Hope For a Buffalo

The haunting eyes in the picture capture Caleb

Belikov’s  attention,  and  he  knows  he  has  to  confirm
whether the white  buffalo  is really  just an animal, or a
shifter  trapped  at  a  zoo  near  Albuquerque.  Caleb  talks
his alpha and a few friends into accompanying him and
discovers  not only  is  the  buffalo  a  shifter,  but  he’s  his
mate.  But  rescuing  Emmett  will  put  the  lives  of
innocents  in  danger,  creating  a  whole  new  set  of
problems. Can Caleb and  his  friends  figure out how to
keep everyone safe from a blackmailing alpha?

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This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters,
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entirely coincidental.

Hope for a Buffalo

Charlie Richards

ISBN: 978-1-77111-203-1

Cover art by Angela Waters

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Hope for a Buffalo

Kontra’s Menagerie: Book Three

Charlie Richards

Chapter One

ey, check this out,” Sam called, drawing
Caleb’s attention. The bull shifter held up a

paper for Kontra’s perusal. “Look at the eyes,” he
added, pointing. “Don’t they look like they’re more
than just an animal’s?”

“Hmm, you may be right,” Kontra replied, staring at

the page.

Interested, Caleb wandered across the dining room.

He wasn’t the only one. By the time he got to the table,
five  others  of  their  motorcycle  gang  were  already
crowded around the pair and leaning over staring at the
picture. Being one of the slightest in their group, Caleb
waited  impatiently  for  someone  to  move  so  he  could
squeeze  in.  Standing  five  foot  ten,  he  knew  he  wasn’t
small  by  human standards, but considering  most of the
other  guys  stood  well  over  six  feet,  he  was  definitely
short by comparison.

Eli, a tall slender python shifter grunted and moved

away. “Looks like it could definitely be more than just
an animal,” he said, adding his two cents.

The man’s move opened a small space for Caleb to

slip  between a couple of the  guys, allowing him to see
what they were talking about.  He cocked his  head  and
stared  at  the  picture  of  a  white  buffalo  in  a  fake  zoo

“H

Hope For A Buffalo

habitat. The headline of the story read Rare White
Buffalo: showing for one week only at the local
zoological park!

Ignoring the information in the article, Caleb stared

at the eyes of the animal  in the photo. He’d heard that
the eyes were the windows to the soul, and in this case,
it  was  accurate.  Beneath  the  relaxed  look  of  the  dark
eyes  was  so  much  pain  and  despair,  it  nearly  knocked
the air out of Caleb’s lungs.

“Oh, gods,” he whispered, reaching out to touch the

thin paper. “We need to help him.”

Kontra straightened, blowing out a breath. “We’ll

need  to  confirm  that  he’s  really  a  shifter,”  he  stated,
“which  means  a  trip  to  this…place.”  It  looked  like
Caleb wasn’t the only one uncomfortable with heading
into  a  zoo.  Kontra’s  resigned  tone  and  lip  curl  said  it
all.  The  big  alpha  glanced  at  the  men  around  them.
“Any volunteers?”

“I’ll go,” Caleb immediately replied, his quick

response surprising even himself.

Sam sighed. “I’ll go, too.”
Kontra nodded. “Looks like some of us are taking a

trip south,” he said. “Not all of you need to come. It’s
only an hour or so away.” He crossed his arms over his
chest and looked around at the group of men.

Terence grimaced and ran a hand through his honey

brown locks. “I guess I don’t mind a trip to the zoo.
When does this exhibit open?”

“This paper’s a week old,” Sam admitted. “I pulled it

out for the crossword.”

“So he may not even still be there?” Caleb wasn’t

certain why that news disturbed him so much, but he

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felt his heart speed up at the possibility of not checking
on this guy.

Kontra must have noticed his tension for he settled a

hand on Caleb’s shoulder and squeezed lightly.  “No, it
looks like today is his final day. If we hurry, we can get
there  before  noon.  Hopefully,  that’ll  give  us  time  to
find  a  way  to  get  close  enough  to  figure  out  if  he’s  a
shifter or not,” he assured.

Caleb nodded and flashed a smile up at his alpha.

“Thanks.”

“Sure,” Kontra replied. “No shifter wants to live his

life in captivity. Let’s get a move on.”

It turned out nearly half their gang joined them. Ben,

Mutegi’s human mate, had wanted to check the zoo out,
so  their  friend  had  agreed  to  the  outing.  They  were
joined  by  Kontra,  Sam,  and  Terence,  along  with
himself.  The  rest  settled  in  the  living  room  of  Gallo
Ricci’s  home.  The  recently  mated  horse  shifter  would
be  staying  with  his  newly  discovered  detective  mate
when  they  left  in  a  few  days.  Although  Caleb  and  his
friends  were  sorry  to  leave  the  sweet  shifter  behind,
after  the  tough  life  Gallo  had  endured,  they  were
pleased that he’d found a measure of happiness.

Just like Kontra said, it took them just over an hour

to  reach  Albuquerque.  It  took  another  twenty  minutes
of  driving  around  to  find  the  place  in  question.  After
parking, Caleb took a fortifying breath and followed his
buddies  to  the  ticket  booth.  Kontra  paid  for  everyone,
which  was  pretty  customary  when  they  did  something
as  a  group. They  all  traded  stocks  as  a  way  of  income
and pooled half their resources for just that reason. The

Hope For A Buffalo

other half went into private accounts they used for
personal expenses, like fuel, clothing, and toiletries.

Caleb watched Ben grin at Mutegi as they entered,

then look around at everyone’s somber faces. His smile
faded. “Are you feeling this way because of the
situation or the location?” the slender human asked.

Mutegi took his mate’s hand and leaned close. “A

little of both,” he admitted for all of them. “We would
never leave one of our brethren in need, but a zoo, with
all these caged animals, makes us uncomfortable.”

When Ben’s brows creased in concern, he was really

quite  cute,  Caleb  decided.  Watching  the  interaction,
Caleb  was  glad  Mutegi  had  found  such  an
understanding  man  for  his  mate.  “Why?”  Ben
questioned curiously.

Caleb knew his own brows weren’t the only ones

shooting up at that one word question. Why, indeed?
How to put it into words?

Kontra looked around at the people milling by them

and led the way off to a couple of empty benches set up
near a group of restrooms.  “Because we share our soul
with an animal,  Ben,”  he rumbled softly.  “That animal
doesn’t  want  to  suffer  the  fate  of  ending  up  in  a  cage,
plus,  even  though  many  of  these  animals  are  happy
here,  a  few  are  not.  They  are  uncomfortable,  angry,
aggressive, and our animal picks up on that, too.”

“Ah, I see.” To Caleb’s surprise, Ben’s expression

turned into a grin. “Then I’ll try to keep my enthusiasm
to myself!”

Mutegi chuckled. “We do not mind that you are

happy to be here.”

Terence nodded, winking at the human, which

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earned a playful growl from Ben’s mate. “Just don’t
expect us to share in your joy.”

That settled, they resumed their trek through the

park. According to the map, the temporary exhibit was
near the back, of course. They tried not to appear like
they were hurrying, plus Ben paused to read just about
every plaque hanging on or near a cage, so that slowed
them down.

Finally, Caleb’s nerves were shot and he gripped

Terence’s  arm.  When  the  lion  shifter  turned  a
questioning  look  toward  him,  he  said,  “I  don’t  know
how  much  longer  I  can  take  this.  Will  you  go  straight
there with me?”

His lips pressed into a thin line, but he didn’t

question Caleb, for which he was grateful. Caleb didn’t
understand himself why this was so important to him.

“Sure thing, Caleb.”
Terence turned to tell Kontra, but the big grizzly

shifter had heard. “Sam will hang with Mutegi and Ben.
Once we’re done, we’ll contact them and find a place to
meet,” Kontra said.

They strolled as swiftly as possible, without being

conspicuous,  toward  the  area  where  the  white  buffalo
was kept. When they got there, it took them a moment
to spot the animal,  as  it was  lying down  near the back
behind  some  logs. Being a good fifty  feet away,  along
with  the  many  humans  milling  around,  Caleb  knew
there  was  no  way  he’d  be  able  to  catch  the  animal’s
scent  from  outside  the  enclosure.  But  how  can  I  get
closer?

Kontra must have been having the same thoughts.

He placed a hand on Caleb’s lower back and guided

Hope For A Buffalo

him off to the side and toward a low stone building.
Restrooms. Caleb gave his alpha a questioning look and
the big man smirked, leading him inside. He crossed to
the sinks and washed his hands, and Caleb followed his
lead, trying to keep his questions at bay.

Suddenly, he found himself being dragged into the

handicapped stall  by  the shifter. Staring up  in  shock at
the  much  larger  man,  he  knew  the  what-the-hell
question was in his eyes. Kontra didn’t make him ask it,
ordering, “Strip down and shift. I’ll tuck you under my
coat and carry you to the edge of the enclosure. There’s
a  tree  near  the  edge  that  you  should  be  able  to  get to.
Go  swiftly  and  carefully.  We’ll  cause  a  disturbance  if
anyone spots you.”

Caleb shivered, thinking of how so many things

could go wrong with this plan,  but he nodded anyway.
He  didn’t  understand  the  driving  need  to  verify  the
identity  of  this  animal,  but  he  started  pulling  off  his  t-
shirt  anyway.  He  quickly  stripped  down,  folded  his
clothes,  and  initiated  his  shift,  letting  his  chameleon
take over. His skin thickened, his body shrank, his head
changed,  and  the  world  became  a  much  larger  place.
After  the  few  seconds  of  disorientation  from  his  eyes
adjusting passed, Caleb crawled up  his alpha’s  leg. He
carefully  kept  his  claws  out  of  the  man’s  skin  and
wrapped  his  body  around  Kontra’s  torso  under  his
leather coat.

He tightened his grip as the bear shifter headed out

of  the  bathroom.  He  could  just  see  a  strip  of  daylight
where Kontra’s coat was unzipped. It wasn’t much of a
view, but at least  it let him know the general area they
were  passing.  After  a  couple  of  moments,  Kontra

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stopped walking and leaned against a railing. “Now.”

Caleb crept from under the coat, blinking a few

times  as  he  moved  into  the  sunlight.  Using  slow,
deliberate  movements,  he  carefully  crawled  under  the
wooden  fence,  then  over  a  stone  one,  all  the  while
praying he wouldn’t be noticed. He circled the inside of
the  fence  until  he  reached  branches  and  logs.  He
crawled  between  them,  working  his  way  toward  the
resting buffalo.

He paused for a second, admiring the animal’s

thickly  muscled  body,  noble  head,  and  arching  horns.
Caleb decided he really was a good looking animal. He
took another step closer and a soft breeze wafted across
Caleb’s  skin,  carrying  a  musky  scent  to  him.  Caleb
froze  and  inhaled  again.  This  creature  was  definitely  a
shifter, and he was Caleb’s mate!

Just then, the shifter opened his eyes and lifted his

head. A soft brown gaze focused on Caleb. He found
himself frozen in that fixed look. Gone was the sadness
he’d seen in the picture. Gone was the despair. Instead,
he saw surprise, concern, and confusion.

Caleb cocked his head and allowed his curiosity to

rise,  as  well  as  his  desire  to  fill  his  nostrils  again  with
his mate’s scent. His rocking gate moved him forward,
closer,  and  it  pleased  Caleb  the  shifter  didn’t  feel
threatened enough to rise while facing him. Instead, the
buffalo  lowered  his  head  and  stretched  his  nose  out
toward him.

Taking the offer for what it was, an invitation to fill

their  nostrils  with  the  other’s  scent,  Caleb  touched  his
nose  to  his  mate’s.  A  shiver  of  desire  worked  its  way
through  his  small  body  at  the  contact.  He  wanted  to

Hope For A Buffalo

shift and pounce on this man, but a commotion off to
his right caught his attention. Someone had spotted him.

He quickly ducked behind some wood, using his

natural abilities as a chameleon to blend in with the dirt
and sand beneath him and the brown wood in front of
him, all but disappearing to everyone but the most acute
observer.

Waiting, he remained perfectly still. He heard

Terence’s  voice as  he scoffed at whoever thought  he’d
seen  Caleb.  After  a  good  twenty  minutes,  the  noise
quieted, and he thought about trying to make his escape
when a  shadow fell over  him. He’d  been  so concerned
about  what  was  going  on,  he  hadn’t  noticed  that  his
mate had risen.

The animal’s big head lowered and nuzzled him,

snuffling  softly  against  his  leathery  skin.  The
affectionate  gesture  sent  a  shiver  of  warmth  through
Caleb,  and  he  rubbed  his  own  head  against  one  white,
furry cheek. Then the animal was gone, lumbering over
to  a  pool  and  sinking  into  it,  splashing  playfully.  At
first, Caleb felt hurt that the shifter would rather go for
a  swim  than  be  near  him,  but  then  the  reality  of  the
situation  hit  him,  as  pictures  snapped  and  humans
laughed  and  pointed.  His  mate  was  giving  him  a
diversion.

Caleb took the offered opening and made his escape.

Charlie Richards

Chapter Two

mmett watched his mate crawl out of his enclosure
and disappear under the coat of a large, leather

daddy.  His  thick  brown  hair  with  interesting  silver
flecks peppering it was pulled into a short tail. Add the
goatee,  tattoos  creeping  up  his  neck  where  his  t-shirt
ended, and biker leathers, in eighty degree weather, and
the  dude  could  only  be  called  the  quintessential  biker.
The guy must be nuts.

He knew he focused on the biker because thinking of

his  mate  tucked  up  under  the  man’s  coat  was  just  too
painful  to  contemplate.  Emmett  had  known  the  little
shifter had to leave, and it had been the right thing to do
to help the chameleon by creating a distraction, but that
didn’t  make  him  any  happier  about  it, or  any  less  sad.
For  just  a  couple  of  moments,  Emmett  had  been  with
his  mate.  A  male  mate.  Something  his  old  shifter  herd
had banned him for desiring.

