Into the Paranormal World: While regaining his strength, a horse shifter must accept the inevitability of change in order to dream of a brighter future.
Baron and his friend plan a coup, staged in hopes of a better future, but it all goes horribly wrong. He is caught, and his friend is killed. When Baron refuses to rat out his buddy’s wife and daughter’s location, he’s tortured for his silence. Left hanging in his chains for several days, Baron expects death. Instead, he’s rescued by a stranger who assures him that his friend’s loved ones are well. Baron asks to be taken to them and ends up at the estate of a gargoyle clutch. Baron’s surprise is compounded when Conchlin walks in with his evening meal... and Baron recognizes the small, bright-orange gargoyle as his mate. While Baron wants the man, he doesn’t think he can give Conchlin everything he needs to complete their bond. Before Baron has even had a chance to heal and find out, Conchlin’s past comes back to haunt him, putting their mating in jeopardy. Baron realizes it’s not all about him. Will standing beside Conchlin and supporting him through adversity be enough for them to find their future together?
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Comforting his Restless Stallion
Copyright © 2018 Charlie Richards
ISBN: 978-1-4874-1839-7
Cover art by Angela Waters
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Devine Destinies, an imprint of eXtasy Books Inc
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Comforting his Restless Stallion
A Paranormal’s Love: Book Twenty-Two
By
Charlie Richards
Dedication
The secret of change is to focus all of your energy not on fighting the old, but on building the new.
~Socrates
Chapter One
Baron Vanern hung in the chains. His shoulders screamed for relief, but his exhausted legs no longer had the strength to hold him. With his head hanging and his eyes closed, he focused on taking one breath after another.
His limbs weren’t the only things that hurt. The rest of his body didn’t feel much better. He’d been worked over with a whip so many times that he vaguely wondered what his backside looked like.
Since Baron’s captors didn’t feed him enough, his shifter healing couldn’t keep up with the abuse. It didn’t matter, he supposed. He was going to die soon anyway.
Baron’s only relief came in the knowledge that he’d never broken. He’d never told Alpha Beacham where to find his best friend’s wife and daughter. While his best friend, Jayden, had been killed when Baron had been taken captive, his fellow paint horse shifter’s human spouse, Ariana, and their daughter, Kimmie, would hopefully be safe.
Just when we find a clue to Nolan’s whereabouts.
Processing that sad thought, Baron realized his only regret was that he’d never have the chance to apologize to Jayden’s brother. Nolan, older than Jayden by a year, had been kicked out of their shifter herd years before when it had been discovered that he was gay. Preferring the company of men himself, Baron had kept his mouth shut so he wouldn’t be kicked out, too.
Baron’s thoughts drifted, and he didn’t try to stop them. He hadn’t seen his captors in days, which was a mixed blessing. While it meant the approach of his death, it also offered relief.
No more torture.
A smile curving his lips, Baron allowed his memories to drift to his last sexual encounter. It’d been with a human male three towns over. He’d been there for business for the herd, and he’d called his alpha, telling him he was having vehicle troubles. That had allowed him to stay the night there alone.
If I’m going to die, my last thoughts will be of something enjoyable.
Baron sighed and thought of the twink he’d pounded into the mattress.
“Come on, Baron, wake up for me. Show me them mismatched eyes.”
Baron struggled to consciousness, the pain surging through his body causing his head to pound and sweat to chill his brow. He’d much rather stay in the darkness. Except the fingers sliding through his hair and the nails scraping over his scalp were oddly soothing.
That fact alone caused Baron to struggle to truly wake up. It didn’t make sense. None of his torturers ever offered any kindness let alone comfort.
Alpha Beacham had surrounded himself with sadistic, dominant, power-hungry assholes.
Baron was only able to pry open one eyelid since his left one was swollen shut. Beta Collin had worked over his face with his fists before he’d left... however long ago. Baron wasn’t certain anymore.
Peering blearily at the figure hovering next to him, Baron suddenly realized the heavy throb pulsing through him was because his limbs were regaining circulation. Whoever the man grinning at him was, he’d removed the chains and lowered him to the floor. Baron wasn’t certain it was an improvement, no matter what common sense told him.
“N-Not—”
Baron paused and swallowed, attempting to get moisture to his dry throat. He’d intended to say that he didn’t have mismatched eyes as many other paint horses did. His dry mouth and throat wouldn’t work, however.
“Aye, I’m not with your alpha. All will be grand,” the stranger told him, his Scottish accent making him sound way too cheery. “Ariana has been worried, and I feared I wouldna get here before those arseholes that escaped.” The man continued to thread his fingers through Baron’s hair, displaying a very touchy-feely nature. “Doona worry. I have a doc on the way, and between me pistol and me cat, I’ll keep you safe.”
“A-Ariana,” Baron managed. “S-Safe?”
“Aye, that she is. Right as rain, safe with Nolan.” The stranger’s smile held reassurance. “Her and Kimmie both.”
Baron’s eyelid slid shut as relief flooded him. His sluggish mind processed the Scottish sounding man. A slow deep inhale confirmed the truthfulness of his statement as well as the fact that the man was a cat shifter of some kind.
