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Tom ached all over. His mind slowly threw back images at him—dark and twisted images of him being torn to shreds by wild animals, which weren’t simply just animals. He should have felt nothing at this point because he should have been dead. Slowly, he opened his eyes and found his vision slightly blurred. He groaned as his ribs protested when he tried to sit up.

“Take it easy,” a rough male voice said, the sound coming from right beside him.

Again, Tom tried to sit up, but this time strong hands held his shoulders firmly to keep him from sitting. “You’re still healing,” the voice spoke again. “Take it slow at first. You’ll feel a little sore for the next day or two, but the pain should be easing up now that you’ve rested.”

“What’s wrong with my eyes?” Tom asked, still having trouble focusing his vision.

“They … um…” The man paused briefly. “Your eyes are adjusting. Stop looking frantically around the room and focus on one object instead,” he suggested.

Tom did exactly that. He focused solely on the man with the deep, rich-timbered tone, who was currently hovering over him. Dark blurry hair soon became a detailed jet-black disarray, as if the guy in front of him had been repeatedly running his hands through his hair. The two blurry orbs that came into focus next were electrifyingly blue eyes framed by thick black lashes, making the eyes even that much more intense. He had a long thin nose, slightly hollowed-in cheeks, a closely cropped beard, and full thick lips currently pursed in what seemed like concentration. The man was beautiful, and God, he smelled so fucking delicious, like sandalwood and something else he couldn’t put his finger on.

“Better?” the stranger asked, giving him a lopsided smile.

Tom nodded in response, momentarily stunned into silence. Finally, he cleared his throat and asked his burning question. “How the hell am I still alive?”

The man’s smile fell. “I saved you.” He cast his eyes downward for a moment and cleared his throat. “I … had no choice.”

He had no choice?

“Here, let me help you sit up,” the man said as he carefully maneuvered Tom into a seated position with propped-up pillows behind him. “Try focusing on other objects one at a time.”

He did, and like the gorgeous man’s face, everything else started to come back into acutely sharp focus, and faster with each object going forward. He looked down at his own naked chest to see bruising that was already turning an ugly purple color. Some of the bruises were even yellowing. As he focused on objects further away, they strangely became extremely sharp as well … without the need for his glasses. He couldn’t even remember what he had done with them in his frantic state to get away from those animals chasing him.

For the first time since opening his eyes, the fuzz was beginning to clear, and he was able to fully take in the room he was in. It was a bedroom, most likely the stranger’s bedroom and not a hospital, like he should be in, with dark-oak furniture, navy-blue drapes that had sunlight streaming in through them, a flat screen hanging on the wall directly in front of the bed, and some clothes strewn around a brown leather armchair.

Tom took in a deep breath, and though his body ached, he didn’t think he had ever felt more alive. “I should be dead,” he muttered while shaking his head.

“I couldn’t let that happen,” the stranger said. His voice sounded pained.

“I’d like to know who to thank for saving my life,” Tom said, putting his hand on top of the stranger’s.

“I’m Luke. Luke Benson. Sheriff of Waretown.”

“Well, Sheriff Benson, I’m Tom Barrymore and I thank you. I owe you my life.”

“Don’t thank me until you know everything.”

“What do you…” Tom started to ask, but then his skin began to itch at the same time an odd feeling began to form in the pit of his stomach. “What—”

“You need to bite and claim me,” Luke said. He then reached out and touched Tom’s neck in a spot that made shivers run up and down his spine. “Like I claimed you. Then the itchy feeling will stop. Your animal recognizes me as his mate, just like mine recognized you.”

“My what?” Tom was flabbergasted. “You’re like them? You turned me into one of them?” He practically yelled the accusation.

This couldn’t be happening. Yesterday, monsters did not exist and now this man with the gorgeous eyes was telling him that he was one of them. Despite how much he wanted to pretend the stranger was fucking with him, that this was some joke, images of human men morphing into animals assaulted him. The evil he saw in their eyes as they taunted him, mercilessly beat him, was not something he would ever forget. Nor would he ever forget the broken man he tried to save, the one whose own brother had bloodied him up without remorse.

