Shifted Plans

by Brandy Walker

  The woman sat there, in the same class as him, and would be for the foreseeable future.

  After his background check, he’d taken the liberty of deciding they could wait to meet. He would be up in Mischief before she would. He could find a place for them and get settled in. Then he would find a way to run into her. It shouldn’t be too difficult since her family ran the only clinic in town.

  He cringed as he realized the ramifications of what he had done. It would be too much to hope she wouldn’t find out about him doing the background check. He’d taken a calculated risk. Braved playing with the Fates’ timeline and would likely pay for it in the form of one pissed-off mate.

  A grin kicked up the corner of his mouth. He would enjoy cajoling her into a better mood. He could start with her beautiful face…placing kisses on her eyes, nose, cheeks, and jaw before claiming her mouth. After she surfaced from his assault on her lips, dazed and completely under his spell, he would work his way down her body. Kissing, licking, and nipping every inch of her skin. Run his teeth along the column of her neck. Laving the spot at the base near her shoulder where he would place his first mark.

  Declan shifted in his seat, trying as best he could to relieve the discomfort in his pants. If he stood up now, everyone would get an eyeful of how turned on he was and incorrectly guess it the reason why. He loved the law but not that damn much. He chuckled and focused on the instructor.

  The professor rattled off a bit more information, and Declan hoped Mark got it all. He would have to hit his friend up later to find out what big projects or assignments needed to be completed.

  Or, I can ask my mate.

  The thought tumbled through his head and, as much as he’d resisted earlier, knowing Avery was his mate grew on him and pleasantly so. Granted, he still had his ten-year plan in place, and he hoped he could convince her they could wait before the actual mating ceremony. He wanted to finish up in River Rock and get settled in Mischief. It would definitely be easier for both of them since she would be living there as well. It would all come together with time. They only needed to be patient.

  Students began gathering their things, pulling Declan from thoughts of his future. A quick check found Avery talking to the teacher. Hurriedly, he grabbed his notebook, hustling to the front, hoping to catch her before she left.

  Making it to the bottom of the stairs, Declan ran into a roadblock of giggling girls surrounding two men. He stopped, frustration overriding him as his mate slipped out the door without a backward glance.

  “Shit!” he exclaimed harshly. “Excuse me,” he grunted, grabbing first one girl in his path then another and placing them straight into the arms of the men they were flirting with.

  “Thanks, man,” one of them said, a grin lighting up his face.

  “Sure,” Declan mumbled. He made his way to Avery’s vacant seat. Inhaling deeply, his senses reeled as the soft, lingering floral scent enveloped him. He placed his hand on her chair, and the warmth her body left behind seeped into his skin.

  Mate. Mine! The lion roared.

  “Yeah, I hear ya. We have a plan though.”

  “Talking to yourself again, Weller.” Mark sauntered up next to him, shaking his head.

  “Save it, Stevens. The last thing I want to hear is I told you so.” Going out the door and into the hallway, Declan followed Avery’s floral scent. Weaving between students, he tracked her until he ended up in a courtyard. There, he lost her trail amongst the garden of flowers and water features.

  People lounged all over the area in various stages of undress. A panther appeared on his right, slowly prowling past him. Flicking its tail to and fro. A spotted leopard, lounging on a bench, pounced on top of the panther, and the two tore off through the courtyard chasing each other.

  It was a Felidae Sanctum, one of the places feline shifters could go between classes and hang out, relax, shifted or not. All of the shifters had their own courtyards where they could be with others of their kind. It cut down on friction between the various species.

  Declan gave a cursory inspection throughout but didn’t see her. Along with the information in the background check, there had been pictures of her and her family in human and feline form. He’d scrutinized them enough to know what she would look like in either form.

  Beautiful. Sexy. A soft, golden coat of fur his lion wanted to press up against. Rubbing the length of his body along and feel her affection in return.

  “You go right. I’ll go left. Meet me at the other side.”

  Declan knew Mark would be there, backing him up. His partner nodded, heading off in his assigned direction.

