Chapter 1

What in the motherfucking hell did I just witness? A man morphed into a damn bear. A big, brown grizzly bear. It’d been right there before my fucking eyes.

All because of the deep nagging feeling in my chest that had me staying in the nightclub—even after the alarm had sounded getting everyone else out—to save the guy who was practically vibrating in the seat next to me in the car.

Christ.What was I doing kidnapping this guy?

I glanced out of the corner of my eye and then tightened my grip around the steering wheel when my cock thickened. He’d been biting down on his plump bottom lip yet smiling around it.

I’d never seen hair that orange, where it nearly damn glowed, and his amber eyes were so fucking bright. His smooth skin called to me, and I wanted to run the back of my fingers over the globes of his cheeks just to test how soft they were.

The only problem was how small he was. Short and skinny, yet when I picked him up to carry him out of the club, he was slim but toned.

Jesus Christ.

Why the fuck was I even checking him out and thinking about how toned he was to begin with?

I’d never admired a man before, but I’d never considered it before either. Until now. Until my interest was piqued by this ball of energy at my side.

The guy sat on his hands, but his legs bounced up and down. He kept looking at me and grinning like a madman.

Fuck me.What was I supposed to do with him now?

“You got a place to go?”

“Nope.” Another wide grin beamed my way.

“A home? Family?” I tried.

“I’m good here.”

Fucking hell.

“Look, I had to get you out of there. That fuckin’ guy changed into a real live bear. You ever see any shit like that before?”

“Yep.” He nodded.

On autopilot, I pulled into my driveway.

Why did I bring him here?

I should have taken him to the compound, not my private place.

Hell, I should have dropped him off on the side of the road. I’d done my job getting him out of there since it was clear those two guys were going to kill him.

Actually, what was more important, was to figure out how I got home without even thinking. I just acted on instinct. Snorting to myself, I shook my head. I headed to a place of comfort, my mind buzzing with what I fucking saw.

A guy changed into a bear.

A fucking bear.

Hang on… did he say yes?

Switching off the ignition, I faced him, and even though the cabin was dark, the outside light spilled light through the car’s windows. “Did you say you’ve seen somethin’ like that before?”

He wiggled in the seat until he faced my way, nodding. “I did.”

Scrubbing a hand over my face, I sighed. “I’m not sure I want to know.”

“It’s best you do.”

Fuck.

What did I get myself into?

Drawing in a deep breath, I pushed my door open and stepped out into the evening air. Since we were here, we might as well head inside for this conversation. The young guy rushed from the car after me.

Hell, I didn’t even know what to call him.

At the front door, I asked, “Name?”

“Riker Blackwood. What’s yours? I can’t keep calling you ‘the hottest man I’ve ever seen. Though, I still might do it in my mind even after you tell me your name. That’s if you don’t mind. Do you mind?”

Slowly, and before we entered since I wasn’t sure having him in my house was good, I gave Riker all my attention.

He rocked on his feet with his hands clasped behind his back and a smile still in place.

This little twink thought I was handsome?

I was old enough to be his daddy.

He seemed early twenties. I was at least double that at forty-two.

Still, I pushed those thoughts aside and instead asked, “Do you usually say what’s on your mind?”

“Uh-huh. I sure do.” He thinned his lips, and I was damn positive it was to stop himself from saying more. He squirmed a little and then blurted, “Your name?”

Shit. I wanted to laugh. My lips even twitched, but I forced them into a frown, confused by my attraction and attention to this guy.

“Razor.”

His stunning gaze dropped from my face to my cut, or the patch on my cut, then up again.

God, he was short. The top of his head was at my collarbone.

“Razor? That’s your club name. I can see it there.” He pointed to the patch. “And that you’re the president to the Fury motorcycle club. But what’s your birth name?”

“Corbin.”

Why the fuck did I tell him? No one knew unless they were important to me, and yet, there I was, spewing it out to this Riker guy I kidnapped.

Ignoring the way he lit up after hearing it, I demanded, “Why the fuck are you still here? I stole you, kid.”

He bounced on his feet again, holding his hands together under his chin. “But you did it to save me.”

