Dirk kissed him hard. The bruising crush of his mouth was exactly what Ryan needed. He reveled in the pain and building need. When Dirk slid his hand over Ryan’s cock head, the slit peeked open and cum beaded on the tip.
“Together,” Dirk gasped.
Ryan nodded, delving into the universe that made up the doctor’s eyes. A thousand specks lived there like stars in a night sky. Dirk gripped both of their cocks, pressing the hot lengths together. Then Ryan tangled their fingers, and they began to jack off.
Ripples spread out from their bodies and reached the sides of the pool. Pressure mounted in Ryan’s core. The mating dance of their tongues felt good, right. Ryan let himself go.
With a jerk, he came. Hot spurts coated their fingers and Dirk’s cock. As the searing drops struck his dick, Dirk’s pupils dilated.
Ryan convulsed as Dirk roared his release. Their hands pumped faster in unison. Jets of cum ruptured from Dirk, flying up and landing on Ryan’s chest.
Their gasping pants filled the tranquil silence.
Dirk gave them one more jerk, then he hooked his free hand around Ryan’s nape. Their mouths connected, and Dirk pulled him off balance, hauling them both underwater.
-Chapter Seven-
Dirk couldn’t wait to shift. He needed it so bad after what had happened, needed it to process the emotions rioting inside him.
The kisses they’d shared, that explosive orgasm… It was too late to take any of it back, and that was something he’d regret for the rest of his life, because he could never have Ryan. Dirk would be left aching just as badly from not claiming his mate as Young Bear was from being shunned by his.
He slipped on his clothing again and looked to Ryan. The man was half-turned from him, as if he too couldn’t quite face what they’d done.
Dirk pushed out a sigh. “Let’s get back. It’s about lunchtime.”
Ryan nodded and adjusted the last of his clothing. Dirk walked up to him on the bank and fought the urge to pull him into his arms all over again. But he’d already done the damage and could not do more.
“Let’s go, Young Bear.”
A ghost of a smile crossed Ryan’s face as he nodded.
He walked with Ryan back to the building and to the dining hall but refused to go inside and eat. Ryan would just take a tray to his room and eat alone anyway.
Sexual satisfaction made Dirk’s limbs heavy, and all he wanted was to lie in the sun with the man he’d just pleasured. And he was about to do the same thing his patient did—hide alone with his feelings.
They weren’t so different at all.
They stopped before the doors and faced each other. Ryan avoided his gaze, and a pang of hot regret sliced through Dirk.
“Have lunch then get some rest, Young Bear. I’ll check in on you soon.”
Ryan’s eyes darkened as he stared at Dirk. His lips were swollen from his kisses, and he sported redness on his throat where Dirk had scraped him with his beard.
A few nurses approached the entrance, rendering it impossible for him to touch Ryan the way he wanted to. Dirk leaned over him. “I’ll check on you soon.”
In no way did he want Ryan to believe he was running. He wasn’t.
Not exactly.
Ryan nodded and opened the door, disappearing inside.
By the time Dirk was five steps away from him, his pores itched with the need to shift, but it couldn’t be here. He strode to the tree line and disappeared down a well-used path.
The Medve Territory had always been his home. He’d been born here, would die here. But now he realized home was only where Ryan was.
How had it happened? Ryan wasn’t ready for a relationship, yet Dirk’s heart couldn’t help but hope he healed soon. Their interaction in the deep pool might have been only a pleasuring, a release, nothing more.
As he thought this, Dirk contemplated Ryan’s expression when they’d taken their leave at the dining hall. It wasn’t likely Ryan would look at him like that if he hadn’t felt the stirrings of more.
Except Ryan was sick—going through an intense withdrawal most humans coming off drugs would never even experience. Losing one’s mate was typically the end of that bear’s life. Was that what Anders had hoped in tossing Ryan aside?
Yet Anders must be suffering himself in some ways.
Not for the first time Dirk burned to find out more. His research was far from done. The preliminary testing on the waters and the bear couple’s blood had revealed several strange numbers, and he needed to consult with Robert to come to some conclusions. He also needed many more samples and that meant extensive travel.