Seeing his mate safe, Emmett stopped his ridiculous

display  of  playing  in  the  water.  Although  it  did  feel
good to  be  wet  on  such  a  hot  day,  it  didn’t  make  him
happy.  With  a  heavy  heart,  he  headed  back  into  the
shade and began picking at his hay, but even that didn’t

Hope For A Buffalo

interest him.

With one eye, he watched the biker holding his mate

slip  into  a  restroom.  He  swallowed,  imagining  all  the
pleasurable  things  he’d  like  to  do  to  the  man  in  the
confines of a bathroom stall. He bellowed loudly, doing
the  only  thing  left  to  him  to  express  his  rage  at  the
injustice  of  it  all.  First,  his  alpha  had  trapped  him  in
buffalo form when his father told him he was gay, then
they’d  sold  him  to  a  zoo,  where  he  had  no  hope  of
escape  because  the  damn  vet  knew  who  and  what  he
was.  And  nice  though  Randy  Layton  was,  he  reported
back  to  Emmett’s  alpha.  Now,  he’d  found  out  that  he
did indeed have a male mate out there, but had no clue
who  he  was,  couldn’t  ask,  and  even  if  he  could,
wouldn’t put the man in that kind of danger. It was a no
win situation.

Turning his back on the crowds, he lay down and

ignored everything around him. His heart ached at the
injustice of the world, and he willed the dark oblivion
of sleep to take him.

He’d been feigning sleep for over an hour. It wasn’t

until Randy walked into his enclosure that Emmett
lifted his head. “Hey, buddy,” Randy said warmly.

It really was a pity Randy was under his old alpha’s

thumb.  Emmett  thought  he  probably  was  a  good  guy,
but  the  vet  wouldn’t  tell  him  why  he  worked  with
Emmett’s  herd  to  keep  him  in  the  zoo.  Every  time
Emmett had managed to become human over the years,
Randy  would  give  him  a  few  days  to  shift  at  will,  as
long as he didn’t reveal himself to anyone. They’d chat
and  joke, even play  chess, but then eventually Emmett
would  find  that,  once  again,  he  couldn’t  shift  back  to

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human form, and he’d be stuck in animal form for at
least another couple of months. It sucked.

Knowing there wasn’t a damn thing he could do

about it, Emmett levered himself to his feet and headed
toward  the  vet.  Evidently,  something  in  his  eyes  or
movements  must  have  caught  Randy’s  attention,
because  his  brows  drew  together  in  concern.  Once  he
was close enough, Randy whispered,  “I really am sorry
about  this  move,  Emmett,  but,  I  didn’t  have  any
choice.”

Emmett had no idea what Randy meant, but he

couldn’t hide his shock at the vet actually referring to
him by name while in the yard. He was usually so
careful. Something had to be going on; too bad Emmett
had no way of figuring out what.

He grunted in acknowledgement, and didn’t fight as

Randy slipped a halter over his head and led him out of
the enclosure. People watched Randy guide him toward
a trailer. That’s when he remembered Randy had told
him they were only at this place for a week. He balked,
not because he knew he was supposed to, but because if
he got in that trailer, he’d never see his mate again.

Randy went through the usual soothing routine, and

Emmett  watched  him  get  more  and  more  frustrated  as
he  continued  to  throw  a  bigger  and  bigger  fit,  tossing
his  head,  prancing  on  the  end  of  the  lead  rope,  and
jerking  backward.  Emmett  kept  his  movements  mild,
not wanting to hurt the human, but he needed some way
to  get  his  point  across.  Randy  had  instructed  him  to
balk,  even  choreographed  what  moves  to  do  together
any  time  he  needed  to  be  moved.  This  time,  Emmett
refused to give in as he normally would. He didn’t want

Hope For A Buffalo

to get in that trailer.

Finally, Randy stopped his efforts of coercion and

gave him a narrow eyed stare. He approached slowly,
making it look like he was still trying to soothe him, but
Emmett knew the truth. Randy planned to yell at him.

True to his hunch, as soon as Randy drew close, he

hissed, “What the hell are you doing? Stop being a shit
or I’m going to sedate you!”

Fuck! What can I do now?
His gaze strayed to the shocked crowds around them,

seeing their wide eyes. One of the things he’d heard
humans saying was how docile he was, and he sure
wasn’t living up to that reputation.

“Now, come on,” Randy snarled.
He almost balked again, but then he spotted the big

biker  he’d  seen  with  his  mate  earlier.  It  was  as  if  the
guy  knew  he  was  watching  him  because  he  tilted  his
head toward the large trailer hooked to a small semi and
mouthed  Get  in.  Emmett  couldn’t  hold  in  his  shocked
snort,  and  even  let  Randy  lead  him  a  couple  of  steps
before stopping again.

Returning his gaze to the big man, Emmett noticed a

much  smaller  auburn-haired  man  standing  next  to  the
big  biker.  He,  too,  wore  biker  leathers  over  his  lean,
muscular  build.  He  stared  at  the  scene  with  wide  blue
eyes,  and  a  thought  hit  Emmett.  Is  that  my  mate?  At
that distance, he couldn’t catch the men’s scents, so he
had  no  way  of  knowing.  But  even  if  it  was,  he  didn’t
want to scare his mate by acting like a psychotic idiot.

Letting out a disgruntled sigh, he allowed the vet to

lead him into the trailer.

As far as trailers went, it was nice. It had a spacious

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forty-eight by eight and a half feet of space, with a thick
bed of shavings covering rubber mats, a couple of nets
filled with hay, and several ventilation windows to
increase air flow.

Randy sighed as the doors closed behind them.

There  was  a  side  escape  door that  Randy  would  be  let
out  of  after  he  checked  him  over,  and  probably  after
Emmett got a talking to. As soon as they heard the clasp
click,  Randy  rounded  on  him.  “What  the  hell  was  that
all about, Emmett? I said I was sorry. Do you think this
is any easier for me?”

The guy ran both hands through his black hair and

strode away from him. If he could have rolled his eyes,
Emmett  would  have.  Come  on?  How  the  hell  does
Randy  expect  me  to  answer?  Ignoring  the  human,  he
crossed over to the closest hay  net and took a bite. He
wasn’t  interested  in  food,  but  he  didn’t  care  what  the
guy  had  to  say.  His  life  sucked,  and  Emmett  just
couldn’t see the silver lining anymore.

After a few moments of ranting, Randy threw up his

hands  and  left.  Emmett  turned  away  from  the  hardly
touched  food  and  settled  in  the  corner,  lowering  his
massive  body to the  floor. Half  an hour  later, the semi
roared  to  life  and  the  trailer  vibrated.  As  it  started
moving,  if  Emmett  could  have  cried  while  in  buffalo
form, he would have.

Hope For A Buffalo

Chapter Three

re you sure this is the best way?”

Caleb had whispered the question two hours

ago,  and  his  alpha  had  assured  him  it  was  doable, that
everything would be fine. Now, nerves fired through his
system,  making  him  want  to  jump  out  of  his  skin.
Haben  dropped  a  hand  onto  his  thigh.  “Relax,”  he
muttered  without  changing  his  gaze  from  where  he
looked out the window.

“Sorry,” he replied immediately.
The tarantula shifter nodded once. Caleb looked at

the dark-haired man, the picture of relaxed male, and
tried to emulate him, relaxing into the car’s seat.
Nothing more was said for twenty minutes, then the car
they’d rented slowed. “Get ready,” Kontra ordered from
the front seat where he drove the sedan.

He and Haben shucked their clothes and quickly

shifted. They crawled over the seat and settled on Eli’s
slender shoulders. Kontra stopped the car in front of an
expressway  gas  station.  Off  to  the  side,  Caleb  saw
where  the  rig  carrying  his  mate  was  parked  in  a  semi
pump  lane,  presumably  gassing  up.  Both  shifters
crawled  under  Eli’s  coat  and  out  of  sight  after  their

“A

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friend stepped from the car.

Feeling Eli moving, Caleb gripped his torso tighter

and  waited  with  Haben  hanging  on  above  him.  He
heard Eli call out to someone. Caleb focused on the task
at hand. He listened to Eli exchange comments with the
driver  of  the  rig,  asking  questions,  and  showing
enthusiasm.  Finally,  a  door  squeaked  open  and  Eli
made  appreciative  and  interested  noises  before  asking
more questions about the dials and gauges. Eli lifted an
arm  and  braced  it  on  the  door  frame,  leaning  into  the
cab.

Knowing that was their moment, Caleb followed

Haben  out  from  under  Eli’s  jacket  and  made  his  way
into the cab and behind the seat as quickly as possible.
It  was  then  they  were  faced  with  an  unexpected
inconvenience.  The  vet  who’d  led  the  buffalo  into  the
semi  was  sitting  in  the  passenger  seat,  sending
impatient looks at Eli and the driver. Haben and Caleb
crept into the sleeper cab and waited.

“Where’s the fire, man?” the driver grumbled a

moment later. The vet didn’t respond and the semi’s
engine roared to life. With a shudder and jerk, the
driver got the truck and trailer moving.

Between the noise of the radio, the whine of the

semi’s  engine,  and  the  grinding  of  gears  shifting,  they
figured  they  had  enough  sound  to  cover  the  pops  and
groans of morphing tendons and bones realigning. They
both  initiated  their  shift  and  after  a  few  seconds,  the
two men crouched in the sleeper bunk, carefully hidden
by  the  half  pulled  sheet  separating  the  bunk  from  the
cab.

Searching the area quietly, they found a heavy duty

Hope For A Buffalo

flashlight  which  Caleb  hefted  experimentally.  They
waited two minutes then crept from the back. Just as he
brought the large, plastic object down on the vet’s head,
the  driver  shouted.  The  vet  immediately  slumped  over
and  Haben  slammed  the  driver’s  head  against  the  side
window.

The truck swerved, but Caleb quickly leaned over,

grabbed the wheel, and straightened it as Haben yanked
the  now  unconscious  man  from  his  seat.  The  shifter
dropped into the bucket seat  and grimaced.  “I’m  going
to  want  a  shower  after  doing  this,”  Haben  muttered,
glaring  at  where  his  naked  backside  was  resting.  “No
telling what’s been on these seats.”

Caleb curled his lip as he dragged the unconscious

vet  out  of  the  passenger  seat  and  dumped  him,  along
with  the  other  man,  in  the  sleeper  bunk.  That  was  a
thought  he  hadn’t  needed.  He  settled  in  the  other  seat,
half turned so he could keep an eye on the unconscious
men.

It only took ten minutes for a rest stop to appear, and

Caleb thanked the gods for small favors. Haben steered
the semi into the lot and parked as far away from other
vehicles  as  he  could.  Eli  and  Kontra  appeared  at  their
windows  with  clothes,  which  they  quickly  yanked  on.
Haben  checked  the  humans,  who  were  still  out.  The
tarantula  shifter  remained  behind  to  watch  them  while
Kontra led Eli and Caleb to the side door of the trailer.

They found the buffalo standing in the middle of the

cavernous  space.  He  watched  them  warily  as  they
stepped  inside  and  shut  the  door.  Caleb  stepped
forward,  and  the  animal’s  eyes  seemed  to  gleam  with
recognition as he caught Caleb’s scent.

Charlie Richards

Caleb smiled slightly. “Hi. I’m Caleb Belikov.

You’re my mate.”

The buffalo responded by nodding. At least he

agreed, Caleb decided, somewhat relieved. “Will you
shift?”

A sad look filled the shifter’s eyes and he shook his

head.

Nibbling his lip, Caleb thought for a moment. “Is

that by choice?” He didn’t know what he’d do if his
mate refused to become a man for him. It wasn’t like
they could mate in animal form. Besides, he wanted to
see what the handsome creature looked like.

Again the buffalo shook his head.
“So, you’re stuck in that form?” he whispered,

shocked. He’d never heard of that happening before and
glanced  over  his  shoulder  at  Kontra.  His  alpha  cocked
his  head and  frowned, obviously  in thought.  Returning
his focus to his mate, Caleb saw the buffalo shifter hang
his  head,  as  if  ashamed.  “Hey,  it’s  okay,”  Caleb
assured. He quickly stepped forward and ran his fingers
through the shaggy  fur around his  mate’s  neck.  “We’ll
think of something.” He looked toward his companions
again, uncertain what to do next.

Eli stepped forward. “Maybe I can help.”
To Caleb’s surprise, the big buffalo nudged him to

the  side,  insinuating  himself  between  the  doctor  and
himself.  It  pleased  him  that  his  mate  felt  some
possessiveness  toward  him,  but  at  the  moment,  he
needed  to  figure  out  how  to  make  it  possible  for  his
mate  to  shift.  “It’s  okay.  This  is  Eli  Raetz.  He’s  a
doctor.”

Again the shifter shook his head, blowing out a

Hope For A Buffalo

frustrated snort. Caleb wasn’t certain what that meant.

Kontra closed the distance between them, his eyes

narrowing in speculation.  “Does the vet know you’re a
shifter?” The buffalo  nodded. “Does he know why you
can’t  shift?”  Another  nod  filled  Caleb  with  hope.  “We
have the human in the cab of the truck. I’m sure we can
get  him  to  tell  us  what’s  going  on,”  he  said  with  a
toothy grin. “When he wakes up, anyway.”

That had the buffalo’s eyes widening in what could

only  be  called  alarm.  Well,  that  was  interesting,  Caleb
thought.  What’s  going  on  here?  Kontra  must  have
caught  it,  too,  for  he  said,  “Don’t  worry.  We  haven’t
permanently harmed the man. We just knocked him out
to  take  over  the  truck.  I’m  just  going  to  make  certain
the  choice  of  shifting  is  returned  to  you.”  He  turned
about to leave the vehicle then paused, asking, “Oh, the
driver, does he know you’re a shifter?”

The animal did an amazing job of shrugging. Caleb

couldn’t stop a chuckle. “Sorry,” he immediately said,
seeing the buffalo tilt his head in confusion. “That was
just really impressive.” He watched his two friends
head toward the door. “Is it okay for me to stay here?”
he asked.