“Wh-Who?”
“M’name’s Lachlan Addair. I’m a Council Internal Affairs Investigator. I was assigned to your herd when certain... rumors reached us.”
Council Internal... huh?
Baron forced himself to peer back up at the man. He’d never heard of such.
His confusion must have been apparent, for Lachlan grinned at him. “Aye, ’tis a mouthful. Just call me Lachlan.” He held up a bottle of water. “I’d like you to drink a little water, but I can’t roll you on your back or even your side.” Lachlan swept his gaze over Baron, his expression pained. “You’re no’ in good shape, Baron.”
Baron didn’t need someone else to tell him that. He could feel it. It wasn’t just his limbs that hurt. His back, ass, and thighs felt as if t
hey were on fire.
In fact, since Baron was thinking about it, he realized most of his body was sprawled across the dirty floor of the cabin. His groin, however, was on something else. Dipping his head just a little, he noticed a sweatshirt spread on the floor beneath him.
Huh. That was nice of him.
“I know,” Baron finally whispered hoarsely. After adding, “Water, please,” he left his lips parted a little.
Lachlan popped the cap off the squeeze bottle. “I have plenty, so doona stress if most of it dribbles out the other side.”
Without waiting for a response—thank the gods—Lachlan touched the bottle’s opening to the corner of Baron’s lips and tipped it. Just the feeling of the cool, clean liquid flowing over his tongue caused a whimper to escape him. He curled his tongue and swallowed, managing to get a few drops down his throat.
Baron swallowed again. He couldn’t ever remember enjoying a bit of water so much. When Lachlan lifted the bottle from his lips, he moaned.
“Easy, Baron,” Lachlan rumbled soothingly. He returned his fingers to Baron’s hair and once again massaged his scalp. “You can have more. Catch your breath first.”
Sighing, Baron allowed his eyelid to slide closed again. He breathed for a moment, then focused on the stranger once more. “More, please.”
Lachlan nodded. “Here you are.”
Again, Baron ignored the way the water slid into the corner of his mouth, and most of it went right out the other side. He focused only on curling his tongue and getting some down his throat. Baron lost count of the number of tiny swallows he made, as well as the number of pauses Lachlan forced on him.
Baron eventually had a tough time keeping his eye open. It slid shut of its own accord. Even the promise of water couldn’t keep him swallowing. He was just too tired.
“Just relax,” Lachlan murmured, his tone almost a purr.
Baron figured it had to be a cat shifter thing.
“I’ll keep you safe until the doc comes. You’re goin’ta be well taken care of.”
Moving his head just a smidge in a semblance of a nod, Baron mumbled, “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome, Baron.”
Baron’s thoughts began to drift. Ariana and Kimmie were safe. They’d found Nolan. His herd alpha was under investigation. Surely that meant everything would turn out okay, even if he didn’t survive his injuries. Jayden’s family was fine.
At that idea, Baron furrowed his brows. He immediately winced, as the move had tugged at his swollen face. His arm twitched with his instinct to bring it to his face, to rub the sting away, but that only caused a fresh ache to surge through him.
“Hey, easy.” Lachlan’s voice seemed to come from a long way off.
Baron realized he was about to pass out again.
I just need to ask—
“C-Can you take me to them?” Baron hoped he’d managed to get his words out clearly enough to be understood. When he didn’t receive a response immediately, Baron forced his eyelid back open again and peered at the other shifter. “To the, the herd or, or—” Wherever they are. Baron swallowed hard, doing his best to focus. “Want to, to see them.”
“I’ll ask permission,” Lachlan told him, sliding his hand to Baron’s nape. He massaged lightly as he added, “They’re at a gargoyle clutch, but hopefully there won’t be a problem.”
“G-Gar—” Baron sighed, then closed his mouth as well as his eyelid.
Whatever.
That was his last thought before he succumbed to unconsciousness once again.
The hum of people speaking quietly teased at Baron’s awareness, tugging at his mind. He kept his breathing even as he struggled to make out the words. The longer his captors thought he was asleep, the longer—
Wait.
Baron registered something soft under him. In fact, he was no longer hanging in chains.
The memory of a cat shifter, Lachlan, pushed into his mind.
Right. I was rescued. So where am I?
Peeling open his eyes, Baron felt a sense of relief that his left eyelid at least cracked a bit. That told him his healing had kicked in again. It didn’t tell him how long he’d been out that time, though.
Directly in front of Baron was a nightstand and a reasonably comfortable looking chair. He spotted a sideboard against the wall ten feet from the bed’s edge. The walls were painted a pale brown color—taupe, or something similar. Baron slowly took in the picture of a rolling meadow covered in a number of grazing sheep.
One thing was for certain, Baron had never been there before.
“Ah, I’m glad to see you’ve woken. I had hoped you would before I went off shift.”
Baron tipped his chin down and peered toward the speaker. His eyes widened as he took in a huge, six-foot-six-inch creature. It had pale-green mottled skin and huge black wings. It had a pronounced jaw with visible canines, pointed ears, and pale gray eyes.