If I can bring myself to leave again.
Yet Ryan deserved to know what had led to Anders breaking their bond. So many others did as well.
He shifted, stretching onto all four paws. He shook his great head and gathered the scents into his nose. Behind him in the Sanctuary, he smelled the pain and sickness of those they healed, but also the calm others had gained. He was doing good here even if he’d made a mistake with Ryan.
Before him was sap and pine, leaves twitching in the spicy breeze. And Ryan’s smell was all over him.
Dirk broke into a run. Now that he’d had a taste of Ryan, he needed more. He’d never be happy with less than making the bear his.
As he thundered down the trail, he looked deep inside himself. Most of the reason he’d needed to shift was this—he could leave behind all the trappings of his humanity and examine what he really wanted.
That something was Ryan.
Young Bear. Mine.
He ripped through the trees, dodging trunks, joy soaring in his chest. He didn’t know how he’d make it happen—or even if he could. But he’d die trying to secure Ryan as his own.
Muscles warm, he increased his speed. Freedom was a pine needle-strewn path before him, but if he followed it far enough it would bend around the hillside and return right to the Sanctuary’s door.
To Ryan.
The wind changed direction, and an intense scent reached Dirk.
He skidded to a dead stop, head lifted, sniffing.
Whatever creature carried that scent, it had to do with Ryan.
Don’t over-react. It could just be a member of the Ursu clan.
But Dirk had lived long enough to know only mates carried each other’s scent. Ryan would forever be a small part of Anders, even if Dirk took him.
That could only mean…
Anders was here.
With his nose to the ground, Dirk sniffed his way through the underbrush to the place the scent was strongest. Where two paths converged, the bear had stood for a long time.
Lifting his head, Dirk scanned the woods. It was thick here, almost impossible to see around the tall bushes. But Anders was here somewhere. He knew it in his soul.
Stalking through the wild roses, Dirk grew determined to find Anders and stop him from reaching the Sanctuary.
If Ryan saw his mate, he’d surely run into his arms.
Isn’t that what he truly needs?
The more cynical part of Dirk spoke up that if a bear could hurt his mate so badly once, he’d do it again without pause.
Not if I can help it, dammit.
The rose thorns tore at his coat, yanking a few strands of hair free. He plowed on through the bushes until he burst into a small clearing where a massive bear stood.
The black-brown bear stared at him, head low and shoulders bunched as if to charge. Dirk’s anger spiked. Ryan’s scent was all over this creature—it had to be Anders. The question was whether or not Dirk should shift into his human form so as to use words.
Or if he should remain as a bear and use his teeth.
Anders beat him to the shift. In a blink the man stood before him, tall and proud, long black hair swishing over bronzed shoulders and his bare chest. But the shifter’s black eyes were cold.
Dirk growled low in his throat—a warning.
Anders threw his head back. “I will not go, shifter. I am looking for some
one who came through here.” The wind freshened, and Anders lifted his head as if scenting Dirk more closely—he too bore Ryan’s scent.
Possessiveness claimed Dirk. He coiled around it, held it near. He wasn’t going to let Ryan return to this man’s arms even if it came to a battle of life or death.
If Dirk lost the fight, he hoped Ryan would see reason and continue to live in the Sanctuary, healing and growing strong enough to stand on his own.
“Shift into your human,” Anders commanded.
Dirk turned his body aside, ignoring the demand. Like hell.
Anders approached, just as agile with two human legs as with four. “Who are you? I’m looking for a bear named Ryan, an Ursu clan member. He came through here. I smell him. He is my mate, and he’s run away from me.”
Fury exploded in Dirk. He shot into his human form so fast that Anders took a step back. Drawing up to his full height, Dirk stared the man in the eyes. “You pushed him away. He did not run.”
Something slithered behind Anders’ eyes. Dirk was reminded of worms tangled in a slimy knot unearthed in a creek bank. There was nothing noble about this Alpha.
“You know Ryan. You’ve been near him recently.”
