“Hi.My name is Tony, and I’m the sheriff in Green Hill.I’m also this man’s mate,” Tony explained, pointing back at Jacob, who now looked like he wanted to strangle Tony for doing this to him.“I’m not here to hurt you.I’m just worried about you, and I brought you food and a blanket.Would you like something to eat?”
The panda perked up, although Taylor didn’t know if it was at the mention of food or the blanket.He probably yearned for both.That didn’t mean they let go of Taylor’s leg, unfortunately.They continued clinging to him for dear life with one arm, but they straightened and reached for Tony with their free paw.Tony dropped the backpack he’d carried between them and opened it to take out the food he’d mentioned.Taylor hadn’t even known he’d brought anything, but he was glad that someone had thought about it.
The panda needed to eat.They’d been relying on what they could find in people’s trash cans and little more, and it wasn’t enough for anyone, let alone a big panda shifter.
Tony opened the container he pulled out of the bag and offered it to the panda shifter, who only hesitated for a moment before snatching it from Tony’s hand and stuffing it into their mouth.It would be funny if it didn’t remind Taylor of everything the panda had gone through.
They knew the panda had been hanging around town for a few weeks at least, probably longer, since Taylor suspected that not everyone who’d dealt with the panda shifter had come to the station to mention it.Who would think of telling the sheriff about someone digging through their trash?So the panda hadn’t been eating regularly and had been sleeping in holes in the forest, and that was without considering what had pushed them to do so.Taylor felt sorry for them.
“You should slow down,” Tony said gently.“I have more sandwiches, and I don’t want you to make yourself sick.I know you must be hungry, but trust me, you don’t want to eat too quickly.You’re going to throw everything up if you do, and I don’t think that’s what you want.”
He offered the panda shifter a second sandwich, and, to Taylor’s surprise, the panda ate more slowly this time.He doubted that the panda shifter was any less hungry than they’d been before the first sandwich, so maybe they were listening to Tony.
That was good.They’d need to know what had happened, and the panda wouldn’t tell them if they didn’t feel safe with them.They needed someone to connect with the panda, and maybe Tony could be that person.Hell, he might even be able to convince the panda to let go of Taylor.Things would quickly get awkward if they didn’t.
“Good,” Tony said with a smile.“Now, you already know that the man you’re clinging to is Taylor and that he’s a tiger shifter.Gal is the alpha, and he’s a bear shifter.Dennis and Christopher, well, I don’t have to explain to you what they are, and the last man is Jacob, my mate.He’s a tiger shifter, too.”
The panda didn’t react to those words.Instead, they finished eating their sandwich, then held out their paw for more.Taylor groaned.This was going to take a while, wasn’t it?
* * * *
BEN KNEW WHAT THESEpeople wanted from him, but he was happy to ignore it and focus on the food.
Instead of giving him another sandwich, the sheriff handed him a bottle of water.Ben wanted more food, but he was thirsty, too, so he took it.He was grateful that Tony thought about opening it for him, but even like that, it was awkward for him to manage to get it to his mouth.Once he did, though, he drank all of it down in one go.
He hesitated once he was done.He didn’t want to throw the bottle on the ground, so he carefully held it out and waited for the sheriff to take it.He did so without showing any fear, as if he knew that Ben wouldn’t hurt him.Ben never wanted anyone to be afraid of him, so he was glad—especially because he was pretty sure that Tony’s mate would tear his face off if he even breathed wrong in his mate’s direction.
The alpha suddenly cleared his throat.“As I mentioned earlier, I’m the alpha of the pride you were around recently.Would you like to come back with us?You can have a shower, more food, and sleep in a bed.We won’t expect any payment from you for any of it, so you don’t have to worry about not being able to afford it.We just want to make sure that you’re safe and that you have everything you need.”
Ben wrapped both of his arms around Taylor’s leg again.He didn’t want to let go, although he had to admit that Gal’s offer was tempting.Now that his stomach was more or less full, he yearned for a shower and maybe a nice mattress to spend a night on, too.What would Gal demand in exchange, though?He couldn’t be doing this out of the goodness of his heart.People weren’t that nice.
“Maybe if you talk to them?”Tony told Taylor, making Ben realize that he hadn’t answered Gal yet.
Taylor reached down to touch Ben’s head hesitantly.Ben would have purred if he were a cat shifter, but he wasn’t, so he limited himself to closing his eyes in pleasure.“I’m a member of Gal’s pride,” Taylor said for what had to be the third or fourth time.
Ben knew who everyone was by now, and he didn’t need them to repeat themselves again.
“And I promise that he won’t hurt you,” Taylor continued.“We just want to help you.”
Ben had a choice to make.He could refuse and try to escape, but he was weary and didn’t think he had enough energy to continue running.If Jimmy still hadn’t found him, he probably never would, or at least, that was what Ben hoped.Jimmy wasn’t the only danger, though.There was no way to know how these people would treat him or what they’d do to him if he went with them.
But he wanted to.He wanted to spend time with Taylor, and Taylor was a pride member.
Ben had no idea if he was doing the right thing, but he slowly let go of Taylor’s leg.He wasn’t ready to put more distance between them yet, but he could allow Taylor to walk.Clinging to his leg would make that awkward, to say the least.
He didn’t go far.He watched as Tony put everything back into his backpack and swung it over his shoulder.Once he was done, Gal took the lead and turned, clearly ready to get out of the woods.When Taylor started walking, Ben stuck so close to him that it was a miracle neither of them fell on their faces as they made their way out of the forest.They stumbled a few times, but Taylor was patient and didn’t say anything about it.He even caught Ben once, with the result that they almost both ended up on the ground.
“Taylor, I think you should take a few days off work,” Tony said as they walked.
Taylor frowned.“Why?”
“Well, I doubt that our friend here is going to be comfortable away from you, and bringing a panda into the office might not be the smartest thing to do.”
Taylor glanced at Ben.“I don’t think I need to take time off work.They’ll be fine without me.”
Ben wouldn’t be.Right now, he felt like Taylor was the only thing keeping him sane.He didn’t know what he’d do if he had to stay in a house full of strangers without his mate.Surely, Taylor understood that?He had to want to spend time with Ben as much as Ben wanted to spend time with him, right?
He grabbed Taylor’s arm before he could think about it.Taylor squawked and tried pulling away, but Ben couldn’t let him go.He couldn’t risk it.
