Damaged Billionaire Daddy Bear - Leela Ash

Chapter 1

“Boys, the shit’s about to hit the fan!” Connor Phillips announced in his deep gravelly voice that made him sound a lot older than he really was. No one in the room was surprised at how rough and coarse his voice was; he claimed that constantly shooting fire from his mouth in his dragon-shifter form had ruined his voice box beyond repair. No one bothered to let him know that he actually yelled plenty enough in his human form to explain away that particular affliction.

“Connor—” Theodore Cooper began calmly, his green eyes resigned.

But Connor shook his head, not letting Theodore get a word in. “Listen, Teddy, I’m right, and you know it. Exotic Rescue is the only home we’ve all known for years. It’s the one place we come to and are safe; and now, you wanna open it up to a bunch of scientists we don’t know? Are you kidding? What if they find out our secret? I mean, they’re scientists! Isn’t that what they do … poke and prod and pry?”

Michael Bennet looked up, his strange-colored, pure gold eyes gleaming as he muttered, “He’s got a point. When were you going to tell us about this, Teddy?”

Theodore Cooper looked up at the five men he trusted with his own life. Like him, they were all shifters and they had been his best friends, for as long as he could remember. Heck, they were more than best friends; they were bound by a sacred and ancient bond, and now, they were brothers. He was a bear, Connor was the dragon, Michael a wolf, Jonathan a black puma, Darryl a tiger, and Justin a lion shifter. All six of them formed the Exotic Pack, a group bound by loyalty, love and years of being hunted down for what they were – or seeing others of their kind have nowhere to turn. Every last one of them would lay down their lives in a heartbeat for the other, he knew, but they also tended to fight a whole lot more among themselves these days, he thought with an inward sigh.

They all probably just needed to … No, he thought, cutting off that perhaps inappropriate train of thought.

“Why so quiet, man? Tell us what you’re thinking,” Connor growled.

Darryl chuckled, mischief glinting in his eyes as he easily picked up the train of thought Theodore had discarded with his mind reading abilities. “He’s thinking we probably all just need to get laid. I, for one, like the way you think, Teddy.”

Theodore glared at Darryl before responding to Michael’s question. “The rest of the world thinks Exotic Rescue is only an animal sanctuary. But everyone in this room knows the truth: it’s really a place for our kind to come and heal,” he reminded them. “We care about animals, sure, but they are really just a front.”

Justin Turner shrugged, “You’re stating the obvious, Teddy, which is why we are concerned that you cannot see the danger in creating an exchange program and inviting outsiders into our home. We can’t afford the scrutiny, especially not up close and personal. It would only take a careless slip up and we could be found out.”

Theodore’s green eyes gleamed as he steeped his fingers beneath his chin, authority radiating from every line of his slim frame. “I can still hear the screams as they burned 113 shifters to death and called it justice. I buried every last one of them with my bare hands. I can still see my mother and my sisters; lifeless, forever, and unable to say a word. I can still smell their blood. Believe me when I tell you, I haven’t forgotten,” he finished frostily.

“Ted—” Connor began in a raw voice.

“But maybe you have,” Theodore cut in savagely. “Maybe you have forgotten that, all those years ago, so many of our kind were wiped out because people grew suspicious of us. Maybe you have forgotten that a rogue vampire clan killed a lot of humans all over Florida and blamed it on shifters. Maybe you have forgotten how humans react when they are scared.”

Connor’s breathing was coming harsh and shallow as he surged to his feet. Angry red darkened his cheeks as he glared at his friend from across the table.

“How dare you say that to me?” Connor grated. “You think you need to remind me of the past? My past?”

Theodore climbed smoothly to his own feet, too , as unperturbed as though he were merely discussing a business deal. It was in moments