“Yes.” Dirk glared at him.
“Then you know he must be going through withdrawal. He needs his mate.”
“Needed,” Dirk corrected. He wanted to tell Anders that he’d succeeded in removing that hollow, lost look in Ryan’s eyes after one short session in the pool—in his arms. But he held his tongue.
Anders stepped closer, puffing out his chest. Dirk stood his ground, far from intimidated. “I can follow my mate right to where he stands. You cannot hinder me.” Now it was evident that Anders wasn’t faring that well from the separation either. He shook slightly, and sweat beaded his forehead. His sickness was probably the reason why he didn’t scent Ryan’s release on Dirk.
Dirk’s inner bear roared. Over his dead body would Anders get to Ryan.
Dirk shifted, fur exploding from his body, muscles quivering with power. He rushed Anders just as the man shifted too. Their bodies came together in a clash.
Dirk sank his teeth into Anders’ shoulder and ripped his head back and forth. The bear screamed and batted him in the head with a paw so hard that his vision wavered.
Releasing Anders, Dirk drew a huge breath into his lungs before rushing him again.
Claws penetrated hide, teeth snagged flesh. Fur flew. And their roars shook the trees. Anders’ blood was in Dirk’s mouth, and he hungered for more. He rolled the bear over and tore ruthlessly into his throat.
Anders hooked Dirk in the soft part of the stomach with his claws and lifted him. Dirk rolled off, panting in pain, yet fueled by adrenaline and the need to stop Anders from seeing his mate.
When he ran forward again, Anders shifted back to his human form, head whipping left and right, nose in the air.
Scenting something.
Unwilling to return to his human form, Dirk simply waited to see what Anders would do. Was he a coward after all, knowing most bears wouldn’t attack a shifter in human form.
Anders clenched his hands into fists. “My mate is that way. And I’m going to him.”
Dirk growled.
For a long minute, they stared at each other. Then Anders headed down the path toward the Sanctuary.
Knowing what he needed to do, Dirk took off running in the opposite direction and the shortcut back.
He needed to reach Ryan before his mate did.
* * * * *
Ryan sat by his bedroom window, shaking slightly. He hated this time of day most. It was the time when he and Anders often came together, loving each other. His body remembered too well what time of day it was.
Except… his needs had been sated by Dirk.
Confusion settled in his being, bone deep. His bond to Anders warred with his actions with Dirk, and guilt plagued him. Would a bear who loved his mate allow another to spill his seed so easily?
In the back of his mind, he wondered if this had happened to Anders—if it was the reason he’d driven Ryan away. At the festivities, lots of bears got a little primal, mating and flirting. Perhaps Anders had wanted another bear for himself and felt Ryan was in the way.
I’ll probably never know. It was unlikely he’d ever set eyes on his mate again.
The door struck the wall with a bang that jerked Ryan’s head up. Dirk burst in.
Ryan leaped to his feet just as Dirk slammed the door and locked it. Eyes wild, he stared at Ryan.
“What the hell is going on?”
Then he caught it—that whiff of a familiar musk all over Dirk. Tripping forward, he wrapped his arms around Dirk and buried his nose against his neck. Dirk stiffened. Then he made a noise in his throat and embraced him back.
“He’s here. You’ve fought Anders.” He raised his head. “You’re bleeding!”
Dirk swiped a fingertip down his jaw, smearing blood there. Blood Anders had drawn. That meant Dirk had probably gotten a bite out of Anders as well.
“Why is he here?” Ryan’s voice rose in volume, on the verge of a growl.
“I believe whatever has altered his genetic makeup, or whatever it is that drives bears to throw away their mates isn’t strong enough to stop them from feeling some symptoms of withdrawal.”
“He’s… suffering?” He wanted Anders to hurt like he hurt. The thought made his fists clench.
“Not like you’ve suffered, but yes. He seemed to be unwell and a bit crazed like other shifters I’ve seen come to the Sanctuary.”
Dirk’s rugged appearance coupled with the scent of Ryan’s own mate had him dizzy with desire.
