Chapter One #2
Ben whimpered. Shit. He’d expected the alpha to send someone to tell him to leave the area, not for the man to come himself. That couldn’t be good, could it?
Ben could hear other people talking, but he couldn’t focus on them. The alpha was the biggest danger right now. He was the one who made decisions, and anyone else with him would have to obey his orders. If he ordered them to drag Ben out of his hole and chase him out of town, they would.
Maybe Ben could fight. He was pretty big as a panda shifter, so he might stand a chance, but these were tiger shifters, and Ben couldn’t remember the last time he’d had a decent meal.
He felt weak and nauseous. The most he might do if he tried fighting these people was fall on his face at the alpha’s feet.
Still, he had to try. He wouldn’t go down without a fight, not after everything.
Ben twisted slightly and snarled at the men talking. He waited for a second for them to attack, but they didn’t. They didn’t even move. They stared at him, no doubt waiting for him to come out.
He didn’t have a choice. He had no doubt that if he didn’t come out on his own, they’d drag him out, and he didn’t want that. He might not have a lot of dignity left, but the little he did have made him uncurl and slowly move out of the hole.
He was careful as he moved, and not only because he felt he might throw up. He didn’t know what these people wanted from him and what they were capable of.
One of the men placed himself in front of another one who was wearing a uniform.
Ben moved slowly, pushing himself out of the hole he’d called home for the past few days.
Once he was free, he didn’t know what to do.
Shifting felt impossible because it would leave him more vulnerable in case they decided to hurt him. He needed his fur and claws.
Six people stood in front of him. Two were in their animal forms, a tiger and a wolf. That made Ben blink because he hadn’t expected it, but it didn’t shock him. It wasn’t unheard of for shifter groups to be mixed.
Two of the men stood naked, clearly shifters in their human form. There was the human in uniform, and now that Ben could see him better, he realized he was standing in front of the sheriff.
That didn’t bode well.
The sheriff wasn’t the person who worried Ben the most, though.
No, that was the man standing the closest to him, who was watching him with intelligent eyes.
He had to be the alpha, and Ben didn’t know what to do with that knowledge.
Should he throw himself at the man’s feet and beg for his forgiveness?
Should he promise he’d leave and never return?
“We’re not here to attack you,” the alpha said. “I won’t shift, and Dennis and Christopher will stay away from you.”
So Dennis and Christopher were the tiger and the wolf. What about the others? Not that Ben cared about their names, not if they were here to hurt him. No matter what the alpha had said, Ben couldn’t trust him. He didn’t know him, and he stood to lose too much.
He stayed where he was, slightly curled into a position that would make it easier for him to defend himself if he had to.
The two people closest to him were the alpha and one of the naked men.
Ben looked from one to the other, wondering what to do.
He didn’t want to hurt them. He didn’t want to hurt anyone.
“We’re just worried,” the alpha continued. “We know you’ve been stealing food and other things to help you survive in the wild, but it’s clear that you need help. I realize you don’t know us, but we’re willing to help you if you allow us to.”
Ben knew what the man wanted. He was waiting for Ben to shift so he could answer his questions about why he was there. Maybe he wanted to know before kicking Ben out. Ben had a hard time believing that the alpha was actually worried about him. The man didn’t know him.
He didn’t shift because he couldn’t afford to. The way the alpha was watching him made his skin crawl, so he turned to the other man. He was close enough that Ben could smell him, although it wasn’t easy over his own scent. He was pretty ripe since he hadn’t had access to a shower in a while.
The man blinked at Ben, who now had his attention. He raised a hand and wiggled his fingers. Ben didn’t know if he was trying to look harmless on purpose, but either way, it was working. The man grinned, and Ben wanted to bask in his presence.
What the fuck?
“Hi. My name’s Taylor, and as you can see, I’m a tiger shifter,” the man said. “Gal is my alpha, and he’s right. We’ve been worried about you.”
Ben had names now. He was grateful that Taylor had realized he needed them. They didn’t make these men any less dangerous, but it did make them more human.
Ben stepped toward Taylor because he couldn’t believe that Taylor would do anything to hurt him. He thought it was because of Taylor’s smile and easy demeanor until the wind picked up, dragging Taylor’s scent toward Ben.
