Page 32 of Jacob

“How am I supposed to know?They won’t talk to me.”

No one was moving, and Tony had had enough.They’d found the panda.They were supposed to take care of the poor shifter, and while he understood why the others were wary, it was his job to help and protect the inhabitants of Green Hill.The panda might have been living in the woods, but Tony still considered them one of the people he was supposed to protect.

He stepped around Jacob, ignoring the strangled sound his mate made as he crouched in front of the panda.He wasn’t sure what to do, but he offered the panda his hand so that the shifter could sniff him and get a better idea of who he was.

“Hi.My name is Tony, and I’m the sheriff in Green Hill.I’m also this man’s mate,” he said, pointing back in the general direction in which Jacob was standing.“I’m not here to hurt you.I’m just worried about you, and I brought you food and a blanket.Would you like something to eat?”

At the mention of food, the panda perked up.They still kept an arm hooked around Taylor’s leg, but they straightened and reached for Tony with their free paw.Tony quickly dropped the backpack between them and opened it.Since the panda wasn’t shifting, they didn’t need the blanket, so he ignored it and started taking out the food.

From what they’d been able to find out, the panda had been relying on the food they were getting from people’s trash cans and an odd meal or two they could steal, like the pie.Since Tony hadn’t known how long they would be walking around the forest, he’d prepared sandwiches and things that would keep in his backpack.

He offered the panda a sandwich after taking it out of the container.The panda hesitated only for a moment before snatching it from Tony’s hand and stuffing it into their mouth.Tony almost laughed, but he could tell how hungry the panda was.“You should slow down,” he said gently.“I have more sandwiches, and I don’t want you to make yourself sick.I know you must be hungry, but trust me, you don’t want to eat too quickly.You’re going to throw everything up if you do, and I don’t think that’s what you want.”

Tony half expected the panda to ignore him, but when they took the second sandwich Tony offered, they ate it more slowly as if they were listening to him.

Tony smiled.“Good.Now, you already know that the man you’re clinging to is Taylor and that he’s a tiger shifter.Gal is the alpha, and he’s a bear shifter.Dennis and Christopher, well, I don’t have to explain to you what they are, and the last man is Jacob, my mate.He’s a tiger shifter, too.”

Tony knew that the panda had already been told all their names, but he thought it would be a nice gesture to introduce themselves again.Maybe it would push the panda into shifting back to their human form.Tony couldn’t even tell if they were male or female.They were too curled up, and honestly, he’d have no idea where to start looking when it came to pandas.Even more than that, it would be incredibly rude to examine a shifter like that.

The panda didn’t shift.They finished their sandwich, then held out their paw for a third one.Instead of giving them one, Tony offered them a bottle of water.It took a little maneuvering, but the panda managed to stick the bottle into his mouth and drink all of it at once.

They were cautious when they held out the empty bottle.Tony didn’t think they were a danger to anyone except maybe themselves if they refused to come along, and he wasn’t sure they would.They seemed to have taken a shine to Taylor, and Tony suspected that if Taylor asked, the panda would follow him anywhere.

Gal cleared his throat.“As I mentioned earlier, I’m the alpha of the pride you were around recently.Would you like to come back with us?You can have a shower, more food, and sleep in a bed.We won’t expect any payment from you for any of it, so you don’t have to worry about not being able to afford it.We just want to make sure that you’re safe and that you have everything you need.”

The panda wrapped both of their arms around Taylor’s leg again.

Taylor looked slightly uncomfortable, but he didn’t push the panda away or argue.He allowed them to do what they were comfortable with, even though he wasn’t.

It was sweet, and it reminded Tony of how good a deputy Taylor was.

“Maybe if you talk to them?”Tony suggested.

Taylor nodded and gingerly reached down to touch the panda’s head.“I’m a member of Gal’s pride, and I promise that he won’t hurt you.We just want to help you.”

Tony wasn’t surprised when the panda slowly let go of Taylor’s leg.They didn’t go far, but it was enough for Taylor to be able to walk.

Tony got to his feet and picked up everything he’d taken out of his backpack.Hopefully, they were about to get answers.

Chapter Six

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THEY’D FOUND THE PANDAtwo days ago, and they still didn’t have answers.

It was frustrating, to say the least.It was so frustrating that Jacob suspected he would’ve been climbing the walls if it wasn’t for Tony’s presence distracting him.When he wasn’t thinking about the panda, he was thinking about his mate, and Tony was averygood distraction.

Except when he had to work, which was most of the day.Jacob had work to do, too, but with the panda safely in pride territory, there once again wasn’t much for him to do.He’d been thinking about what Gal had said about his work helping the rest of the pride sleep better at night, but he still wasn’t convinced.

He didn’t think he could continue being a guard for the pride, no matter how that made others feel.Thinking about doing this for the next few decades made him want to scream.He loved the pride, and he never wanted anyone who belonged to it to feel unsafe, but he was done with all of this.He wanted another job, something that would make him feel useful.

But he wasn’t going anywhere for now.Taylor hadn’t been going anywhere, either.He’d had to take a few days off because the panda wouldn’t let him out of their sight.The panda had arrived at the pride house the day before yesterday, and they still hadn’t allowed anyone but the people who’d been in the forest with them anywhere close.They hadn’t left Taylor’s side and had resisted Taylor’s gentle push to shift back so they could take a shower.

Right now, Jacob was glad he didn’t have an outside job.It meant he could stick around the room where the panda was staying and keep an eye on them and Taylor.He didn’t believe that the panda was dangerous, but there was no way to know what would happen.Taylor was getting frustrated, and more often than not, that led to impulsive decisions he sometimes regretted.Considering he was dealing with a massive panda shifter, Taylor needed to think about what he was doing.

That was easier said than done.

Jacob’s phone vibrated, and he looked down to see that Tony had texted him.He grinned when he read the text.

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