit. However, the splotch of
red on the shifter’s shoulder where he’d managed
to gauge the cat before he could get away left Sam
inordinately pleased.

Unfortunately, it also seemed to incense the

shifter.

Charlie Richards

Roaring, the tiger leaped toward Sam with its

paws  reaching  and  claws  extended.  Sam  tried  to
move  left,  but  his  hooves  slipped  on  the  tile.
Realizing  it’d  be  impossible  to  escape  completely
unscathed,  Sam  lifted  and  tilted  his  head,
guaranteeing he wouldn’t be the only one injured.

The tiger landed partially on Sam’s shoulders

and partially on his horns. Blood poured over his
head and into his eyes, forcing Sam to shut them
to keep the oozing liquid from blinding him. At
the same time, he felt long, razor-sharp claws sink
into his barrel and haunch. Sam couldn’t stop his
bellow of pain.

Flipping his head, Sam sent the cat flopping

sideways even as the  weight  of the animal  drove
Sam to the floor. The shifter’s claws tore at his skin
as  he  disappeared  somewhere  to  his  left,  Sam’s
view  of  him  blocked  by  his  damaged  peripheral
vision from his old injury. His body shuddered as
pain  wracked  his  side  and  right  leg.  If  he  could
have spoken in animal form, he would have been
cursing up a blue streak.

A low growl echoed to his left, and Sam

struggled  to  get  his  ass  under  him  so  he  could
start to rise. Except, his right leg was having none
of  it.  Agony  coursed  through  the  limb  and  he
paused,  struggling for enough breath to keep the
dark spots dancing across his vision at bay.

Texas Longhorn Surprise

Rolling his head on his thick neck took effort as

a  bull  wasn’t  really  designed  to  move  that  way,
but  he  finally  managed  to  get  his  head  turned
enough  to  see  the  tiger.  The  shifter’s  lower  half
was  in  even  worse  shape  than  Sam’s,  with  blood
flowing  steadily  from  the  left  haunch,  the  scrape
in the right shoulder, and puncture to its gut.

Still, the beast was using its intact torso and

front legs to slide across the floor toward his mate.
Sam looked around, trying to figure out where
Mutegi and Payson were. He didn’t see them. Had
they continued on to the control room to complete
their mission, thinking an armed Ryan and a bull
shifter protecting his mate were enough to take
out one crazed shifter?

It was a reasonable assumption.
Except, when Sam finally pinned his slightly

blurry gaze on Ryan, his mate wasn’t doing what
he expected. Ryan stood with his back to the wall,
his gun raised, but the man shook his head and
muttered something under his breath.

His mate appeared pale as a sheet and seemed

unable to pull the trigger.

Even though it went against his natural instinct,

Sam visualized how a horse regained its feet, front
end first, and struggled to get his limbs to perform
the unfamiliar actions. Pain streaked through his
barrel as he rolled and twisted, but he ignored it.

Charlie Richards

Finally, he managed to regain his feet, although
his right hind leg wouldn’t hold his weight.

Hopping down the hallway, Sam had one

target in mind, get between his mate and the tiger.
The offending shifter heard him coming and tried
to roll onto its back and lift its hind legs to claw at
Sam. It didn’t work and Sam managed to hop past
the tiger.

Once Sam reached Ryan, he finally managed to

make out his mate’s mumbled words. “I can’t kill
another one. He’ll never want me if I do that.”
Ryan actually lowered his weapon and placed a
hand on Sam’s head. “Oh, shit. I can’t let him hurt
you anymore. What else can I do? Tell me what to
do?”

Sam appreciated that his mate was willing to

touch him in animal form, letting him know Ryan
didn’t  fear  him.  Unfortunately,  he  couldn’t
communicate  with  the  human  while  in  this  form
and didn’t really understand what kept Ryan from
protecting himself. It was obvious the tiger wasn’t
giving  up.  Since  it  looked  like  he  had  a  reprieve
over the slower moving tiger, he initiated his shift.
A  new  kind  of  agony  ripped  through  Sam  as  his
injured  and  broken  body  twisted  and  contorted,
resuming his human form.

A solid arm around Sam’s waist kept him from

just flopping onto the floor, and he glanced over to
see it was his mate holding him, offering support.

Texas Longhorn Surprise

“Are you okay?” Sam gasped between panting
breaths.

Ryan’s bark of laughter sounded a bit

hysterical. “I should be asking you that.”

Sam smiled at the sentiment, and took the gun

from Ryan’s hand. He turned toward the shifter
still slowly crawling toward them. “Stand down,”
he commanded. “Stand down so we can help
you.”

In response, the tiger snarled, baring its fangs at

them.

Lifting the weapon, Sam tried again. “Last

chance,” he murmured, knowing with the shifter’s
hearing, he’d be able to hear. “Let us help you.”

The tiger lifted a paw and swiped at them, just

missing  as  Ryan  urged  Sam  backward.  That’s
when  Sam  got  a  really  good  look  at  the  shifter’s
eyes.  No  intelligence  showed  in  them,  instead,
only rage and pain and aggression.

Sam sighed. “I’m sorry.” He lifted the Glock

and fired.

The tiger shifter lay still.
Sam shook his head sadly. He hated taking

another’s  life,  regardless  of  species,  but  the  tiger
had  ceased  to  be  a  shifter.  There  had  been  no
spark  of  humanity  in  his  eyes.  Sam  sighed,
knowing  what  he’d  done  had  been  a  mercy.  No
shifter would want to live like that, as only half of
themselves.

Charlie Richards

As the adrenaline left him, the pain swept in.

Sam  grunted  and  he  sagged  against  Ryan.  He
moaned  as  the  new  position  put  pressure  on  his
side  and  hip.  “Fuck,”  he  grunted  as  black  spots
once again danced across his vision.

“Shit, Sam,” Ryan growled, wrapping his

second arm around him.

Damn, isn’t that a sexy sound?
“Now, I know you need to lie down,” Ryan

grumbled, easing him to the floor.

Well, fuck, I must have said that out loud.
“Yeah, you did,” Ryan muttered. “Now, lie still.

I’ll be right back.”

Sam’s lips twitched, and—even though he’d

prefer  to  have  his  mate  by  his  side—he  obeyed.
Sighing,  he stared up  at the white tiles lining the
ceiling.  He  concentrated  on  filling  and  emptying
his lungs with oxygen because it was a hell of a lot
better than thinking about anything else…like the
pain permeating every inch of his body.

Shit!
“Just relax,” Ryan soothed, appearing again in

his field of vision. He dropped a first aid kit on the
floor next to him.

“Where’d you have that?” he slurred, watching

his mate pull supplies out of the small plastic kit.

Ryan glanced at him before focusing on

cleaning the wound on his side. “I was in the

Texas Longhorn Surprise

military. Standard procedure to carry at least a
rudimentary first aid kit in a combat zone.”

“This a combat zone?” Sam mumbled inanely

before hissing at the pain spiking through his side.

“We did just get attacked by a psychotic tiger,”

Ryan pointed out.

“Right.” Sam sighed. “Dumb question.” He

hissed  again,  then  wanted  to  kick  himself  for
showing  weakness…or  maybe  that  was  because
he’d  made  his  mate  grimace  and  glance  toward
him,  looking  like  he  felt  bad  for  causing  him
additional pain.

“Where are Mutegi and Payson?” Sam asked,

wanting to focus on something else.

Not sparing him a glance as he applied a

butterfly bandage to a particularly deep cut, Ryan
answered, “After you gutted the tiger’s back end,
they figured we could handle it. They went to take
over the control room.”

Sam nodded, having figured as much. Red

flashing in his peripheral vision drew his attention
to his mate’s right arm and he remembered what
had caused the tiger’s focus. “How’s your arm,
babe?” he slurred, lifting a hand to catch Ryan’s
sleeve.

Ryan smiled and gripped his wrist, gently

dislodging  his  hold.  “I’m  fine.  It  just  grazed  me.
The  force  spun  me  around,  hitting  my  shoulder
into  the  wall,  so  it  stunned  me  a  bit.”  To  Sam’s

Charlie Richards

surprise,  and  pleasure,  Ryan  traced  two  fingers
along  Sam’s  jawline.  “Thank  you  for  pulling  me
out  of  the  way  of  his  next  shots.  I  owe  you  my
life.”  His  gaze  focused  on  the  dead  shifter  for  a
second and he grimaced. “For more reasons than
one.”