Need raged in Ryan. He gripped Dirk’s face and kissed him. The sweet flavor of his mate filled Ryan’s mind. But his stomach turned. Love and hate mingled in a disgusting cocktail he wanted to get closer to and run away from at the same time.
He tore free, panting, and dropped his gaze to avoid Dirk’s stricken stare.
“I’m… sorry.”
“Don’t be. It’s in your blood. But not forever, Ryan. You don’t have to go back to him.”
Excitement jumped in his core. “Then he is here,” he said raggedly.
That horrible painful knot in his stomach tightened with need. Lashing his arms around his middle, he curled forward to hold it in.
Dirk grabbed him by the upper arms and shook him. “Don’t forget what he did to you. When you arrived, you were ripped apart both emotionally and physically.” He traced a healing purple scar on Ryan’s arm where Anders had raked him.
God, could he stay away from his mate? Did he even want to? Maybe they could heal things between them—forgive and forget.
Except Dirk stood in front of him. Here was a man who’d only soothed and comforted and pleasured. He hadn’t commanded, instilled fear or bruised.
Ryan licked his lower lip, tasting Dirk along with Ander. He spun away. “I can’t do this.”
“Young Bear…” The pain echoing in Dirk’s tone sliced him deep.
“I need to be alone.”
Long seconds ticked by. Finally Ryan heard Dirk’s shoes scuff the hardwood floor. The door squeaked when he opened it. “I’ll do anything in my power to keep him away from you, Ryan.”
He nodded, aware that it was the right thing for the time being.
The door closed, and Ryan whirled to look at it, hoping that Dirk hadn’t really left as he’d asked. Knowing it was best if he did.
-Chapter Eight-
The silence between the Sanctuary’s walls begged to be broken.
Broken by the sounds of bodies slapping, rough kisses and lovers’ moans.
Dirk burned to go to Ryan—to his love. Yes, he admitted it. In a few short weeks his obsession with the young bear who’d come for care had turned to more.
Especially after their encounter in the pool.
Dirk tried to steady his mind and find rationality within his rioting mind.
With shifters, emotions always
came upon them quickly. They lived fast and hard—and loved that way too. He had nothing to be ashamed of.
But whether or not he’d ever have Ryan for his own was another matter altogether.
There had been no more from Anders, and Dirk himself had walked every hall of the building, sniffing for him. Anders had never breached these walls, which meant he’d either run away like the coward Dirk believed he really was or he was just biding his time.
After a cursory video call to Robert, he relayed the information he’d gathered about the water and blood samples, how both showed higher levels of a toxin that could be a result of mining in the region from decades past or something more sinister… a poison dumped into the water system.
Since finding the traces in the blood samples, he’d sent out a messenger to the forest to track down the pair of bonded mates and tell them to leave so the levels did not build up and one turned on the other. He hoped they had taken his warning and fled the region.
Dirk also made Robert promise that he would himself travel for research or send his colleagues from the Pacific. It was all Dirk could do because right now—with Anders lurking around the Sanctuary, he must stay here.
Moonlight lit the corridor leading to the wing where Ryan was staying, streaming in from the windows high above. Dirk stepped into the squares of light on the floor, counting them until he reached Ryan’s room.
When he reached the door, he stopped, listening, barely breathing. Was he awake within? Lying there desiring his mate? The thought tormented Dirk.
He placed a palm on the wood and waited. Should he go in?
No. It’s not me he wants. I was just ease to his madness for a few short minutes.
A growl grew low in his throat, and he tamped it down. He wouldn’t believe their time together in the pool was only about sex.
He pressed the door inward. Inside was blacker than the hallway. Dirk blinked to adjust his eyes and spotted movement.
Gasping, he reached out and caught Ryan’s wrist as the shifter tried to escape him. Anger flooded Dirk. He thrust his face close to Ryan’s. “You were going to him,” he growled.
Sanctuary in the Bear Shifter's Arms: A MM Shifter Bonding Alpha Mates Romance (Primal Roar Book 1) Page 7
