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  “You know the law,” Commander Tiller said. “No Thresl can be kept if it refuses to bond with you.”

  Kres’ heart slammed against his chest. “You can still get out of this.” He hoped his telepathic message would get across.

  The Thresl purred.

  Brice left in a stomping fury. If there had been a door, he would’ve slammed it.

  “Zander, you’re next.”

  A slim man with cropped black hair and intense blue eyes stepped forward. Commander Tiller raised his gun to fire. Zander’s Thresl knocked him to the ground, covering him with his own body.

  “Excellent,” the commander praised. “Kres, you’re next.”

  “I don’t think that is such a good idea, Commander. My Thresl doesn’t like it when people aim weapons at me.”

  “That’s the idea. Don’t be a wimp. I thought you were a soldier.” Commander Tiller’s eyes were hard with anger.

  “You were warned,” Kres said. He stepped forward.

  As soon as the commander pointed the gun at Kres, his Thresl leapt forward and slammed into the commander, taking him to the floor. The Thresl latched his sharp teeth onto the man’s wrist. Screaming, Tiller dropped his weapon.

  Satisfied the man was unarmed, Kres’ Thresl released the commander’s wrist but remained over him, staring with teeth bared, growling low.

  “I am so fucked,” Kres muttered. Muir stepped forward, but the Thresl snapped his teeth at her. She turned her head so they were no longer making eye contact.

  “Thresl, come here!” Kres shouted.

  With a last growl, the Thresl left his prey and walked over to Kres. He circled Kres, rubbing his body all over him, evidently making sure he was marked with his scent, before sitting on his haunches with a rumbly purr. Kres scowled at the smug expression on the beast’s face.

  Muir pressed the emergency button, and the two medical personnel came back into the room.

  The commander was quickly bandaged and given a shot to prevent infection. Muir then helped the white-faced commander to his feet. The look he gave Kres was filled with an admiration he hadn’t expected.

  “That was truly impressive, and I can’t say you didn’t warn me.” The older soldier gave a rusty chuckle. “I’ve had Thresls growl, cower, knock down their owners, but I’ve never seen one so determined to totally take out the threat and protect what was his. That is not only the biggest damn Thresl I’ve ever seen, he’s the most devoted.”

  “Y-you don’t think he can be re-bonded with someone else, do you?” Kres tried not to convey how much he really wanted that to be the case. He didn’t want to hurt the cat’s feelings, but damn, he didn’t want to be here. His plans didn’t include becoming a beast’s pet.

  The commander gave him a pitying look. “Sorry, kid, you were meant to be the bonded match of a Thresl.”

  Kres’ Thresl gave a snarl.

  “I meant a match for that Thresl,” the commander corrected himself.

  A low purr filled the air.

  “I hope you didn’t have plans for a wife, because most Thresls won’t share.” He gave a fond look at Muir. “Even the most mild-mannered Thresl.”

  Muir smiled, showing off a set of sharp teeth.

  “No, I didn’t have any plans for a wife, but I was kind of hoping for a husband.” Kres gave the Thresl a sad look. The creature stood on his back legs and licked his cheek.

  “Sorry, soldier, but if you’re lucky, your Thresl will take that into consideration when he chooses a form.

  “The first lesson for the day is over.” The Commander looked at his wrist communicator. “Get some rest and we’ll start something less violent tomorrow.”

  * * * *

  The room assigned to them was the usual military barrack room with sterile white walls, a bed with a thin mattress, and minimal comforts. The only difference was the large pillow splayed out on the floor.

  The Thresl walked over to the pillow, gave it a sniff then jumped onto the bed.

  “No, bad cat, that’s my bed.”

  The Thresl flattened his ears as he stared at Kres.

  “No.” He crossed his arms. “I am not sleeping on the floor.”

  Purring, the animal scooted over, leaving a Kres-sized space beside him. A satisfied expression filled the beast’s gold eyes.

  Sighing, Kres stripped down to his underwear and climbed between the sheets. “I might as well get used to you. It doesn’t look like you’re going anywhere.” The purring at his back was loud, but the constant vibration and warmth soothed him. Tension from the day eased from his body. Before he had time to worry about the future, he was sound asleep.

