The shifter threw back his head and howled, the noise trembling the glass in the room and causing Dirk’s ears to hum.
He rushed forward and grabbed a wildly flailing arm, shocked to see this being half-shifted. He had the paw of a bear but the arm and shoulder of a man, while the thick coarse bear pelt grew over his back down to his waist. From there, human legs ended in bear paws too.
He wore no clothes, was shaking all over, and reeked of fear and sickness.
“How long as he been this way?” he demanded of the nurses and orderlies fighting to restrain him.
“He came in this way, Doctor.”
“I need a syringe of 10 ccs of Dipthrocote now!”
The nurse ran for the drug that was the only one known to stabilize and sedate shifters. In seconds, she was back. Dirk took the syringe and drove the needle into the muscle of the wild being’s thigh.
He recoiled and rounded on Dirk, slicing his claws through the air. A scream sounded before the pain of the four claws raking across Dirk’s neck hit. He threw a look at the door where Ryan stood, hands fisted, shaking all over.
Ryan had screamed out for Dirk’s injury.
His throat threatened to clamp off, his fears for Ryan stronger than his own pain at the moment.
“Get him out of here,” Dirk demanded thickly. The last thing he needed was Ryan taking steps backward when he’d made enough progress to leave his room and come to help.
“Here, Doctor.” A nurse pressed a cloth to his bleeding neck, but Dirk shook her off.
“Forget about me. Get Ryan out of here and someone help me with a gurney. This shifter’s about to go down.” The drugs were working, the beast swaying. If he toppled over, he’d be dead weight and could injure himself further. The last thing Dirk wanted.
A nurse turned for the door to take care of Ryan, but the man had disappeared. Dirk didn’t have time to think about him because the gigantic shifter in his hold was buckling. It happened in slow motion, and Dirk had only one choice—he gripped the half-bear, half-man around the middle and heaved him over his shoulder just as a gurney was rolled into place nearby.
“My God. How are you holding him up, Doctor?”
“Adrenaline and magic. But I can’t hold him long. Get his legs.”
An orderly did, grasping onto his ankles where the hair was sprouting into his paws.
“A half-shift is bad, Doctor. How will we get him out of it?” One of the nurses spoke the thing that was taking over Dirk’s mind. The half-shift wasn’t easy to overcome. A body was caught between two worlds, and the being would need to decide which to be in. But that was difficult enough for a bear without psychological damage.
He managed to get the bear onto the gurney and stood over him, panting with exertion from supporting his weight. “Enid, stop the bleeding on his arm. Carlisle, I need heated blankets and my herbs.”
“Yes, Doctor.”
“What can I do, Doctor?” Maureen hovered nearby.
He threw her a look over his shoulder. “Go to Ryan.”
* * * * *
Ryan paced, his strides long, his turns fast and furious as he rotated through his cramped room. He kicked the table out of the way, sending the pitcher crashing to the floor. Water and glass exploded up the wall.
He ignored it. Pain, so much pain. Had he sounded like that, looked like that?
He thought back on the night he’d arrived at the Sanctuary, bruised, battered, heartbroken. He’d felt as out of control as the shifter he’d just seen, but he hadn’t torn into his own body. If he’d gone much longer without seeking help, maybe he would have. The deep itch that came from withdrawal from a mate would drive anyone to madness.
Now, that itch returned with a vengeance. It crawled up from the pit of his soul and spread throughout his limbs. Even his mind felt as if ants marched through it. He grabbed handfuls of his hair and pulled.
“No! Stop!” Maureen’s voice cut through his haze, and she ran to grab his arms and pin them to his sides.
He was bigger, stronger and could easily shake her off, but the nurse’s soft touch calmed him. He stilled.
“Get into bed. Come now.” She guided him to the bed and he sat down hard, unable to support himself any longer.
He looked up at the woman. She was not a shifter, nor were the other nurses he’d seen here in the Sanctuary. Before coming to this place, he’d never known humans to mix in the world of shifters. But the kindness in her eyes was welcome.
