Chapter Eight
Grayson gestured toward the stairs. “I need to get dressed.” The words came out measured, controlled. His mate was seconds away from breaking completely, and standing here covered in dirt and blood wasn't helping.
Ryan’s eyes tracked down Grayson’s body.
The movement was quick, almost furtive, but Grayson caught it.
Even in shock, even with his entire worldview crumbling, Ryan’s gaze swept over his bare torso, his hips, the jeans he’d barely managed to button before coming back inside.
The scent that rolled off Ryan shifted slightly.
Fear was still there, acrid and overwhelming, but underneath it was something else.
Something that made Grayson’s lion rumble with satisfaction despite the circumstances.
“Clothes,” Ryan repeated. His voice came out hoarse. “Yes. Clothes are good. Clothes are a normal human thing that normal humans wear. Because they’re human. And not lions.”
Grayson moved toward the stairs, keeping his movements slow. Non-threatening. Ryan followed without being asked, his feet making soft sounds against the hardwood. The distance between them stayed constant, like Ryan had measured it and decided that was as close as he could handle right now.
The stairs creaked under Grayson’s weight. He’d climbed them thousands of times, knew which boards made noise and which stayed silent. Usually he avoided the loud ones out of habit. Tonight he stepped on every single one, letting Ryan hear him, letting Ryan track his position.
Behind him, Ryan was breathing too fast. Not quite hyperventilating but close. Grayson counted the steps. Twelve to the landing. The hallway stretched ahead, lit only by the lamp they'd left on in his bedroom. The door stood open, exactly as they'd left it when the attack started.
Had it only been twenty minutes? The sheets were still tangled from where Ryan had been sleeping. The room still smelled like sex and satisfaction, scents that seemed to belong to a different lifetime now.
Grayson moved to his dresser and pulled out clean jeans and a shirt.
Ryan hovered in the doorway, his arms wrapped around himself.
The fear scent was starting to fade slightly, replaced by confusion and something that might have been curiosity.
Grayson could hear his heartbeat, still too fast but steadying.
His mate was resilient. Stronger than he looked.
“So…” Ryan said. He was trying for casual and missing by a mile. “You’re a lion. That’s a thing that you are. A lion. Who can also be a person. Or a person who can also be a lion. I’m not sure which way that sentence is supposed to go.”
Grayson pulled the clean shirt over his head. The fabric settled against his skin, covering the scratches he’d gotten from one of the hyenas. They were already healing, the wounds closing at a speed that would seem impossible to human eyes. “I’m a shifter. So are Reese, Malik, and Colton.”
“Shifter.” Ryan tested the word like it might bite him. “That’s what you call it. Shifting. From human to animal. Just completely changing your entire body in like half a second. No big deal. Totally normal.”
“Oh, I’m freaking out.” Ryan’s grip tightened.
“I’m just freaking out quietly. Internal freaking.
Very dignified.” He paused, his gaze dropping to Grayson’s mouth again before skittering away.
“Also, I’m trying really hard not to think about the fact that I saw you naked.
Again. While you were covered in dirt and possibly blood and looking like some kind of feral warrior.
That’s a lot to process on top of the whole lion situation. ”
Heat curled low in Grayson’s gut. Ryan’s scent had shifted again, the fear mixing with something headier. His mate had noticed. Had looked. Even with his entire worldview crumbling, Ryan’s eyes had tracked down Grayson’s body with an awareness that made the lion rumble with satisfaction.
“You looked,” Grayson said.
Ryan’s face flushed. “I’m gay, and you’re built like a Greek statue.
Of course I looked. That’s just biology.
” He pulled away slightly, putting a few inches between them.
“Don't let it go to your head. I was also processing the fact that you’d just been a lion, so my brain wasn't exactly firing on all cylinders.”
Grayson let him have the space but kept his hands on Ryan’s hips. The contact seemed to ground them both. “The mate bond doesn’t care about timing.”
“The what bond?” Ryan’s eyes went wide. “Wait. Mate. You said mate earlier. I thought you meant like, friend. Roommate. Not mate mate.”
This wasn't how Grayson had wanted to explain it. He’d planned to wait, to let Ryan adjust to the existence of shifters before dropping the rest of it on him. But the words were already out there, and lying now would only make things worse later.
“Shifters have mates,” Grayson said. He kept his voice even, factual. “It’s not something we choose. The bond just happens. Recognition on a level deeper than conscious thought.”
Ryan stared at him. His mouth opened, closed, opened again. “And you’re saying I’m your mate. Your shifter mate. The person you’re biologically programmed to be with or whatever.”
“Yes.”
“Since when?” Ryan’s voice had gone high again. “Since we met? Since you brought the dogs to the clinic? Have you known this whole time?”