Before he could say what was on the tip of his

tongue—that  he  always  wanted  to  be  there  for
Ryan  if  only  his  mate  would  let  him—footsteps
pounding  down  the  hallway  reached  Sam’s  ears.
Ryan instantly went on alert, picking up his Glock
and pointing it toward whoever approached.

Just as quickly, he lowered the weapon and

called, “Eli! Thank God. Sam’s been injured.”

Eli dropped to his knees next to them. “Mutegi

called me,” he said, sweeping his gaze over both
men, his expression assessing. “And it looks like
he’s not the only one injured.”

“I’m fine,” Ryan countered.
“No, you’re not,” Eli stated, but he did turn

back to peer at Sam. “However, you’re right in the
assessment that your injury can wait.” Eli ran his
hands over Sam’s torso and checked the bandages
already  in  place.  Next,  he  moved  to  Sam’s  right
leg  and  shook  his  head.  “I  need  to  set  your  leg,
Sam,  and  it’s  going  to  hurt  like  a  bitch,”  he
warned. “Ready?”

Texas Longhorn Surprise

Sam had known his leg was broken, probably

in more than one place. He jerked a nod and
growled through gritted teeth. “Do it.”

“Hold his shoulders down,” Eli instructed

Ryan.

Ryan obeyed, moving to Sam’s head and

gripping  his  shoulders.  Sam  started  to  smile,  but
then Eli moved his leg. Agony surged through his
body,  tunneling  his  vision.  He  could  hear  Eli
talking,  although  he  couldn’t  actually  make  out
the words. He felt the heat of a body draped over
him and recognized the scent of his mate. Bringing
up  his  arms,  he  wrapped  Ryan  in  a  tight  hug,
letting  the  man’s  scent  soothe  him.  When  a  fresh
wave  of  pain  surged  through  him,  Sam  didn’t
fight the darkness.

A dull throb pulsed through Sam’s body,

pulling  him  from  the  blissful  darkness  he’d  been
enjoying.  He  wished  he  could  go  back  to  sleep,
except  he  really  needed  to  piss.  Swallowing,  he
tried to get moisture to his throat as he pried open
one gummy eyelid.

“Hey, you with me?”
Sam’s brows drew together, hearing the softly-

crooned words. Surely, that wasn’t his mate? He
doubled his effort, but the sleepers worked against
him.

Charlie Richards

“Hold on, handsome,” Ryan murmured. “Let

me help.”

He felt a warm damp cloth rub across first one

eyelid, then the second. “Okay, try again, Sam.
Let’s see those deep brown eyes of yours.”

This time, Sam didn’t have any trouble opening

his  eyes.  He  blinked  several  times  to  clear  his
vision  and  finally  the  shapes  took  focus.  Upon
seeing  Ryan’s  face,  Sam  smiled.  “Hey,”  he
murmured, his voice scratchy.

“You had a lot of people worried, Sam,” Ryan

said quietly.

From the human’s scent, that included Ryan.

Although  pleased  that  his  mate  cared,  Sam  felt
bad  that  he’d  worried  him…except…  “What  are
you  doing  here?”  he  blurted  out,  then  instantly
grimaced. “Sorry. I’m still out of it.”

Ryan nodded. “That’s understandable. I’ll go

get Eli.”

“No, wait,” he called grabbing Ryan’s wrist.

“Please,” he added upon seeing the man’s frown.
Almost instantly, the expression cleared and Ryan
lifted a brow. Taking that as encouragement, Sam
murmured, “I really need to take a piss but…” He
trailed off, grimacing.

Giving him an understanding smile, Ryan

nodded. “Gotcha.” He pulled the blanket off Sam,
and slid an arm under his shoulders. “Lean on me.
We’ll getcha there.”

Texas Longhorn Surprise

Sam sat up slowly, assimilating the pain in his

abs,  knowing  there  were  a  good  number  of
scratches  and  gouges  hidden  under  the  swath  of
bandages wrapped around his torso. He could feel
one on his left hip under his boxers as he bent his
good leg and used it as leverage to swing around,
slowly,  his  broken  leg.  Gritting  his  teeth  against
the  pain,  Sam  felt  a  cold  sweat  break  out  on  his
brow.

“Maybe I should just bring you a bottle to piss

in,” Ryan suggested.

Shaking his head, Sam grunted. “I got this,” he

hissed, pushing off the bed.

Ryan clamped his mouth shut and steadied him

as Sam leaned on him heavily. Getting to have his
arms around his mate almost made the broken leg
worth it…until he took that first jolting, hopping
step. He couldn’t stop a stilted cry from escaping
as pain jolted through him.

“Shit, Sam,” Ryan mumbled. “I’m so sorry this

happened to you. If I’d have been able to just
shoot the fucking tiger you wouldn’t have been
injured like this.”

Sucking in a deep breath, Sam took the last step

into the bathroom, grateful the attached bath
hadn’t been far from the bed. Sam leaned against
the doorframe and—deciding to take a chance—he
cupped his mate’s cheek and drew him in for a
quick press of lips.

Charlie Richards

Ryan stiffened, but he didn’t yank away,

offering Sam a glimmer of hope.  He sipped from
his  mate’s  lips  again,  then  eased  away.  “You
weren’t  the  only  one  in  that  hall  with  a  gun,  my
mate,”  he  whispered.  “If  I’d  controlled  my  fear
and  rage  better,  I  could  have  shot  the  damn
shifter, myself. Or Mutegi could have. But I didn’t,
and my animal’s pretty damn big. I got in the way
and took on a fight I shouldn’t have. It was more
my fault than anyone’s.”

Sighing, Ryan surprised Sam by nuzzling into

his palm for just a second, then seemed to catch
himself and stepped away. “I’ll get Eli while
you…” His voice trailed off and he waved toward
the bathroom.

Sam nodded and, leaning on the sink, moved

jerkily toward the toilet. He was glad Ryan was
giving him privacy, even if it was at the cost of
losing contact with him.

Ryan paused when he was halfway across the

room and turned back to him. “Sam,” he said,
drawing his attention. “Let’s just call it the tiger’s
fault.”

Smiling, Sam nodded. “Works for me.”
“Be right back.”
Ryan disappeared, and Sam shut the bathroom

door and focused on relieving his aching bladder.

Texas Longhorn Surprise

Chapter Seven

yan hustled out of the room before he did
something stupid…like grab the man and lay

one on him, then cuss him out for scaring the shit
out of him. Sam had slept for a good eighteen
hours. Eli had assured Ryan that Sam’s body was
just healing, and Ryan knew it was irrational, but
he hadn’t wanted to leave the man’s side while he
slept.

Sighing, Ryan shook his head and grimaced.

“I’m in too fucking deep already and I hardly
know the man,” he mumbled.

Uncertain how to proceed and knowing he’d

have  to  make  a  decision  soon,  Ryan  happily
shelved  the  decision  and  walked  into  the  billiard
room.  He  looked  for  Eli  and  when  he  didn’t  see
him, he asked Ben where he might be.

“He’s checking the rescued shifters upstairs,”

Ben told him.

Nodding, Ryan turned on his heel and headed

back upstairs. The group had rescued four

Charlie Richards

shifters—two  wolves,  a  bobcat,  and  a  California
condor.  The  wolves—who’d  only  just  arrived  at
the  facility  a  few  days  prior—were  brothers
Richard and Crain, the bobcat—a horribly scarred,
rail  thin,  and  traumatized  shifter—introduced
himself  as  Chip,  and  the  condor  still  hadn’t
shifted, yet.

Ryan hadn’t actually met any of them, but he

knew in general where in the house they were
being held.

Rumors already abounded about the bobcat,

who  Ryan  had  heard  only  spoke  in  whispers  if
everyone  was  across  the  room—presumably  to
avoid  getting  hit  if  whatever  he  said  upset
someone.  The  brothers  were  forthcoming  about
themselves once they realized that Eli and Sam—
also  a  wolf  shifter—were  mated.  They’d  been
snagged  while  on  the  run  from  their  own  pack,
which  took  offense  that  the  younger  of  the  pair,
Crain,  preferred  the  company  of  men.  So  far,  the
condor  had  refused  to  shift,  refused  treatment,
and only responded to Kontra’s alphaness.

The rooms had been set up in the west wing of

the lodge and he headed that way. Ryan could
hear Kontra in the first room, talking to the
condor, again, trying to convince him to shift. He
tapped the door gently and Eli’s mate opened the
door.

Texas Longhorn Surprise

“Hey, sorry to interrupt,” Ryan murmured.

“Sam woke up and I’m looking for Eli.”