With a hand under his back, she eased him down to the pillows. “Let me get you some fresh water. Stay in bed while I pop down to the kitchen station, okay?”
He nodded, suddenly weak from his fit. The gumption it had taken to even leave his room had drained a large portion of his reserves. Seeing Dr. Dreyer torn apart had stolen the rest. He had no idea how he’d managed to even get back to his room. It had to be pure adrenaline, like a deer that continued to run long after it should have died from a hunter’s bullet.
He closed his eyes, rested his head and tried to regain control of his breathing. When Maureen returned with a fresh pitcher and a glass, he shot a glance at the mess on the floor.
“I’m sorry,” he croaked.
She waved a hand. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll get it cleaned up. You focus on calming yourself, Ryan.”
He nodded and accepted a glass of water. The coolness on his lips had his eyes fluttering shut again. “So tired,” he said as he extended the glass for her to take and collapsed against the pillow.
She took the glass and smoothed a hand over his brow. “Not fevered at least.”
“I feel like it.”
“That’s the sickness. We can’t have you going into a relapse. Dr. Dreyer will be upset if I let you work yourself up again.”
He opened his eyes to meet her warm brown stare. “Will he be all right?”
She waved a hand just as she had with the broken glass. “He’s stronger than all of us put together. You should have seen him just lift that shifter onto the gurney.”
“But… he must weigh four hundred pounds in a half-shift.”
She nodded. “That’s my guess as well. It seems the doctor is part superhero as well as doctor and good healer. Now you just close your eyes and listen to the music I put on.”
He focused on the strains of the Chinese flute, a sound he’d come to love in his time here. After he left, he would find some music just like it to listen to when he was stressed. The incense too—he loved the smell.
He swallowed hard. The idea of leaving left him feeling sweaty and filled with dread. He wasn’t ready, wasn’t prepared to ever return to a world where his mate and his clan both shunned him.
“Ryan. Listen to the music.” She patted his chest and drew the blankets up over his body, tucking them around him like he was a child. Before she moved from the bed, he caught her wrist and opened his eyes to look at her.
“You’ll let me know how Dr. Dreyer is, won’t you?”
She gave a soft smile. “Of course I will. Sleep, Young Bear.”
He started at the name. “Why did you just call me that?”
A light flush rose to her cheekbones. He realized for the first time how pretty she was, a delicate human with a full mouth and wide eyes. If she’d been a female bear of the clans, she’d be snatched up quickly and bred.
“Well, I guess the name just stuck in my mind.”
“But where did you hear it?” he pressed.
She smiled again. “I’ve heard the doctor call you that.”
He stopped.
He had heard Dr. Dreyer call him that too, but until now the words had been buried in his subconscious beneath so much pain and sorry.
Young Bear.
Ryan closed his eyes again, savoring the words yet unsure why he was deeply disturbed by them.
-Chapter Four-
Dirk rapped lightly on Ryan’s door. If he was asleep, it was unlikely the knock would wake him, but if he was up, his keen hearing would pick it up.
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br /> “Come in.” The words had Dirk’s heart leaping against his chest wall. Pushing up into his throat. God, he should not be feeling such things for a patient, but ever since Ryan had stood staring and trembling after Dirk had been slashed by the shifter’s claws, he’d been asking himself why over and over again.
He gripped the cool metal door lever and opened it. The room smelled of fresh air and not the stench of withdrawal sickness it once had. A light breeze drifted through the space, and Dirk filled his lungs with pine and earthy scents.
He looked to the bed but found Ryan seated in his chair before the windows. At his entrance, the shifter didn’t turn.
“A bear comes out every day and walks the edge of the tree line,” he said absently.
Dirk swallowed hard. The habit had become hard to break since he knew Ryan sat here watching him. Waiting for him.
“Yes, I know.”
Ryan turned his head and looked at him, his gaze piercing. “Who is he?”
Dirk rubbed at his jaw and the stubble of a human formed there. In his shifted form, he was thickly haired. Changing the subject, he said, “How are you feeling?”