Of course Ben felt like he could trust Taylor even though he didn’t know him. Taylor was his mate.
Taylor stayed where he was as Ben moved closer, even though Ben noticed his body tense, probably because he didn’t know what to expect from him.
He had no idea what Ben had gone through, and he was worried.
Ben was worried, too, because he had no idea what he was doing, but that was okay.
He didn’t have to know. He could finally allow himself to relax because he was safe.
He was with his mate.
Ben leaned forward to get a better sniff, but he didn’t need it. He felt lighter than he had in a long time. Safer, too, maybe even safe enough to finally stop running.
That didn’t mean he shouldn’t be careful. He knew his mate wouldn’t hurt him, but what about the others? What if they didn’t want Taylor to be with Ben? Taylor wouldn’t be able to stand up to them. He was only one man, and these people were members of his pride, while he didn’t know Ben.
Ben couldn’t risk it, not yet, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t reach out to his mate. He didn’t want to force himself to keep his distance. He was hungry and tired, and he didn’t have the energy to fight the bond he could feel stretching out between him and Taylor.
He slowly moved forward until he was standing in front of Taylor. He heard his mate suck in a breath, but Taylor didn’t move, almost as if he was afraid to spook Ben. Ben could never be afraid of his mate, though.
He flopped down at Taylor’s feet and breathed out. He was safe.
* * * *
TAYLOR WATCHED AS THE panda sat down and leaned against his legs. He glanced up, not knowing what to do. Gal was supposed to take care of this, not Taylor. He wasn’t even the sheriff. He was a deputy, and he obeyed orders. He didn’t give them.
“Uh, hi,” Taylor said as he looked back down at the panda.
The panda had looked almost small when they’d come out of the hole, but not anymore.
Next to Taylor’s human form, they were massive, even though they were way too thin.
“My name’s Taylor,” Taylor repeated. He wasn’t completely sure that the panda had understood him the first time he’d introduced himself, and it couldn’t be easy for them to meet a bunch of people whose names they didn’t know, especially in these circumstances.
“Gal is my alpha, and I promise that we’re here to help you. ”
The panda didn’t say anything—obviously.
Instead, they pressed harder against Taylor’s legs.
Taylor had no idea what was happening, but he didn’t want to scare the panda, so he didn’t move or try pushing them away.
He had no way to know how they’d react if he did, and while the situation was odd, it was going well.
For now.
“It would be great if you could shift,” Taylor said, hoping to convince them. Talking to a panda who didn’t answer wasn’t great, especially when they needed those answers. “That way, we can talk and find out what happened to you. We can help you better if we know that.”
Taylor waited, along with everyone else, but the panda stayed in their animal form.
They actually wrapped their arms around one of Taylor’s legs as if daring anyone there to try to pry them away from him.
Their fur was rough and dirty, and the movement brought the panda’s scent to Taylor’s nose.
He wrinkled it because even though it wasn’t the panda’s fault, the poor thing smelled bad.
It was a mix of damp leaves and unwashed fur, and it was so strong that it covered the panda’s personal scent.
It made Taylor’s nose burn, so he attempted to step away, but the panda clung to him and rubbed their face against his naked stomach, which wasn’t a move Taylor had expected. He squeaked, but he stopped moving because it was clear that no matter what he wanted, he wasn’t going anywhere.
What the fuck was happening? Why was this panda shifter behaving this way?
Maybe Taylor looked nice. Maybe he looked like he wasn’t going to hurt the panda shifter or even like he’d protect them if any of the other people present tried anything.
Both Taylor and Gal had reassured them that they weren’t there to hurt them, but Taylor could easily put himself in the panda’s shoes.
How could the panda trust any of them when they didn’t know them?
Gal cleared his throat, getting Taylor’s attention. “Do you know them?” he asked, tilting his chin in the direction of the panda.
Taylor shook his head. “I’ve never met a panda shifter in my life. You know I’ve never even left Green Hill, Gal.” And there were no panda shifters in Green Hill. Everyone would know if there was.
“What’s happening?” Tony asked in a whisper.
Taylor glared at him. Tony sounded amused, but there was nothing amusing about Taylor having a giant panda as a ball and chain. He had no idea how to get the panda to let go or even if he could, and it wasn’t an addition he wanted to keep for the long term.