The little wolf shifter pointed at the door across

the hall. “He’s with Chip.”

“Thanks,” Ryan replied, turning away. He

heard the latch click behind him right before he
lifted a hand and tapped softly on the indicated
door.

Yuma—whom he’d learned was a penguin

shifter—opened the door and peered out at him.
“What’s up?”

“I’m looking for Eli.”
“He’s doing some follow-up with Chip,” Yuma

said. “Is Sam okay?”

Ryan nodded, figuring everyone in the house

knew he’d been sitting with the bull shifter. “He
woke up. I thought Eli’d want to know.”

“Absolutely,” Yuma responded. “I’m sure he’ll

be done here soon and over to see him shortly.
Grab Sam a bowl of soup and two of those white
pills I showed you in the drawer. Eli probably
won’t be long.”

“Got it,” Ryan replied. He gave Yuma a mock

salute  then  returned  to  the  first  level  and  strode
briskly to the kitchen. He grabbed a can of chunky
soup,  just  knowing  a  shifter  would  want
something  with  meat,  even  while  recovering,
poured  it  in  a  bowl  and  shoved  it  in  the
microwave.

Charlie Richards

Ryan grabbed a tray and placed a cup of tea, a

glass  of  milk,  and  a  glass  of  orange  juice  on  the
tray.  He  didn’t  know  what  the  man  liked,  but
figured he could drink any of them if Sam didn’t
want  them.  Once  the  microwave  dinged,  he
grabbed the soup and silverware and placed them
on the tray, too, and headed back upstairs.

When Ryan knocked lightly and didn’t get a

response,  he  pushed  his  way  into  the  room,
thinking  maybe  the  man  had  fallen  back  asleep.
The  room  appeared  empty.  Frowning,  he  called,
“Sam?”

He heard a grunt followed by a hiss, then the

bathroom door swung open, revealing a very pale
Sam. “Here,” he grunted, hanging between his
grip on the door and sink.

“Shit,” Ryan hissed. Why hadn’t he thought of

that? Sam had needed help getting to the
bathroom. Of course, he’d need help getting back
to bed.

Quickly, he placed the tray on the nightstand,

then hustled to Sam’s side. “Sorry, Sam,” he
apologized. “I didn’t even think.”

“Thought I could get back on my own, but can’t

put any weight on my right leg,” Sam admitted.

“Come on,” Ryan urged, once again wrapping

his near arm around Sam’s waist and gripping the
guy’s upper arm with his far hand.

Texas Longhorn Surprise

Sam grunted, nodding. He grabbed Ryan’s

shoulder and together, they made their way back
to the bed. Ryan worked hard to keep from
stumbling under the man’s weight. Sam was in no
way small…anywhere, he recalled from helping
Eli dress the shifter

Knowing that wasn’t in any way appropriate,

Ryan shut those thoughts down and focused on
getting Sam back to the bed with as little jostling
as possible.

When Ryan eased the shifter’s broken leg onto

the bed, he grimaced upon hearing Sam’s hiss.
“Sorry,” he instantly apologized again.

“It’ll be healed in a couple weeks,” Sam

responded, waving a hand. Letting out a long
sigh, he settled on the bed. “But, shit, does it hurt
right now.”

“Here,” Ryan said, striding back around the

bed. “Eli says you can take a couple of these pills
for the pain. What do you want to drink?” He
opened the nightstand drawer and pulled out the
small vial of white tablets.

“The orange juice will do,” Sam mumbled after

glancing at the offerings.

Ryan nodded, tilting the vial and dropping two

pills onto his palm.

“What are they? Aspirin doesn’t really work on

shifters,” Sam commented, cracking an eyelid as
he watched.

Charlie Richards

“No clue. Eli didn’t say,” Ryan admitted. “I’m

guessing some kind of pain killer since he forced
two down you when we first arrived and you
slept like a baby the next six hours.” Meeting
Sam’s surprised gaze, Ryan shrugged. “Some kind
of morphine that’s safe for shifters?”

Sam grunted and took the pills, swallowing

them down with a deep gulp of juice. “Hope they
work fast,” he grumbled.

“Eat,” Ryan ordered.
“Not hungry.”
Ryan’s brows shot up at Sam’s petulant tone.

He just managed to keep from grinning. The man
wasn’t  handling  injury  well  at  all,  which  begged
the  question  of  how  he  managed  to  get  the
scar…and  how  hard  to  get  along  with  was  he
while healing?

Deciding that was a conversation for another

time—if  he  even  stuck  around,  and  when  did
staying  turn  into  an  option  in  his  mind?—Ryan
picked up the bowl and held it out. “You need to
eat  to  heal.  You’re  a  shifter.  You  have  a  higher
metabolism,”  he  said,  trying  to  appeal  to  his
mate—shit, not mate, Sam—with logic.

Sam frowned. “Fine. I’ll eat later.”
“Now,” he persisted.
Growling, Sam snapped, “Then you’ll have to

force feed me,” before crossing his arms over his
chest and closing his eyes.

Texas Longhorn Surprise

Ryan scowled, and just managed to keep from

replying  something  equally  ridiculous.  Deciding
to call Sam’s bluff, Ryan parked his ass on the bed,
his  back  against  the  headboard  with  his  hip
against  Sam’s  shoulders.  He  placed  the  bowl  on
his  lap  and  spooned  up  some  food,  before
reaching  over  with  his  free  hand  and  plugging
Sam’s nose.

The bigger man’s eyes shot open as he

instinctively  opened  his  mouth  to  breathe.  Ryan
took  advantage  and  shoved  the  full  spoon  into
Sam’s mouth. Sam swallowed convulsively, just as
Ryan  knew  he  would,  and  he  pulled  the  spoon
free as he released the man’s nose.

Once the guy swallowed the bite of potato and

beef, he snarled, “What the fuck?”

Shrugging, completely unrepentant, Ryan

stated, “You wanted to be force-fed. I complied.”

Sam’s eyes almost appeared to bug out of his

head. “What?”

Ryan ignored the man’s incredulous tone, filled

another spoonful and held it to Sam’s lips.
“Open,” he ordered. When Sam scowled at him,
Ryan growled, “ Open, now.”

Sam’s eyes widened, then slowly, he levered

himself  into  a  sitting  position  beside  Ryan,  and
obeyed. For the next few minutes, Ryan fed Sam.
They  sat  in  silence  and  Ryan  didn’t  miss  how
intimate  the  setting  actually  felt.  Finally,  Ryan

Charlie Richards

scraped the last spoonful across the bottom of the
bowl, fed it to Sam, and started to rise.

By that time, Sam’s eyes had dilated a bit,

telling Ryan the meds had begun to kick in. Still,
the speed in which Sam’s hand snaked out and
grabbed Ryan’s thigh, stopping him from moving,
surprised him. He lifted a brow and peered at
Sam.

“I know you enjoy my touch,” Sam murmured,

his brows creased as if he were trying to figure
things out. “Why won’t you give us a chance?”

Ryan sucked in a deep breath, then let it out

slowly.  Could  he  be  honest  with  this  man?  If  he
told  him  now,  when  he  was  slightly  out  of  it,
would  Sam  remember  tomorrow?  Would  he  get
an honest reaction?

There was only one way to find out…and God

he  really  wanted  to  find  out.  Ryan  couldn’t  even
blame  his  attraction  to  the  man…and  he  was
definitely  attracted.  He  hadn’t  felt  this  level  of
desire  or  gotten  so  hard  at  the  drop  of  a  hat
in…ever.  Ryan  also  felt  the  need  to  protect  Sam.
Sitting beside him for hours on end, watching his
brows  crease  in  pain,  Ryan  had  wanted  to  ease
Sam’s  obvious  torment.  He’d  cared  for  him,
wiping  his  brow  with  a  cool  cloth  for  hours  on
end.  He  couldn’t  ever  remember  wanting  to  care
for another the way he did for this shifter.

Texas Longhorn Surprise

Swallowing hard, Ryan gripped Sam’s hand,

sliding his fingers between the other man’s where
they were spread across his thigh. To Ryan’s
pleasure, which would have freaked him out only
a day before, Sam flipped his hand over and
entwined their fingers.

“If I explain and you don’t like it, will you

promise to let me leave peacefully?” Ryan asked
quietly. “You won’t keep me captive or injure
me?”

