“Tucker?” he repeated, relief rushing over him as he saw his thick eyelashes fluttering. “Tucker, baby, can you speak to me?”

Tucker opened his eyes and a slow smile curved his pretty lips. “What the hell, Gavin? Why am I always waking up to find you looking down at me? What happened?” He tried to raise his head and fell back with a wince of pain. “Damn, what the fuck grabbed me like that? Where…” As if he suddenly remembered the creature who had come so close to killing him, he shifted in Gavin’s arms and his eyes scanned the beach wildly all around.

“Relax. Calm down, baby. He’s dead. We killed him, and you’re going to be fine, just as soon as I get you home.”

“What? What are you talking about, you killed him? Killed who? Who—what was that? Did you call the police?” Tucker tried again to get up, but Gavin put a strong hand on his chest, holding him in place.

“Relax, baby. I’m handling this. I’ll tell you everything, but right now you need to trust me. First, I’m taking you out of here.”

“B-but I don’t understand. Oh God, are you naked?” Still trying to rise, his gaze was sweeping over Gavin, his eyebrows almost to his hairline. “What the fuck?”

Without answering, Gavin stood up, picked Tucker up in his arms as if he were a child, and strode up the beach with him in his arms. Yes, he was definitely naked, having just shifted back to his human form. The clothes he’d been wearing had been hopelessly ripped to shreds when he’d shifted, and Gavin was hopinghe could reach the car they’d parked down by the beach earlier before anyone saw him. If they did, they’d probably figure he was out skinny dipping and hopefully let it go at that. The beach was deserted at this time of night, though, and they were able to move very fast, so fast that Gavin saw Tucker close his eyes, perhaps thinking he had to be hallucinating again. It was all beginning to be too much for Tucker. His eyelids closed, and his breathing deepened. He had passed out again.

Good, let him be out for a while, and let some of the shock wear off. Gavin was still shaking at how close Tommy had come, and kicking himself for not realizing Tucker could be a target. Tucker’s scent was strange—not quite human—and it must have drawn Tommy in like a beacon. If he’d been only seconds later in getting to him on the beach, it would have been too late.

Gavin had been sitting in the club, an uneasy feeling stealing over him, ever since he saw Tucker leave for the parking lot. Already he regretted his rough treatment of Tucker when he saw him dancing with the pretty little blond. He had no right to treat him that way, though his wolf definitely disagreed. He’d lost his temper when he saw the smaller man with his hands in Tucker’s pants, and he’d acted like a damn animal, allowing his wolf to come too close to the surface. He’d glimpsed Tucker’s face as he rushed from the club, and cursed himself softly under his breath. He’d be damn lucky if Tucker ever spoke to him again.

He’d needed to find him and apologize, try to make things up to him somehow. He never should have let Tucker go to his car alone. Though itstill wasn’t late, with plenty of people out and about, the creature that Tommy had become had killed the last policeman earlier in the evening, just outside in the alley. That thought had him rising quickly to follow Tucker outside, and his two companions, strong trackers and gammas of the pack, came with him.

Once outside, he’d scanned the lot and saw Tucker’s car still parked nearby, but no sign of Tucker. Frowning a little, he picked up the scent of sex close by, and he saw the blond man leaning against the fender of a pickup farther down the lot. Kneeling at his feet was a dark-haired man. It was too dark to see clearly, even though a few dim lights hung on the side of the building, barely illuminating the lot. Filled with rage at the thought the dark-haired man could be Tucker, Gavin was on the couple in an instant, and waves of relief and embarrassment washed over him when the man who was kneeling looked up, startled, and Gavin saw it wasn’t Tucker after all.

“Sorry,” he called out and backed away rapidly, striding toward the deck, hoping he’d find Tucker there, sitting at one of the tables. When a quick check of the area didn’t reveal Tucker, he sent one of his gammas to the alleyway, and headed with the other one out toward the beach. Surely Tucker wouldn’t have been stupid enough to leave the safety of the crowd and isolate himself on the beach. But as the thought crossed his mind, he saw two figures on the sand, down by the water. They were some thirty yards away. A tall, bulky figure dressed in dark clothing loomed opposite a shorter figure Gavin knew to be Tucker.

He knew immediately it was the creaturethey’d been seeking. He could smell him for one thing. The pet smellwas strong, coming from both Tommy and Tucker, but Tucker’s sweet smell was overlaid with one that was corrupted and sick. The bastard was standing not six feet from his mate, and Gavin was terrified that he would never have time to stop him from ripping out Tucker’s throat. An almost paralyzing fear overtook him, and he only had time to kick off his shoes before he leaped forward, his clothes ripping to shreds as he shifted in mid-leap.

