Shifting the Night Away

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This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

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His Bear Necessity

M/M Paranormal Shifter Romance

Artemis Wolffe and Wednesday Raven

Chapter One

"It was meant to be a simple night jog through the forest. A way to clear my head and to help me sleep. As my feet pounded out a rhythm on the moss-laden trails, a piercing pain went through my foot. I stopped and leaned next to a tree to catch my breath and check on my foot. Nothing out of the ordinary found, I chalked it up to a muscle cramp. I heard twigs snapping all around me and assumed it was forest creatures or the wind rustling through the limbs. Back then I was not a fearful person. It was that moment I felt hands come from behind me and grab on to my body. My mouth was covered by a hand housed in a leather glove that tasted faintly of lemon oil. The other hand ripped the back of my pants, exposing me to the night air. I stayed frozen in place; still as I could be except for the tremble in my legs.

I could smell his stench. The faint scent of cigarettes and cheap whiskey clung to him. I could hear his belt buckle undo and clatter to his knees as he went to free himself from the confines of his pants. For a few moments he rubbed himself along the taunt fabric of my jogging pants. While his hand never waivered from my mouth, the other was a flurry of movements yanking my underwear low enough to slide himself along the curves of my ass before thrusting it up to hold my throat for good measure.

His tongue licked my ear and he whispered vile things I won't repeat here no matter how much you say it is a 'safe zone'. Therapy or not, there are some things that aren't going to be uttered within these walls, Doctor.

I had just felt his hardness find my opening and start to penetrate me without any lubrication when I heard a low, guttural sound from behind. I couldn't see what was going on at first. I felt him let go and when I turned to see what was happening, that's when I saw it. My attacker laid there bleeding from deep claw-like incisions. I tried to scream but couldn't. It was then I saw it running away, something that should not be in a city park."

"And what did you see, Lance?"

"A bear. A large grizzly bear was running from the scene with bloody claws. It was then that I passed out."

Dr. William Stevens took a few moments before ending his new client's session. The young man had looked different that evening, but now that he had recounted the event that had cemented his inability to connect with men, he could see it was one and the same. Could he continue to counsel him knowing that he was the bear that saved him that night?

He looked over his case notes.
Lance Jacobs, 26, virgin homosexual due to violent sexual attempt, unable to sustain touch from another male.

"Well now Lance, this seems a great time to stop. We will go over how this has affected you and ways that we can use it to move through the trauma at our next session."

He tried to sound as professional as he had before, but this was one event he'd wish had stayed buried forever. Not only had he shifted in public, he had used brute force to maim another person permanently. For weeks after the event the papers had made the injured man all but a hero, not the perpetrator of a sexual assault. Just thinking about it made the Doctor queasy.

"Thank you, Doctor. I'm looking forward to feeling normal again. To be able to date. To lose the nightmares. To be able to touch another man again without the panic attacks. I appreciate you opening up your calendar for my weekly Friday appointment; I know how busy you are."
And not to mention famous for fixing even the most broken people
, he thought.

He watched Lance pay his receptionist, throw a little wave his way, and step out into the bright sunlight. He was his last appointment of the day and had only a simple webcam chat session with a Fortune 500 CEO who needed weekly pep talks to stay faithful to his wife. The one time Dr. Stevens failed to provide a cam session to him, which coincided to the two weeks he took off after the park incident, his client had went through six prostitutes.

It was not the life that William thought he'd have, but one that was difficult to walk away from. He'd started his psychiatry career in hopes of genuinely helping people with their difficulties and now he was a dog and pony show for his Brand. Webinars, books, late night infomercials and endorsement deals all paved his way to becoming a multi-billionaire. Still, it was shallow work most days, as his prostitute-loving CEO client showed.

It was those rare cases like Lance that made it all worthwhile. He toyed with the thought of giving up his image and go back to a simple office seeing patients. It was a pipe-dream really, as everyone had seen his face and heard his motivational speeches. He'd come too far to be able to slide back into obscurity.

He sat and looked over his notes on Lance's case.
Mr. Jacobs certainly has matured in the interim between the assault and his coming to see me.
His hair had grown a bit gray despite his age and his face was harsher than it had been that night in the park, but he was every bit as handsome.

He thought of the incident from years ago. He couldn't help but notice him earlier as he jogged past him. He was stunning and William had almost got up the courage to go find him to introduce himself. He'd walked a bit and let his bear track him. When he saw hum held by that man, when he realized what the man was attempting to do to him, his bear had shifted out before William could stop it. Afterwards, he knew he'd lost his chance at meeting him properly.

While he professionally applauded Lance's strength and character that drove him to survive the attack as it replayed in his mind, he couldn't help but wonder what would have happened had he not been there. Did he worsen the memory or improve it? Did he harbor more pain and terror from the man who attacked him or the bear that nearly killed his attacker?

Questions for another session
, he thought, as he continued to jot down his thoughts and feelings about him.

Chapter Two

The following Thursday, William ducked into a local coffee shop that was mostly frequently by the younger crowd. College kids roamed about leeching off the free Wi-Fi and survived off the endless caffeine. It was one of the few places where the majority of people didn't recognize him, or did and didn't care. He ordered a bagel and a soy latte and found a quiet table out of the way. He wanted to get some research in before his next appointment with Lance, who was due in the next day.

Deep in the middle of case files and notebooks, he wasn't paying much attention to people coming and going until he caught a familiar scent. Sage with hints of lemongrass, the same scent that Lance wore to his session. His head immediately snapped up to scan the room. There in line, the second person back was Lance.

He'd worn a blue button-up shirt, pressed and neat, with a pair of linen trousers and looked effortless in his casual style. His glasses were sliding down one side of her face, leaving an uneven appearance. William smiled at it.

He took his drink, some fruity frozen concoction, and turned to find an open spot to sit when he noticed the doctor and waved. He scurried to get his files together and out of the way before he noticed them.

"Hey there Dr. Stevens," he said, standing beside the open chair.

"Hey there Lance, please sit down if you'd like," he waved his hand toward the seat.

They sat there making idle small talk until their drinks were empty. Relaxed and at ease around him, William realized that this may border on ethics impropriety. He'd have to talk to someone to see what was allowed and what wasn't with patients. While he knew relationships were offenses that could get him barred, were friendships included in that?

"So tomorrow is another session," William began.

"Yes, I was a bit anxious about it actually, that's why I got out of the house and came here." William could see the nervous twitching as Lance's knee bobbed up and down while he sat.

"Why did it make you anxious? I try to make each session an open and safe experience, it shouldn't cause you fear."

He was troubled. Were some of his lackadaisical approaches to his celebrity clients bleeding in to his cases where there was real hope and promise?

"No, it wasn't so much that as it was.... well the first session was so deep for me. I hadn't told anyone everything that happened after the police thought I was crazy. I'm a bit worried how vulnerable I'll be at the next sitting; what things will come to the surface. Is that silly, Doctor?"

"Not silly at all. Many people fear opening themselves up to any experience. They feel more at ease behind their walls. But Lance, opening yourself up and taking chances is what Life is. Don't fear that, embrace it."

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