Interestingly, the creature’s features held a warmth that Baron wouldn’t have expected.
“H-Holy shit,” Baron gasped the words before he could think better of them. Seeing the creature lift one brow ridge, he realized just how rude that had been. “A-Apologies. I have never met one of your... kind.”
“I’m Doctor Perseus,” the creature claimed. “And I’m a gargoyle.” He paused beside Baron’s bed, his head tipped a bit to the side. “You did ask to come here, did you not? That’s what Lachlan told our chieftain.”
Baron tried to remember... then he did. “Yeah,” he murmured. “Yeah, I did. Just forgot. Forgot a-a few things.”
“Not surprising,” the beast—gargoyle—Doctor Perseus—replied. His green lips curved into a smile. “You came to us extremely dehydrated, and I can’t even imagine the pain caused by all the gashes Doctor Cosmo and I had to stitch up.” Perseus shook his head in commiseration. “You’ll get used to us, though. Our clutch’s other doctor, Cosmo, he’s the blue one. We have a trainee, too. His name is Conchlin, and he’s bright orange.”
Blue? Orange? Did gargoyles come in all colors?
Knowing that wasn’t important right then, Baron sifted sluggishly through the other things the gargoyle said. “Stitches?” Baron attempted to push down with his arms so he could peer over his shoulder. He wanted to see—
“Don’t,” Doctor Perseus ordered. Resting his black-clawed hand on Baron’s shoulder, he pressed down, keeping him still. “No moving, yet. I removed the sedative from your IV, but you’re still on painkillers, and any strain on your back could tear the stitches.”
Baron stilled and relaxed under the gargoyle’s solid yet light hold. “What’s wrong with me, Doc?” he asked roughly.
“Nothing a bunch of rest and quite a bit of time won’t fix,” Perseus claimed, lifting his hand. He settled his butt on the chair and leaned toward him, his forearms on his thick green thighs. “But that will require patience, Baron. Your body is weak from lack of nourishment and blood loss.” Perseus hesitated an instant, then told him solemnly, “There will probably be some scarring, too. Some of those cuts... they were deep.” His expression took on a look that could only be troubled. “Like they weren’t made with a whip.”
Letting out a slow sigh, Baron relaxed his cheek against the sheet and met Doctor Perseus’s questioning gaze. “Beta Collin is a nasty piece of work,” he mumbled. “He likes to cut with... things.”
Perseus growled, a deep, irritated sound. “And your alpha allowed this? Glad he won’t be leading anyone anymore.”
Wait, what?
“He won’t?”
Grinning, the look a little malicious, Perseus nodded. “Lachlan executed him after getting him to reveal your location.” Perseus shrugged. “So I hear, anyway.” Then the doctor cleared his throat, as well as his expression, and gave Baron a smile. “Nolan, Ariana, and Kimmie have been down here nearly hourly to check on you. I sent them away only five minutes ago. Would you like me to call them back?”
“Hmm
m, probably not,” Baron muttered. “Gonna pass back out soon.” He was having trouble keeping his eyes open. Still, there was something else he was confused about. “How did Nolan end up here? Why is Ariana staying? How come—” Pausing, Baron tried to figure out how to phrase his question without sounding ungrateful. His foggy brain wasn’t coming up with much, so he just blurted out, “Why take me in?”
“Nolan is part of our clutch now, Baron. Bonded with the gargoyle Craven. As to how Nolan ended up here, that’s his story to tell.” Perseus’s gaze didn’t stray from Baron as he continued, “Ariana and Kimmie are welcome since they are family. You are welcome because you gave much to save them.” The green gargoyle smiled warmly. “I bet if you ask Chieftain Maelgwn, that’s about what he’d tell you.”
“Chieftain,” Baron whispered, repeating the title. “Is that your alpha? Uh, leader?”
“Yes, Chieftain Maelgwn is our leader. He will be by to introduce himself when you’re feeling better.” Perseus rocked forward as if readying himself to rise and leave.
“Wait,” Baron cried hoarsely. “H-How long?”
“How long what?”
“How long will I be stuck in this bed?” Baron felt his face heat with his embarrassment at how brusque he’d sounded. “Sorry, Doc.”
Perseus chuckled, his gray eyes twinkling. He didn’t seem the least bit upset or put out. “Not a good patient. Good to know.” Perseus smirked. “Glad I kept you knocked out for the first twenty-four hours.”
That jogged Baron’s tired mind. “How did you do that, anyway?” He swept his gaze over Perseus’s square-jawed face, searching for clues. “I’ve not heard of sedatives and painkillers that work on us.” Although, now that he thought about it, he realized he should have been in pain, a lot of pain.
“A wolf shifter pack a few hours north of here has a couple of human mates who developed them. If your alpha isn’t friends with them or in contact with the Shifter Council, it’s not surprising that you haven’t heard about the invention.” Perseus swept a critical eye over Baron’s body as he continued. “As far as how long you’re restricted to bed, that’s up to you.”
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