He’d never moved so fast, and as he got closer, he heard Tucker actually taunting Tommy to come at him. Damn him. Tucker had earned himself a spanking for that one, but first he had to get to him. Working as a team, they surged toward the creature, Gavin signaling in his mind to his gamma tomove Tucker out of harm’s way. It was over quickly after that, Gavin’s fury and fear at almost losing his mate making him savage and out of control. He’d meant to try to capture Tommy and try to interrogate him, but he’d ripped him to shreds in minutes, then turned and rushed to find his mate. His wolf was raging, and it took him four or five minutes to calm down and stop crouching over Tucker’s body, growling and showing his teeth at his gammas as they shifted back to their human forms and came to help. Finally, he was able to calm down enough to shift back and take Tucker in his arms.

His regret at killing Tommy was immediate, sharp and gut-wrenching. He remembered Tommy as a little boy, the son of one of his guards. Gavinsimply hadn’t been able to control his wolf when he saw his mate at such risk of imminent death, and had killed Tommy almost instinctively. He didn’t know if he’d have been able to bring Tommy back to his home, but he had so wanted to try. Tommy had killed humans, though, and even if they had managed to cure him somehow, he might not have been able to survive the crushing guilt and remorse he would have felt. Wolves had co-existed with humans for centuries, and though they had to maintain a secret existence from most of them, they had never disliked humans, or felt any antipathy toward them. Indeed, they often developed a protectiveness and deep regard for them and humans had often been bloodmates for them over the centuries. With so much infusion of human blood, the Werekin were all part human anyway.

Reaching the car, Gavin pulled on a pair of sweat pants from the back seat, and climbed in next to his mate, relieved at finally having him safely next to him behind locked doors. His gammas would find their own way home after disposing of the remains on the beach. Gavin put a hand on Tucker’s warm thigh and let it rest there. He remembered his idea of putting Tucker across his knees when he heard him taunting Tommy, and it brought a smile now to his lips. His little mate was fierce. If he ever tried such a thing, he’d be afraid to ever close his eyes around him.

He saw Tucker open his eyes and gaze around him in confusion. “You’re okay,” Gavin told him. “You’re in my car. Just rest for a few minutes. Can I get you something to drink? A drink of water?”

“What? No…Gavin, take me back to the beach. I have to call…”

“No, you don’t. I’ve already handled that. I told you I’d take care of everything, so just relax. When we get to the hotel, I’ll explain everything, okay? We’ll be there in a few minutes.”

Though he looked like he wanted to protest, Tucker let his head fall back against the seat and closed his eyes. He was still badly shaken. Ten minutes later, Gavin was unlocking his hotel room door and taking Tucker inside, a strong arm wrapped around his waist to support him. He threw his keys on the dresser and led Tucker toward a small sofa by the window. “Have a seat, baby.”

Tucker sat down hesitantly, glancing over at Gavin. “I shouldn’t have come. I really need to call someone—call Bryson. He’ll be worried and…” He gestured vaguely at the darkened window. “It’s getting late.”

“You just got here, baby. Have a seat and rest for few minutes.”

“Well, maybe for a few minutes, and then I’ll have to ask you to take me to the station.” Tucker’s tone, though still friendly, had become firm and a little stern, even though his eyes were still crossed and spacey. Gavin smiled a bit to himself as he sat down. His mate was bossy. Cute. Very cute. Or was it? He’d been a little amused by Tucker’s attitude, but now he could see he may have a real problem on his hands.

His mate actually believed he was in charge. Gavin’s alpha wolf reared its head inside him and growled softly, wanting to exert its dominance. Tucker was his pet and his mate, and he would have to get used to the idea. His wolf wanted very badly to show him exactly who the most dominant one in the room was, but he restrained himself. Tucker had already been through too much tonight. He folded his hands in his lap and watched Tucker carefully. Having his mate so close and so vulnerable was tempting. Too damn tempting, and he needed to get control over himself.

Gavin gestured toward the small hotel refrigerator. “Can I get you a beer?”

“No thanks. I don’t really drink that much.”

“That’s right. You shouldn’t anyway, after hitting your head. I have juice—or water.”

“No thank you, I’m fine. Talk to me, Gavin, please. Tell me what happened. What was that? Did I just imagine…”

“You didn’t imagine anything, honey. That creature really was about to kill you. I got to you just in time.”

“Creature? Wait a minute, what do you mean you got there in time? You? But…no, that can’t be right. There were some kind of animals. They were huge and came out of nowhere. One grabbed me from behind with its teeth and threw me down the beach.”