Sam’s eyes widened, and even drugged, he

managed  to  look,  well,  offended.  “I’d  never  do
that to you. You’re my mate, my heart, the one I’ll
protect  with  my  life.”  His  hand  tightened.  “And
I’d never allow my pack to harm you, even if they
were  inclined.”  He  frowned  and  shook  his  head.
“Which I know they’re not.”

“They might be if they find out that I’ve killed

several of your kind,” Ryan blurted, eyeing Sam
warily.

From the confused—almost so what—

expression  on  Sam’s  face,  Ryan  knew  the  man
didn’t  get  his  meaning.  He  sighed,  realizing  he’d
have  to  explain  further.  “You  wonder  why  I
couldn’t pull the trigger on that tiger?” He didn’t
wait for an answer. “It’s because I’ve killed several
shifters. Now, I realize they were innocents at that
very same facility,” he admitted. “It’s because over
the  course  of  the  last  year  and  a  half,  before

Charlie Richards

transferring  to  the  Utah  facility,  I  worked  with  a
team  of  five  other  men  tracking  down  and
capturing  shifters.  Of  the  six  we  were  sent  to
capture, one of them, a lion shifter, I killed.”

He shuddered at the memory, reliving the

memory,  remembering  the  blood,  the  roars,  and
the aggression of the shifter. “The lion had killed
three  of  the  men  with  me,  and  injured  a  fourth.
The shifter was preparing to kill the last one, so I
took the shot. Doctor Marlow labeled me a brave
man  and  hero  for  at  least  saving  two  of  his
soldiers,  and  offered  me  the  chance  to  undergo
their alterations.” Scowling, Ryan added, “I’d told
him  how  I  couldn’t  get  a  clean  shot,  and  he  told
me  there  was  a  way  to  make  my  eyesight  even
better.”  Meeting  Sam’s  gaze,  Ryan  grimaced.
“They were right. My eyesight now is better than
twenty-ten.  If  I  focus,  I  can  see  every  pore  on
someone’s  skin  when  standing  at  twenty  paces.”
Shuddering  out  a  breath,  he  murmured,  “If  my
eyesight  was  as  it  is  now  when  my  team  was
facing  that  lion,  I  could  have  saved  another  two
men.”

Ryan finally closed his mouth and turned to

gaze at Sam, the almost flat expression on the
man’s face made him wonder if he shouldn’t have
waited to explain when the shifter was, well, not
drugged.

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Sam suddenly blinked twice, then frowned at

him. “Wait, you think I’d be upset that you killed
shifters…in what sounds a lot like self-defense or
in the line of duty?” He cocked his head. “Ya
know, I’ve killed shifters as well…and humans.
Are you going to attack me because I killed people
for the same reasons?”

Ryan’s brows creased. Well, looking at it that

way, it did sound kinda, well, foolish. “Uh, no,”
he admitted.

“I know the meds are hitting me hard at the

moment,” Sam said, talking slowly, obviously
struggling to articulate. “But I don’t get why
you’d think me or any of my buddies would treat
you any differently.”

Grimacing, Ryan closed his eyes in dismay.

Shit, said like that, he sounded like a bigoted
asshole. “God, I’m—”

“Sam, good to see you awake, man,” Eli

interrupted, striding into the room.

Ryan snapped his mouth shut, realizing he’d

forgotten to shut the door. He watched the doctor
stride  toward  the  bed,  shaking  his  head  at  Sam.
“What  were  you  thinking?  When  the  damn  tiger
ignored  Payson’s  warning  and  charged,  you
should  have  just  taken  him  down,”  Eli
admonished. His expression turned sad. “Anyone
could  see  the  lack  of  recognition  in  his  eyes.  The
shifter had lost himself.”

Charlie Richards

Sam grunted and rolled his eyes, not bothering

to answer.

Frowning, Ryan held up a hand. “Wait. Aren’t

you a doctor? I thought you were supposed to
preserve life.”

His lips curving in a sardonic smile, Eli replied,

“Sure.  I’m  devoted  to  preserving  the  lives  of  my
pack  mates.  That  tiger  obviously  had  lost  his
mind.  Madness  swam  in  the  depths  of  his  eyes.”
He shrugged and added softly, “No shifter wants
to live like that, Ryan. Putting him down was the
best thing for him.”

Ryan nodded slowly, understanding. “Where’d

he come from? How’d he get loose?”

Eli glanced up from where he carefully

removed Sam’s bandages and checked the healing
skin. “While Kontra helped Vail calm the wolves,
Draven  opened  the  tiger’s  door.  The  idiot
scientists didn’t have signs indicating what breed
shifter was being held, so we didn’t know. Draven
barely  escaped  unscathed  as  it  launched  by  us
once it realized we weren’t guards with guns and
gonna  shoot  it right  away.  Emmett  and  I  tried  to
calm  him,  but  we  weren’t  successful.  When  we
realized  the  tiger  had  gone  rogue,  Emmett
hollered at Kontra. By then, it was streaking down
the corridor. We tracked it, but by the time we got
to him, the beast had already found you all.”

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The doctor returned to checking Sam’s wounds.

“Well,  the  slices  are  healing  nicely.  The  bite  on
your  flank  will  take  another  day  or  two,”  he
added as he rolled Sam’s hips slightly and pulled
down  the  edge  of  his  boxers  to  remove  and
examine the wound on the back of Sam’s hip.

Ryan swallowed hard, his fingers turning white

where he clasped them between his knees. Damn
it all. He hated Eli touching Sam like that. He knew
the necessity of it and struggled to control his
irrational desire to yank the doctor’s hands away.

Is this the mate pull at work? Would I feel this way

if we weren’t mates?

Suddenly, Ryan realized it didn’t matter. He

wanted  this  man,  this  shifter,  irrational  attraction
or  not,  and  from  Sam’s  responses  to  his  earlier
statements, the guy didn’t seem to mind that he’d
killed  shifters…in  fact,  he  seemed  to  totally
understand.  Excitement  actually  coursed  through
Ryan’s system, and he struggled not to get a boner
as he anticipated the feel of Sam’s hands on him.

“Your leg, however, is going to take

another…mmm…maybe  three  or  four  weeks  to
heal,”  Eli  warned,  grimacing  sympathetically.
Shaking  his  head,  the  doctor  stated,  “The  tiger
really did a number on it. Sorry, man.”

Sam shook his head where it rested on a pillow

and sighed. “Naw, man. Shoulda kept my head.”

Charlie Richards

Eli patted Sam’s shoulder, then turned to Ryan.

“Well, he’s woken. What are you planning to do
now? Heading out of town? Staying?” He looked
between them. “You are mates, you know.”

It wasn’t a question, and Ryan knew it. He

glanced  toward  Sam,  seeing  the  shifter’s  eyelid
cracked,  one  dilated  eye  watching  him.  Ryan
licked  his  lips,  uncertain  how  to  express  his
newfound  discoveries,  but  knowing  he  had to  be
honest. “I’m not completely sure,” he decided on.
“I, uh…I guess when Sam feels better, me and him
have a lot to talk about,” he murmured quietly.

Patting his shoulder, Eli pushed away from the

bed and headed toward the door. “Good choice,”
he commented. Looking over his shoulder, he
added, “Get some rest, Sam. It’ll help the ache in
your leg.”

Sam’s fingers brushed over Ryan’s hand,

drawing his attention. “You really gonna stick
around?”

Noting the man’s worried tone, Ryan flipped

his hand and twined their fingers, giving the other
man’s hand a squeeze. “I’ll be here when you
wake up,” he promised.

For several seconds, Sam’s muzzy gaze swept

over Ryan’s face. Finally, Sam nodded and
stopped fighting his body’s obvious desire for
sleep. His eyelids closed and his breathing evened
out, sleep claiming him almost instantly.

Texas Longhorn Surprise

Ryan traced his fingertips over Sam’s sweaty

brow,  remembering  all  the  expressions  he’d  seen
cross  this  man’s  face.  Concern,  worry,  fear,  lust,
desire,  even  possessive  rage  and  determination
right before he shifted to protect him.

He’d caused this man to feel all those things. A

need to see the lust and desire again rode Ryan,
erasing his guilt, and he wondered what he could
do to illicit it soon.

Settling into the chair, Ryan propped his feet on

the side of the bed and picked up the cup of now
lukewarm tea, ready to wait as long as it took to
prove his sincerity. He’d be there when Sam woke,
then they had a shitload to talk about.

Charlie Richards

Chapter Eight

am once again woke to the surge and ebb of
pain through his system. At least, he didn’t feel

the desire to chop off his leg to stop the agony this
time. Cracking open an eyelid—thank the gods he
didn’t have them stuck shut again—Sam stared at
the ceiling. Frowning, he turned his head just
enough to see the chair where Ryan had been
sitting, but it was empty.