They exchanged a look, then Kontra replied, “Sorry,

Caleb. It’s illegal for a human to ride in the back of a
trailer, and I think we’ve got enough to deal with
without you possibly being caught. Don’t you?”

Caleb frowned. “Oh. Then I’ll just shift. Then it

won’t be a problem, right?”

Kontra chuckled. “Yeah, little one. That’ll be fine.”
“Cool!” He started stripping. He’d just tossed his

shirt to Eli when his buffalo bellowed angrily. “Hey,

Charlie Richards

just  relax.  We’re  all  shifters  here,”  he  murmured,
running  soothing  palms  over  his  mate’s  body.  “Eli  is
just  a  friend,  and  this  is  Kontra  Belikov,”  he  said,
pointing  toward  the  bear  shifter.  “He’s  our  alpha.
We’ve all seen each other naked when we shift and run.
You know how that works.”

The animal grunted, but at least he settled down.

Caleb  finished  undressing,  then  quickly  shifted,  not
wanting to stress his mate out any more than this whole
mess  must  already  cause  him.  Once  he  was  safely  in
chameleon  form,  Eli  and  Kontra  left,  closing  the  door
behind them.

A few minutes later, the trailer shuddered, and Caleb

lost his balance, nearly going down. The shavings
strewn floor didn’t leave much for his claws to grip.
Just in time, a large snout settled against him, and Caleb
sighed as he leaned against his mate.

Once they were traveling steadily on the road, the

buffalo  moved  to the  side  of  the  trailer  and  settled  his
massive  form  onto  the  floor.  Caleb  crawled  over,  and
after  a  seconds’  hesitation,  he  climbed  onto  the
buffalo’s  body  and  curled  up  in  the  shaggy  fur  on  his
mate’s  back.  The  big  shifter  let  out  a  deep  sigh.  From
where he was positioned, Caleb saw one big, brown eye
watching him, so he stared right back.

No words were needed as they reveled in each

other’s  scents,  just  relaxing  together.  While  his  body
rested,  Caleb’s  mind  went  a  mile  a  minute  with
questions.  How  did  his  mate  get  stuck  in  that  form?
Why would the human keep him trapped? Who was he
to  the  other  shifter?  Knowing  there  was  no  way  to  get
the  answers  any  time  soon,  Caleb  let  his  eyelids  slide

Charlie Richards

Chapter Four

e listened to the even breathing of the small
shifter asleep on his back. Emmett couldn’t figure

out  how  he’d  ended  up  in  this  position.  Where  had
these shifters come from? How had they taken over the
semi? One of them was his mate, and the big guy who
looked  like  a  biker,  Kontra,  Caleb  had  said  his  name
was, didn’t seem to mind that they were both men. Did
that  mean  he  accepted  two  males  mating?  And  how
could  he  and  Caleb  share  the  same  last  name?  They
looked  nothing  alike.  Their  scents  were  completely
different, too. So many questions he couldn’t voice.

With his mate so close, his body kept straining to

shift.  He  wanted  to  hold  the  man,  touch  him,  feel  him
with  his  hands.  He  wanted  to  stroke  Caleb’s  darkly
tanned  skin,  tangle  his  fingers  in  his  short  auburn  hair
and  use  the  hold  to  pull  the  man’s  head  down  so  he
could  taste  the  bow-shaped  lips.  He  wanted  to  see
passion  glaze  Caleb’s  dark  blue  eyes.  Would  the  dark
eyes become darker? Lighter? How would he look with
his  lids  lowered  to  half-mast  and  his  gaze  filled  with
desire?

The fact that he couldn’t shift and ask questions, or

Hope For A Buffalo

at  least  properly  hold  Caleb,  made  Emmett  tense  and
sleep remained elusive. Emmett settled for breathing in
Caleb’s  scent.  The  fact  that  the  man  Fate  deemed  his
perfect  partner  was  nearby  soothed  his  straining
muscles.  Gradually,  he  was  able  to  slow  his  racing
pulse and relax.

Emmett rested quietly, trying not to allow his

questions to rule him, as he listened to the wheels of the
semi and trailer rumble on the asphalt. It didn’t escape
his notice that the trailer slowed to a stop, then made a
complete U-turn. Where the hell were they going?

He struggled with the amount of time passing, but

eventually  the  vehicle  slowed  to  a  stop  and  shut  off.
Caleb  climbed  to  his  feet  and,  to  Emmett’s
disappointment, headed down his body. Emmett let out
a  soft  huff  and  lifted  his  head.  His  mate  paused  and
looked  at  him  with  one  rotating  eye  before  rubbing
against his cheek. He let out a deep, pleased rumble.

The large latch on the door banged, and the back

gate  swung  open  revealing  the  two  men  who’d
accompanied Caleb earlier. Kontra and Eli stepped into
the  trailer  and  a  few  seconds  later,  another  shifter  he
hadn’t  seen  before  pushed  a  trussed  up  Randy  before
him.

Eli grabbed the edge of the door and swung it almost

closed behind them. Emmett pushed himself to his feet,
wishing  he  could  question  these  men  concerning  their
intentions.  Watching  the  stranger  push  Randy  to  his
knees,  Emmett  tried  to  decide  if  he  should  defend  his
one contact to his old life, or not.

“I know you have questions for us,” Kontra said,

drawing Emmett’s attention. The big man crossed his

Charlie Richards

arms and leaned a hip against the side of the trailer.
“We’ll get to them in a minute. First, Randy, why don’t
you tell us how you’ve been keeping the buffalo in his
animal form.”

Randy remained stubbornly quiet.
Kontra’s eyes narrowed. “You really don’t want to

test me, vet.” His deep voice took on a hard edge. The
alpha pushed off the wall and crossed to stand  in front
of  the  kneeling  human.  He  crouched,  dropping  to  the
same  eye  level  as  the  man.  “I  won’t  threaten  you,
human, because I don’t care what happens to you. The
only thing keeping you safe is that buffalo, right there,”
he  said  coldly,  pointing  over  his  shoulder  at  Emmett.
“Now,  my  friend  Caleb  here  wants  to  be  able  to
communicate with his mate, and I’ll do whatever I need
to  do  to  accomplish  that,  including  pissing  off  that
mate.  I  don’t  need  Caleb’s  mate  to  like  me  to  make
Caleb happy. So…”

He straightened up and moved away. Emmett clearly

saw the fear filling Randy’s eyes. He prayed he’d
finally get some answers about why Randy was helping
his herd and how they were keeping him trapped in
animal form.

“Let’s try this again,” Kontra rumbled. “How are

you keeping the buffalo in animal form?”

Emmett really hoped he never pissed the big shifter

off, because that icy tone had a shiver running through
him, and it wasn’t even directed at him.

“It’s a drug Emmett’s alpha sends me. I don’t know

how he gets hold of it, but I add it to Emmett’s food and
it inhibits his ability to change,” Randy replied.

“And how long does it last?” Kontra asked.

Hope For A Buffalo

“I give him a dose weekly in his grain,” Randy

admitted.

That was news to Emmett. As a buffalo, his animal

enjoyed the daily grain rations that gave him the
necessary proteins the human carnivore in him needed.
It had never occurred to him that it was used as a
weapon against him.

Kontra addressed another question Emmett wanted

to have answered. “When will the current dose wear
off?”

When Randy remained stubbornly silent, Emmett’s

frustration  grew.  He  pawed  the  floor  with  one  large
hoof,  shaking  the  trailer.  Seconds  later,  Caleb  shifted
next to him and his naked mate buried his fingers in his
mane.  “Easy,  handsome.  Everything  will  be  okay,”  he
crooned.

Emmett grunted, shifting his weight. Caleb remained

behind him, keeping his nakedness from the view of the
others. It didn’t matter that Emmett knew it was
irrational, but he didn’t know any of these men. How
was he to know what the relationship between the men
was? Trying to focus on the issue at hand, he swung his
head to focus on Randy and bellowed his anger. Randy
cringed.

“I think you better tell us,” the shifter standing

behind Randy said gruffly. “Your buffalo is losing his
patience.”

“Haben is right, Randy,” Kontra pointed out, his

tone deceptively mild. “Best get it all out in the open.”

“Twelve hours,” Randy hissed. “I planned to dose

him again with the morning’s grain.”

Twelve hours! In twelve hours I’ll be able to hold my

Charlie Richards

mate,  talk  to  him,  touch  him.  Excitement  and  lust  in
equal  measure  slammed  through  Emmett.  Caleb
groaned  and  rested  his  forehead  against  his  side.
“Emmett,”  he  whispered.  “Just  a  little  longer.”  Caleb
twisted his fingers in his fur and  added, “Your scent is
killing me. Please, calm down.”

Emmett shuddered, nuzzling the bare body next to

him.

A deep throat clearing caught his attention,

reminding  him  they  weren’t  alone.  Eli  was  smirking,
his gaze focused out the window, Haben was looking at
Randy with a speculative gleam in his eyes, and Kontra
was grinning at the pair. “All right,” the alpha said with
a  grunt.  “We  get  you’re  looking  forward  to  shifting.
Now, let’s  focus on why  you’re  in this predicament  in
the  first  place.”  He  looked  toward  Randy  and  lifted  a
brow. “Well?”

Randy blushed. “Isn’t it obvious?” he muttered. “He

was locked up because he’s gay.”

To Emmett’s surprise, Kontra growled low in his

throat and the other men glared as they crossed their
arms over their chests. Randy glanced around at them in
surprise. “What?”

“Your attitude leaves a lot to be desired,” Kontra

warned.

The vet glanced around at the men, and he must have

come  to  the  same  conclusion  Emmett  did.  These  men
didn’t  mind  they  were  gay.  “You’re  an  alpha  and  you
don’t  care  that  your  friend  Caleb  is  gay,  so  you  don’t
care that his mate is a male?”

“Smart man,” Haben grunted, irritation lacing his

words.

Hope For A Buffalo

“I—sorry,” he muttered. Clearing his throat

nervously,  he  said,  “Um,  the  story  I  heard  was  his
father  followed  Emmett  when  he  went  out  one  night
and saw him go into a club. A, uh, a gay club. Leonard
asked their alpha for help, and when Emmett refused to
go to counseling, they decided to hide him away, like a
dirty  secret,”  he  finished with a grimace.  “Emmett is a
really  good  guy,  but  they  think  he’s  an  abomination.
They  couldn’t  very  well  hide  him  in  an  asylum  like  a
human, so they went this route instead,” he finished and
shrugged.

Emmett wanted to scream at the injustice of it. He

remembered that night. His  father had  been riding him
hard about finding a mate, settling down, and breeding
a  few  cubs.  Emmett  had  needed  to  blow  off  some
steam,  not  to  mention  get  a  little  liquid  courage  to
finally  break  the  news  to  his  father  that  he  was  gay.
They’d  never  told  him  how  they’d  known.  His  father
and  Alpha  Bennett  had  just  confronted  him.
Admittedly,  Emmett  had  lost  his  temper  at  their  high-
handedness,  but  then  the  next  morning  he’d  woken  in
buffalo form in a pen. His alpha had appeared and told
him  he’d  stay  just  like  that  until  Emmett  changed  his
mind. A week later, he’d been introduced to Randy and
taken to the zoo.

“And what are you getting out of it, human?” Haben

sneered, drawing Emmitt’s attention back to the group
of men. “Money?”

Randy cringed. “No. My sister is mated to one of the

shifters in the herd. Alpha Bennett’s threatening Lydia
and her cubs if I don’t keep Emmett under wraps.” His
gaze dropped to the floor and anguish filled his voice.

Charlie Richards

“That’s my niece and my nephew, and now they’re
going to be taken away from Lydia because of my
failure.”

Sadness filled Emmett. He’d met Lydia only twice,

but that didn’t mean he wanted the human woman to be
injured  because  of  something  he  had  no  control  over.
Grunting softly,  he stepped toward  Randy and  lowered
his  head,  wishing  he  could  express  how  sorry  he  was
that his alpha had put the vet in such a difficult position.

“Where is Emmett’s herd, Randy?” Kontra asked.

“Why are you moving him cross-country?”

“The herd had to relocate due to a territory dispute,”

Randy replied. “They’re settling in northern California,
just  east  of  some  of  the  redwood  forests  up  there.
Whatever  land  they  managed  to  snag  backs  up  to  the
parks,  so  they’ll  have  plenty  of  room  to  shift  and  run
whenever they like.”

Kontra nodded. Resting a hand on his chin, he

rubbed his goatee thoughtfully. “Randy, when are you
supposed to have Emmett at the next stop?”

“We’re supposed to take the next few days to drive

to  a  zoo  in  Sacramento.”  Randy  paused.  His  brows
were  drawn  together  and  his  jaw  tightened.  “We’re
expected  there  within  the  next  seventy-two  hours,  and
I’m  supposed  to  contact  Alpha  Bennett  when  I  arrive.
It’s normally only  a two day drive, but with an animal
that constantly needs to be checked, it can take longer.”

“We need more time,” Kontra mused softly. “Randy,

you’re going to tell everyone that you’ve been delayed.
The  transmission  on  the  semi  went  out,  and  you’re
waiting  for  repair  or  replacement.”  Randy  sputtered,
trying  to  raise  an  objection,  but  Kontra  ignored  him.

Hope For A Buffalo

“We’ll  have the gang  meet us here. I’m sure Sam and
Catlin  can  get  a  couple  of  friends  to  bring  the  extra
bikes. In the  meantime, we wait  for the  serum to  wear
off.”

“Now, wait a minute—” Randy finally managed to

get out.

“Listen up,” Kontra snarled, interrupting him. “You

will help us, human, and in return, we’ll help your sister
and her cubs. That’s the deal. Now, I want you to take
me to this serum. I have a friend who will find it very
interesting.”

Emmett watched the shifters lead a sullen Randy

from the trailer. The door closed, but from the sound of
it, the bar had only been folded over the back of the
door and not latched completely. In a pinch, Emmett
could shove it open.

Caleb’s touch reminded him he wasn’t alone, and

from the sounds of things, he’d never have to be alone
again. His mate’s words confirmed his suspicions.