  Quickly but thoroughly, Declan searched the garden area until he ended up at the entrance opposite where he had come in. He didn’t find a sign or scent of Avery anywhere.

  “Sorry, man. I didn’t see her. You’re going to have to wait until tomorrow I guess.”

  “Yeah, looks that way.” To all outward appearances, Declan hoped he exuded a calm and unbothered exterior because inside he was a mess. His lion protested, bemoaning the loss of his mate, blaming the human side for being slow. His human side didn’t fare any better. To be so close to her and not be able to touch her affected him more than he imagined it would. He thought he could control the urges finding his mate invoked. How very wrong he was.

  Chapter Five

  Avery rushed through the Felidae Sanctum as quickly as she could. She had no idea if her mate would follow her. Didn’t honestly think he would. Just in case though, she moved her ass through campus, bobbing and weaving between her fellow felines. She didn’t want him to find her so he could tell her to her face he wasn’t interested. Talk about humiliating.

  Rounding the corner of Gamma Liontari Phi, she ran smack dab into Reese, knocking both of them back.

  At the end of class, Avery had sent a frantic 911 message, telling her friend they needed to meet. Reese suggested the sorority since it happened to be a midway point for both of them.

  “What’s wrong?” Reese asked, hooking her arm through Avery’s to pull her through the front door.

  “It’s him.” Avery pulled away from Reese, dropped her bag to the floor, and started pacing the entrance hall. It wasn’t unusual for a sorority member to bring a guest into the house, but she’d never felt comfortable there. Never wanted to venture farther into the house unless she absolutely had to. Some of the girls came across as snobby and downright rude. Thought they were well above the rest of the feline population, even though they came from the same roots. She didn’t need their crazy shit right now.

  Reese moved to the stairs, sitting down out of Avery’s way. “What’s him?”

  “He’s in my first class of the day. I can’t do it. I can’t keep going to class with him there. It’s humiliating.” She flung her hand out to the side, knocking it into a vase full of flowers.

  Reese jumped up and caught the vase, replacing it carefully on the entryway table. “Who’s in your first class?”

  Avery groaned. “The guy from Chugs. The one whose scent I smelled and my lioness freaking stood up and noticed. You remember me telling you about it, right? I thought I scented him, but couldn’t be sure ’cause I never found him, and then I decided it was my mind playing tricks on me. Well, surprise! Not true,” she said, her voice getting louder and louder as panic filled her. “My damn mate was in my Law and Ethics class and, come to find out, isn’t interested in me at all. He spent the morning glaring at me like it was my fault we were mates.” She spun to face Reese. “I didn’t ask for this either. I decided over the summer to concentrate on school. To not worry about finding my mate, and enjoy this last year. You’re right; there’s plenty of time later for mating, setting up a home, and having babies. I have plans. Plans that don’t involve a mate who hates me on sight.”

  Reese held up her hands in surrender. “Whoa there. I’m not the one with the problem with you. Besides, how do you know he isn’t interested? Maybe he’s shy and has a hard time approaching women.”

&nb
sp; Avery rolled her eyes. As if. “He’s a River Rock cop. I don’t think you can be shy with that kind of job. A lot of people interaction.”

  Reese’s eyes rounded, her mouth making a perfect O. “Oh, he’s one of the guys I texted about? Which one? The yummy blond with the broad shoulders and tight ass? No—the redhead! Oh wait. Say it wasn’t the redhead. I adore a gingers and might want to take a bite out of him. I, of course, won’t if he’s your mate. My God, they were all so cute. You’re lucky to have any of them.”

  “Reese!” Avery couldn’t believe her friend was more interested in which guy and not the fact he rejected her. “He rejected me. Didn’t try to talk to me. Didn’t go all caveman on me and drag me out of there. All that shit we were told growing up? It’s bullshit. He didn’t do any of it. He only glared.”

