A small body and a mighty soul send Misty into the arms of the man she rescued before she had seen him.
Misty is a hunter for the shifter Council who uses her small body to get into the cracks and crevices of prisons and habitats. She can go where others can’t and save those who had no other chance at freedom.
After her time with the Council, she is free to pursue a life of her own, and she heads to the Crossroads without hesitation. It takes three weeks before her mate arrives, and just as she is losing hope, she is asked to take him on a tour. It isn’t love at first sight because he has seen her before.
Samuel was captured and held in a collector’s habitat when a tiny creature landed on him and rode him to freedom. When that sugar glider turned into a stunning woman, he knew he was looking at his mate, but he was trapped in his feline form. Seeking her out became his goal and finding her was his great reward.
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Flying Fur
Copyright © 2014 Zenina Masters
ISBN: 978-1-4874-0111-5
Cover art by Carmen Waters
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher.
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Flying Fur
Shifting Crossroads Book 22
By
Zenina Masters
Chapter One
The collector was coming. It was now or never to get into position for the escape.
Misty looked at the shifters beneath her and hoped that her resemblance to a rodent didn’t shift their urges from escape to attack.
She was thirty metres in the air, tucked in the corner of an I-beam, waiting for the collector to complete his evening taunting of his acquisitions. Focusing on the cold of the metal, she let herself go dormant and her body stiffened. It would make her drop harder to manage, but she would not show up on his sweep.
Time slowed around her, and she locked up a moment before the magic swept over her body. Misty kept her mind calm and her body in torpor until the waves of energy passed and the elf down below had moved on.
She remained in position while the shifters below settled down for the night. The small, smug spot in her mind woke up and sneered when the elf returned and scanned the ceiling once again. Misty played dead, and when he was gone, she dropped silently through the air, making a slow corkscrew down into the cougar habitat to land on the back of the largest male in the pen.
She gripped his ears and pulled him toward the fence. His inwardly spiked collar didn’t shift as she tried to keep her balance. When he carried her past all the other curious noses with a few growls and swipes, she sighed and made the jump out of the habitat and back into her naked human form. She looked around, got to the keypad and opened the doors.
The habitats opened and the shifters walked free. After the first few rescues, it had been found that the blade collars were best left in position until a healer could be found to remove it.
She looked down at the beasts that were gathering around her. She asked the cougar, “Do you mind if I hitch a ride? We want to head out and keep left. The rest of the attack forces are on their way in now.”
He nodded and lowered his head.
Misty sighed and pushed the door open then quickly moved to straddle the cougar so climbing on him was easy. When she was in place, she tugged on his ears and the beasts started to run.
They kept left, and the sounds of shouts and confusion were coming from the main house. The shifters kept together and kept moving toward the guarded healers against the outer wall.
Misty hopped off her ride as he was released from the collar, and she asked him the question she needed an answer to. “Is there anyone inside the main house?”
He nodded slightly.
She cursed, grabbed a blade from the nearest guard and ran for the main house and the shouts of battle that were coming from within.
This was not her first rescue. She sprinted up the stairs and looked at the melee from a high vantage point. The chained cats were in a corner with one of their number lying, bleeding, on the floor. Another elf was closing in on them, and they growled and cowered away from the blades he carried.
Misty cursed, climbed to the railing and launched herself through the air, growing the gliding flap between her arms and legs in just enough time to slow her fall onto the back of the elf, blade first.
He groaned and fell, clawing at his back.
Misty released the chains and lifted the wounded leopard in her arms, carrying her out and to the healers with the others following in a close cluster.
Misty brought in the group, and the healers gathered around the panting and bloody leopard.
She wiped at the blood on her body, absently watching the attempts to save the life while those who were trapped waited patiently for their turn. Their lives were not at stake.
Sighing, Misty went to the wall where some of the newly human shifters were sitting.
“Can you breathe? Are you injured?” She asked the standard questions.
The man who had been her riding cougar smiled slightly, his face was grubby but it was the scarlet collar marks holding her attention. “Not injured. Better. Thank you.”
“You are welcome. This was the second biggest collection they have found to date. There will be therapy and recovery options given to you.” She nodded and smiled helpfully.
“You do this for a living?” He seemed appalled.
She held out her hand and wobbled it. “My family owes the Council, so we offer the services of one of our family at any given time. This is my rotation.”
He chuckled and leaned back. His eyes closed and he fell into the evenness of sleep.
She crept away and spoke with some of the hunters who were emerging from the house with elves in bindings.