“We’re going to get through this,” Caleb murmured,

rubbing his neck. “Kontra would never leave a shifter
trapped like you are, even if you weren’t my mate.
Everything will be okay.”

For the first time in a long time, Emmett felt the

stirrings of hope.

Charlie Richards

Chapter Five

aleb grunted, trying to hang onto the last vestiges of
his dream. It had been so nice being held and

touched by his mate. The face of the man in his fantasy
was  hazy,  except  for  the  deep  brown  eyes,  same  as  in
his  buffalo  form.  But  his  imagination  gave  Emmett  a
thick,  heavily  muscled  body;  large,  rough  hands;  and
the most skilled tongue ever to trace the dips and ridges
of  Caleb’s  abs,  and  when  Emmett  had  lowered  his
mouth to Caleb’s straining erection, he’d just about lost
his mind.

“Oh, gods, Emmett,” he groaned, then jerked fully

awake as a soft growl vibrated up his shaft.

Snapping his eyes open, Caleb looked down and just

about  swallowed  his  tongue.  He  sure  as  hell  couldn’t
stop the  moan  of  appreciation  at  the  sight  greeting  his
still  sleep-muddled  brain.  Those  beautiful  brown  eyes
stared  up  at  him  from  between  his  thighs.  A  wide,
straight  nose  that  tipped  up  slightly  at  the  end  segued
into  a  full  upper  lip  stretched  thin  by  Caleb’s  jutting
cock filling the man’s mouth.

He sucked in a breath, and his mate’s aroused scent

slammed into his senses. Caleb’s cock twitched in

Hope For A Buffalo

Emmett’s mouth and the much larger man, even larger
than Caleb’s dream mate, pulled off his dick and
grinned seductively.

Emmett wrapped his large fist around Caleb’s shaft

and  stroked.  His  calluses  created  delicious  friction
against  his  wet,  sensitive  flesh.  “Come  for  me,”  he
urged.  Emmett’s  deep  voice  rumbled  from  him  as  he
increased  his  hand’s  speed,  rubbing  his  thumb  against
the wrinkled flesh under the head of Caleb’s cock then
pressing a blunt nail into the slit.

Caleb’s jaw sagged open on a silent groan as his

balls contracted almost to the point of pain for one, two
seconds.  Then  his  cum  burst  from  him,  spraying  over
Emmett’s  massaging  hand  and  his  own  abs  and  chest.
His body jerked and shuddered as his mate wrung every
last bit of seed from him. Ecstasy zinged wildly through
his  body,  and  he  was  unable  to  look  away  from
Emmett’s extremely pleased expression.

His chest still heaved as Caleb struggled to catch his

breath  when  Emmett  wiped  a  finger  through  Caleb’s
pale  pools  of  cum.  Emmett  lifted  the  finger  to  his
mouth  and  sucked  it  clean,  a  deep  groaning  growl
escaping  him  as  his  eyelids  slipped  closed.  A  shudder
worked  through  his  big  body,  then  his  eyes  snapped
back open and Caleb’s breath caught in his throat at the
stark need lighting Emmett’s dark eyes.

A low growl escaped Emmett, and he scooped up a

large  dollop  of  Caleb’s  semen.  When  he  dropped  his
hand between Caleb’s spread thighs, he knew the man’s
intent.  He  spread  his  legs  wider  and  planted  his  feet,
signifying  his  acceptance.  With  quick,  skillful
movements,  Emmett  worked  Caleb’s  seed  into  his

Charlie Richards

opening, loosening his muscles and preparing his hole.

It only took a few moments for Emmett to have

Caleb ready. Caleb rocked his hips, his again rock hard
shaft slapping his abs with each movement. A soft
growl escaped Emmett’s throat as he slipped his fingers
from Caleb’s clenching body.

Crawling up Caleb’s torso slowly, Emmett’s lust-

darkened  eyes  held  Caleb’s  steadily.  Once  he’d
completely  covered  Caleb’s  much  smaller  frame,  he
settled  his  weight  against  him.  His  heavily  muscled
body seemed like heat and safety personified.

The tip of Emmett’s thick erection tapped Caleb’s

ass as his mate searched for his hole. Shifting his hips,
Caleb  pressed  up,  encouraging  the  round  cap  to  press
forward.  Emmett  wasted  no  time  accepting  his
invitation.  He  thrust  forward  steadily,  opening  Caleb
wide  with  his  massive  cock.  He  didn’t  stop  moving
until he was fully seated inside Caleb’s clutching body,
the  crinkly  hair  of  his  balls  brushing  sensually  against
Caleb’s crack.

Emmett froze, staring down at Caleb. His eyes

searched Caleb’s for several seconds before he leaned
even closer and whispered, “Hello, mate.”

Caleb brought up a hand and cupped Emmett’s

square  jaw.  He  rubbed  his  thumb  over  his  lover’s  full
upper  lip,  then  used  his  fingertips  to  urge  Emmett’s
head closer. He leaned up and brushed his lips over the
other  shifter’s  in  a  slow  caress.  “Welcome  back,
Emmett.”

A low moan escaped Emmett. He turned his head

and nipped at Caleb’s thumb, catching the pad of his
finger between his teeth. Emmett’s tongue swiped over

Hope For A Buffalo

his  flesh,  tasting  him.  Groaning,  he  released  the  digit.
His  brown  eyes  darkened  further,  shining  nearly  black
with need and feral possession. “Mine,” he snarled right
before  he  drew  his  hips  back  and  plunged  them
forward.

His mate’s cockhead scrapped across his prostate

and  Caleb  let  out  a  pleased  hiss.  He  lifted  his  hips,
offering  himself  up  to the  growling  shifter  above  him.
Emmett  slammed  into  him  again  and  again,  and  Caleb
knew he would have skidded across the shaving-strewn
floor  of  the  trailer  if  it  hadn’t  been  for  the  big  man’s
strong grip on his shoulders.

Emmett leaned down and claimed his lips, his

tongue thrusting deep, just as his cock claimed Caleb’s
body.  He  felt  the  man’s  need  almost  burning  through
his skin. Caleb had no idea how long his mate had been
stuck in his animal form, but he knew desperation when
he saw  it. His  mate needed to connect, to  feel alive,  to
feel  human,  to  realize  he  was  no  longer  alone.  And
Caleb knew just how to accomplish that for him.

He rocked his body, greeting every stroke with a lift

of  his  hips,  welcoming  Emmett’s  cock  into  him.  “My
mate,” he crooned against the other man’s lips. Tension
coiled  in  the  man’s  bunched  muscles  under  Caleb’s
hands.  He  stroked  his  palms  over  Emmett’s  back,
shoulder,  hips,  ass,  anywhere  he  could  reach.  “You’re
mine,” he whispered, “and I’m never letting you go.”

A howl like a wounded animal escaped Emmett’s

throat,  and  the  man  buried  his  face  against  Caleb’s
neck.  His  hips  stuttered,  his  thrusts  becoming  erratic,
and Caleb knew Emmett was close. Fire burned through
Caleb’s  blood,  reminding  him  of  his  own  need.  His

Charlie Richards

body felt like he was coiled tighter than he’d ever been,
and the slightest touch would set him off.

Emmett’s tongue slid up the tendons along the side

of his neck. His huffing breaths sent puffs of warm air
across the wet skin and shudders of pleasure through
Caleb. He tilted his neck in invitation. “I am yours,” he
whispered.

It was all the reassurance Emmett seemed to need.

His teeth sank deep  into Caleb’s  neck. The pain  of the
bite immediately morphed into the most amazing sparks
of  ecstasy,  radiating  from  his  neck  through  the  rest  of
his  body.  His  balls  pulled  tight,  expelling  his  seed
between  them  as  his  orgasm  slammed  through  him.
Emmett  growled  against  his  neck,  his  jaw  gripping
Caleb’s shoulder and his big arms banding around him
as  he  slammed  his  cock  into  his  ass  once,  twice  more.
Then  the  man  stiffened,  his  cock  swelled  and  shot,
coating Caleb’s rectum with semen.

Caleb remained still, enjoying the sensations

coursing  through  his  well-used  body.  He  waited  a
moment,  then  two,  for  Emmett’s  shudders  to  subside
and  for  him  to withdraw his teeth and  loosen  his  hold,
but  he  didn’t.  Growing  concerned  at  the  ragged
breathing  against  his  neck  and  the  trembling  body
above  him,  Caleb  ran  his  hands  lightly  over  Emmett’s
back, caressing, soothing.

He turned his head as best as he could and kissed

Emmett’s sweaty temple. “Everything will be fine,” he
reassured. “I promise.”

Slowly, the man’s canines slid from Caleb’s neck.

Emmett licked the claiming mark, closing the wound,
sending shivers of aftershocks rippling across his skin.

Hope For A Buffalo

Caleb nuzzled his still silent lover, trying to soothe him
without words.

“I’m sorry,” Emmett finally hissed. “I’m sorry.”
Caleb pressed another kiss to Emmett’s temple.

“Don’t apologize for something we both enjoyed so
much,” he scolded gently.

That had Emmett’s head jerking up, and his brown-

eyed gaze roved over Caleb’s face. “But I took you like
an animal. Once I was in you I couldn’t…” He
swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing with the
force. “I couldn’t help myself. I needed…”

Again he paused. He shook his head, as if uncertain

just  what  he  was  trying  to  say.  But  Caleb  knew.  He
lifted  both  hands  to  Emmett’s  face  and  gently  pulled
him  down  for  a  slow,  deep  kiss.  Easing  the  kiss  to  a
finish, he drew back and stared up into his mate’s face.
“I am always happy to give you what you need.”

Groaning again, Emmett’s head swooped back down

and  he  eagerly  claimed  Caleb’s  lips.  He  let  Emmett
dominate him unchallenged, allowing the man to set the
pace.  Caleb  enjoyed  the  sensation  of  Emmett’s  tongue
brushing  against  his  own,  prodding  his  sensitive  gums
and lips, then stroking deeper to map him and learn his
taste.  Emmett  broke  the  kiss,  giving  them  a  second  to
breathe, then came back together, again and again.

Caleb didn’t know how long it went on, he just

enjoyed  their time kissing.  When Emmett finally  lifted
his  head,  tugging  on  Caleb’s  lower  lip  as  he  went,
Caleb  felt  his  mate’s  cock  pressing  against  his  belly.
The hot shaft rubbed against his, and he rocked up into
the  larger  body,  reveling  in  the  enjoyment  of  touching
his mate’s flesh.

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Wanting more, Caleb pushed insistently on

Emmett’s shoulders. The  man’s pale  blond  head  lifted,
his  brown  eyes  searching  Caleb’s  face.  Caleb  grinned,
then  wrapped  one  leg  around  Emmett’s  and  rolled  the
unsuspecting shifter.

Emmett let out a startled grunt, but he didn’t fight

him.  Caleb  landed  on  top,  straddling  his  lover’s  hips.
He sat up and stared down at Emmett, taking in the big
man’s  heavily  muscled  chest  and  arms,  the  deeply  cut
eight-pack  abs,  and  the  smattering  of  pale  blond  hair
that  was  a  bit  lighter  than  what  was  on  his  head.  The
soft  pelt  spread  across  Emmett’s  chest,  around  both
nipples,  then  tapered  in  a  treasure  trail  down  past  his
belly  button  to  his  groin.  The  thin  thatch  surrounding
Emmett’s  proud  cock  couldn’t  hold  Caleb’s  attention
once  he  saw  the  thick  shaft  that  had  filled  him  so
wonderfully. It jutted up from his mate’s groin, begging
for  attention,  a  pearl  of  moisture  already  glistening
from the large slit.

Caleb rolled his hips forward and pressed his dick

against the buffalo shifter’s. It didn’t matter to him that
his own cock was quite a bit more slender and a couple
of inches shorter. The differences between them, when
he wrapped his fist around both their dicks and stroked
them hard, felt amazing.

Emmett groaned and gripped Caleb’s thighs with his

big hands.

Seeing the need simmering in his mate’s dark eyes,

Caleb grinned. He brought his hand to a stop and leaned
down. “My turn to taste you,” he growled.

Hope For A Buffalo

Chapter Six

mmett wanted to bellow his dismay when Caleb’s
hand moved away from his cock, but then the

smaller  man  leaned  down  and  bit  into  his  neck.  It
wasn’t  hard  enough  to  break  skin,  but  it  still  felt
amazing.  A  fresh  wave  of  lust  and  desire  slammed
through Emmett. It took every bit of self-control he had
to  keep  his  hands  on  his  mate’s  thighs  instead  of
flipping  him  over  and  again  driving  his  dick  deep  into
Caleb’s body.

He knew the man would welcome him if that’s what

he wanted, but Emmett desperately desired to know
what Caleb would do if left to his own devices. Caleb
didn’t make him wait long.

His little mate nibbled a path down his neck, then

over his collarbone. Caleb’s lips hovered over one
nipple, his warm breath making the nub tighten. A low
moan escaped him, and that seemed to be the queue
Caleb was waiting for. The chameleon’s mouth latched
onto the bud of flesh and sucked, hard.

Emmett’s body bowed and his nails dug into the

flesh of his mate’s thighs. Hot sparks seemed to dance
just beneath the surface of his skin. His cock jerked and

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twitched where it was caught between their bodies.
When Caleb nipped him then moved over and gave his
other nipple the same treatment, a drop of pre-cum
oozed from his slit.

“Oh, gods,” he groaned, unable to string any further

coherent thought together.

He’d never considered his nipples that sensitive

before, but something about Caleb’s mouth on him
turned him into a twitching, burning pile of flesh. Caleb
stroked his sides, his abs, his hips, and everywhere he
touched, Emmett’s skin seemed to flare to life.

He needed more. He needed everything. “Caleb!” he

cried when the man above him returned to his neck and
nipped lightly while rocking their groins together.