Disappointment stabbed through him, numbing

the pain with its intensity.

The toilet in the attached bathroom flushed.

Hope blossomed in Sam’s chest as he listened to
water splash in the sink. A few seconds later, the
door opened and Ryan appeared.

Ryan’s gaze met Sam’s, and his hazel eyes lit

up. “Hey,” he crooned, crossing quickly to the
bed. “How are you feeling?”

Relief and pleasure flooded Sam. “Hey, you’re

here.” He leaned into Ryan’s touch, nuzzling the
man’s palm with his two-day growth. There had

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been no way he’d been able to stand for a long
enough period to actually shave earlier—was that
yesterday?—but Ryan didn’t shy away from the
prickles.

Instead, concern filled Ryan’s expression. “I

said I would,” he murmured. His brows drew
together. “But I understand why you’d be
skeptical.”

“Why’d you decide to stay?” Sam asked.
For a second, Ryan stared at where he touched

Sam instead of answering. Finally, he met Sam’s
eyes. “Do you remember what we discussed last
night?”

Sam wracked his brain. After he’d taken the

pills  Ryan  had  given  him,  it  didn’t  take  long  for
his memories to become a bit disjointed. Whatever
was  in  those  tablets  packed  a  punch…and  fast.
From  Ryan’s  grimace,  and  the  way  he  pulled  his
hand away, Sam knew this was important.

He grabbed his mate’s hand and held on, not

letting the man get away. “Give me a sec, babe,”
he whispered. “I just need a sec to sort things out.”

Ryan paused, nodding. “Can I get you anything

while you do that?” he asked softly. “Maybe some
juice or toast?” A corner of his lip curved into a
semblance of a smile. “A steak?”

Sam chuckled at that. “I’m a bull. Steak doesn’t

have the same allure as it would to a wolf shifter,
but I appreciate the offer.”

Charlie Richards

Ryan smirked. “You want a salad then?”
Liking that his mate was willing to tease him,

Sam lifted a brow and returned his smirk. “Only if
it’s  Caesar  and  you  toss  some  chicken  on  there
that  I  don’t  have  to  kill.”  The  mention  of  killing
jogged his memory, and he sobered. “That’s what
we  were  discussing  last  night,”  he  whispered.
“Killing.”

Ryan instantly sobered. “Yeah. Yeah, we were.”
The man settled on the side of the bed, and Sam

took the opportunity to rest his hand on Ryan’s
thigh. “You’ve killed shifters before and worried
I’d reject you because of it, but my response is still
the same, Ryan,” he assured. “I’ve seen my share
of death, and so have most of the guys in the pack.
We’d never judge you for what you had to do to
survive.”

Nodding, Ryan murmured, “I appreciate you

saying that. I guess…God, I don’t know what I
was thinking.”

“You were thinking we’d judge you,” Sam

stated,  keeping  his  tone  even.  “And  after  the  lies
the scientists told you about us, it’s not surprising.
You  didn’t  know  any  better.”  Taking  a  chance,
Sam  reached  up  and  cupped  Ryan’s  jaw.  “I’m
hoping  you’re  willing  to  stick  around  to  learn
otherwise.”

Ryan shivered under his touch. The knowledge

that his mate allowed him to touch, giving him the

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chance to have this conversation with him, heated
Sam’s blood. His dick thickened under the blanket
and it suddenly struck him that he was nude. His
mate  had  helped  his  boxer-clad  ass  to  the
bathroom,  touching  him  and  wrapping  an  arm
around him. Where the hell had his clothes gone?
Oh,  right…Eli  had  removed  them  the  last  time
he’d checked his bandages.

Hope flared, just the same.
“I am,” Ryan whispered. “I, uh…kinda lied a

couple days ago.” He glanced away, his cheeks
warming under Sam’s palm, turning a faint red.

“What do you mean?” Sam asked, softly, not

wanting to lose the contact. He brushed his thumb
over  Ryan’s  lips,  desperately  wanting  to  pull  the
man close and taste his mate again. “What did you
lie  about?”  He  wracked  his  brain  about  when  he
might  have  scented  deceit  from  the  man.  He’d
scented  just  about  everything  except  that  at  one
point or other.

“I said I’m not gay,” Ryan murmured, focusing

on Sam’s chest. “I consider myself bisexual. I’ve
enjoyed the attentions of both women and men.”

At his words, jealousy spiked through him. He

had a sudden desire to seek out whoever had
touched his mate and strangle them. Knowing he
couldn’t, Sam focused on what his mate had told
him, instead. “So, you’re saying you, uh, maybe
feel attracted to me?” he asked hopefully.

Charlie Richards

Ryan snorted, finally focusing on him. “Oh, I’m

definitely attracted,” he admitted softly.

“Shifters do things awfully fast,” Sam

acknowledged. “Since we know our mate nearly
instantly.”

“For humans, it doesn’t happen that quickly.”
“What are you saying?” Sam frowned, trying to

understand the direction of the conversation.

Ryan shrugged and met his gaze. “I don’t

know.” Sighing, the muscles of his thigh tensed.
“Damn.”

Sam squeezed the muscle he gripped lightly,

trying to reassure him. “So, we see if we’re
compatible. Sure, Fate seems to think we are, but
we need to figure each other out, right?”

“Yeah,” Ryan agreed, looking relieved. “Yeah.”
“So, was Eli able to find some crutches?” Sam

asked, figuring his mate needed a subject change.
“I wouldn’t mind heading to the kitchen and
gettin’ some grub.”

Ryan shook his head. “Sorry, nope.” He

winked. “Eli has a pair stashed away somewhere,
but  he  wouldn’t  give  them  to  me  yesterday
because  he  says  otherwise  you’ll  put  too  much
pressure  on  your  leg.  You’re  on  bed  rest,
handsome.”

He couldn’t help grinning, even though he

didn’t like the news. His mate thought he was

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handsome. “Then you better head off and do a
kitchen run,” he teased. “Feed me.”

Ryan rolled his eyes and rose from the bed.

“Fine. What do you want?”

“Coffee and whatever’s easy,” he replied.
His mate took a few steps away, then turned

back to look at him. “Can I—” He paused,
obviously uncertain.

“What?”
“I want to kiss you again.”
Pleasure flooded Sam and his cock twitched

under the blanket. “I’d like that.”

Ryan returned to the side of the bed and placed

one  hand  on  the  headboard  by  Sam’s  head  and
with  the  other,  he  loosely  cupped  Sam’s  jaw.  For
several  seconds,  Ryan  just  stared  into  his  eyes.
Sam really wanted to lean up and capture Ryan’s
mouth, but he knew he had to wait for his lover.

Finally, Ryan pressed his lips over Sam’s, the

pressure  light.  Sam  reveled  in  the  feel  of  the  soft
rub—rub  of  his  mate’s  lips  as  he  brushed  them
together once, twice. He fought back a moan when
Ryan  nipped  his  bottom  lip  lightly.  He  did  open
his  mouth  a  smidge  as  he  sucked  in  a  surprised
breath  at  the  move,  and  Ryan  immediately  took
advantage, thrusting his tongue into Sam’s mouth.

This time, Sam released a growling groan, the

sound rumbling up his chest and swallowed by
Ryan. Sam’s mate’s fingers dug into the tendons of

Charlie Richards

his neck as he fed him a growl, his tongue twining
with Sam’s. He reveled in his human’s tight hold
and the man’s amazing scotch-bitter taste.

Ryan’s second hand delved into Sam’s hair and

used the hold to tilt  his head as he deepened the
kiss.  They  twined  their  tongues,  dueling.  Sam
reached up, gripped the shoulder of Ryan’s t-shirt
and  held  on,  tasting  and  clinging  to  the  man  he
hoped to make his lover.

Finally, Ryan eased back and Sam reluctantly

let him go. He sucked a much-needed breath into
his tortured lungs. He swallowed hard as he
opened his eyes and watched his mate ease a few
inches away from him.

“Wow,” Ryan whispered, peering intently at

him.

Sam really liked the small smile playing at the

corners of his human’s lips. He grinned. “Yeah.”

Ryan licked his lips and took his time sweeping

his gaze over Sam’s chest to where the blanket
covered his waist and legs. His attention snagged
on Sam’s obvious erection where it tented the
sheet. He licked his lips again.

Sam swallowed his groan at the obvious lust

blanketing Ryan’s expression.