“Christ,” I grumbled. “I ain’t no hero, so don’t even fuckin’ think that shit. Those two pricks back there were lookin’ for your blood. I took you out of the situation and that’s it. Actually, you can leave now.” I waved him off.

Jesus motherfucking Christ.The way he looked at me, like I’d gutted him right there on my front porch, stabbed me right in the heart.

Closing my eyes, I tipped my head back and asked for… I didn’t have a clue what to ask for. Patience? A head exam? Help for things to make sense?

Grumbling some curse words, I turned, unlocked the door, and flung it wide before I reached in to turn on the living room light.

Moving out of the way, I ordered, “Get inside.”

His playful puppy look was back in full force. “Okay,” he sang as he bounced through. “We have so much to talk about, and I can’t wait until I show you what I can do. You didn’t freak out over Deacon. You just strolled up with your gun raised high—like a wet dream—while you demanded them not to move so you could grab me right out from there. Which was awesome, by the way.” He made his way around the living room, looking and touching everything he saw. “This is pretty,” he said, picking up a dagger my pops, the last living relative who passed five years ago—God rest his soul—gave me when I took over the club after my dickhead of a father overdosed.

I wouldn’t exactly call a dagger pretty, but as I watched Riker pick it up gently to twist it this way and that, I noticed he really was admiring it as if it was something wondrous. He ran his thumb over the sharp edge.

“Careful,” I barked, stomping over and taking his hand away. Blood already welled. Instinctively, I put his digit in my mouth and sucked.

Then froze.

Until my gaze traveled to Riker’s. His pupils were blown wide, and he bit his bottom lip.

Swiftly, I removed his thumb and shoved his hand away to stalk across the room.

I had to keep my distance from the boy.

He appealed to me too much and all in a matter of moments. No one had ever done that. Hell, I’d even got an excited dip to my gut from how Riker looked ready to cut himself again while wanting me to fuck him senseless.

And how I got that visual all from a single look, I had no clue.

My cock ached and throbbed like I was a teen again.

Why this boy?

The metallic taste of his blood lingered in my mouth no matter how many times I swallowed. It made me want to bite him again to see that heat in his stunning gaze.

Mark him up in punishment.

I unlocked my jaw and ordered sharply, “Sit the fuck down.”

I was pissed at him, pissed at myself, and pissed about the whole situation.

Hell, maybe it was just my confusion turned into annoyance.

I didn’t fucking know.

He swayed his hips over to the couch and sat in the corner, leaning back, totally relaxed. Like he wasn’t in a stranger’s house where anything could happen.

I could kill him for fuck’s sake.

I sat on the chair opposite him and planted my feet up on the wooden chest, which I used as a table, between us. While I looked just as relaxed as he did, on the inside, it was a different story. Confusion, desire, and anger blended together. I didn’t quite trust the guy since he was willing to walk in here without a care. But at least where I sat, there was a gun stuffed down the side of my chair.

Placing my hands over my gut, I demanded, “Talk.”

A wicked grin slowly tugged up his goddamn kissable lips.

Kissable? I should just shoot myself now. He’s a kid, dickhead.

“I can talk about lots of things. What would you like me to talk about? How I know you liked the way you sucked off my blood, but I wished you were sucking off?—”

“Shut the fuck up,” I snarled, planting my feet on the floor to sit forward.

He cackled before he kicked off his shoes and crossed his legs up on the couch.

What the fuck?

Who was this guy and why didn’t he feel any fear?

He scraped his top teeth over his bottom lip. He knew he had my full attention.

“Sorry, I’ll be good.” He winked. “Well, I’ll try to. What did you want to know first?”

“You said you’d seen something like that guy becoming a bear before. Start there.”

He saluted me. “You got it, Sir.”

I ground my teeth together as arousal slammed into me.

Riker’s face tipped up as he sniffed the air, his pupils expanded.

“What’s up with your eyes?”

“Nah-ah-ah, that’s for another time. Maybe soon. Maybe not.” He shrugged.

Fuck me.What was with this guy?

He wiggled in his spot. “You wanted an answer to your first question, so I’ll do that. The man who morphed into a bear is a shifter. The man beside him is another, but a tiger.”