Caleb smiled against his lips, obviously pleased by

the way Emmett  reacted to him. His blue eyes were lit
with  satisfaction.  Emmett  saw  how  Caleb  enjoyed
pleasuring  him.  If  he’d  had  any  doubt  about  that,  it
would have vanished when in the next instant, his mate
slithered down his body and swallowed his shaft to the
root.

With his lover’s nose buried in his pubic hair, the

head  of  his  dick  was  lodged  in  the  back  of  Caleb’s
throat.  Caleb  swallowed  once,  twice,  massaging  his
sensitive  head  before  sucking  hard  while  he  slid
halfway up his stalk.

Caleb cupped Emmett’s balls and rolled the tight

orbs. He growled and bucked, losing control of his
body’s reactions as Caleb’s mouth sank on him over
and over. The way the man massaged him with his lips,
caressed him with his tongue, and worked him with his
hand swiftly drove him toward mindless oblivion.

Hope For A Buffalo

Suddenly, Caleb’s touch was gone. Emmett froze,

the pain of abandonment gripping him. Then something
soft  and  warm  tapped  against  his  cockhead.  His  eyes
flew open just in time to see Caleb  sink down onto his
shaft.  The  shifter’s  body,  still  open  from  their  prior
coupling,  easily  swallowed  his  dick  in  one  smooth
downward stroke.

Pressure and heat and slickness surrounded his shaft

and  this  time  he  couldn’t  stop  the  bellow.  The  sound
burst  from  his  lungs,  telling  anyone  close  enough  to
hear  of  his  pleasure.  Caleb  groaned  above  him,  lifted
his body, then slid back down.

“Oh, by the gods, Emmett,” Caleb panted, the words

coming between strokes. “Your cock was made for my
ass!”

And it was, Emmett knew that. Caleb was his, his

mate, his lover, his everything as decreed by Fate. And
he had every intention of keeping him, the rest of the
world be damned.

“You’re mine, Caleb,” he snarled as he snapped his

hips up to meet the smaller shifter’s downward strokes.
“Now and forever.”

“Yes!”
Emmett pulled Caleb down and latched onto his lips,

thrusting  his  tongue  deep  into  his  lover’s  mouth,
mimicking  what  his  dick  was  doing  to  his  mate’s  ass.
Holding  Caleb  tight,  he  felt  his  balls  pull  impossibly
tighter.  Wanting  his  mate  to  come  with  him,  he  broke
the  kiss,  reached  a  hand  between  them,  and  grabbed
Caleb’s shaft.

He jerked it swiftly. Growls escaped his throat as he

listened to the sexy moans escaping his man. The erotic

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sounds heated his blood and his arm moved faster.
“Come with me, my mate,” he pleaded. “Let me feel
you squeeze me.”

“Oh, yessss!” Caleb hissed. His cock erupted. White

cream shot over Emmett’s hand and chest as his mate’s
chute clamped down and pulled his own orgasm from
him. Emmett gave up the fight, filling his mate with his
seed as he added his own pleased roar to echo within
the confines of the trailer.

Caleb collapsed on Emmett’s chest, and he pulled

the little shifter tight against him. He loved the way the
smaller  man  fit  in  his  arms.  As  their  breathing  slowly
returned  to  normal,  he  caressed  the  soft  skin  of  his
sides,  then  moved  to  his  back.  He  paused  for  just  a
second  when  the  pads  of  his  fingers  slid  over  a  small
patch  of  raised,  puckered  flesh.  Caleb  tensed  above
him,  and  Emmett  fought  the  desire  to  track  down  and
destroy whoever had injured his mate.

He exhaled slowly then kissed his man’s temple.

Before  he  could  figure  out  a  way  to  ask  what  he
desperately  wanted  to  know,  metal  moving  on  metal
vibrated the trailer. He growled and rolled, placing  his
back to the trailer’s emergency exit. Watching over his
shoulder,  he  spotted  an  arm.  It  threw  in  a  backpack,
then disappeared. The door closed, though not locking,
behind it.

“I guess that means it’s time to get up,” Caleb

murmured.

Emmett looked down at the other shifter, pleased to

see amusement had replaced the stiffness from a
moment ago. “I guess so,” he replied.

His cock slid from Caleb’s ass, and he couldn’t stop

Hope For A Buffalo

himself from thinking about when he’d be able to
seduce his little mate again. The ideas of the different
positions he’d like to try had his dick making a valiant
effort to rise again.

Caleb picked up the bag and turned to look at him

with his brow lifted. The corner of his mouth curved in
a  wry  grin  as  he  pointedly  sniffed  the  air.  “I’m  afraid
we have a few things to take care of first, big boy.” He
sauntered toward him, comfortable with his nakedness.
He  rested  a  hand  on  Emmett’s  chest  as  he  held  up  the
bag  with  his  other  one.  “But  I  do  look  forward  to
exploring  every  nook  and  cranny  of  this  magnificent
body  of  yours,”  he  crooned,  running  his  palm  across
Emmett’s chest.

Growling softly, Emmett bent and captured Caleb’s

lips.  He  kept  the  contact  brief,  knowing  if  he  didn’t,
he’d  have  his  mate  spread  out  on  the  floor  again,  or
maybe against the trailer wall, or maybe—his thoughts
reeled with possibilities.  With a groan, he pulled  away
and stepped back. “Gods it’s been too long since I held
anyone, and knowing you’re my mate just makes it ten
times harder to keep my hands off you.”

The little imp grinned and moved away from him,

sashaying his ass as he went. Emmett growled and
palmed his once again hard dick. He took several deep
breaths, but that didn’t help since all he could smell was
the combined fragrance of their love-making.

He took a step toward his mate, intending to take

him  again  and  the  consequences  be  damned  when  the
backpack came  flying toward his head. Emmett  caught
it on reflex. “There are some wet-wipes in there as well
as  some  clothes  that  should  fit  you,”  Caleb  said.  He

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grinned at Emmett as he pulled on a pair of faded blue
jeans. The worn material looked soft and molded to the
muscular curves of the smaller man’s legs and ass.
Emmett swallowed, his fingers tightening on the bag.

Caleb chuckled. “Dress first, food second,” he said,

his  voice  muffled  for  a  second  as  he  pulled  a  black  t-
shirt over his head. Once his head popped out again, he
gave Emmett a sympathetic  look.  “There’s  nothing I’d
like more than to spend a week in bed with you. I’d like
to  get  to  know  everything  about  you  without
interruption,  but  we  can’t  do  that,  yet.  Later,  okay?
Once  we  get this  situation  with  your  herd  straightened
out.”

Emmett sighed and shut his eyes. He nodded once.

“I haven’t felt connected with anyone in so long,” he
admitted, opening his eyes he found his mate on the far
side of the trailer. “You make it hard to keep control.”

Smiling in apparent understanding, Caleb replied, “I

can offer you my family. None of us are buffalos, and
we’re just a rough group of bikers, but we’ll always
have your back.”

He swallowed hard, fighting back emotion. “That

sounds nice,” he finally said, his voice deeper than he
wished.

Caleb nodded then slipped out the door, giving him a

few moments to compose himself before joining the
rest of whoever was out there.

Rummaging through the bag, he found the wipes and

cleaned  himself  up.  Then  he  pulled  on  a  pair  of  jeans.
They  were  a  bit  big,  but  fortunately  someone  had
planned for that possibility and provided a belt, too. He
cinched  it  tight.  The  shirt  fit  surprisingly  well,

Hope For A Buffalo

considering  the  jeans  were  big.  After  lifting  the  collar
of the shirt to his nose and inhaling deeply,  he realized
the  clothes  were  Kontra’s,  even  though  the  laundry
detergent did  a pretty good job of  removing the  man’s
scent. The large bear alpha would be bigger around the
waist  than  him,  but  due  to  the  massive  front  end  on  a
buffalo, their chests were about the same size.

He took a deep breath, smiling once more at the

soothing combined scents of his mate, and headed for
the door. He stepped out and glanced around. Pine trees
towered over him, telling him they’d traveled north a
good ways, and Emmett wondered where they were.

Knowing he had other things to worry about, he

headed toward the nearby cabin, but the sound of voices
on  the  other  side  of  the  structure  caught  his  attention.
Emmett  walked  around  the  building  and  a  lake
appeared  about  sixty  feet  away  and  down  a  gentle
slope. The mountain views were stunning.

Laughter had him focusing on the group of a dozen

or  so  men  gathered  around  a  couple  of  picnic  tables
between  the  cabin  and  the  lake.  “You’re  just  jealous
that  you  haven’t  found  a  big,  sexy  mate  to  make  you
smell  like  me,”  Caleb  was  saying  while  giving  a
haughty look to a smaller man.

The other guy immediately got a wistful look on his

face. “Yeah, you’re right.”

Caleb’s expression softened and he wrapped an arm

around the guy. “You’ll find him, Yuma. Don’t worry.”

“And until then, you always got me,” teased a big

blond who wrapped his arms around Yuma from behind
and pulled the now laughing man against his chest.

Grinning, Yuma turned his head to the side to accept

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a kiss on the neck from the blond. “But I’ll always play
second fiddle to the bikes with you, Adam,” he teased
right back.

Adam laughed. “We all have our vices, man. Not

much we can do about that.”

“They’re a good group of guys.”
The deep voice from his right nearly sent Emmett

crashing  into  the  pine  tree  on  his  left.  He  looked  at  a
smirking Kontra and huffed out a laugh. He hadn’t even
realized  he’d  stopped  his  approach  to  watch  the
exchange  between the  bantering  men. Emmett nodded.
“Caleb considers you his family.”

Kontra nodded slowly, his dark eyes sweeping over

the men before moving on to the water then the forest
around him. “They are his family. The only family he’s
ever known.” His gaze returned to Emmett and locked
onto him. “We have his back, no matter what, no matter
against whom. You’ve claimed him, now what are you
going to do?”

“I—” He snapped his mouth shut. Well, shit, he

hadn’t thought that far ahead. All he’d been thinking
about was bonding with his mate.

The alpha seemed to recognize his dilemma, for his

shoulders  relaxed  and  he  actually  smiled,  although  on
his  goateed  face,  Emmett  wasn’t  sure  if  the  look  was
any  less  scary.  “How  long  have  you  been  stuck  in  a
zoo, Emmett?”

He shrugged. “Best guess, nearly eight years. You’d

have to ask Randy for an exact time.”

Kontra’s eyes narrowed. Emmett thought he might

have been trying to hide a grimace. “That’s a long time
to be without a herd.” His focus shifted back to the

Hope For A Buffalo

forest, as if he were searching for danger. Hell, Emmett
thought, he probably was. “If you want to join us on the
road, you’re more than welcome,” Kontra stated.

Emmett watched Kontra walk toward the group,

wondering  if  that  was  as  warm  and  fuzzy  as  the  bear
got. He followed the man, relieved to have at least one
option,  and  wondering  if  the  others  would  be  as
accepting.  To  his  surprise,  everyone  greeted  him  with
smiles, slaps on the back, and good natured jokes about
the scent of sex  still  clinging to him  and  Caleb. It was
like he’d walked into a family reunion with his brothers
and cousins.

There was no animosity that a stranger had suddenly

taken  Caleb’s  attention.  He  couldn’t  confirm  all  the
shifter scents, but none of them smelled similar, telling
him  that  every  man  seemed  to  be  associated  with  a
different  animal.  And  they  were  all  okay  with  that.
There wasn’t even a division between the predators and
the  prey.  It  was  baffling,  and  amazing,  and  being
welcomed by this group seemed to fill something deep
inside  that  Emmett  hadn’t  even  known  he’d  been
missing.

Someone

—

Adam, he thought

—

handed Emmett a

beer.  He  held  the  bottle  for  a  second,  staring  at  the
amber  liquid. He hadn’t had a cold one since the night
before his capture. Tilting the glass opening to his lips,
he  swallowed  down  several  gulps.  “Oh,  that’s  better
than I remember,” he moaned.

Those nearest to him laughed. The slender doctor,

Eli, slapped him on the back and pointed toward a table
laden with food. “Eat. If you like the beer, you better
make yourself a burger. Medium rare patties are on the

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right, done patties on the left,” he added with a wink.

Excitement filled him as he neared the table, until he

noticed Randy eating at a table nearby with Haben. His
stride faltered. Caleb was beside him instantly. He
wrapped an arm around his waist and assured, “No one
will ever trap you again. You’re safe.”

Turning his head, he buried his nose in the crook of

Caleb’s neck and inhaled. The warm, sweet musky
scent of his mate soothed him and he was able to smile
again. “Thank you,” he whispered. Lifting his head, he
pressed a chaste kiss to Caleb’s lips.

Caleb smiled. “Go eat, big guy.”
Returning his focus to the food, his anticipation

returned  when  he  saw  the  array  of  choices.  His  last
burger had been almost a year ago, when Randy had let
him  shift  for  a  couple  of  days  and  had  brought  him  a
greasy  burger  from  some  fast  food  joint.  Inhaling
deeply,  Emmett  knew  this  was  going  to  taste  so much
better.

Hope For A Buffalo

Chapter Seven

aleb followed the rest of his group down the
highway, watching the signs on the road indicating

they were drawing closer and closer to Redding,
California. Supposedly, Emmett’s former herd’s new
lands were just east of there on property adjacent to the
National Forests. Randy had given them directions, and
Eli and Haben rode point, leading the way.

He liked how Emmett’s arms felt wrapped around

his waist, but knew sitting behind him wasn’t the most
comfortable position for the bigger man. They’d need a
bigger bike once Emmett learned how to drive. At least,
Caleb hoped Emmett planned to travel with them.
Caleb knew Kontra had offered. He’d overheard the
conversation, but Emmett hadn’t really replied.

The closer they got to the herd-lands, the more tense

the arms wrapped around him became. Finally, unable
to remain quiet, he patted his mate’s hands and said,
“It’ll be okay.”

Emmett sighed and rested his helmeted head on

Caleb’s shoulder. “I don’t want anyone hurt because of
me,” he admitted.

“Don’t worry,” Kontra’s voice sounded through their

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helmet mikes. “We have a plan.”

“You do?” Emmett straightened. “What’s your

plan?”