“I’ll, uh—” Ryan paused and cleared his throat.

“How about I take care of that after breakfast?” he
growled huskily.

Texas Longhorn Surprise

For just a second, Sam’s voice caught in his

throat. “Y-yeah.”

Ryan grinned. “Excellent. Guess I better feed

you then. I want you to have a little energy, at
least,” he teased, winking as he pulled away. “Be
right back.”

Sam watched his mate slip from the room. His

heart pounded in his chest in anticipation at what
was to come. Then he realized his soon-to-be lover
would probably expect to do just that—make love.

His heart rate shot up for an altogether different

reason and beads of sweat broke out on his
brow—and this time, not from pain, but from fear.
Would he be able to keep an erection in the face of
penetrating his mate? He’d always lost his boner
any time his hook-ups pushed for it. Would it be
different with Ryan?

He focused on his breathing, trying to decide

what  to  do.  Remembering  Ryan’s  honesty,  he
knew  he  had  to  give  the  same  courtesy  to  his
mate.  He  needed  to  explain  his  hang-ups  to  his
soon-to-be lover.

Sam was just lifting his leg back onto the bed,

having successfully traversed a slow, painful trip
to the bathroom—when Ryan came back from the
kitchen. He returned his mate’s smile as he pulled
the sheet across his lap after getting his good leg
up.

Charlie Richards

“Looks like you slept through breakfast,” Ryan

stated, then waggled his eyebrows comically. “But
you’re in luck because Land was making grilled
turkey and cheese.” He set the plate on the tray on
the nightstand, then—surprising Sam—he asked,
“Do you mind if I join you on the bed, again? I’ll
be careful about your leg.”

Grinning, Sam beckoned with his hand. “I’d

like that.”

Returning the grin, Ryan settled next to him, his

back against the headboard. He reached over,
grabbed the tray, and rested it over their laps. “Eat
while it’s hot,” he ordered, pushing a plate with
two steaming sandwiches toward him.

Sam chuckled, staring at the twin sandwiches.

“Think I need that much?”

Ryan snorted. “I’ve seen you guys eat. Ya’ll are

bottomless pits.”

“Ha!” Sam snorted, unable to hide his mirth.

Ryan did have them pegged in that area. With a
shifter’s high metabolism, they often ate almost
double what a normal human would. He winked,
then grabbed a sandwich half and took a big bite.

After swallowing, Sam picked up his coffee and

took  a  sip,  pleased  to  find  it  contained  just  the
right amount of cream and sugar. Taking another
large  bite  of  grilled  turkey  and  cheese,  Sam’s
brows  drew  down  for  a  second…when  had  he

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discussed his coffee preference with the man? He
lifted a brow at Ryan in question, lifting the mug.

Shrugging, Ryan answered his unvoiced query.

“I asked Tim how you took your coffee.”

“Huh.” Sam didn’t even realize Kontra’s mate

knew how he liked the beverage.

Go figure.
He watched Ryan bring a mug of his own to his

lips and take a sip, his smile curving blissfully as
he swallowed the black liquid. A quick inhale
verified the scent wasn’t coffee. “What is that?” he
asked curiously. He couldn’t place the scent.

“Black Dragon Tea,” Ryan replied, before

taking  a  larger  swallow  and  humming  happily.
Sam  knew  he  must  be  showing  his  surprise,  for
Ryan chuckled and stated, “It’s a black tea. Not as
much  caffeine  as  coffee  and  tastes  a  hell  of  a  lot
better. I don’t like coffee,” Ryan reminded him. He
shrugged. “I found it in the pantry.”

“You don’t like coffee?”
Ryan shook his head.
Sam held out his hand. “May I?”
Ryan hesitated for just a second, then handed

him the mug, saying, “We swapped spit, so why
not?”

Barking out a laugh, Sam almost spilled the

drink.

“Hey, watch it,” Ryan warned, although he did

it with a smile.

Charlie Richards

Sobering, Sam brought the beverage to his lips

and took a tentative sip. Not as bitter as coffee, it
wasn’t as thick either. “Not bad,” he said, handing
the mug back. He certainly wouldn’t be requesting
it anytime soon, but he could understand the
occasional appeal…besides, if it made his mate
happy, he’d make certain to have a box of tea bags
in his saddlebags at all times.

Sam glanced at Ryan from the corner of his eye

several  times  over  the  next  couple  of  minutes  as
they  ate.  Finally,  knowing  he  had  to  say
something before embarrassing himself, he stated,
“I  got  the  scar  from  a  bunch  of  wolf  shifters
who…”  He  grimaced,  then  changed  tactics.
“They’re not my only scars.”

Ryan chewed the last bite of his sandwich. He

glanced down at Sam’s body, taking in his scar-
free chest, shoulders, and arms.

Shaking his head, Sam admitted, “I have scars

across my lower back and between my thighs.”

“Ah, shit,” Ryan murmured, his eyes widening

understanding.

“Are

you…does

everything…work? Are you okay?” he asked,
stumbling over his words. “What can I do
to…um—”

Seeing his mate’s struggle with words, Sam

rested his hand on the man’s arm and squeezed,
silencing him. “I’m fine, now, physically, but I’ve
never—” He paused, his face flushing at having to

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admit  this.  He  felt  grateful  that  Ryan  waited
patiently. “I’ve done things with others since then,
but  I’ve  never  done  anal.  After  the  pain  and
torture  those  shifters  put  me  through  I…”  His
words  trailed  off  as  he  sucked  in  a  couple  deep
breaths,  trying  not  to  remember  those  few  days
he’d  been  in  the  asshole’s  clutches.  Never  would
he cease being grateful that Kontra had been in the
area.

Ryan nodded slowly. “I kinda wondered,

because that blow job you gave me was mind-
blowing,” he admitted.

Sam chuckled, flushing, pleased his mate had

enjoyed  the  experience.  Sobering,  he  finally  said,
“I  don’t  know  if  I  can  keep  it  up  if  you  want  to
have  sex.”  He  clenched  his  jaw,  choosing  his
words  carefully.  “Don’t  get  me  wrong.  I  want  to
make  love  to  you,  but  I  don’t  want  to…”  He
grimaced  and  shrugged.  “Freak  out.  Not  please
you.  Hurt  you.  Embarrass  myself.  Embarrass
you.”

Blowing out a slow breath, Ryan shook his

head.  Setting  the  tray  aside,  he  took  Sam’s  hand
and  squeezed.  “You  would  never  hurt  me.  I’ll
admit it took me by surprise to learn that shifters
are  something  other  than  the  monsters  the
scientists  painted  them  to  be,  but  even  I  know
mates don’t hurt each other.”

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100

He brought Sam’s hand to his lips and kissed

the knuckles gently. Sam’s tension eased
somewhat at the clear conviction shining through.
It was so different than when they’d first met just
a few days before. “How do you know this?” he
whispered, unable to voice his question.

Shrugging, Ryan smiled, the move warming his

hazel  eyes.  “I  had  a  lot  of  time  to  think  over  the
last  day  and  a  half  while  you  were  sleeping.”
Then, his cheeks flushed, maybe at some memory,
but  he  continued  to  hold  Sam’s  gaze.  “And  your
friends would  stop by often to chat.  It was like a
crash  course  in  shifters.  Mating  one-oh-one,”  he
finished, chuckling.

“Oh,” Sam murmured, pleased his friends had

given Ryan information and yet jealous all at the
same time. He’d wanted to share that info with his
mate.

“As for the other things,” Ryan continued. “As

long as we’re honest with each other, I don’t think
they  will  happen  either.”  Ryan  paused  for  a
second, obviously in thought. He cocked his head
to  the  side  and  peered  at  Sam.  “I  heard  sex  is
required  to  claim  your  mate,  but  we  haven’t
discussed it. Do you even want to claim me?”

Sam’s breath caught in his throat. Tension

caused his fingers to tighten, and he had to remind
himself to ease his grip so he didn’t hurt his
human mate. Slowly, biting his bottom lip and

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102

Chapter Nine

yan leaned over the pool table and took his
shot. The crack of ball against ball sounded

obnoxiously loud in the room, but he hardly paid
attention to the action on the table. Instead, he
thought about Sam.

It’d been over two weeks since the shifter had

admitted wanting to claim Ryan, except, the man
didn’t  seem  to  be  making  any  headway  in  that
direction. Sure, Ryan hadn’t expected it to happen
right  that  instant—after  all,  Sam  was  injured.
However,  shouldn’t  Sam  have  pushed  for  it  at
some point between now and then?

