As soon as Taylor pulled away from the ranch, he regretted it. He wanted to go back and fall into Sam's arms. But the gut-clenching fear made him drive until he found himself parked behind his apartment building. How could Sam be a bear? He acted nothing like Todd. Even knowing that, all Taylor could see were teeth and claws and the panic rose to near dangerous levels.

Before he could get out of his car, Cameron was heading toward Taylor. The look on his friend's face that said he already knew what had happened. But how?

Cameron pulled the door open and smiled down at Taylor. "How's tricks, buttercup?"

Taylor's fear boiled and churned inside of him as he glanced up at his best friend. He slid out of the car and then walked toward the trunk. "It's happening again, Cam." Taylor rubbed the palms of his hands into his eyes until strange shapes whirled behind his eyelids. "My life is falling apart again."

"Only if you let it." Cameron grabbed Taylor's arms and yanked them down. His smile was filled with warmth but his eyes held a steely determination. Cameron dropped his voice. "Okay, so Sam is a bear. We can work through this."

"It's just-" Taylor shook his head quickly, trying to dislodge the images. Teeth and claws. Why? Why did it have to be Sam? He didn't want to deal with another bear. Once had been enough to last him two lifetimes.

"Breathe, Taylor." Cameron's fingers tightened around Taylor's wrists. "Sam isn't Todd. Can you honestly tell me that you think Sam would hurt you? Because if you have one single doubt, we'll leave. We'll get out of this damn town and never look back."

Stumbling back until his ass hit the trunk, Taylor lowered his head. He thought of how he and Sam met in the grocery store and about Sam's invitation. Just that quick the man had turned Taylor upside down. He thought about their movie night with all of Sam's friends gathered around and how good a time he'd had. Cooking breakfast with Sam, horseback riding. How Sam had tried so hard to impress him that he nearly knocked Taylor out. Of how panicked Taylor had been when Sam had been thrown from his horse.

Sam had said that he didn't care about Taylor's scars. The man thought of him as his little goth angel and wanted the whole package.

Could Sam be telling the truth? Did men as noble and good-hearted as Sam really exist? Taylor wanted to believe so. He didn't want to think that the entire world of men had turned to assholism and that he was just shit out of luck.

"Todd called me." Taylor swallowed as his throat burned. He glanced up at his friend and told him what Todd had said.

Cameron's features darkened. "That was a stupid contract. It isn't legal, Taylor. How in the fuck did he find you?"

Taylor knew his smile was bitter. "Patty."

"That bitch," Cameron growled. "I never liked that god-fearing woman. She always had a superior smugness to her." Cameron stepped closer and his friend's eyes searched Taylor's. "Tell me what you want us to do. You want to get ghost?"

Taylor squinted up at the sun as if that big bright orb could give him some answers. Saying that he was seven kinds of confused didn't even scratch the surface. When he was near Sam, Taylor didn't feel like the world was one big jumbled ball of suffering. The feeling of desperation, of walking on eggshells was absent. The hair-trigger flinch he possessed whenever Todd was around had vanished.

Before Taylor could give Cameron an answer, a dark-blue truck pulled into the parking lot. Taylor's chest stuttered and his breath became shallow when he realized that it was Sam.

"Tell me," Cameron said as he grabbed Taylor's upper arm and shook him. "What do you want to do?"

Sam got out. But instead of coming Taylor's way, the man stood there by his truck, looking uncertain. He grabbed his keys in one hand and placed the other on the hood of his truck. He gazed across the parking lot and their gazes locked. There was no anger in Sam's beautiful eyes. There was no judgment. He looked...afraid.

"I want-" Taylor felt himself shaking. He glanced at Cameron and then back at the person who was becoming everything to him. "Sam."

Cameron released him and Taylor began to walk across the concrete. Sam's eyes widened slightly and then he started to move toward Taylor. When they were a few feet apart, they both stopped.

"Tell me," Sam said as he gazed down at Taylor. "Tell me what I have to do to convince you that I'd never hurt you. Tell me what to say so that you'll believe how much I care about you."