“Well, we have two, actually,” the biker leader

admitted. “Our first option is the frontal approach. We
all go in and confront the alpha.”

By the way Kontra growled the words, Caleb knew

his alpha liked the idea of this plan. He wanted to go in
and give the guy  a piece of  his  mind  for the way he’d
treated  Emmett.  Warmth  swelled  through  Caleb  at  his
alpha’s  response.  It  didn’t  matter  that  Emmett  wasn’t
from his pack, he knew injustice when he saw it.

Kontra continued speaking. “Our second option is to

figure  out  where  Randy’s  sister’s  family  is  living  and
sneak  in  to  tell  them  of  the  danger.  But  if  your  sister
and  brother-in-law  won’t  let  us  evacuate  them,  Randy,
we  still  run  into  the  issue  of  safety  for  your  family.
We’ll  need  to  have  several  of  our  group  discreetly
guarding the human and the cubs.”

Randy, who was riding behind fellow biker Lamar,

had  remained  quiet  up  until  now.  After  a  moment’s
hesitation,  the  man  said,  “I’d  really  like  to  give  my
sister a heads up before we go charging in there. I think
if  we  can  prove  that  Bennett  is  dangerous  to  her  kids,
she and Darrell will be willing to be evacuated.” There
was  a  pause,  then  Randy  muttered,  “At  least,  I  hope
they will be.”

“Okay,” Kontra replied. “Haben, once we get close

to their territory, you and Payson will scout. Do you
have a picture of your sister, Randy?”

“Yes,” the human replied.
“Good. Give it to them, so they can figure out where

Hope For A Buffalo

they’re living in the herd. I’ve noticed that herd animal
shifters normally live close together, so they shouldn’t
be too hard to find. Just be careful that you’re not
detected.”

“Will do,” Haben responded.
Payson chuckled. “If you have something with her

scent on it, it’d be much easier.”

“Uh, I haven’t seen them in nearly four months,”

Randy admitted. “Not since plans to move the herd
started.”

“Well, if she smells similar to you, it still shouldn’t

be difficult,” Payson commented.

“One way or another, we’ll find them,” Haben stated

confidently.

During the course of the conversation, the tension in

Emmett’s arms and body had slowly eased. Caleb
rubbed his mate’s arm. “Before long, this will all be
settled.”

Emmett let out a breath and pressed closer to him.

“Good.”

“Kontra and the others are in position,” Haben said.

“Follow closely.”

Caleb stayed right behind Emmett, bringing up the

rear of the four man group with  Randy  between Haben
and  Emmett.  He  knew  Payson  was  nearby,  keeping
watch  as  they  moved,  but  the  hyena  shifter’s
personality  was  too  unpredictable  to  join  them  in
talking to Randy’s  sister.  They  slipped  swiftly through
the  trees,  passing  between  dark  buildings  and  keeping
to  the  shadows.  It  was  nearly  eleven  o’clock  at  night,
and  only  one  of  the  four  homes  they  passed  had  any

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lights.

They came to another small home, this one with a

faint  yellow  glow  coming  from  a  front  room.  A
nightlight or table lamp perhaps? Haben pulled a small
roll  of  cloth  from  his  jacket  and  extracted  a  couple  of
pieces  of  metal.  He  inserted  the  items  into  the  lock,
working  the  deadbolt  first,  then  the  standard  knob.
Once  he’d  popped  both  locks,  he  led  the  way  into  the
home.

“Randy, I’ll go with you to wake your sister and her

husband. We need to keep the noise level down,” he
warned.

Caleb watched the pair creep deeper into the home.

After they’d disappeared, he looked around, noticing
the light coming from the bulb above the stove. He
walked to the nearby dining room table and took a seat.

A soft gasp, followed by a grunt, then a squeal

sounded  from  deeper  in  the  house.  The  sound  was
quickly  silenced. Voices,  too muffled  for even Caleb’s
shifter  hearing  rumbled,  then  he  heard  the  sound  of  a
door closing.

Caleb waited, his hand wrapped around Emmett’s

where it rested on his shoulder. His mate stood next to
him,  his  hip  pressed  close  to  Caleb’s  shoulder,  as  if
needing the reassurance brought on by contact with his
mate’s  body.  After  the  years  spent  in  Kontra  and  the
gang’s  presence,  showing  his  affection  to  another  man
was  second  nature  to  him,  so  he  was  happy  to  help
Emmett any way he could.

Haben and Randy reappeared, followed closely by a

sleep tousled man and woman. The man’s eyes widened
when he spotted Emmett and he grinned. “Emmett, is

Hope For A Buffalo

that you?” Out of the corner of his eyes, Caleb saw his
mate  nod,  but  he  made  no  move  to  draw  closer  to the
guy.  “It’s  been  years.  Where  have  you  been?”  Lydia’s
mate  asked,  concern  creasing  his  brows  when  he  saw
Emmett’s trepidation. “We thought you were dead!”

“That’s part of why we’re here in the middle of the

night,” Randy murmured. “It’d be dangerous for
Emmett to come during the day.”

“What do you mean?” the woman asked.
Randy sighed. “For those of you who don’t know,

this  is  my  sister,  Lydia  and  her  mate,  Darrell.  Lydia,
this  is  Haben  and  Caleb,”  he  said,  pointing  to  each  in
turn. “Almost eight years ago, six months after you two
mated, Emmett’s father discovered that Emmett is gay.
When Emmett refused to mate with a female, the alpha
somehow  managed  to  get  hold  of  a  compound  that
forced Emmett to remain  in  animal  form. He was sold
to the zoo where I worked as a vet, and in order for you
to  remain  safe,  I  had  to  make  certain  Emmett  stayed
there.”

With each word Randy spoke, Lydia’s face paled

more.  At  the  announcement  that  Emmett  was  gay,
Darrell’s  head  swung  around  and  his  jaw  dropped.
Emmett’s  hand  on  Caleb’s  shoulder  tightened,  but  he
made  no  comment.  By  the  time  Randy  was  done  with
his  exceedingly  short  explanation,  Darrell  was  glaring
at him.

After a very tense several seconds of silence, Darrell

hissed, “That’s total bullshit. Alpha Bennett would
never condone such actions. He’s accepting of my
mating with Lydia.”

“Then why haven’t you ever been promoted,

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Darrell?” Haben pointed out.

Darrell switched his glare to Haben. “How do you

know that? Who are you?”

Haben shrugged, but instead of answering either

question,  he said,  “You were born  in this  herd. You’re
the best tracker they have. And yet, you’ve never been
promoted to lead tracker, even when the position came
open,  twice,”  he  pointed  out.  “In  fact,  you’ve  been
stuck playing fourth fiddle since you mated with Lydia
over  eight  years  ago.”  He  turned  a  smile  on  a  clearly
shocked woman. “No offense, ma’am.”

Caleb reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a

folded piece of paper. “Here. Maybe this will help.”

Darrell took the paper and unfolded it, spreading it

across  the  table.  He  looked  at  the  picture  and  gasped.
Emmett’s  mournful  expression  stared  from the picture.
“By  the  gods,”  the  other  buffalo  shifter  murmured,
taking in the headline about the white buffalo appearing
at  the  zoo  in  Albuquerque.  “How  could  this  happen?
How did you get away?”

Emmett shuddered next to him, but he finally spoke.

“My father didn’t like the fact that I’m gay. Neither did
Bennett. I woke up, in animal form, and the next thing I
knew, I was in the zoo. Randy, here, cared for me as
best he could.” He grimaced and looked at the human
male. “I know what happened to me wasn’t your fault.”

Randy had the decency to blush. “I’m still sorry.”
“My mate found me,” Emmett said softly. He

glanced down and squeezed Caleb’s shoulder as he
smiled fondly at him. “Caleb and his friends freed me.”
Returning his focus to Darrell and Lydia, he said, “Now
we need to make certain you’re kept safe as well.

Hope For A Buffalo

They’re good guys and don’t want you to suffer just
because they helped me.”

“But, why?” Lydia whispered. “Even if they didn’t

agree with who you wanted to…” She blushed, but
forged ahead, “to take to your bed, surely this is
extreme, isn’t it?”

“You’d think so, wouldn’t you?”
Caleb leaped to his feet as the rest of the group

turned  to  see  a  tall,  dark-haired,  heavily  muscled  man
standing  just  inside  the  kitchen  door.  His  feet  were
planted  shoulder  width  apart  and  his  thick  arms  were
crossed  over  his  broad  chest.  His  dark  brows  were
drawn  down  and  his  lips  pressed  into  a  line  of
displeasure. It didn’t take any introduction for Caleb to
realize  that  this  was  Alpha  Bennett.  Authority  simply
oozed from the big man.

“But, you see, what happens in my herd is a direct

reflection  of  me,  and  though  I  don’t  particularly  like
humans  mating  with  my  people,  I  understand  that,  at
times,  it  becomes  necessary.  Being  saddled  with
someone  as  disgraceful  as  you,  Emmett,  is  simply
unacceptable,” he finished with a sneer.

“Then you really put Emmett into a zoo?” Darrell

asked softly.

Bennett’s lip curled in derision as he glared at

Darrell.  “And  you,  what  the  hell  is  wrong  with  you?
There  were  three  perfectly  fine  buffalo  shifter  women
for  you  to  choose  from,  but  what  did  you  do?  You
mated with a human!”

Darrell straightened to his full height and stated

stiffly, “Lydia is my true mate. I love her!”

“Enough!” the alpha roared. He snarled at Randy,

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“You didn’t uphold your part of the bargain. Your
sister’s life is forfeit.”

Randy paled. “It wasn’t a bargain. It was blackmail.”
Ignoring the vet, the alpha bellowed and charged

toward  Lydia.  Darrell  reacted  instantly.  He  shoved  his
mate  out  of  the  way  and  met  his  alpha’s  charge.
Unfortunately,  he  wasn’t  nearly  as  large  or  strong  as
Bennett.  The  bigger  buffalo  lowered  a  shoulder  and
rammed  into Darrell’s chest, knocking him  back  into a
wall.

Glaring, Bennett sneered. “I’m going to bust you up,

Darrell. Then I’m going to slit your wife’s throat while
you watch. Once I’m done there, I’m going to drag your
little brats from their beds and snap their necks, all
before I put you out of your fucking misery.”

Darrell let out an enraged bellow, shoved away from

the wall, and launched toward the alpha. Caleb let out a
cry of warning, knowing a confrontation would be in
Bennett’s favor, but Darrell ignored him. They tumbled
out the open kitchen door and into the night, the sounds
of fists hitting flesh echoing between the trees.

Caleb turned. Seeing his mate’s shocked expression,

he yanked Emmett’s arm to get his attention. “He’ll
never win against an alpha. We need to help him!”

Emmett met his gaze, then looked at Haben. “Keep

him safe.” Caleb watched with trepidation as Emmett
followed the brawling couple out the door, stripping as
he went.

Hope For A Buffalo

Chapter Eight

mmett whipped his shirt over his head, knowing the
only way he could come even close to fighting his

ex-alpha was with his animal. As a buffalo, he was
nearly as large as the other man. If he could get Darrell
to shift, too, then figure a way to keep the others out of
it, they stood a fighting chance.

What he found outside stopped him in his tracks.

Bennett  already  had  Darrell  on  his  stomach.  One  of
Darrell’s  arms  was  twisted  up  behind  him.  The  alpha
was tugging that arm higher and higher as he pinned the
other shifter to the ground with  a knee on the small of
his  back.  A  look  of  intense  hatred  gleamed  from
Bennett’s dark eyes.

The alpha must have heard his footsteps, for he

paused and looked up. He scowled at Emmett, saying,
“This is your fault, you know? If you’d just stayed
where I put you, this wouldn’t be happening.”

A roar of outrage ripped through the woods, catching

both men’s attention. “And if you’d be an honorable
alpha, this wouldn’t happen either,” growled Kontra as
he strode closer. His long, six foot six frame ate up the
ground between them.

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“Who the hell are you?” snarled Bennett.
“This is Kontra Belikov. My alpha,” Emmett stated,

hoping the bear shifter wouldn’t contradict him.

Bennett yelled, “I am your alpha!” In a move so

quick it belied his bulky frame, the buffalo alpha
released Darrell and jumped to his feet. He came up
swinging, landing a hard uppercut to Emmett’s jaw.

Emmett stumbled back several steps, but managed to

keep his feet. He bellowed in anger and raised his
hands, readying himself for the man’s next charge.

“You haven’t been Emmett’s alpha since the day

you trapped him in animal form and sold him to the
zoo,” Kontra called out. “He’s under my protection
now. You strike him again and you’ll face me.”

By then, dozens of people had gathered around the

group.  Lights  came  on  in  the  houses  around  them  and
even  more  shifters  peeked  through  the  windows.  A
quick look  from the corner of his eye showed him that
Caleb  was  being  held  back  by  Haben,  for  which
Emmett  would  be  eternally  grateful.  Lydia  peered
around them, her face pinched with fear.

From the trees appeared half a dozen members of the

motorcycle  gang,  and  Emmett  recognized  Adam,
Terence,  Mutegi,  and  Payson.  There  were  a  couple  of
others,  but  he  couldn’t  make  out  their  faces  in  the
gloom. Amazement filled  him. These  men, whom  he’d
known  for  only  a  couple  days,  stood  with  their  alpha
and backed Emmett.

“Alpha, what’s going on?” Emmett recognized

Lloyd’s voice, the herd beta. Looking that way, he saw
two men flanking him. One he knew was Jason, a herd
enforcer, which would make the stranger a second

Hope For A Buffalo

enforcer. Their shirts were already gone, loose sleep
pants around their hips. They stood ready to attack or
shift, whatever was needed, in case of trouble.

Bennett glanced around at the assembled shifters. He

smiled coldly.  “These strangers are trying to say we’re
in  their  territory.  I  stopped  an  attack  on  Darrell  here,”
he  stated,  waving  a  hand  toward  the  downed  buffalo
tracker.