  The Thresl curled next to his human, sniffing at the young man he’d chosen as his. He smelt sweet. The Thresl wanted to roll around in the man’s essence until he stank of the soldier’s scent. He had to stay close. He didn’t trust the other soldiers. They looked at his man like they wanted to do him harm.

  No one was allowed to hurt his man.

  His.

  Growling gently, the creature slid closer, curling his body around the human. A crackling sound filled the air as his bones adjusted to their new larger form. He needed to be bigger and stronger than the others. None of them could threaten what was his.

  Pain ripped through his frame as his body elongated and his muscles expanded to realign to a new body shape. He could feel his heartbeat thrum as his blood increased its flow through his veins to feed his growth.

  Fully focused on the sleeping man beside him, the Thresl concentrated. It was his nature to become the perfect counterpart to his bondmate. Kres was a handsome, intelligent man with a good heart and strong ethics, a man who needed someone to watch his back. To let others know he wasn’t prey.

  The Thresl bit his lips to keep back a shout. He didn’t want to wake Kres and disturb him with his transformation. His entire body burned as hair sank into smooth tanned skin, his claws retracted, and his spine snapped into its final formation. Once the change was complete, he would abandon his cat form forever.

  He would miss his tail.

  A whimper escaped the Thresl, making Kres stir uneasily in the bunk beside him.

  “Shh. Shh,” he whispered through the pain. His sweet man didn’t need to see this. To outsiders, the transformation was a horror to observe. Unfortunately, the change came when it willed, and he hadn’t had a chance to get away before the transformation hit. He desperately sent out a sleeping scent to keep his human unconscious.

  After what felt like hours, the Thresl gave in to the pain and fell asleep.

  Chapter Three

  Kres stirred in his sleep. Something was off, disturbing his rest. Shifting his position didn’t work because he was held too tightly.

  Held?

  Blinking awake, he cautiously turned to look over his shoulder. Letting out a shout, he startled his bedmate into letting him go and tumbled out of bed.

  Kres didn’t even feel his ass hit the floor. His eyes were too focused on the person in his bed. The man was well over six feet tall, edging closer to seven since his feet hung off the bed. Despite feeling like a voyeur, he crawled towards the bed to examine the man more closely. Light brown skin covered a body formed with hard muscle and long limbs.

  Dark brown hair grew in a short mass on the top of his head. Kres longed to plunge his fingers into the man’s locks and sample the flavour of the stranger’s lush lips. Glancing up, he felt a shock as familiar gold eyes looked back at him.

  Thresl.

  “Morning, Kres.” The low gravelly voice sent shivers up Kres’ spine and caused goosebumps to spread across his skin.

  “Morning, Thresl.”

  The Thresl’s lush mouth quirked up on one side. The sight sent heated images into Kres’ mind about nibbling on those full lips.

  “You must assign me a name,” the Thresl said with an inviting smile. “As I have shifted, now we are bound.”

  Shit.

  Kres felt guilty about lusting after the gorgeous shifter
when it was his fault the creature had changed at all. There had to be a specialist who could help get the Thresl back to his original form. Despite his attraction to the gorgeous creature, he knew if he touched the Thresl, there was no hope for escape. He’d be bound to another being for the rest of his life. When the commander had said the Thresl would become his perfect partner, Kres had thought he meant fighting partner, but the shifter’s appearance put that assumption into question. No one could’ve looked more like the type of man whom Kres was attracted to than the male on the bed.

  Gold eyes watched him carefully as if searching his expression for something. Kres averted his gaze. He hoped the man-cat couldn’t sense his lust. He didn’t know how deep their connection went at this point, but he wouldn’t force himself on the sexy creature.

  “What name do you want?”

  Kres struggled to carry on the conversation, focusing on the floor instead of the tempting naked man splayed out on his bed.

  “You have to pick it.”

  Reluctantly, Kres looked into the Thresl’s eyes. The understanding there almost broke him.