Holy motherfucking hell.

Two shifters.

A bear and a tiger. Who would have thought that shit was real? Not me. But there was no denying what I saw when it’d been thrown in my face.

I blinked.

“Wait, you know them?”

“I do.”

I ground my teeth together. How could he seem so blasé? “They were going to kill you,” I clipped, wondering why I cared so much about a guy I knew nothing of.

Riker shrugged again.

Fucking hell, he definitely had a screw loose.

He brushed invisible lint off his jeans and glared down at them like the material had offended him. He looked back up and smiled over at me. “They would’ve only harmed me. Not killed. They’d never kill me.”

“How can you be certain? And why the fuck were you just standing there waiting for those guys, who changed into animals, to harm you?”

“Because.”

Growling out my frustration, I stood and crossed my arms over my chest. “Can you give me a straight fuckin’ answer without the dance around?”

He beamed. “I like dancing.”

I used one hand to rub at my temples. My thumb and two fingers circled the points where a headache formed.

Sighing, I tried again, “Riker, please tell me how you knew they wouldn’t kill you.”

“Okay, Corbin. By the way, I like your name. I know because they’re my brothers. The bear is Deacon, and the tiger is Nox.”

Dropping my hand, I stared at him.

“Your brothers?”

“Yep.” He nodded and bounced around until he was kneeling on the couch.

“Bullshit. You look nothing alike.”

“Foster brothers,” he said like it explained everything.

I had a feeling he wasn’t being forthcoming with everything because he liked this game of back and forth.

Or he just liked me. He’d already made that obvious.

But….

“Does that mean you change into an animal?”

Where in the fuck was my life going?

I didn’t want to believe this. I didn’t want to even know about it. The information was damn wild.

“Yes. I’m a fox shifter.”

“Prove it,” I commanded.

“Okay,” he said happily as he jumped from the couch. He pulled off his tee and started on his pants.

“What’re you doin’?”

Riker paused with his fingers on his zipper. “Undressing.”

“Why?”

“Oh, so I don’t get caught up in my clothes. Sometimes they tear too.”

“This is real. You’re actually going to change into an animal?”

“Yeah, Corbin.”

Christ, I liked the way my name sounded on his lips.

“Fuck,” I clipped and nodded.

When he grinned again, I wondered if he ever stopped with his sunshine attitude?

He shoved his jeans and underwear down. Then he paused with his hands on his hips, displaying himself for me and, I admit, I looked.

I drank in every fucking inch of his pale, silky skin. I shouldn’t, but I didn’t have the strength to look away, and it wasn’t like he was hiding himself. He stood proudly while I admired.

My cock jerked in my jeans. Hell, even my balls felt heavy. A need to be inside him punched me in the lower gut.

Who the fuck was this guy?

When I dragged my attention back to his face, I sucked in a sharp breath as his bones broke. They reshaped as fur sprouted before he, somehow, shrunk down to a damn fox.

He hadn’t been lying.

I sat my ass down on the chair behind me. In fact, if it hadn’t been there, I would have hit the floor since my knees gave out on me.

“Jesus Christ,” I uttered, staring at the fox from where it sat panting with his tongue hanging out the side of his mouth.

It was the cutest damn thing I’d seen.

But he’d been a man.

Only seconds ago.

The fox rose and danced around in a circle, chasing its tail. It drew out an unexpected laugh from me, but I slammed my lips closed and thinned them.

The fox had heard, though. He stopped its game to walk toward me.

I stilled as it grew closer. I didn’t know what it’d do.

My body jolted at the chittering noise it made before he licked at my hand that I rested on my thigh.

He licked again, then nudged it with his nose.

It couldn’t want a pat, right?

Fuck, I wanted to try anyway.

“Just don’t bite my hand off,” I told him.

He chittered louder while prancing from side to side on its paws.

Seemed both parts, animal and human, had similar traits. This fox couldn’t keep still.

Reaching out, I ran my palm over its head. He pushed up into it and shivered as I glided it down over his soft back.

In a blink, the fox was a man.

Riker tipped his head back and smirked up at me. “You can pat me anytime and anywhere.”