Sam currently wore a walking boot—which

he’d  only  need  for  about  another  week—and  he
moved around freely. Any action Ryan instigated
ended  in  mutual  jerk-offs,  rub  offs,  blow  jobs,  or
even  sixty-nines,  and  even  though  Ryan  loved
their actions, he still found his dick almost always
at  half-mast  and  ready  for  action.  He’d  learned
from  discussions  with  a  sympathetic  Caleb  and

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103

Ben that it was because his body constantly craved
uniting completely with Sam’s.

Both men had turned out to be really great

friends and Ryan didn’t know what he would
have done without their kind support and patient
guidance…which led him to his current situation.
He sure hoped his plan to seduce Sam worked,
because he didn’t know what else to try.

He glanced at Mutegi, who he played against,

then around at the several pairs of men who’d
agreed to help him.

Yuma sat curled up in Hunter’s lap on a corner

of one sofa. Land sat between Payson’s legs on the
other end of the piece of furniture. Caleb sprawled
across Emmett’s lap in a recliner while Eli sat on a
matching chair with his mate at his feet. Each pair
already engaged in some form of foreplay—either
making out, rubbing, or rocking.

He knew the pheromones must have been off

the charts by the way sweat glistened on Mutegi’s
upper  lip,  even  as  the  big  man  attempted  to
continue  their  seemingly  innocent  game  of  pool.
Ryan  discovered  he  wasn’t  completely  immune
either. Whether it was the view of Eli’s little wolf
kneeling at his feet, his hand under the loose leg of
Eli’s  cargo  shorts,  and  blatantly  rubbing  the
slender  shifter’s  obvious  erection,  or  maybe  the
way  Caleb  sucked  up  a  mark  on  his  mate’s  neck
while Emmett fondled the slender ridge filling out

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104

the  groin  of  the  smaller  man’s  sweats.  Watching
these scenes, Ryan felt like his prick pulsed against
the fly of his jeans. Of course, it could have been
the  butt  plug  inserted  in  his  rectum,  pressing
insistently  against  his  prostate  any  time  he  bent
over  to take  a  shot,  or  stood  up  after  his  turn,  or
just moved in general.

They all waited for the same thing…for Ben—

who stood at the top of the stairs shifting restlessly
from  foot  to  foot,  the  palm  of  one  hand  cupping
the crotch of his shorts—to tell them Sam was on
his  way.  Then,  the  men  planned  to  kick  it  up  a
notch. What the hell that meant, Ryan had no idea
considering  the  soft  porn  already  playing  out  in
front of him.

Finally, finally, Ben came sprinting down the

stairs…the  signal  that  Sam  was  headed  toward
them.  As  if  the  bull  shifter  needed  any
announcement other than his roar of  what the hell
is going on that could be heard ringing through the
house.

Ryan blanched. His mate sounded angry.
Yeah, over the last week I’ve accepted the man as my

mate. Now, if I could just get him past his hang-ups so
he could fuck me senseless.

They’d done just about everything else, but

Sam hadn’t even attempted to penetrate Ryan,
even with a finger. He was about to go out of his
mind with need.

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105

Ryan gripped his pool cue tightly as he

watched  Ben  practically  climb  Mutegi.  Looking
up,  he  spotted  his  lover  limping  down  the  stairs,
his  face  flushed,  his  dark  eyes  sparking,  and—
yup—his erection very nicely tenting his sweats.

He knew from experience that Sam was hung

like the bull he was. Eleven inches of thick, uncut
cock,  and  he  wanted  it  plowing  his
ass…desperately.  When  he  and  the  other  shifters
had  come  up  with  this  little  plan,  Ryan  had
special-ordered  the  biggest  damn  butt  plug  he
could find, which he now wore.

Licking his lips, Ryan didn’t bother responding

as Sam swiftly reached the first floor…which was
kind of impressive since the shifter still wore a
boot. Ryan had confirmed with Eli that Sam’s leg
could handle the strain of…whatever the hell the
bull shifter could do given the stimulus they were
giving him. The doc had confirmed that it’d be just
fine.

Thank God!
Ryan met Sam’s gaze, taking in the infuriated

lines  of  the  glowering  shifter’s  jaw,  and  smirked.
Slowly,  he  backed  away.  Ryan  focused  on  his
lover, which was actually kinda tough considering
the moans and grunts now permeating the room,
but  since  he  wanted  his  mate  aroused  and  not
incensed, he did it.

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106

Crooking a finger, Ryan backpedaled toward

the wet bar. Pleasure filled him when Sam didn’t
even  glance  at  the  other  men  in  the  room  as  he
stalked  across  the  floor  toward  Ryan.  When  he
reached  the  bar,  Ryan  slipped  behind  it,  all  the
while holding Sam’s gaze.

Ryan backed around the corner and out of

sight.  He  heard  a  low  growl  and  knew  his  lover
followed.  The  bar  connected  to  the  back  of  the
kitchen with a short, four foot hallway. Although
small,  it  still  offered  plenty  of  room,  plus  the
privacy  Ryan  knew  Sam  would  want  for  a
claiming, while—because it was open to the rest of
the  bar  and  the  rec  room  beyond—Ryan  figured
it’d  still  be  permeated  with  the  same  heavy
pheromones  needed  to  drive  his  lover  out  of  his
mind.

“What the hell is going on, Ryan?” Sam

demanded gruffly, rounding the corner of the bar
and coming into sight.

Ryan leaned against the secluded counter,

resting  his  hands  on  the  bar  behind  him,  which
effectively  thrust  out  his  groin.  “Just  waiting  for
you, Sam,” he stated. He didn’t even need to try to
get  his  voice  to  drop  with  lust.  The  sight  of  his
shifter’s  broad  shoulders  and  sexy  features  did  it
for him.

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107

The rolling gait of the man’s lean hips drew his

gaze like a moth to a flame. “Damn, you’re
fucking sexy,” he mumbled.

A low chuckle rumbled through Sam. “I’m glad

you  think  so.”  When  Sam  reached  Ryan,  he
wedged  his  body  between  his  thighs  and
bracketed  him  with  his  arms.  Staring  intently,  he
growled, “Now, you gonna tell me what the hell is
going on? I’ve never seen the guys like that.”

Ryan shrugged. He didn’t know that, since the

guys had seemed more than happy to put on a
show, but now that he thought about it, he hadn’t
seen anyone’s skin—just heard plenty of noise and
scented plenty of arousal.

Huh.
Getting his mind back on track, Ryan reached

up  and  rested  his  hands  on  Sam’s  pecks.  He
rubbed his thumbs over Sam’s nipples, pleased to
feel  the  nubs  harden  beneath  the  fabric  of  the  t-
shirt. He gave his lover what he hoped Sam would
consider a sultry look. “I  heard from Payson you
enjoyed  listening.  I  figured  it  would,  uh…”  He
licked his lips, searching for the right words. Then,
he blurted his desires. “I  wanted an environment
you’d enjoy, so you could claim me.”

Sam’s jaw dropped, clearly shocked, but the

look quickly morphed into a pained expression.

Okay, not the best approach.

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108

Ryan moved one hand up and cupped Sam’s

jaw.  He  pressed  their  mouths  together  in  a  soft
kiss, then backed just a smidge, making their lips
brush  as  he  spoke.  “Hey,  hey,  relax,”  he
whispered.  “Focus  on  me.  Don’t think.  Just  feel,”
he  ordered,  sliding  his  hand  down  Sam’s  jaw  to
caress  the  tendons  of  his  neck.  At  the  same  time,
he  rocked  his  hips  forward  and  rubbed  his
erection  against  Sam’s  groin,  pleased  to  still  find
an  answering  hardness  behind  the  thin  fabric  of
Sam’s sweats.

To Ryan’s pleasure, Sam moaned and closed

the scant distance between their mouths. He
flicked his tongue against the seam of Ryan’s lips
and he happily opened to the man, letting the
other man thrust in his tongue.

His lover’s heady masculine flavor exploded

across Ryan’s tongue. His grip tightened on Sam’s
neck  as  Ryan  tilted  his  head  and  gave  his  lover
more  access.  The  throbbing  in  his  jeans  turned
insistent,  and  he  scrambled  for  the  zipper.  Sam
batted  his  hands  away  and  made  quick  work  of
his fly, then shoved his pants down.