Ryan dragged his gaze over Dirk, raising awareness in him.
Not just awareness.
Need.
His cock hardened. When Ryan’s stare lit on Dirk’s neck, the claw marks now cleaned and bandaged, he got unsteadily to his feet. He swayed.
Rushing forward, Dirk grabbed him by the biceps. “Would you like to get into bed?”
“No.”
“Okay, then, why don’t you sit down and we’ll discuss what happened downstairs.”
“That shifter was out of his mind.” Ryan’s voice shook with despair—both empathetic and for his own plight.
Dirk guided him back into the seat but retained his grip on his arms. He felt too good under his hands. He didn’t want to let go.
Finally, he did and leaned against the windowsill. The big pane of glass was cool against his back. He observed his patient. Ryan seemed to be holding up better, despite tonight’s ordeal.
“You left your room. How did that feel?” he asked.
Ryan stared at the floor a moment. “It felt good.” He lifted his eyes to Dirk’s.
He smiled. “Good progress. I’m very happy with that. How do you feel about beginning small trips out of your room daily? Maybe even several times a day as you feel you are able?”
He pushed out a breath. “I think I could do that.”
“Very good. Now for the topic of the shifter.” Dirk had to tread carefully. Small things could set Ryan off and send him regressing into his past withdrawal behavior of shaking and vomiting. He had to address the problem without digging up everything Ryan had managed to bury for his own sanity.
Ryan grasped the arms of the chair. “He was half-shifted.”
“Yes.”
“Were you able to get him back to human form?”
“Not as of yet, but it will come. As the shifter calms, he will relax enough to make the shift and he will be all right in time.”
Ryan curled his fingers against he sleek teak wood arms. “Did the…” He paused and wet his lips. The action sent a bolt of need through Dirk’s groin. He steeled himself to keep from reacting and focused on Ryan’s words. “Did the shifter’s mate…?”
He flicked his gaze up to Dirk’s, and the pain he saw there slammed him.
He nodded. “Yes, that’s what happened,” he said quietly.
Ryan bowed his head. Dirk looked on helplessly as the shifter struggled with his emotions. A tear dropped onto the leg of his loose lounge pants, creating a dark spot. Dirk’s own throat closed off.
“Why is it happening to us?” Ryan asked after a long moment.
Here was where it got tricky. Dirk couldn’t tell him his theories, not until he had more foundation for them.
“I’m looking into that. I have a colleague set up to video chat on the subject later tonight.”
“It’s so late, Dr. Dreyer.” Ryan lifted his gaze, eyes burning the same way they had while standing in the doorway watching Dirk be sliced open by the shifter’s claws.
He nodded. “I know, but I’m devoted to finding the reason behind this phenomenon. I want this for you—for him. And for all the others.”
His brows shot up. “There are more?”
A heavy mantle of sadness cloaked Dirk’s shoulders, making him slump against the window glass. “Yes. I’m sorry to say there are. I believe Maureen has spoken to you about the group therapy?”
He nodded.
“Some of the other shifters who have suffered what you have attend the session. I hope someday, when you’re ready, that you will join us and at least listen to what they have to say.” He looked over the man, seeing the rugged good looks and strength coming out at last and pushing back the pale grief that clung to the man like a stench.
Though it would always be there, Dirk knew. And that thought made him interminably sad.
He drew away from the windowsill and put a hand to Ryan’s shoulder. The muscle flexed under his palm, but Dirk didn’t remove his hand. He lightly curled his fingers into his skin.
Ryan jerked. “What was that?”
“Just some magic to help you sleep. It’s very late, and you’ve had enough excitement for a day.”
“Doctor.”
He released his hold on the shifter before he did something rash. Like pull him into his arms and tuck him close. Holding him in a healing sleep was far too enticing for a lonely shifter like Dirk. Funny how he’d been perfectly happy serving the Sanctuary before now, never wanting—or needing—things for himself.
Ryan had changed all that. Maybe it was time to give over his care to another doctor, have Ryan transferred.