"He hurt me." Taylor pinched his features to stop the tears. "He took the trust I gave him and betrayed me."

"I know, little angel." Sam took a step closer. "And being a bear shifter, I remind you of him."

Taylor slowly shook his head back and forth. "You're nothing like him," he whispered. "But I'm scared."

Sam reached out and pulled Taylor into his arms. Taylor's chest tightened and he felt like he'd come home. He circled his arms around Sam and held on tightly, afraid the man was a dream and would dissolve into smoke and blow away in the wind at any second.

"All I ask," Sam said as he rested his cheek against Taylor's temple, "is that you give me a chance. Please don't judge me by another man's cruelty."

Taylor nodded but was unable to speak. He was too afraid that if he opened his mouth, he would cry. He was sick and tired of shedding tears over what Todd had done to him. Taylor wanted to move on, to put all that behind him.

Pulling away, Taylor cleared his throat until he was composed. He pulled Sam across the parking lot and then waved at his best friend. "Sam, I'd like you to meet my best friend Cameron."

The two eyed each other. For a second, Taylor thought they were going to growl at each other. "Have you two met?"

"We've had a brief conversation or two," Cameron admitted. "It was quite pleasant." The piercing look Sam was giving Cameron said otherwise.

"I want both of you at my place," Sam said.

Cameron gave Sam a half snarl. "I don't roll like that."

Sam pinched the bridge of his nose. "For safety reasons."

Taylor stiffened as he scanned the parking lot. Fear slid down his spine as he remembered Todd's threat. "Do you really think he can find me?"

"Anything is possible," Sam said. "I'm not taking any chances."

"I can handle myself," Cameron argued. "I'm not afraid of-"

"A bear shifter?" Sam snarled. "Because he won't hesitate to torture and tear you apart to find out where Taylor is. You are no match for him. So until we can find out where he is, you two are safer at my place."

"Cameron, please." Taylor squeezed Cameron's arm. "You don't know what he's capable of. Not the full extent of it. I've seen it."

"Fine," Cameron said. "Let me go pack a few things."

Taylor remembered the laundry in his trunk. He popped it open and grabbed the basket before slamming the trunk closed. "I need to get a few things together as well."

Sam followed them up and into their apartment. The guy glanced around at Taylor and Cameron's meager furnishings. They had an overstuffed couch that they'd found on someone's lawn and had struggled to get home. There was also a bookcase they had purchased from the local thrift store. The coffee table was new, as well as the end tables. Taylor and Cameron had even managed to save up for the large area rug. It was burgundy with large swirls of cream. Their apartment might not be much, but it was homey.

"Nice place." Sam nodded as he continued to look around. Taylor had been to Sam's house. In comparison, this apartment was a shithole. But it was Taylor's and he loved it.

Cameron disappeared into his bedroom. Taylor led Sam into his. He set the basket aside and then reached into his closet for a duffel bag. It felt weird to see Sam take a seat on his bed. The guy was so big that he made Taylor's twin-size bed seem even smaller.

Standing, Sam reached for Taylor's trophy on the shelf above his dresser. "You ran track?" The man sounded impressed.

"My freshman year," Taylor admitted. He began to open his dresser drawers and grab things to stuff in his duffel. He would've stayed with the track team throughout high school, but his father had said it wasn't a manly enough sport. He tried to get Taylor to join the football team, but Taylor wasn't built for it. The first time he had tried out, he'd gotten a concussion.

Unfortunately, his dad had been at the tryouts. He'd witnessed Taylor's dismal failure. It was Patty who'd suggested that Taylor stick to schoolwork and leave that extracurricular activity alone. She had even tried to convince Taylor's father that Taylor would be better suited as a doctor than an athlete. She had become obsessed with it. She'd even started getting college brochures from prestigious medical schools while he was still in his freshman year.

