Page 32 of No Strings Attached

Sam turned and looked at Dr. Baldwin. “You weren’t surprised that Morgan is a shifter. Are you one, too?”

The doctor nodded. “I’m a lion shifter, Sam. Most of our kind are engrained in your world. All we want is a normal life. Not everyone is like the one who attacked you. The wires in his brain are crossed, just like the wires can be in the brains of humans who act that way. I promise you that Morgan cares deeply for you.”

Sam looked back at the ceiling, knowing deep down that Morgan cared. “I heard him say I was his mate, that fate handpicked me for him.”

The doctor sighed. “It goes much deeper than that and encompasses so much more.”

“Like what?” Sam asked as he looked at the ceiling, wondering if this was the room he’d had last time. He was pretty sure it was because the crack in the corner looked familiar.

“Morgan should be explaining this to you, but since you’re trying to make sense of this, trying to cope, I’ll tell you that mates have a connection deeper than any human can experience with another human. You are drawn to each other no matter how hard you fight against it. I don’t believe so much that you were picked for Morgan. I believe fate thought you need Morgan as much as he needs you.”

So why wasn’t Morgan there? As messed up as Sam was right now, trying to sort through some unbelievable things, he ached inside to have Morgan with him. It felt as if a part of him was missing.

“If you’d sealed your bond with him, you would have healed at a much more rapid rate,” the doctor said. “No one knows everything that takes place during a mating, but we do know that preternatural pass along their healing abilities if their mate is human. It’s nature’s way of ensuring that our mates live as long as we do.”

Sam frowned as he looked at the guy. “How long is that?”

“Depends,” Dr. Baldwin said. “I don’t know how old Morgan is, but shifters live for over five hundred years, if not longer. You won’t have to worry about aging like a human does. You also won’t have to worry about things like heart disease or cancer since you’ll have the ability to heal.”

The guy was talking in a soothing voice, which Sam appreciated as he listened, trying his best to absorb so much information. “The guy who attacked me. He had claws and sharp teeth. Is he a shifter?”

“It sounds like it,” Dr. Baldwin said. “Shifters like him give us a bad name. I would love nothing more than to get him on my operating table and crack his damn skull open. I’m just sorry your first experience of our world was so traumatic, Sam. But I’ll tell you this.” He leaned closer. “When Morgan brought you in the first time, he demanded to be in your room. I’ve also never seen a shifter panic the way he did when he brought you to my clinic.”

“For tiny drops of blood.”

Dr. Baldwin smiled. “Yes. I honestly thought I would have to sedate him or resort to a couple of smacks to the face.” He tapped Sam’s arm. “Shifters are very protective of their mates because they’re a rare find. They’re also very possessive of them. The only reason he didn’t kill me for touching you was because I’m your doctor and I doubt he knows how to stitch.”

“Then where is he?” Sam asked.

“In the hallway, afraid you don’t ever want to see him again. He’s also worried he’ll cause you more mental anguish if he comes in here. I’ve known Deputy Morgan Savani for some years now, and he’s always been cool and calm, nothing but pure alpha male. With you?” The doctor smiled. “You’ve knocked him on his ass.”

Sam hadn’t known the deputy before they’d met in the hospital. Morgan had been reserved at first, but after getting to know him, it hurt to think of not having Morgan in his life. “Can you send him in?”

The doctor nodded and stood.

“And thank you for sitting with me and helping me cope with this.”

The doctor patted his arm. The guy did that a lot. “You’re more than welcome, Sam.”

When the doctor left, Sam stared at the light fixture above him. Moments later the door opened again. When no one came near his bed, Sam looked and saw Morgan standing just inside the door.

“How’re you feeling?” Morgan asked.

“Not so groggy this time. You can sit. I won’t bite.”

Morgan crossed the room and lowered his large frame into the chair. “I was surprised you wanted to see me.”

“Because Daryl traumatized me.”

He knew Morgan wasn’t being himself when he didn’t comment on finding out Daryl’s name. Sam had to set aside what Daryl had done to him if he and Morgan stood a chance. As terrifying as all this was, Sam couldn’t deny how he felt toward the deputy.

He had thought he was insane for the way he felt about Morgan, but now Sam knew why, though it still blew his mind.

When he reached out, Morgan took his hand. “I’m not going to lie and say I’ve processed all this.”

“I would be shocked if you had.” Morgan slid his thumb over the back of Sam’s hand.

“But I know you’re not anything like Daryl. You have more compassion and caring in your pinky than he has in his entire body. So…” Sam blew out a breath. “I want to give this a try. Don’t hide anything from me, Morgan. If we’re going to be together for the next five hundred years, I want to see every side of you.”

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