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carefully masked.
Fuck! You are such an asshole!
Ailean snarled at the big detective. I never claimed to be
anything else!
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Charlie Richards
But you are a shifter, Grady reminded him coldly. We
don t dump our mates just because they make a mistake. He
did research for the wrong people. So the hell what!
Get out, he roared. The man s words pricked at his
already bruised ego and extremely guilty conscience. He
knew he should have allowed Drake to explain, and now he
didn t know how to bridge the gap.
Grady s lip curled in disgust. Fine. I ll leave. For now.
Instead of walking away, the detective crowded close. But
know this, your mate is working around the clock to fix his
mistake. I don t think he s slept a full hour in the last three
days. His eyes narrowed to slits. What are you doing to
correct your shortcomings?
Before Ailean could get past the fact that his mate wasn t
taking care of himself and formulate an answer, Grady
snarled at him again, truly exasperated, and left. The
Styrofoam cup in Ailean s hand popped from his too-tight
grip, but the nearly scalding coffee running over his hand
remained unnoticed. His mate wasn t sleeping? What about
eating? Drake didn t have any extra weight to lose. If he
wasn t eating, how could he gain weight?
His heart raced, his blood pounded in his veins, and his
guilt quadrupled.
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Accepting His Animal
Chapter Nine
rake s pulse rate increased exponentially the closer he
D got to the hospital.
Hey, relax, dude, the man driving the car said.
He looked over at Phillip, trying to spot the resemblance
to his much smaller brother, Todd, whom he d learned was
the man, shifter, standing vigil over Lyle. Drake didn t see it.
I can t help it, he replied. What if
He s not there, Phillip assured. My brother said his
shift ended at ten this morning. We ll go in, you ll do your
thing, and then we ll see what happens. He reached over
and gripped Drake s shoulder in a supportive man-squeeze.
Lark told me a little about how Ailean freaked when he
found out you worked for that corporation, but Ailean s not
that bad a guy. He s had some time to chill, so even if we did
see him, I m sure he wouldn t kick you out again. Just relax.
Nodding, he forced himself to take a deep breath, and
then a second one. Okay. Yeah. Drake still didn t feel
ready to reenter the hospital he d been kicked out of six days
ago, nor was he ready to face the owner of said domain. He
didn t think he d ever be able to face Ailean again, who gave
him the most pleasurable and the then the most painful
experiences of his life, all within a span of four hours.
Drake fought back a sob. This was why he focused on
work and didn t get involved with people. The possibility of
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Charlie Richards
getting hurt was too high. He didn t know how his brother
managed to do it. And then to find out the guy was
supposed to be a jaguar shifter and Drake was his mate, and
still Ailean didn t want him. This time the sob escaped.
Easy now, Phillip muttered, sparing him a concerned
look. He grimaced. Sorry, Drake, but you gotta hold it
together a little longer. Lyle s life may depend on it.
Nodding, he started deep breathing again. He felt
reasonably calm by the time they reached the hospital and
Phillip parked the car. He climbed out and followed the wolf
shifter into the building, down several halls, up an elevator,
and into a room. Drake felt amazed at the ease with which
the man chatted and flirted with just about every nurse he
passed. He d never been at ease with others like that. Give
him his microscope, vials, and test tubes any day.
They found Todd dozing in his chair by the detective s
bed. The guy jerked awake, rubbing a hand over his face for
a second, before smiling up at them. How is he? Phillip
asked, crossing to his brother and giving him a hug.
The doctor has him sedated.
Drake crossed to the blinking monitors and cocked his
head. Do either of you know how these work? The
brothers shook their heads, and Drake turned back to the
machines, slowly figuring out what the different numbers
and beeps meant. I need his heart rate a little higher for this
to really be effective.
How are we going to do that? Todd asked.
Higher heart rate, huh? Phillip chuckled, his eyes
twinkling mischievously. Oh, come on. He s your mate. I m
pretty sure you can get his heart rate up, even asleep.
Todd stared at his brother for a long moment. You ve got
to be kidding.
Drake glanced between the two men, not comprehending.
How are you going to get his heart rate up?
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Accepting His Animal
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