An unreasonable anger seared through Emmett. He

didn’t see his  family  in the  midst of the herd  members
gathered  around,  but  he  still  knew  many  of  these
people,  and  none  of  them  seemed  to  recognize  him.  It
had only been eight fucking years since he’d lived and
worked  besides  them.  Bellowing,  he  drew  everyone’s
attention.  “You  lying  sack  of  shit!”  he  roared.  “These
men  saved  me.  Saved  me  from  your  drugs  and
imprisonment!”

“Who are you?” asked the enforcer he didn’t know.
He smiled grimly. “I am Emmett Donaldson. Son of

Leonard Donaldson. I grew up in this herd, was one of
you, until I displeased my father and the alpha. Then I
was drugged, trapped in animal form, and sold to a zoo.
My mate and his friends rescued me.”

“Emmett Donaldson is dead,” called another voice.
Seeing his father stride through the crowd and deny

him sent a shard of pain through him. “You lie,
Leonard,” he snapped, unwilling to even call the man
father. He turned and stared directly at Jason and Lloyd.
“You know who I am, Jason. So do you, Lloyd.”

He kicked off his jeans and shoes and initiated his

shift. He knew Kontra or one of the others in the gang
would have his back if someone tried to attack while he

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was defenseless, and wasn’t that a heady feeling? These
shifters  have  my  back!  It  took  less  than  a  minute  for
him  to  shift  into  his  massive  white  buffalo  form  and
bellow at the two men he’d singled out. Since his father
had been a tracker, he’d known both those men, not to
mention  the  alpha.  He’d  even  been  in  training  to
become a tracker himself, then they’d all turned on him.

Lloyd’s eyes widened and Jason’s jaw sagged open.

“Holy shit, Emmett!” the enforcer whispered. “We
thought you were dead.”

That was what he needed, for his identity to be

recognized. He quickly shifted back. “I’m here for
restitution from Bennett and Leonard.”

“For what crimes,” Beta Lloyd asked quietly.
“For drugging me, trapping me in my animal form,

and putting me in the zoo,” Emmett replied. “For
blackmailing Randy with the safety of his sister and her
family in order to keep me there for nearly eight years.”

“You’re not going to believe this shit, are you,

Lloyd?” Bennett snarled. It must have taken too long
for Lloyd to answer, because the alpha started stripping.
“I’ll teach you to lie, you little faggot!”

Emmett expected the attack to come halfway

through  his  shift,  since  one  of  the  abilities  of  an  alpha
was to shift in a matter of seconds. But the attack never
came,  and a good twenty  seconds  later, Emmett shook
out his fur and focused on his surroundings. He spotted
the  alpha  and  watched  in  dismay  as  Bennett  reached
Darrell and stabbed his right horn clean through him.

Bennett tossed his head, and Darrell’s body was

lifted like a rag doll, flying through the air to land with
his leg at an unnatural angle beneath him.

Hope For A Buffalo

Bellowing with rage, Emmett charged. The alpha

pivoted on his hind legs, and instead of hitting him in
the side, he glanced off the slightly larger buffalo’s
shoulder.

The other shifter swung back around and pain

erupted  through  Emmett’s  haunch.  Damn,  Bennett  is
fast!  He  leaped  away  and  spun,  trying  to  get  into
position to face the other shifter. He knew he wouldn’t
make  it,  so  lurched  sideways  at  the  last  second.  He
swung his head and just managed to sink a horn into the
other shifter’s  shoulder  before the alpha pivoted away.
It wasn’t a deep wound, but it would bleed.

A roar erupted from nearby, and from the corner of

his eye, Emmett spotted brown fur with silver tips, then
made out the massive jaws and huge head of the grizzly
bear as  it bore down on them. Even though he knew  it
was Kontra, it didn’t stop the shock  from  freezing him
to the spot. The shifter was big when in human form. In
bear  form,  he  was  huge,  well  over  a  thousand  pounds.
Once he reached the frozen combatants, he stood on his
hind  legs,  showing  an  impressive  height  of  over  eight
feet, and roared.

Emmett took advantage of the distraction and

charged Bennett. The bigger buffalo didn’t turn in time,
and he managed to imbed a horn into his back leg.
Jerking his head, he tore a muscle.

Bennett bellowed in pain and anger. Gathering

himself, the alpha charged again, this time at Kontra.

The bear wasted no time dropping to all fours before

bringing up one massive paw and swiping it toward the
charging buffalo. At the same time, Emmett pivoted
and kicked out with both back legs. Kontra’s swipe

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connected with Bennett’s shoulder. The strike sent him
rocking sideways toward the white buffalo, and
Emmett’s large, sharp hooves connected with the
alpha’s skull.

Emmett felt bone crack when the powerful blow

connected, sending a shudder up his spine and through
his body. The alpha fell to the ground, the impact of his
heavy body making the earth shake. Splaying his feet,
Emmett waited for the ground to stop trembling before
he turned around to look at the alpha.

His heart nearly stopped as he gazed at the hatred

gleaming from Bennett’s brown eye. Seconds later, the
life drained from Bennett’s body as surely as the blood
drained from the wounds on his head and chest. Emmett
initiated his shift, and once in human form, stumbled
sideways as pain flared through his hip where the alpha
had managed to catch him with a horn. A hairy arm
wrapped around his waist, steadying him.

He looked up at a human Kontra’s face, but the bear

shifter’s expression gave away none of his thoughts. To
his  surprise,  his  new  alpha  seemed  to  know  exactly
what Emmett was thinking. Those hard brown eyes met
his  gaze  and  he  said  solemnly,  “I  take  care  of  those
under  my  protection,  Emmett.  I  warned  him  that  if  he
attacked you, he’d face me.”

“Wow.” Emmett blew out a breath and stared at the

silent group. He jerked his gaze back to his new alpha
and whispered, “Thank you.”

Kontra nodded once and released him. Caleb

instantly took his place supporting him, and Emmett
limped away from the dead Alpha Bennett. He moved
to Darrell’s side and stared down at the man the vet had

Hope For A Buffalo

tried  to  protect  for  over  eight  years.  Darrell’s  breaths
came  in  shallow  gasps  as  Eli  carefully  poked  and
prodded  him,  checking  for  internal  injuries,  measuring
the damage the horn thrust had caused.

The gang stood around them, making certain none of

the other buffalo shifters could draw near. Lydia knelt
by the man’s head, smoothing the hair from his
sweating brow and murmuring non-sense.

“How is he?” Emmett asked.
Eli didn’t even acknowledge him, instead keeping

his focus on helping the downed buffalo. A small
shifter Emmett recognized as Yuma glanced his way
before helping Eli and Adam roll Darrell onto his back.
“He’s not sure, yet,” the small shifter admitted.

Adam gripped Darrell’s shoulders while Yuma held

his head. Eli grasped Darrell’s left leg firmly and
twisted. A sick snap resounded through the clearing,
and a quick sweep over the crowd showed Emmett that
he wasn’t the only one cringing.

Eli looked toward Emmett, but it was behind him

that  the  dark-haired  man  focused.  He  knew  Kontra
stood  just  behind  him.  “I  need  to  get  him  out  of  here.
He  has  a  broken  leg,  a  hole  in  his  side,  and  internal
bleeding  that  I  can’t  pin  down.  He  needs  a  shifter
friendly hospital,” he whispered urgently.

Kontra jerked a nod. “Take him to the airport. I’ll

make certain a jet is standing by and we’ll take him to
Colorado. I’ll let Lark know you’re on the way. He’ll
help.”

Emmett had no idea who they were speaking of or

why they’d send him to Colorado, but that didn’t seem
to matter. To his surprise, Jason stepped forward. “I’ve

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given the keys to my SUV to Noel. He’ll bring it here.
Take it and get to the airport.”

“Thank you,” the alpha replied solemnly. Then he

looked at Lydia and said, “You can stay here with us or
bundle up your cubs and go with them. I know the
wolves will welcome you with open arms.”

“Wolves?” she whispered after a gulp.
“Yes,” Kontra replied. “Lark is the mate of a wolf

shifter alpha and an experienced shifter doctor. They’re
good men. They’ll take care of you and your family
until Darrell is back on his feet. If you don’t think you
can deal with the fact that they’re a mated pair of gay
men, then stay here and Darrell will be returned as soon
as possible.”

She stared at the alpha for a second, then she stared

down at her mate. Her silent debate was  interrupted by
the  roar of  the  engine  of  the  approaching  vehicle.  She
kissed  Darrell’s  forehead  and  then  leaped  to  her  feet.
“Me and the kids will be ready in a minute. I don’t care
who the doctor loves. If he saves my mate, I’ll forever
be in his debt.”

Kontra nodded once, and she scurried into the house.

Randy left where he’d been speaking with Lloyd and
followed his sister. Emmett knew she’d have help from
her brother, but he couldn’t help wondering what the
vet had been speaking with the beta about.

The vehicle pulled up as close to Darrell as possible

and a man slid from behind the wheel. He  folded down
the rear seat and helped Eli and Yuma load Darrell into
the  back  of  the  vehicle,  the  two  shifters  climbing  in
after him. Lydia and Randy reappeared, a confused cub
in  each  of  their  arms.  After  settling  them  into  the

Hope For A Buffalo

vehicle, Randy took the keys from the man who must
have been Noel and climbed behind the wheel.

Randy paused and turned toward Kontra. “Thank

you for everything.”

The big man grunted.
He must have realized that was the only response he

was  likely  to  get  from  the  alpha,  for  Randy  closed  his
door  and  brought  the  vehicle  roaring  to  life.  Emmett
watched  with  mixed  emotions  as  the  only  friend  he’d
had  for  the  last  eight  years  guided  the  SUV  into  the
night, filled to capacity with Eli, Yuma, Darrell, Lydia,
and their two cubs.

A throat clearing drew Emmett away from where he

watched the SUV’s taillights disappear into the gloom.
The  beta,  alpha  now  unless  the  herd  voted  for  a  new
leader,  stepped  in  front  of  Emmett  and  help  up  the
newspaper  cutting.  “Your  mate  showed  me  the
newspaper  article,  Emmett.  And  Randy  took  a  minute
to  explain  everything.  I  really  liked  Darrell  and  his
mate,  and  could  never  understand  the  excuses  that
Bennett  always  came  up  with  to  refuse  his  promotion.
But  he  was  the  alpha.”  Lyle  shrugged.  “For  the  most
part,  he  was  good  for  the  herd.  I  understand  how  you
wouldn’t  agree,”  the  man  added,  obviously  reading
Emmett’s  incredulous  expression.  “I’ve  ordered  your
father  to  be  secured  at  the  lodge.  To  complete  your
restitution,  I  need  to  know  what  you  want  done  with
him.”

Emmett frowned, surprised by the man’s blunt

statements. Blowing out a breath, he struggled to decide
what he really wanted. Lifting his gaze to the beta
turned alpha, he said, “I want Leonard to stay out of my

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way. I want to be able to see my mother, if she wants to
see me, and my brother and sister. I’d like to make
certain he can’t refuse them the opportunity, if they
wish it, to spend time with me.”

The new alpha smiled and nodded. “That can be

arranged.”

Hope For A Buffalo

Chapter Nine

aleb insisted on helping Adam clean and dress
Emmett’s cuts and scrapes from his fight before his

mate saw his mother. He knew how important it was for
Emmett to know if his mother was in on the
banishment. Caleb prayed that she wasn’t.

They followed Lloyd and the second enforcer who’d

been introduced as Branson, through the trees to a small
house with the porch light on and a bright glow shining
from several windows. As they approached, the front
door swung open, silhouetting a slender female form. It
was hard to make out features with the light shining at
her back, and Caleb found himself praying to whatever
gods cared to listen that the woman would welcome her
son with open arms.

“Beta Lloyd? What’s happened? Where’s Leonard?”

she asked hesitantly.

Lloyd held up a hand while standing outside the

circle  of  the  porch  light  and  asked,  “Nadeen,  I  don’t
know  how  else  to tell  you  other  than  to  just  come  out
and  say  it.  Your  son,  Emmett,  is  alive.  Leonard  and
Bennett conspired against him because your son is gay.
They trapped him in animal form and sold him to a zoo,

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where he’s been trapped, until now.”

“Emmett is alive?” she whispered. She took a step

forward, and the light finally no longer shone directly
on her back, allowing Caleb to make out a hopeful
expression. “Where is he?”

Relief filled Caleb that, at least, Nadeen hadn’t been

involved in the kidnapping and exiling.

“I’m here, mother,” Emmett replied, stepping past

the other buffalo. He walked toward his mother. “I’ve
missed you. I’m sorry that father told you I was dead.”

“Oh, my boy!” she cried. Nadeen lunged forward

and pulled him into a tight embrace. Emmett grunted,
but his injuries didn’t stop the white buffalo from
returning the hug. After a second, Nadeen stepped back
and settled her hands on his arms so she could look him
up and down. “What happened? Are you all right?”

“I’m fine. Just a few cuts,” Emmett assured.
“And your father,” she said softly. “Does he know

you’re alive? Where is he?”

Emmett sighed, and lowered his head. “Father didn’t

like it that I’m gay, mother,” he stated bluntly. “He and
Alpha  Bennett  decided  that  I  wasn’t  worthy  to  remain
in the  herd, so the alpha  found  some drug that trapped
me  in  animal  form.”  He  looked  over  his  shoulder  and
Caleb  gave  him  an  encouraging  smile.  Emmett
grimaced. “I’ve spent the last eight years as a buffalo in
the zoo, mom.”

“All because you think you might be gay?” she

questioned. “Well, maybe you just haven’t met the right
woman.”

Caleb wasn’t the only one who recognized the

hopefulness in her smile as she gazed up at her son.

Hope For A Buffalo

Emmett shook his head, again glancing over his

shoulder at Caleb. He gave  his mate another smile, and
he again turned  to his  mother.  “It’s not that  I  might be
gay, mom. I am gay. Even Fate knows it.” He held out a
hand  toward  Caleb.  “This  is  Caleb  Belikov.  He’s  my
mate. He and his friends rescued me.”