“Since I walked into that exam room and saw you.” Grayson’s hands flexed on Ryan’s hips.
The memory of that moment was burned into his brain.
The way Ryan had looked up from the injured pit bull, concern written across his features.
The way the pull had drawn him toward Ryan like something that had always been waiting. “I knew immediately.”
“And you didn’t think to mention this?” Ryan pulled away completely now, putting several feet between them.
His hands moved through his hair, tugging at the strands.
“You just let me think this was a normal attraction thing? Let me stress about coffee dates and whether you actually liked me? While the whole time you were sitting on this massive piece of information?”
“I was going to tell you.” Grayson stayed where he was, letting Ryan have the distance he needed. “When you were ready. When I could explain it properly.”
“When I was ready…” Ryan laughed, the sound brittle. “When exactly would I have been ready to learn that shapeshifters exist and I’m apparently destined to be with one? Was there a good time for that conversation that I missed?”
Grayson didn’t have an answer. There was never a good time to tell a human that their entire understanding of reality was wrong. That monsters were real and walking among them. That fate had decided their future before they'd even had a chance to choose.
Ryan paced to the window and back, his movements jerky, his shirt still inside out, the tag visible at the back of his collar.
He looked rumpled and young and overwhelmed, and Grayson wanted to close the distance between them.
Wanted to pull Ryan back into his arms and promise that everything would make sense eventually.
“I need to know more,” Ryan said finally. “About the pack. About their operation. About what they’re planning.”
“No.” The word came out harder than Grayson meant it to. “The less you know, the safer you are.”
“That’s not how this works.” Ryan took a step closer. The anger was still there, simmering under his skin. “I’m already involved. They already sent me threats. Hiding information from me doesn’t make me safer. It just makes me ignorant.”
“It makes you less of a target.” Grayson held his ground. His mate was brave and angry and probably right, but some knowledge was too dangerous. “If the hyenas think you know details about their operation, about their territory, about their business, you become worth interrogating. Worth taking.”
The color drained from Ryan’s face. “Taking.”
“They’re not above kidnapping. Not above torture.” Grayson hated saying it, hated watching Ryan process the reality of what they were dealing with.
Ryan’s hands unclenched slowly. He looked down at them like they belonged to someone else. “So I just have to trust you. Trust that you’re handling it. That you know what you’re doing.”
“Yes.”
“Even though you’re a lion who can turn into a person.” Ryan’s laugh was soft and sad. “Even though this entire situation is insane and I’m pretty sure I’m still in shock.”
“Even though.” Grayson reached out and took one of Ryan’s hands. The skin was cold, the fingers trembling slightly. “I know this is a lot. I know you’re scared. But I promise you, we’re handling this. The hyenas won't get near those dogs. Won't get near you.”
Ryan looked down at their joined hands. His thumb brushed over Grayson’s knuckles, the touch light and probably unconscious. “I need you to promise me something.”
“What?”
“The dogs.” Ryan’s voice softened. “I need you to promise me they’re really safe. That this isn't just something you’re saying to make me feel better. That those animals are actually going to be okay.”
Something tightened in Grayson’s throat.
His mate had just learned that monsters were real.
Had watched Grayson transform into a lion and fight hyenas in the backyard.
Had been told he was a mate, a concept he’d never even known existed.
And his first concern, the thing he needed promised, wasn't his own safety. It was the safety of the dogs.
“I promise,” Grayson said. The words came out rough, scraped raw by the emotion behind them. “Those dogs will never go back to that life. They’ll heal. They’ll find homes with people who will treat them right. I’ll make sure of it.”
Ryan’s shoulders dropped. The tension that had been holding him rigid bled away, leaving him looking exhausted. “Okay. Okay, I believe you.”
“Not yourself,” Grayson said. The realization settled over him like a weight. “You didn’t ask me to promise you’d be safe. You asked about the dogs.”
“Well, yeah.” Ryan looked up at him, confusion written across his features.
“I mean you already said you’d protect me.
Multiple times. But the dogs can’t protect themselves.
They need someone to make sure they’re okay.
” He paused, his brow furrowing. “That’s weird, isn't it? That I’m more worried about them than me? ”
“No.” Grayson pulled Ryan closer, eliminating the space between them. His mate came easily, his body fitting against Grayson’s like it belonged there. “It’s not weird. It’s who you are.”
Ryan’s face pressed against Grayson’s shoulder.
His breath came warm through the fabric of the shirt.
“I’m still freaking out. Just so you know.
About all of it. The shifter thing and the mate thing and the fact that there are hyenas who want to hurt me.
I’m just really tired, and my brain feels like mush. ”
“I know.” Grayson’s hand moved up to cup the back of Ryan’s neck. “Let’s get some rest and deal with this tomorrow.”