  Reese snapped out of the dazed, lust-filled look on her face. “Oh, Av, honey, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to get carried away.” Reese picked up Avery’s bag, grabbed keys off a hook, and pulled her outside. They made their way to the parking lot next to the sorority and got in Reese’s car. Ten minutes later, they headed up the stairs of the townhouse, Avery blindly following her friend.

  She couldn’t believe it.

  Still! Even with time to process what happened.

  He didn’t want her. The thought played a continuous loop in her head. She couldn’t explain his behavior any other way.

  When Avery’s younger sister, Marjorie, found her mate at eighteen, it was all the family could do to keep Kevin from whisking her away before she graduated high school. Two years older than Marjorie, Kevin couldn’t bear to be apart from her. A couple of nights of him prowling their front yard in lion form had been enough to convince her parents he should move in.

  Once Marjorie graduated, she and Kevin had their mating ceremony and moved into an apartment. Even now, two years into their relationship, Kevin couldn’t stand to be away from her sister for more than a day. He devoted all his time to her when he could, wanted to be with her day and night. He constantly bought her flowers and other tokens of his love and affection.

  Avery always thought when she found her mate he would treat her the same way. She assumed he would want to be with her and never leave her side once they were together. But from the looks of things, she wouldn’t get her dream mating. It pained her to admit her mate appeared disappointment.

  When they reached the third floor, Reese guided Avery to the couch, forcing her to sit down. “You’re taking the rest of the day off. It’s only the first day. If your professors are anything like mine, they’ll be talking about expectations and handing out the syllabus. You can get it tomorrow.”

  “I forgot to go to my advisor and change my schedule,” Avery mumbled. Searching her pockets, she found her phone and scrolled through the numbers. She knew sure she had her advisor’s number programmed in.

  Before she could find it, Reese plucked the device from her fingers. “I’ll take care of it. Kick off your shoes and shimmy out of those jeans. You need something comfy.”

  Standing, numbness flooded her body as did what she’d been told. Reese disappeared into the bedroom coming out a few seconds later a look of horror on her face. “What in the hell happened?”

  Rushing over, Reese knelt in front of her, poking her leg. Looking down Avery saw what the fuss was about. There were four puncture wounds on her right thigh, all in a neatly curved row. The dark, bloody gouges stood out against her white flesh, looking worse than they felt. “It happened when he walked into class. My lion wanted to go after him. Wanted me to shift and lure his lion out.”

  “Oh, Avery. They look terrible. Stay right there. I’ll get something to clean them up with.”

  “It’s okay, Reese. They don’t hurt.”

  “Yeah, well, if you don’t get some wound-care ointment on them, they’ll get infected and scar.”

  Avery shrugged. “I doubt anyone will notice or care. The one person I would get naked for doesn’t want me, and the possibility of me wanting to strip down for anyone else is slim to none at this point. Not when I….” Avery gulped and swallowed the lump of emotion welling in her throat. “Not when I know I’m not good enough for the one person who is supposed to want me unconditionally and fall in love me.”

  Reese threw up her hands. “Okay, I’ve had enough. Here.” She handed Avery a pair of pink fuzzy bottoms. “Put them on and sit.”

  Avery did as she’d been told. Once settled on the couch again, Reese took the other end.

  “I get it. He didn’t react to finding his mate, to finding you, how you always dreamed. That shit happens. Things don’t go as planned. Maybe something is going on with him. Maybe he’s the one with the problem, not you. You can’t honestly believe all males go caveman and drag their mates away the second they see them. We’re all different, honey. The way we look. The way we smell. The way we eat, think, and drink. It isn’t a stretch of the mind to get to behaving differently when we find our mates. Hell, if mine walked up to me right now declaring his undying love and devotion, there’s a good chance I would punch him in the face.”

  “No, you wouldn’t.”

  “Yes. I would. I have shit I want to do, just like you. Plans and dreams that don’t include a mate. Would I get over it? Probably. But at first, I would be disappointed my time had been cut short, and I had to move on to the next phase of my life before I got to do everything I wanted. I would hope whoever this mysterious mate of mine is, he would understand and give me the time I need. Now, I’m not saying we can’t have some fun in the meantime. Spend some time finding out about each other in and out of the sheets, if you know what I mean.”