He had a feeling that she had been trying to live vicariously through him, to compensate for one of her own failures. Thankfully, Taylor's dad hadn't been as enthused about the doctor idea as he had been about football. It truly sucked that both parents had wanted a child to live out their failed dreams.

When Taylor had refused to even consider becoming a doctor, Patty had shown her true colors. Spiteful wasn't a strong enough word to convey how she'd started to act toward him.

Taylor tossed the duffel on the bed and then went to the bathroom to grab his toiletries. When he came back to his room, Sam was staring at the only family photo Taylor owned. His dad and stepmom weren't the best parents in the world, but he still kept a picture to remember their happier times.

"How did you meet Cameron?" Sam asked.

"High school," Taylor answered. "He was the geek everyone picked on and I was the goth everyone sneered at. Perfect recipe for friendship."

Taylor paused. "Are all the men you live with marines, too?"

Sam nodded. "They were and still are my unit."

Cameron appeared in Taylor's doorway. "Ready to run off to Neverland."

Taylor chuckled. "It won't be that bad, Cam. I've been to Sam's house. The guys are a little offbeat, but nice." Sam smiled at Taylor's compliment.

After Taylor locked up the apartment, they all took their own vehicles and headed toward Sam's. Once they were parked, Cameron got out and whistled low as he looked at Sam's house. "Nice."

"Reserve judgment," Taylor whispered to his best friend. "Wait till you see the inside. Very impressive."

But before they could go inside, Cameron gazed toward the back of the house. Taylor turned to see what his friend was looking at and spotted Rowdy. The foreman was talking to a few of the workers. From what Taylor had heard the Sam's friends saying, Rowdy was overseeing the construction of the bunkhouse and stables.

Cameron looked as if he was about to drool on himself. Taylor chuckled and grabbed Cameron's arm, leading his friend inside.

After getting Cameron settled in and watching the guy ogle every man in the house, Sam drove Taylor over to the Triple-B. He had to talk with Jed and he didn't want to leave Taylor behind.

Jed was out back with his mate and triplets. One was in bear form and was racing toward them. Taylor looked as if he were about to have a coronary. Sam pressed his hand into the small of Taylor's back. "He's just a toddler. He won't hurt you."

"He's a pretty big toddler," Taylor said as he tried to scoot behind Sam, but Tyler wasn't having it. He circled around Sam and head-butted Taylor.

"He's curious," Sam explained as Markey barreled toward them as well and rammed his human head into Taylor's thigh. Taylor frowned and glanced at Sam.

"His brother is bear, and so is one of his fathers. Markey likes to think he's bear as well." Markey let go of a low growl and chased Tyler toward Jed.

Taylor peeked out from behind Sam. "They're...adorable."

That was one of the reasons he'd brought Taylor with him. Sam wanted the guy to see that not all bears were tyrannical assholes. He'd known that Tyler would be in his bear form, but he hadn't expected one of the adult bears to amble around the stable, fur and all.

Taylor grabbed Sam's arm so tightly that his nails broke the skin. Taylor looked as if he was about to freak out.

"Can you shift?" Sam called out. He wasn't sure who the bear was. In the blink of an eye, Clayton was standing there in the buff. He grabbed a pair of jeans from the ground and slipped them on.

"What's wrong?" Clayton asked as he approached them. "I was playing hide and seek with the kids." His eyes landed on Taylor. "Hey, aren't you the guy who works at the Piggly Wiggly?"

Taylor didn't say anything. He was still staring at Tyler with a strange fascination. His expression was a somewhere between afraid and mesmerized. He finally glanced away and stared up at Sam. "Baby bears."

Clayton chuckled. "We refer to them as cubs." He looked at Sam. "Why don't you take your mate and-"

"His what?" Taylor spun on Sam and Sam could see the anger in Taylor's eyes. "What the hell does he mean by mate? Someone else told me I was his mate and the man was full of shit!"

Clayton took a step back, giving Sam an apologetic glance. Sam was surprised and thankful for Taylor's anger. It was better than Taylor taking off. He could deal with anger. "I'm not even sure," Sam confessed. "Your scent drives my bear insane, but-"

"My scent? Todd never mentioned anything about scent."