“I am going to head back to base. Do you need anything else?”
The elf was staring at her with a dark look. His gaze almost scraped her as it went from toe to her bloody torso and up to her wild mass of tawny and black hair. “What are you?”
She shrugged. “Nothing that you need to concern yourself with.”
Misty Cliff stepped back and pressed the embedded crystal in her hand, transporting her back to the base where she could get a shower and some pants.
Roland, her guild master, asked her, “How did it go?”
“Same as usual. No one ever looks up. He did sense me on the first pass, so I think I need a stronger concealment charm, but the torpor mode kept him from thinking I was anything more than a dead rat.”
“You think you can use that technique again?”
“It has worked well so far. I will keep doing it until folks stop falling for it.” Misty was dressed again in a lovely floral sundress that floated
around her when she walked.
“When is your rotation over?”
She looked at her watch. “Two hours ago. Jenner is your next Cliff to work with. He’s pretty good, but he tends to focus on the pretty things. You will have to remind him to stay on mission.”
Roland grumped, “I don’t see why we can’t keep you.”
She smiled beatifically at him. “Because I have an appointment at the Crossroads. I leave tomorrow and will be back when I am back. My mom said that sugar gliders are hard to match.”
“Then why are you going to the Crossroads?”
She snorted. “Because sugar gliders are hard to match. I have been looking for a mate out here, but I tend to hop into an area and hop out again. This isn’t a solid means for finding a guy or at least having a second date. I am ready to try something else.”
“Would you go out with me?” Roland tried to look casual.
She smiled and shook her head. “I have thought about it, but you are married to the job for now and I am ready to find a mate and settle down. I have a hefty nest egg to start a life with a lucky fella, but now, I need to find him.”
He frowned. “You really think I work too much?”
“How many days out of the last ten have you been at work?”
“Uh, ten.”
“Then there is your answer. I was jumping into a pit full of teeth and claws and I still took a day off to get my nails done.”
Roland nodded. “I can see your point. Well, good luck on your mate hunt. I am sure he won’t know what hit him.”
Misty got to her feet, gave him a short salute and walked out of the boardroom with a sassy swing to her step. Tomorrow, she would be at the Crossroads and she could finally find the man who was meant for her and her alone.
Was that too much to hope for?
Chapter Two
“Misty, what the hell are you doing?” Spike’s tone was amused.
Cross-eyed, Misty looked at her friend. “I am balancing a peanut on my nose. I thought that since I was stuck here, I could go home with a new skill.”
Spike wiped the counter of the bar and chuckled. “You should at least shoot for Brazil nut or higher. Make it impressive.”
Misty sighed and removed the peanut from the tip of her nose. “No one ever said that waiting for a mate would be so boring. It is also depressing. I get the feeling that everyone is getting together at the transporter offices and falling in love before I even get a crack at them.”
“This is just a slow time. Relax. There will be more men here for you to flirt with in a few days. In the meantime, we are going to get together for a lawn bowling tournament. You are welcome to play for my team. It is girls versus boys.” Spike grinned. “We are going to wipe the floor with them.”
“Or the lawn. Sure, I am in.”
Two hours later, they were in the midst of a pitched battle when Tony and Teal were called away from the party to open the portal.
Misty lined up her shot. “I wonder who has the bad taste to arrive during this moment.”
She rolled the ball smoothly to her target, knocking the offending balls of the other team aside. Smiling brightly, she dusted her hands off and stepped aside.
Chuck and the other men eyed the field with irritation. There was no move they could make that would not leave the girls in control of this round. She was firmly between them and an easy victory.
Albert lined up his shot, and a moment before he released it, there was a shout from the Meditation Centre. All heads turned toward the centre where Teal was sprinting toward them.
She skidded to a halt on the green and bent over. “We have a huge backlog on the way in. I need guides to take folks around and show them the ropes. I am afraid that the game is called on account of duty.”
Misty sighed. “Should I go back to the Open Heart?”
Teal grabbed her arm with wide eyes. “No, if you could do the guide thing, I would appreciate it.”
Teebie nodded. “I will open the Open Heart to full capacity. We can get eighteen of them in there if necessary.”
Teal smiled as everyone was at attention and ready to step into action. “Thanks and I am sorry that this messed up our game.”
Teal, Ivy, Spike and Misty all headed to the Meditation Centre. It was aptly named; Misty had meditated there once a day, every day for the last week. It was incredibly soothing when she lost all hope of finding a mate.
The first arrival was waiting with Tony. She was handed off to Ivy and then it was time to wait for the next one.