  A chuckle escaped Avery, and it felt good. There was a chance she was being a bit harsh on her mate. “Oh, my God, I don’t even know his name.” Avery smacked her forehead with her hand.

  “Didn’t you pay attention when the professor went through roll call?”

  “No. I was too upset and trying to get through class. I’m not sure I responded to my own name.”

  “You crack me up. Listen. I’m going to call your advisor and see if I can get your schedule switched. That is…if you still want me to.” Reese looked at her questioningly, left eyebrow raised, hopeful look on her face.

  Avery wouldn’t change her mind. Better to be safe than sorry. “Do it, just in case. I don’t think I can deal with the drama if he ends up saying no in the end and I’m stuck in class with him for the semester.”

  Disappointment washed briefly over Reese’s face. “No problem. Why don’t you go lie down? Maybe a little sleep will help you feel better. I’ll hang out and watch some TV.”

  Avery hesitated. She wanted her friend there. She didn’t want to be alone, but she didn’t want Reese to miss her own classes. “What about your classes?”

  “My next one isn’t for a couple of hours. I have plenty of time.”

  “Okay.” Avery leaned across the couch and hugged her friend. “Thanks, Reese. I don’t know what I would do without you.”

  “You’ll never have to find out. Best friends forever.”

  Reese held out her pinky. Avery hooked it with her own. “Best friends forever.” She got up and went to her bedroom.

  A couple hours later, a noise from downstairs awakened Avery. Some of the girls must be back from their classes.

  Rolling over in the bed, she reached for her phone on the nightstand, and a piece of paper crumpled beneath her palm. Picking it up, she smoothed the edges and read the note.

  Avery,

  If I know you like I do, you’re going to question everything we talked about a million times over. I love that about you, but not in this case. One of the first things they teach us at the sorority is “when in doubt, text it out.” Give it a try. They’ll always give you the help you need in the form you need it.

  555-ROAR

  Call me later…

  Reese

  ROAR. Could they really help in this situation? Her parents had made sure she knew about the hotline an
d how to get hold of them if she needed them. Every shifter knew about them. The mysterious pair who ran it would always help a shifter in need, regardless of shifter type and regardless of the request. Sometimes, a shifter needed a safe place to hunt, or they were new to a city and needed a place to meet and mingle with others. They had even been known to send a taxi to someone stranded. ROAR should be able to give her something she needed—advice.

  Advice she desperately craved from an outside source. Avery didn’t feel she could talk to her parents about her mate issue. They taught her what she knew. They wouldn’t be objective to the situation. And while Reese made a lot of sense, she wasn’t mated, had never experienced the feelings and emotions that went along with finding your mate and being rejected.

  Before she had a chance to think about it, Avery typed in the number for ROAR and her message.

  Need help. My mate has rejected me. What do I do?

  Placing her phone on the nightstand, she decided the best thing to do while she waited for a response would be to take a nice hot shower then grab a bite to eat.

  Throwing the covers off, she got out of bed. With one last glance at the phone, she grabbed a change of clothes and headed for the bathroom. Hopefully, it wouldn’t take too long to hear back.

  Chapter Six

  Declan showed up for class early the next day. Sitting down at the table Avery used the day before, he waited for her to show up, sure in his belief she would pick the same place to sit.

  Slowly, students filled the room, chatting and finding places to sit. Mark and the other officers came in. Mark raising an eyebrow in question to the change in seating but moving on without saying a word. He took a seat at the table close by. Whether out of habit from working together or so he could have a front row seat to what went down, Declan didn’t know.

  It wasn’t until the professor walked in that he figured out she wouldn’t be coming. The instinct to get up and find her rode him hard, the lion within restless and eager to leave. He fought it and stayed through the class. He didn’t hear a damn thing the professor said and made a mental note to ask Mark what the guy said during the lecture.