No, that was selfish. He clearly was not ready to leave the safety of the Sanctuary and Dirk could not send him off to keep his own urges at bay. He must be strong enough to combat them.
“Doctor, is your neck…”
“It’s fine.” He couldn’t acknowledge the flutter deep in his heart for this shifter. Hell, the torment was growing from uncomfortable to unbearable.
Before he could snatch back his hand, Ryan had it in his grip. Long fingers wrapping around Dirk’s.
“I hope the bear is all right,” he said to Dirk, but he hardly heard over the buzzing in his ears. The buzzing of arousal, of a mating season long past. He was in his forties and never experienced the feelings that came to most bears in the spring of their lives.
He had to put distance between himself and this young bear. Ryan didn’t have the strength for complicated feelings that Dirk would surely foist on him if he remained near him much longer.
And Dirk had developed a real soft spot for the big eyes of the shifter before him. For the carved lines of a warrior’s body and Ryan’s need to rely on somebody.
That somebody could not be Dirk.
He patted the man’s hand awkwardly and walked out of the room.
* * * * *
Dirk waited for the video call to connect, but it was taking a long time. For some reason the channels were running slow in the wee hours of the night.
He dropped his face into his hands and breathed heavily around the scent of Ryan on his skin. His cock hardened to full mast and he let out a groan.
“Dreyer.” The voice came over the monitor.
Dirk looked up and dropped his hands into fists on the desk. As soon as he’d gotten to his quarters, he’d lit incense in every room, but the scents were not calming him as they were meant to do. Not tonight. He was too keyed up for any relief.
Well, there was relief to be had, in the arms of the bear shifter he was coming to have feelings for.
He blew out a breath through his nostrils and looked at the monitor. His friend and colleague from the Pacific Northwest Clan eyed him with a sharpness he should never underestimate.
“What has happened, Dreyer?” he barked out.
“Robert, there is an epidemic taking over the Medve.�
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“The pushing away of mates?”
Shock hit him and he nodded. “How did you hear?”
“News travels. There has been word coming from all territories.”
“It’s happening all over? Not just here?”
“It seems so.”
“We need to discuss it, find the root. These patients are suffering. Some have died from lack of their mates. The withdrawals are debilitating and shattering to their spirits. The shifters are not recovering easily if at all.”
“What have you observed? Tell me everything,” Robert said. The man’s blue eyes were clear and bright despite the hour. He’d always been willing to jump to attention when healing was concerned. It was what made him such a good doctor. He and Dirk had graduated at the top of their program.
He began to talk, telling him of the first cases and how one had died, been found in his bed half-curled into a twisted mass of locked muscles, his jaw that of a bear and the rest of him human. Half-shifted. They didn’t seem to come out of that. Lost in between worlds, unable to completely live in either without the love of their mate.
Before beginning the video call, Dirk had again checked on the patient downstairs and found him still sedated, resting if not peacefully then without as much torment as he could have.
He simply did not know if he’d lied to Ryan when he told him the shifter would be fine in time.
After all was explained, Robert sighed. “This is a bad state of affairs. I don’t know what to make of it. There’s nothing in a shifter’s genetic makeup to cause it.”
“No. But there is a timetable when it began. I think we need to consider global events.”
“Do you mean like a nuclear bomb being tested or an oil spill?”
Dirk nodded slowly. “I think it’s something to consider. We need extensive research and much of the information will be classified, if indeed it was caused by the government.”
“Yes, but I have a friend in the military. I might be able to access some intel,” Robert said.
“Good. You work that angle and I will begin looking tonight. I will start by pinning locations on a map where these shifters have come from. See if there’s any correlation in territories or even waterways.” The idea came off his lips without thought but now that he inspected it closer, it made sense that if a water system had become contaminated, it could harm those who drank from it or spent time bathing in it.
Sanctuary in the Bear Shifter's Arms: A MM Shifter Bonding Alpha Mates Romance (Primal Roar Book 1) Page 3