With a wiggle and a shake, which he’d deny to

his  dying  day,  Ryan  got  the  jeans  down  his  legs
and  kicked  off  past  his  bare  feet.  He  fed  Sam  a
moan when he felt Sam’s thick cock—which Sam
must have freed from his sweats while Ryan  had
removed his own jeans—press against his own.

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109

Yanking his mouth away, Ryan hopped up on

the  counter  behind  him  and  spread  his  legs.  He
hooked  his  heels  around  Sam’s  waist  and  dug
them  into  his  shifter’s  naked  ass.  Looking  down,
Ryan licked his lips upon seeing his lover’s rearing
prick, the foreskin already pulling away to reveal
a wet, ruddy head.

“God, I want that in my ass,” he mumbled, his

body vibrating with lust.

His man stiffened between his thighs, and not

in a good way.

Knowing he needed to distract the man, Ryan

grabbed  both  their  pricks  and  pressed  them
together.  He  reveled  in  the  hot  flesh  pressed
against  his  own,  and  loved  the  sound  of  Sam’s
hiss. It was almost as good as the feel of his lover’s
hands digging his fingers into his hips.

Instead of stroking their cocks, Ryan rubbed his

thumb over Sam’s partially exposed slit. Then, he
gently pulled his lover’s foreskin over his own
prick’s glans, combining their pre-cum, and
rubbing their heads together.

Sam moaned, his body arching. Ryan reveled in

the power he felt as his lover gave himself over to
the sensations he caused. “Ryan,” Sam grunted,
his hips jerking.

“That’s it, baby,” Ryan crooned, trying to

control his own body’s reactions. He felt his balls
roll in their sacks, threatening to pull tight.

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110

Needing  a  distraction,  Ryan  grabbed  Sam’s  hand
and  pried  it  from  his  hip.  “Wanna  show  you
something,”  he  said  upon  seeing  his  mate’s
questioning look.

Even as Sam allowed Ryan to guide his hand

between  his  legs  to  his  crack,  his  lover’s  thumb
brushed  his  balls.  Ryan  moaned  as  spikes  of
pleasure  threaded  through  his  system.  When
Sam’s  fingertips  finally  slid  over  the  base  of  the
plug,  jiggling  the  piece  of  silicone,  making  it  rub
over  his  prostate,  Ryan  thought  he’d  lose  his
mind.

Ryan gasped, his body shuddering. A bead of

sweat  dripped  down  his  temple.  Seeing  the
shocked  expression  on  Sam’s  face  quickly  turn
into one of feral delight as he gripped the toy and
jiggle  it,  moving  it  over  Ryan’s  prostate  on
purpose, just about sent Ryan over the edge.

“S-Sam,” he hissed.
Sam pulled the toy out an inch, then released it,

allowing it to sink back into Ryan’s ass.

“Oh my God,” Ryan howled, a shiver working

up his spine.

His dick oozed another drop of pre-cum,

slicking  their  heads  where  they  rubbed  together
underneath  Sam’s  foreskin.  His  mate  groaned,
Sam’s  eyelids  lowering  to  half-mast.  His  mouth
opened  and  he  panted  several  breaths  as  Sam
locked gazes with him.

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111

Sam’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed

hard. “Ryan,” he whimpered. “I-I need—”

Relief flooded Ryan that his mate seemed to be

just as on edge as him. “Gonna give you what you
need,” he promised. Squeezing Sam’s wrist on the
hand that played with the butt plug, he ordered,
“Pull it out.” He gritted his teeth as Sam obeyed.
“Ah, fuck,” he whispered.

Freezing, Sam met his gaze, questions in his

eyes.

Ryan forced a smile. “Feels good,” he assured.
Sam didn’t really look like he believed him.

Ryan  massaged  Sam’s  foreskin  where  it  covered
their  dick’s  heads,  distracting  his  lover  with  the
sensual  touch  for  a  few  seconds.  Then,  unable  to
wait  any  longer—because  if  he  did,  Ryan  knew
he’d  spew—Ryan  eased  their  cocks  apart  and
lowered  his  lover’s  leaking,  jerking  prick  to  his
lubed and stretched hole.

Ryan watched his lover look down, his eyes

widening in shock. Not wanting his shifter to start
over thinking, Ryan tilted his head. “Claim me,”
he whispered.

That brought Sam’s focus to Ryan’s neck, then

his eyes, his expression questioning.

Smiling, Ryan tilted his head further and

murmured, “I need you, mate.”

Sam moaned, lowering his head and trailing his

tongue up the tendon. “You sure?” Sam asked, the

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112

words against Ryan’s wet flesh caused goose
bumps to dance across his skin.

“Now,” Ryan insisted.
He jacked Sam’s prick where he still held it in

his grip, the pre-cum smeared head kissing his
hole. As soon as he felt the first prick of Sam’s
teeth at his neck, he tightened his legs and rocked
his hips. The move drove Sam’s cock deep into his
rectum just as Sam’s teeth sank into his shoulder.

The dual sensations of pain and pleasure

wrapped  around  him  to  create  the  most  intense
bliss Ryan had ever experienced. His body bowed.
His  arms  and  legs  tightened  around  his  lover,
holding  Sam  close  as  he  roared  his  pleasure.
Ryan’s balls exploded, pumping his seed between
them as his body spasmed and jerked.

Sam whined and hissed in his ear. His lover’s

body shuddered. “Ryan,” Sam whispered.

The strangled sound barely reached Ryan over

the  roaring  in  his  ears  caused  by  the  blissful
endorphins  pinging  through  his  system.  He  felt
the  man  in  his  arms  shiver  just  as  warmth  jetted
into  his  channel.  Ryan  hummed,  a  new  kind  of
pleasure  seeping  through  him  as  the  sensation  of
being connected to the man in his arms intensified.

Never had he felt so sated, so relaxed. Grinning,

Ryan sighed. “Oh, Sam,” he murmured, nuzzling
Sam’s temple since his lover still hid his head in
the crook of Ryan’s neck.

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113

Ryan rubbed his palms over Sam’s back. He

licked  and  nipped  his  lover’s  earlobe,  liking  the
way  it  made  the  man  shiver.  Massaging  his
shifter’s tense back muscles, Ryan felt the shudder
work  through  the  man’s  back.  Concern  flooded
Ryan,  thinking  maybe  he’d  pushed  too  hard  too
fast  in  his  effort  to  ease  both  their  horny  almost
painful states.

Finally, Sam slid his teeth from Ryan’s

neck…which was an even odder sensation than a
guy pulling his prick from his ass, but for the
pleasure it’d cause, he’d be more than happy to
feel it again and again.

“Mine,” Sam growled. He lifted his head and

glared fiercely down at Ryan. “You’re mine. I’m
not letting you go.”

Ryan hadn’t realized there’d still been a

question on that, but then it hit him like a ton of
bricks. His mate hadn’t pushed to claim him
because they’d never really finalized any decisions
on the future.

Smiling, Ryan reached up and cupped Sam’s

face. He rubbed his thumbs over the shifter’s stern
mouth  and  creased  brows,  easing  the  tension.  “I
am  yours,  Sam,”  he  crooned,  acknowledging  and
putting  the  man’s  fears  to  rest.  “Just  as  you  are
mine. I’m not going anywhere. You’re stuck with
me.”

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114

Sam’s lips curved into a broad smile, pleasure

filling his brown eyes. “Yeah?”

Leaning up, Ryan brushed his lips over Sam’s.

“Oh, yeah. You’ve given me everything I never
knew I wanted. You.”

Sighing, Sam’s arms tightened around him and

he returned Ryan’s butterfly kiss. “What do you
say we head upstairs and continue showing each
other how much we enjoy each other?”

Ryan chuckled. “That sounds like a perfect

plan.”

About the Author

Charlie lives on a mini ranchette in Utah with her
husband  and  furry,  four-legged  children.  She
started  writing  fantasy  when  she  was  eight,  and
after stumbling onto her first erotic romance at age
nineteen,  she  realized  her  true  calling.  She  now
focuses on writing erotic romance, normally 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  adventure.  Charlie  enjoys
exploring the mountains on horseback, 4-wheeler,
or  motorcycle.  Her  favorite  exercise  is  jumping
lessons  with  her  Arabian  gelding  Apache  or  her
Thoroughbred  mare  Repo.  And  she  can’t  get
enough  of  sexy  highlanders  with  their  kilts  and
swords. Right now, she and her muse are working
with  dedication  on  her  Wolves  of  Stone  Ridge
series and Kontra’s Menagerie series.

She can be reached at ch.richards2010@yahoo.com
Or visit her at www.charlie-richards.com

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