Sneak Peak Excerpt into Paytah's Pookie Bear

Never in his nearly eighty years of being a psychiatrist had Aidan Cranfield been so tempted to hit one of his patients. Yet there he sat listening to his patient once more try to lay all the fault of everything going wrong on Aidan’s mate, Paytah Zerr. It didn’t seem to matter to Evan that Paytah was lying in a coma.

Evan Ainsley, a Water Mystic, had to be one of the most narcissistic people he’d ever met. Okay, that might be a stretching things a bit, but he’d had it with the man. He was pretty sure Evan had never taken responsibility for anything in his life.

“I think if Paytah were to wake up he’d tell you, he was always the one to start our little arguments. I mean the guy just never knew when to control his mouth, ya know?” Evan was sitting in a chair facing the door of the room, refusing to even look at the man he was disparaging, even though Paytah was lying on his bed that took up a good portion of their room.

Aidan’s hand curled into a fist, willing himself to calm the simmering anger inside as the urge to hit Evan kept rising. “What about since he’s been in a coma. Who’s responsible for the fights you’ve gotten in with just about every person in this house?”

When Dr. Basil Riddick had first asked Aidan to come to the Latin Territory and help his friends, Aidan had been intrigued but too busy to accept. Basil was mated to one of the inner circle for the Latin Territory, Wyatt Klaegar. According to Basil, the Alpha, Talon Ramirez, and his entire inner circle were about to implode.

Aidan found the assignment he was doing for the Asian Territory was suddenly completed, so he called Basil and offered to fly there and see if he could be of help. Basil had been right, the team was imploding, especially since one of their own had been kidnapped.

“First of all they weren’t fights, at most they were arguments. Second of all, because Paytah refuses to wake up, we’ve all been under a lot of stress.” The smirk on Evan’s face told Aidan the man knew he was getting under Aidan’s skin. “Hence, it’s his fault.”

Regrettably Aidan was letting it happen. He should have known better, but since arriving in Juarez he’d been off his game. It had started when Basil had shown him to the room set aside for him.

There had been the most heavenly scent emanating from one of the rooms they’d passed. As a psychiatrist he was aware of mates, had even studied the phenomenon but never thought in a million years he’d find his own mate.

But instead of getting to meet the man that was supposed to be his other half, Aidan found out his mate, Paytah, was the one who’d been kidnapped by some sadistic fuck who got off on buying and selling others. Considering Paytah was a part of the Alpha’s inner circle it was doubtful Roger, the man who’d taken him, would have bother to try to sell Paytah.

No, instead Roger tortured Paytah before he would have kill him.

As a panda shifter, Aidan was usually a pacifist, not easily angered, but all of that had changed the day he’d found out his mate was missing. That Paytah had finally been rescued but his injuries had been so severe he’d been in a coma ever since, hadn’t helped Aidan’s anger.

Only the fact that Paytah’s friends had gone past imploding, straight into a black hole of despair and rage so profound, he was afraid there would be no more inner circle when his mate woke up, did Aidan finally agree to help. Not willing to be separated from Paytah for anything more than a walk to stretch his legs, Aidan insisted on having the counseling sessions with the individuals of the inner circle while he sat next to his mate.

He’d actually hoped hearing the nice things his friends had to say about him would help. That had been a big mistake as far as Evan was concerned. The man seemed to delight in tormenting Aidan by talking about every sexual escapade of Paytah’s. When he wasn’t doing that he would pick on Paytah, blaming him for everything, including still being in a coma.

“So you’re saying it is Paytay’s fault for you not being able to control yourself?” He was trying, he really was, but he wasn’t sure he’d ever be able to get through to the man.

Evan grinned. “Exactly. I’m glad you see things my way.”