He wanted no part of any of this.

The sheriff looked at him with pleading eyes. “I had no choice. You were so broken when I found you with barely a few beats left in your heart. I couldn’t lose you.”

“Lose me?” Now he was yelling. “You don’t even fucking know me!”

“I recognized you as my mate when I found you. Stop… Let me just explain.”

Tom swatted Luke’s hand away and began to get out of bed, ignoring the protestations of his body. “Where the fuck are my clothes?” he asked as he finally stood up, only to realize he was stark naked. He grabbed the bedsheet and covered up his dick. “Did you—”

The sheriff growled. He actually fucking growled and then he got in Tom’s face, towering over him by a good five inches and spoke low, his voice angry. “When I fuck a man, I make sure he remembers it. Your clothes were torn to shreds. I cleaned you up and sat watching over you all night to make sure I’d be there if you woke up and felt disoriented. I didn’t touch you.”

Tom swallowed loudly and sat down on the bed. The sheriff backed up a little to give him space and stood there looking at him with his arms folded. Tom actually felt bad for accusing the man who saved his life, albeit turning him into a monster in the process. Being a scientist, he had absolutely no rational explanation for any of this. Seeing was one thing, but understanding the how part of it—how this world that he stumbled into could even be possible was daunting. People should not be able to transform into animals. His wounds should not have been able to heal on their own or at all for that matter, given their severity. He suddenly felt very lost, not being able to explain, nor understand. It was frustrating.

“What does that even mean … that I’m your mate?” he asked just as his arms began to itch again. Ignoring the need to scratch, he mimicked the sheriff by folding his arms across his chest. Despite his anger and frustration, he couldn’t deny his curiosity or his attraction to the sheriff.

Was it the so-called “mate” thing that was pulling his strings now? he wondered. Though he had to admit that if he met Luke under normal circumstances, he would definitely be attracted to the man.

“It means that whatever fates are out there, they have deemed us worthy of being mated for life. Shifters are more intuitive than humans. I guess you can equate it to knowing when you have found the one.”

Tom snorted. The last time a guy told him he wanted forever, Tom had found him in their bed … with two other men. To say that he had serious trust issues now would be an understatement. From his experience, the men who made declarations to him were the ones who hurt him most. He had learned quickly to guard his heart like a fortress.

“Don’t I get a say in any of this?”

Tom watched as the sheriff’s full lips quirked into a breathtakingly cocky smile. He immediately had to drop his hands to the bedsheet, surreptitiously trying to restrain the bulge underneath it. Damn traitorous cock. The sexy-as-sin sheriff only smiled wider.

“You’re going to tell me you don’t like men?” the cocky bastard asked. “Or is it that you’re still in the closet?”

Tom rolled his eyes. “I came out to my very supportive parents in high school and I’m proud to live my life as an openly gay man.”

Tom knew from a young age that he was gay. He started dating in his sophomore year of high school and when in his junior year, after getting serious with a guy who ended up breaking his heart six months later, he decided to sit his parents down and tell them he was gay. His mother simply gave him a look that said she already knew. His father replied with an “okay.” His mother later grilled him about his dating life and offered up sage advice when he told her about the boy that hurt him. He couldn’t help but wonder what they would think about him now suddenly being able to turn into an animal.

“Maybe I don’t want this damn itch to dictate who I should be with,” he continued with exasperation as he finally gave in to scratching his arms. “Or maybe I’m just not attracted to you.”

“The bulge you’re trying to hide says otherwise.” The bastard actually waggled his thick, dark, heavenly eyebrows at him.

He got up from the bed, frustrated, no longer caring about his modesty. “I need to think.” I need to get the fuck away from his delicious scent before I beg him to fuck me on all fours right now. “I need some”—he cleared his throat—“space.”

