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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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Texas Longhorn Surprise
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.
39
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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Texas Longhorn Surprise
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 to replace a 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 [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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