Spike took the man who came through once he had finished his paperwork. He smiled at Misty and she perked up. This might not be such a boring week after all.
“Misty, you are up. The next one is coming in five minutes. They are close together today. I wish I knew what was going on; it is like the transporters can’t even find the portal.” Teal rubbed the back of her neck. “Today is going to be a rough one.”
“Does this happen a lot?”
Tony looked up from the pile of paperwork that was actually growing while Misty watched. She rubbed her eyes and looked again. Yes, files were appearing under the stack that he was working on. Weird.
“No, this doesn’t happen a lot. It has been a little more frequent of late, though. Dira is going to have to get with the transporters and make new pathways or something. This is getting ridiculous.”
Tony and Teal moved to take up their greeting positions, and Misty moved to the side, out of the way but able to watch the newcomer.
A flash of light illuminated the room and a figure staggered out of the glow. Tony and Teal moved to catch him, and Misty blinked as they eased him away from the drop point.
She heard Tony soothing the newcomer. “Come on, predators have a rougher time entering the Crossroads.”
The man grunted, and Tony led him off to the side, helping keep him steady while Teal gave him the briefing of how the Crossroads’ system worked and she gave him the wristband with the charm on it that would shift with him, pay for his purchases and open his hotel room or hostel door.
“This is Misty; she is another guest here, but she has offered to help us with tours of the Crossroads today as we are a little slammed. He is staying at the hostel. Misty, I need you back here in an hour. We are about to get a flood of new arrivals, and while that is great for folks like you, it means a long day for us.”
Misty smiled and snapped off a salute before greeting the newcomer. “My name is Misty; come this way.”
He nodded and followed her. He was still a little wobbly, so she took his arm. “Come on, big boy.”
He looked down at her and an amused grin covered his features. “I am not big, you are tiny.”
She snorted. “I am just the right height for me. What is your name?”
“Conrad. She said you were a guest?”
Misty laughed. “Yes. I just haven’t clicked with anyone yet.”
“But, you are gorgeous.”
“And as soon as I open my mouth, you will forget all about that. Now, this is the general store and it delivers what it promises.” She grinned and gave him the tour that included the high points of the Crossroads’ commercial endeavours and the shifter’s field where he could run in his other form if he was so inclined.
She took him to the hostel and stopped at the gender barrier. “This is where I leave you. There is a hostel manager inside, but I believe you can pretty much pick your spot now.”
He took her hand and squeezed it. “Thank you for the tour. For the record, your mouth didn’t stop you from being beautiful, but I don’t feel a connection.”
She snickered. “Me neither, but the mouth thing works most of the time. It gives the guys a nice out.”
Conrad kissed her cheek. “They don’t need an out; they just need to be the right man for you.”
Misty wrinkled her nose. “Thank you. I will see you around. It is time to get back to the Meditation Centre. My charm and
verbal dexterity are actually in demand today.”
She winked and waved him off as she turned to get to her next assignment. It was nice to have something to do.
Her feet were throbbing and she had done five rounds of the Crossroads. Misty was now waiting for her last tour of the day.
Teal and Tony leaned against each other as they waited for whatever signal came through from the real world. It had been a tiring day all around. The café and restaurant were about to get overrun.
“Here he comes.”
The light flared and a form appeared. As the light receded, the newest arrival was on one knee with his forearm braced on the other. He stood easily, and Teal and Tony gave him the briefing while tagging him.
“Misty will be giving you your tour. Misty, he is staying at the Open Heart.” Teal smiled wearily and waved her hand toward Misty.
“Please come with me.” She beckoned to him and waited until he joined her. She would say he was tall, but everyone was tall in comparison to her. It was his thick and wavy dark blonde hair that made her smile. His dark amber eyes were heavy lidded and his lips had a sensual pout. He looked like he had just gotten out of bed or was intent on getting back into it.
His voice rolled across her skin when he said, “Your name is Misty?”
She ignored the interest that his voice woke in her tired body and wrinkled her nose as she linked her arm with his. “It is. I know, I am far too short to be an Irish stripper, but that is the name I am stuck with.”
He chuckled. “It is a good name. My name is Samuel.”
His voice made her shiver. “Nice to meet you, Samuel.”
She steered him toward the general store.
“We have met before, Misty. I was not at my best but you were magnificent.”
She blinked. “We have?”
He laughed. “I was one of those you rescued before you returned to the Council headquarters, and by the time I was out of recovery, you were here, so I have come to see if we are as good a match as I imagined.”
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