The sheriff’s gaze traveled down to his long and erect cock. He couldn’t help the groan that escaped him as Luke first licked and then bit his own bottom lip, keeping it trapped there between his teeth.

He wasn’t sure how long he stared at the sheriff’s mouth, but then he spotted his duffle bag along with his other personal belongings on top of the dresser and went over to it. Without turning around, he was about to ask Luke to give him some privacy, when the other man said, “I’ll just give you some space.” The door gently closed behind him.

When he was dressed, he found his phone, still partially charged in his laptop case, and he quickly texted his mother, saying he would be arriving later than expected and for her not to worry. He was feeling particularly thankful for introducing his parents to the art of texting, since he was sure they would catch on that something was off if he had spoken to them instead. He also found his glasses amongst his things, put them on, and gathered the rest of his stuff before exiting the room.

“You look like Clark Kent in those,” Luke remarked when he saw him. “I like. Found them in your center console.”

“It seems like I don’t actually need them anymore.” Most people would probably jump at the chance of having perfect vision sans Lasik surgery, but for Tom, it was just another reminder that his world would never be the same again—that he would never be the same again.

“Shame,” Luke said, seemingly oblivious to Tom’s inner struggle. “The glasses really work for you. Maybe you should keep them anyway … pop in some nonprescription lenses.”

Instead of responding to the sheriff’s comment, Tom took the glasses off and slid them into his inner jacket pocket. “You have a number for a cab?” he asked, despite his fear of going back for his car to the spot that changed his life forever.

“Your car’s outside,” Luke said. “My deputy dropped it off this morning.”

“Thank you, Sheriff.” Tom walked toward the front door, a sense of mild relief washing over him. The sheriff followed, but before he could open it, Luke placed his hand on his shoulder.

“It’s not safe for you out there, Doc.”

Tom whirled around, removing Luke’s hand in the process. “Why not? The animals who did this to me no doubt think I’m dead since that was their intention. Besides, I think I’ll be able to defend myself a little better next time.”

Tom could see that Luke was growing angry again. “You won’t be able to stand against Lorenzo, let alone his men. He’s an alpha, like me. Extremely lethal. There’s still a lot you need to know. If he finds out you lived, he’ll want to know how and he’ll come after you. He’ll smell me all over you and realize that I’m your mate and then use you as my weakness when I challenge him. This is far from over.”

“I don’t want any part of this,” Tom snapped. Attraction and the mate thing aide, all of this was sprung on him, without giving him a say in the matter. He wasn’t used to this feeling of not being in control. The last time he had felt this helpless was when he lost a patient on the table, one he was confident he could have saved. Normally, he was great under pressure, easily being able to formulate a course of action, but now he had nothing.

“I just want to get back to my life before all of this,” he said, gesturing between himself and Luke. He didn’t miss what seemed like a flash of hurt streaking across the sheriff’s face.

The fleeting emotion on Luke’s face morphed quickly into one that looked like frustration. “And what happens when your big kitty wants to stretch his legs, hmm? You weren’t born a shifter. You need guidance, and a place to let your panther roam free.”

“So, what are you saying?” Tom interjected with a frustrated tone of his own. “That I’m supposed to give up my life’s work? Live like an animal?” He was shouting now. “Be part of some barbaric standoff you’ve got going on? I saw what that Lorenzo did to his own brother.”

“I won’t let anything happen to you. I swear,” he declared fervently. “You don’t have to give up your life either. Once this is all over with Lorenzo, you will learn how to adjust to your panther side and incorporate him into your life. And maybe you’ll stop trying to deny the connection you feel to me.”

“I just met you five seconds ago,” Tom said, this time his voice sounding more astonished than anything else. He wouldn’t deny the connection, but he wasn’t ready to admit it or face it yet either. He turned, and this time, he opened the door and strode outside toward his car with purpose. He ignored the sexy growl he heard coming from the sheriff, thankful that said sheriff could not see how much the sound had just turned him on. He then got into his car, and sped off, uncaring that he just peeled out of there like some rebellious teen.