"That's because you obviously didn't carry one for him." Sam ran a hand through his hair and decided it was best to keep calm. It wouldn't do them any good if both of them were pissed. But Sam wasn't angry with Taylor. He was angry with the jerk who'd tried to convince Taylor that he was the guy's mate. "You smell like prairies and wildflowers to me. Scent is one of the things that gives a bear a clue about who his mate might be."

"But you don't know for sure?" Taylor asked.

"No," Sam said. "The only real way to determine..." He turned, placing his hands on his hips. Not only was Taylor going to freak when he found out that the only real way to determine mates was pregnancy, but Sam struggled with his own feelings about the subject. He gazed at the children playing, their musical laughter and bright smiles, and he felt torn. He didn't want to bring a child into this world. Not when he'd seen the horrors of what could happen to them.

Taylor placed a hand on Sam's arm. "Sam?"

He smiled as he gazed at the men in the backyard, the families enjoying this sunny day. "It doesn't matter, Taylor. We won't have to worry about-" A knot formed in Sam's throat.

Taylor moved until he was standing in front of Sam. His eyes were narrowed. "I've shared a lot with you, very painful things. I think I deserve the same."

Sam waved his hand toward everyone. "What is missing, angel?"

Turning, Taylor stood there, his eyes scanning over the children, the adults. He shook his head slowly and then Sam could see the precise moment when the answer dawned on the man. "No women." His brows were furrowed when he looked back at Sam. "There aren't any women here."

"And all these cubs were born to their natural parents." Sam looked at Jed and Noah's triplets playing in the sandbox. Markey and Austin were wrestling with Harland. Kane was crawling across the grass, trying to get to Clayton as Willow napped in Bryson's arms. Sam thought about Sofia and her bright smile and something painful squeezed his heart.

All of these children added something to the picture, had contributed to their parents' happiness, their sense of fulfillment. Legend wasn't the same man he'd been before. He took fewer risks and always made sure he was home at night for his mate and daughter.

"Are you trying to tell me that men gave birth to these children?" Taylor's voice was both skeptical and hesitant.

"All except for Markey," Sam said as he nodded. "They all have the ability to shift."

Taylor stood there ramrod straight as he continued to watch everyone. It looked as if he were trying to work things out in his head, to absorb what Sam had just told him. And then Taylor looked up at him. "You don't want children, do you?"

There was no accusation in the man's tone. It had been a simple question. But the answer wasn't so simple. Sam stood there and told Taylor about what he'd seen on that god-awful mission. How the scenes had turned his stomach and killed any desire he'd had to have a child of his own.

And then Taylor surprised him. He was the one to wave at the backyard this time. "But look at the expressions on their parents' faces, Sam. These men were willing to risk it all just to have a slice of heaven."

Sam shook his head and turned, heading back toward his truck. Those men hadn't seen what Sam had seen. They hadn't... Sam rubbed his hand over his forehead. Legend had been there as well, yet he'd still had a child with Gabe. Sam couldn't understand why.

Taylor caught up to him. "I'm not saying we should have children, Sam. All I'm saying is that...hell, I don't know what I'm saying. I'm not ready for a child either." Sam could tell that Taylor was speaking the god's honest truth. "I still have demons I need to work through. I'm not going to bring a baby into this world when I'm still a damn mess. Don't bears have contraceptives?"

Sam nodded. "But then how will I know if you're my mate?"

Taylor smiled. "Does it really matter? You told me yourself that your bear is apeshit for me. Shouldn't that be enough?"

"And if you aren't and my mate shows up, then what?"

Taylor narrowed his eyes and shoved his finger into Sam's chest. "Then I'll gouge his eyes out and bury the body."

Sam threw his head back and laughed as he grabbed Taylor and pulled him close. Sam inhaled the man's scent and luxuriated in it. "You've been hanging around Cameron too long."

"Why, did he threaten you?" Taylor asked.