  “I-I can’t,” Kres forced out through his quickly closing throat as panic sped up his heart.

  “We can’t go back to before. I can’t unpick you,” the Thresl said in a gentle tone as if afraid of further freaking Kres out.

  “Why did you pick me to start with?” It was a question he’d obsessed over since the cat had first chosen him.

  The Thresl tilted his head, the gesture a shadow of the feline he had once been. “I chose you because I could choose no other. You were the one.”

  He sounded so definite that Kres didn’t know what to say. How could he explain he didn’t feel the same way? It was like giving the speech to a guy—it’s not you, it’s me—except in this case there was no way to break up. He was stuck with this gorgeous man-cat forever. His nebulous plans of finding a good man to settle down with while he rose in the military ranks vanished. He’d left his home to carve his own path in life, only to have it chosen for him. He remembered his grandfather’s favourite saying—‘You don’t choose your fate, your fate chooses you.’ As usual, his grandfather was right.

  “Name me,” the Thresl insisted.

  Kres wrapped his arms around himself. If he named the Thresl, it would make it too real. It was the point of no return. It was like naming the stray cat that followed you home. Once it was named, you couldn’t just dump it at the animal shelter.

  He wondered, slightly hysterically, if there was a Thresl drop-off shelter to return lost or unwanted shape-shifters.

  “I-I can’t.” The sad look in the Thresl’s eyes shook Kres, but he had to stay strong.

  “You still hope to leave me.” The Thresl’s resigned tone stabbed Kres with guilt.

  “I hope to free you,” Kres corrected. He knew he was battling against the tide but it wasn’t his nature to go down without a fight.

  The Thresl laughed. “Thresls aren’t meant to be free. We’re meant to be bonded. There’s no greater shame than to remain in our birth form until death. I am young for my kind and will have high status for my early transformation.”

  He looked so proud of himself Kres couldn’t continue his denial. For the Thresl, this was a lifetime milestone to be proud of and celebrated. For Kres, it was a life-changing event—and not a particularly welcome one. Looking over the tall muscular man in his bed, he had to admit there could be worse ways to spend his life than in the presence of a sexy man dedicated to being his.

  “Name me!” the Thresl insisted again.

  While Kres was thinking about how his life was taking a horribly wrong turn, his new life partner was fixated on his name. Kres wished there was a way to give the Thresl his freedom, but apparently that wish wasn’t shared by the ex-cat. Taking a deep breath, Kres accepted his fate.

  Kres cautiously held out his hands. The Thresl gave him a wide smile and wrapped his larger hands around Kres’.

  Kres looked at the gorgeous dark-haired man and thought over various names. There were a lot of names that could suit his new companion. Tristan? Litger? Neel? A forgotten memory drifted into his mind. Perfect.

  “When I was little, my mother used to read to me every night. My favourite story was about a beast that terrorised the local villagers until he met a fair maiden. He fell in love with her and shed his animal skin to stay a human at her side.” Kres could feel a blush heat his cheeks as the Thresl’s smile widened. “I know this isn’t the same situation, but I’ve always liked the name of the hero. His name was Vohne.”

  The Thresl released Kres’ hands and slid them into his hair. Using a firm grip, he pulled Kres closer until their mouths met in a slow, demanding kiss. Heat poured through Kres’ body like molten lava, burning him throughout. A moan rolled from his chest, vibrating their lips and adding to the sensation. When he was finally released, he had to blink a bit to focus his vision.

  “The situation isn’t that different,” the Thresl said before nipping at Kres’ bottom lip. “I’d be happy to take the name of Vohne.”

  A loud banging shook Kres out of his daze.

  Someone was at the door.

  A low growl rolled from Vohne’s throat. He jumped off the bed into a protective crouch. He quickly straightened, stomped to the door then ripped it open.

  It took Kres an inhuman amount of effort to tear his eyes from the Thresl’s tight, naked ass when he heard his name.

  “Piers!” Commander Tiller’s voice crackled with command.

  He rushed to the door to see the commander’s eyes wide with fear as he took in the enormous man at the door.

  “You might want to tell your boyfriend I’m not a threat.”