Nadeen drew back as Caleb stepped forward and

took  Emmett’s  hand.  Emmett  pulled  him  close  and
wrapped  an  arm  around  his  waist.  Caleb  couldn’t  help
but smile up at Emmett. He liked being tucked in close,
able  to  breathe  in  the  man’s  masculine  scent,  feel  the
heat  of  his  hard  body.  Emmett’s  other  hand  came  up
and  cupped  his  jaw  before pressing a  light, chaste kiss
to his lips.

“You’re the best thing to ever happen to me. Thank

you for saving me,” Emmett whispered.

Warmth flooded Caleb and he smiled up at his mate.

“I love you, my mate. I will always be there for you.”

“And I love you, Caleb,” Emmett replied without

hesitation.

His words sent a fresh wave of pleasure through

Caleb.  A  throat  clearing  stopped  him  from  doing  what
he  wanted,  namely  grabbing  his  mate’s  head  and
pulling it down for a passionate kiss. They both turned
to  see  a  delighted  smile  on  Emmett’s  mother’s  face.
“Congratulations on  finding  your  mate, son,”  she said.
“That’s wonderful.”

Caleb was a bit surprised by Nadeen’s seemingly

easy acceptance, but her next words cleared it up.  “My
brother  is  gay,  too,”  she  whispered.  “Your  Uncle
Grippen  left the herd and  found a  nice  human to settle
down with. I don’t think  he’s  my  brother’s true mate,”

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she  mused,  “but  he’s  happy.”  Nadeen  turned  toward
Lloyd.  “And  my  mate?”  she  murmured.  “I  know  he’s
not  the  most  open-minded  man,  and  I’ll  certainly  be
giving him a piece of my mind, but I do love him.”

“He has been ordered not to speak against your son,

or to keep you from seeing each other,” Lloyd stated, a
smirk curving his lips. “If he does, let me know,” he
ordered.

“Yes, Alpha,” she replied swiftly.
Lloyd nodded. “Once your son leaves, he’ll be

back,” Lloyd told her.

“Thank you,” she replied, then led them into the

house.

They chatted for several hours, and it was

abundantly  clear  Emmett  had  no  idea  he  had  a  gay
uncle.  Nadeen  told  him  all  about  her  second  oldest
brother,  Grippen,  and  even  gave  Emmett  his  contact
information.  She  explained  that  the  shifter  had  chosen
to leave the  herd when it became apparent he wouldn’t
be  accepted.  He’d  kept  in  touch  with  only  a  handful,
including Nadeen, over the internet.

Eventually, Caleb’s eyelids drooped and his limbs

grew  heavy.  Emmett  smiled  down  at  him  and  caught
the  tail  end  of  his  yawn.  He  rose,  pulling  Caleb  along
with  him.  They  said  their  good-byes,  agreeing  to  visit
again in the morning so Emmett could see his siblings.

Fifteen minutes later, Caleb brought his bike to life,

glad  the  night  air  had  perked  him  up  a  bit.  Emmett
climbed  on  behind  him.  Leaning  forward,  the  larger
man  called,  “I’m  going  to  have  to  learn  to ride  one  of
these.  No  offense,  Caleb,  but  your  bitch  seat  isn’t  all

Hope For A Buffalo

that comfortable.”

Caleb chuckled. “None taken.”
He put the bike in gear and drove them to the motel

where  Terence’s  text  had  told  him  the  gang  had
acquired  rooms.  He’d  parked  the  bike  and  was  headed
toward  his  friend’s  room  when  a  large  form  emerged
from  the  dark  shadows  of  the  building.  At  first,  he
stiffened, but then he caught the man’s scent.

“Hey, Kontra, everything okay?” he asked, watching

the large man amble toward them, the light glinting off
the silver flecks in his dark hair. It looked so much like
his fur in bear form that it was uncanny, and freaky as
hell, which seemed to suit his alpha just fine.

“Yep,” the man’s deep gravelly voice rumbled. “Just

wanted to make certain you two made it back safely.
You feeling okay, Emmett?” He regarded Caleb’s mate
solemnly, as if assessing his condition with his eyes.

Emmett nodded. “Yes, sir. Nothing that a hot shower

and a rub down from my mate won’t cure,” he said,
sending a teasing wink toward Caleb. Caleb grinned
back, and Emmett returned his focus to Kontra. “Thank
you for backing me, Alpha,” he said. “It means a lot to
me that you’d help me even though I hadn’t given you a
definitive answer about staying with you all.”

Kontra nodded once, then lifted a shoulder in a shrug

as  his  gaze  strayed  to  the  dark  parking  lot.  “You’re
important  to  Caleb.  That  makes  you  important  to  the
gang.  Beside,”  he  added,  holding  up  a  key,  “I  knew
you’d stay with us. See you in the morning.”

After Caleb took the key, they watched him head

down the line of rooms and slip silently into one three
doors down. Emmett looked down at Caleb, his brows

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lifted in concern. “He’s a freaky shifter, you know that,
right?”

“He’s a good alpha,” Caleb replied. After reading

the number on the tag Kontra had given him, he led the
way into their room. Once the door was closed, he told
Emmett, “He’s a good man, too. He saved me and a
number of others in our gang. He’s given us all a family
when our own turned their backs on us. There isn’t
anything we wouldn’t do for him.”

Emmett nodded. “I understand that, and believe it or

not, I feel the same,” he admitted. He headed toward
the bathroom, pulling off clothes as he went. “I was just
pointing out that he’s a bit on the mysterious side. Do
you even know where he’s from?”

Caleb shook his head, following his mate, admiring

the view of his ass when Emmett dropped his pants. “I
have no idea. I don’t know if any of us do. He doesn’t
exactly encourage questions, you know?”

“I noted that.” Emmett reached into the shower and

turned on the water before looking over his shoulder at
him. “Gonna join me?”

The lusty glint in Emmett’s eyes was all the

instigation Caleb needed. “Hell, yeah,” he whispered,
quickly stripping out of his own clothes.

Once ensconced in the warmth of the shower, Caleb

relished the feel of Emmett’s hands on his head as his
mate washed his hair. “Baby,” Emmett murmured,
nibbling Caleb’s neck sensuously.

“Hmm?”
“You said your alpha saved you. Is that why you

carry his last name?”

Caleb stiffened, his eyelids snapping wide. He’d

Hope For A Buffalo

known he’d have to explain this sooner or later. There
was no way in hell people would ever mistake them for
being related.

Emmett must have felt him stiffen, because he

remained  silent  while  he  tilted  Caleb’s  head  under  the
spray  of  water  and  rinsed  his  hair.  Then  he  cupped
Caleb’s  face  in  one  big,  warm  hand  and  brought  his
gaze  up  to  meet  his.  “It  doesn’t  matter.  If  you  don’t
want  to  tell  me  right  away  or  ever,  then  I  won’t  pry.
Just  know  that  whatever  it  is,  it  won’t  make  me  love
you any less.” He finished his words with a soft, chaste
peck on the lips.

Caleb settled his hands on Emmett’s wet shoulders

and held on tight. “A homeless woman found me
discarded in a dumpster,” he admitted. “I don’t know
anything about my parents. I grew up on the streets.”

“Oh, love,” Emmett crooned. His arms wrapped

around him, trying to pull him against his chest.

Caleb shook his head and held Emmett’s gaze,

needing to share the story with his mate. “It wasn’t that
bad,” he said. “The woman who found me, Irene, she
was a decent mother to me. Even patched me up when I
got shot by a guy I was trying to pick the pocket of,” he
admitted, feeling the heat of a blush burn his cheeks.

“That’s how you got this,” Emmett murmured,

running his fingers over the puckered flesh on his back.

Nodding, Caleb continued, “We never really talked

about  how  fast  I  healed,  then  I  hit  puberty  and  went
through  my  first  shift.  I  had  no  idea  what  was
happening  to  me,  and  neither  did  she.  Irene  started
asking  questions,  and  somehow  it  drew  Kontra’s
attention.” He paused for a second, a smile curving his

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lips at the next memory. “I tried to pick his pocket.”

Emmett snorted. “You what?”
He shrugged. “I was a fifteen-year-old street rat,

remember? I was a damn good thief.”

“Right. So let me guess,” Emmett said, chuckling

softly. “He caught you, realized you were a shifter, and
invited you into the gang?”

Caleb nodded. “Spot on. That is, after he knocked

me out, took me to his room, and scared the shit out of
me by shifting into a bear.”

Emmett’s eyes widened in shock. “He did what?”
Chuckling, Caleb stated, “The object lesson stuck.

Use all your senses. I knew there was something
different about him, but I wanted his wallet, so I
ignored what my sixth sense told me.”

“And what was that?” Emmett asked dryly.
“Not to fuck with a bear.”
This time, Caleb let his laughing mate pull him

close. Emmett kissed the top of his head. “How long
have you been with Kontra?”

“I’ve been traveling with him for thirty-two years,”

he told Emmett. “I was the third person Kontra picked
up. It wasn’t until I was seventeen and came out to him
that he revealed that he and the other guys were gay,
too.” He shook his head. “Gods, I was so angry at him.”

Emmett leaned back and frowned down at him.

“Why?”

Grimacing, Caleb answered. “I finally had a family,

even if it was unconventional. I was afraid they’d leave
me behind if they knew, but it got to the point where I
didn’t want to hide anymore, either. I’d seen two guys
making out and wanted to be able to do that, too. It

Hope For A Buffalo

would have saved me so much inner turmoil if they’d
just told me.”

His mate gave him a gentle kiss. “He was waiting for

you to trust him,” he said sagely.

Caleb nodded. “Yup. That didn’t make me any less

angry at the time,” he admitted.

“Well, I’m glad you got over it,” Emmett murmured,

punctuating his words with soft kisses over Caleb’s face
and jaw. “And I’m very grateful that you found me, and
not just because you rescued me.”

His breathing sped up as Emmett’s large hands

caressed his shoulders. “Oh, yeah?”

“Yeah. I love you, my mate. I’ll follow you

anywhere.”

Desire mixed with contentment crashed through

Caleb  like a tidal wave, filling him with  happiness and
need.  “I  love  you,  too,  Emmett,”  he  replied  before
ducking  his  head and  flicking  his tongue over one taut
nipple.

Emmett growled and lowered a hand to the curve of

Caleb’s  back,  the  other  to  his  ass.  His  mate’s  fingers
delved  into  his  crack,  brushing  against  his  hole.  Caleb
gasped,  loving  the  feathery-light  touches  but  needing
more, so much more.

“I was so worried about you,” Caleb admitted,

before he lost all ability to speak. “I feared you be taken
from me.”

Releasing his hold, Emmett reached for Caleb’s

bottle of conditioner. “Nothing will take you from me,”
he replied, pouring a large glob of the cream onto his
fingers. “Not even bigoted, psychotic alphas.”

“Good,” Caleb managed to gasp as Emmett’s finger

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breached his ass.

He lifted a leg and hitched it over Emmett’s hip,

opening  himself  more  for  his  mate’s  talented  digits.
“Oh,  gods,  Emmett,”  he  groaned,  letting  his  head  fall
against the shower wall. Emmett added a second finger
and  scraped them over  his prostate, sending  a shard of
pleasure straight to his balls. “Fuck, just like that.”

“My mate,” Emmett growled before capturing

Caleb’s  lips.  He  thrust  his  tongue  deep  into  Caleb’s
mouth,  lapping  at  his  tongue,  his  teeth  and  gums.
Emmett  mapped  his  mouth  with  a  single-minded
determination,  before  drawing  Caleb’s  tongue  into  his
mouth and sucking on it.

Caleb moaned into the kiss as his cock pulsed his

release between them, an orgasm from nowhere
blindsiding him with pleasure. Emmett continued to
work both his mouth and his hole, rubbing his prostate
with three fingers now, wringing out every last drop of
cum from him.

The hand on his ass encouraged him to wrap his

other  leg  around  Emmett’s  waist  and  his  mate  pressed
him into the tiles, holding his body steady. The fingers
disappeared  from  his  ass,  but  before  he  could  even
think  to  complain,  Emmett’s  thick  cock  bumped  his
hole then pressed  into him. His  mate’s shaft  filled him
to capacity as his muscles gave way and welcomed his
lover.

This was what he needed. His mate. His lover. His

love.  Here  in  his  body,  in  his  arms,  Emmett  holding
him  as  Caleb  held  him  back.  Emmett  paused,  smiling
down  at  him,  the  love,  trust,  and  affection  shining
clearly  in  his  brown  eyes.  “Thank  you,”  Emmett

Hope For A Buffalo

whispered.

Caleb’s brows rose. “For what?”
Emmett pressed a soft, sensual kiss to his lips before

lifting his head again and replying, “For giving me my
freedom, for giving me my life back, and for giving me
your love.”

“I’ll always be there for you,” he vowed. At

Emmett’s pleased grin, Caleb winked. “Think you can
finish what you started?”

“Hell, yeah.”

About the Author

Charlie  lives  on  a  mini  ranchette  in  Utah  with  her
husband  and  furry,  four-legged  children.  She  started
writing fantasy when she was eight, and after stumbling
onto  her  first  erotic  romance  at  age  nineteen,  she
realized  her  true  calling.  She  now  focuses  on  writing
erotic  romance,  normally  of  the  paranormal  variety,
with  heroes  and  heroines  of  all  kinds.  You  can  often
find  her  curled  up  with  her  laptop  and  a  cup  of  tea  or
glass  of  wine,  creating  her  next  adventure.  Charlie
enjoys  exploring  the  mountains  on  horseback,  4-
wheeler,  or  motorcycle.  Her  favorite  exercise  is
jumping  lessons  with  her  Arabian  gelding  Apache  or
her  Thoroughbred  mare  Repo.  And  she  can’t  get
enough of sexy highlanders with their kilts and swords.
Right  now,  she  and  her  muse  are  working  with
dedication  on  her  Wolves  of  Stone  Ridge  series  and
Kontra’s Menagerie series.

She can be reached at ch.richards2010@yahoo.com
Or visit her at www.charlie-richards.com