  “Um, that’s not my boyfriend—that’s my Thresl.”

  “My name is Vohne. Kres has gifted me with a name.” The Thresl sounded ridiculously proud of that fact.

  Tiller shifted his gaze from the huge man to Kres. “Report to my office ASAP.”

  With those words, Commander Tiller turned and marched away. Kres grabbed the Thresl by the arm and pulled him back into the room, closing the door behind them. Although soldiers were generally difficult to shock, he didn’t want to get complaints about a naked man hanging out in his doorway. He didn’t need that on his permanent record.

  Running a hand through his rumpled hair, he thought through his options.

  “I’m going to take a shower, then I’m going to have to go to the commissary and buy you some clothes.”

  “I will go with you,” the Thresl announced.

  “You can’t go with me. You’re naked.”

  Vohne crossed his arms over his chest. “Then you can’t go. I can’t protect you if you go by yourself.”

  Kres laughed. “You don’t need to protect me. I’m just going to the store.”

  “You don’t go anywhere I don’t go.” His tone was so definite, Kres knew he wasn’t going to get out of it. Maybe in time the creature would become less possessive.

  “I’m going to take a shower. We will discuss this when I’m done.”

  Vohne took a step to follow, but Kres pointed at the bed. “Stay. If anyone jumps out to attack me under the hot water spray, I’ll give a shout.”

  Fuming, Kres stomped to the bathroom, making sure to slam the door when he entered. He quickly felt foolish. In an unfamiliar environment, the Thresl was just sticking with what he knew—protect his human above all other things. Strange none of the other Thresls appeared as protective of their matches as Vohne was of him.

  Still thinking over his odd relationship, Kres turned on the water and sighed beneath the hot stream. Slowly his muscles relaxed until his stress rinsed down the drain.

  Maybe he could call someone and have some clothes delivered. Pleased with the new plan, Kres finished up his shower and pulled open the curtain.

  “Ahhh!” Clutching his chest, he glared at the large man who had invaded the bathing space. “You scared me.”

  Vohne looked at him with concern. �
�You are injured?” He reached for Kres, who stepped back from his touch. “You are afraid of me?”

  “I’m afraid of anyone who appears in the bathroom while I’m washing. I wasn’t expecting you.”

  Vohne looked Kres up and down. A wide smile crossed his face. “You should expect others if you are going to walk around wet and naked. You are very pleasing to the eyes. I am honoured to call you mine.”

  “I-I… Never mind.”

  He didn’t have it in him to tell Vohne that he didn’t belong to the shifter. They both knew there was a bond between them. He just wasn’t sure what that meant in the long term.

  “It is a waste to wrap clothes around you. The only reason I will allow it is because I’ve observed that your kind doesn’t walk around naked due to your fragile skins.”

  “You have a fragile skin now also,” Kres reminded him.

  He got an indecent smile in return. “Maybe we should see what happens when you rub the two of us together.”

  A knock at the outer door had them both turning.

  Kres wrapped a towel around his hips. “There sure is a lot of traffic this early in the morning.”

  Before he could reach the main living area, Vohne raced past him and ripped open the door.

  A messenger stood there holding out a package. “The commander said you might need this.”

  Kres shoved Vohne to the side, pushing his way past him. “I’ll take that. Tell the commander thank you.”

  The messenger looked Kres up and down in appreciation. “Let me know if there is anything else I can do for you.”

  Vohne let out a growl and yanked Kres back into the room. “Get your own human.” With a snarl, he slammed the door in the messenger’s face.

  “Nice.” Kres folded his arms and glared at the Thresl. “If you’re going to pretend to be human, you have to learn to have better manners.”

  Vohne narrowed his golden eyes. “Why would I want to do that?”

  “So people don’t give in to the urge to shoot you with their side arms.”

  “Not that.” Vohne waved a hand as if swatting away a pesky fly. “Why would I want to pretend to be human? I am a Thresl. I am not human and never will be. Despite my form, I will always be a beast inside.” The creature gave Kres a toothy smile. “Don’t worry so much about what other people think.”