by Desiree Holt
Mateo wasn’t overjoyed about her going back to work. His logic was sound; she was going to be moving halfway across the county with him. The responsible side of Crina, however, wouldn’t allow her to just walk out on her job, not after she’d worked so hard to get it.
She offered them her two-week notice, and when they accepted one, Crina could barely contain her smile. One week of work in the city before moving in with her mate and beginning their new life was manageable. She hoped. Being away from Mateo for even a workday wasn’t on her top ten list of things she was looking forward to, but it was the right thing to do. Bummer.
As displeased as she knew Mateo was, he tried to hide it. It seemed he was going to continue to woo her, and his concession wouldn’t go unrewarded. Today, she was going to give him a reward. Or at least give his lion a reward—the chase. Something her lion seemed to be equally excited about. Win-win.
Roarrrrrrrrrr.
The vibration of his roar, as Mateo’s lion was let loose, sent a shiver down her spine, the good kind. She needed to step lively. Crina didn’t want him to catch her—not too soon, anyway. Crina bound through the woods, happier than she had ever been. Who would have thought a condemned apartment could lead to her happily ever after?
About the Author
Dara Fraser is a unicorn. Living in the B3 world, she is often seen flitting around her small bookstore in a fictional college town in New Hampshire. When she is not working or spending time with family and friends, Dara writes in secret.
Dara Fraser is the pen name New Adult author Delphina Henley uses for her adult paranormal and contemporary romances.
www.delphinahenley.com
Encounter on a Mountain
Lisbeth Frost
2 Shifters, 15 Days, 1 Goal: Survive
On this episode of Shifter Survival, we drop our contestants onto a snowy mountain top with only the clothes on their backs. There, they will have to survive for 15 days.
Cara is a travel consultant whose only survival experience involves backpacking from town to town. Luckily, this she-wolf should be right at home in the climate.
Sam is a college professor. In his youth he learned how to survive in harsh climates, but a cheetah is going to be pretty unhappy in the snow!
With the full moon on the rise, a fire might not be the only thing heating up this challenge. After all, this pair can't hope to last 15 days without sharing some body heat, if not more.
Do they have what it takes to conquer Shifter Survival?
Chapter 1
Day One
Cara tore her gaze away from the window and the seemingly never-ending stretch of snowy trees below.
“I’m sorry, Alina, what was the question?”
Alina laughed. “I asked, why do you think you have what it takes to compete on Shifter Survival?”
“Well,” Cara said thoughtfully, “I have a lot of experience camping out and traveling. You could say I’m a minimalist. I’m used to improvising and making-do with what little I have. I’m adaptable, flexible, and I like a good challenge.”
“Great! Tell me, Cara, what do you do?”
“I’m a um… I think the popular term now is ‘digital nomad’.”
“Whoa! What is a digital nomad?”
“Basically, I have a work-from-home job, but instead of actually having a home that I work from, I just work on the road.”
“So, you travel?”
“All the time.”
Alina turned to the camera. “Who wouldn’t love that?” She turned back to Cara. “I have to know more!”
Cara giggled nervously. “I’m a travel consultant for a major hotel chain. Um, a human one, that is. And I get to stay for free in any of their hotels. My clients love me, because I’ve probably been to most of the places they want to go. So, when I help them plan their trips, I can offer firsthand experience about not only the cities they’re going to, but the hotels themselves. I stay a week or two and then move on to the next place. I go by plane, bus, hitchhike, whatever. Sometimes I go on a cruise for a few days and just get off at the last port instead of a roundtrip. And sometimes I put all of my stuff in a backpack and I shift and go on foot. So, I spend a lot of time just under the stars too.”
“Jealous!” Alina squealed. “A backpack you say? If you ask my co-host, Shane, he would tell you that I need a whole backpack just for my make-up!”
“You are the host of a TV show that every shifter watches!”
“I’m sure not every shifter watches,” Alina laughed, flushing. “Back to this backpack, surely it can’t hold everything?”
“Like I said, I’m a minimalist. I just… never really needed much. I’ve got my laptop for work, a phone, a pop-up tent, a couple of changes of clothes, and that’s pretty much it.”
“Wow. I admire you,” Alina said, smiling as Cara ducked her head in embarrassment. “I understand you’re a wolf?”
“That’s right.”
“A remote job, always on the move… dare I make the pun, would you say you’re a lone wolf?”
Cara covered her face, muffling her laugh. “Yes,” she said from behind her hands. “I suppose so. I am a bit of an introvert.”
“You realize you’re about to spend the next fifteen days stuck with a total stranger, right?”
“Better one than ten!”
Alina flashed the camera a grin. “I like her! Speaking of fifteen days, Cara, have you ever spent that long outside? Bear in mind, you won’t even have your backpack this time!”
Cara grimaced. “I know! I’ve never counted, but I don’t think it’s been a full fifteen days. It’s going to be tough, especially without any supplies.” She looked out of the window at the snow. “Really tough.”
“Are you ready?”
With a deep breath, Cara nodded and fixed the camera with a challenging stare. “I’m ready!”
The helicopter jolted and began its descent. The door opened and Cara jumped out.
“Oh!” she cried in surprise, as she landed knee-deep in the snow. More was gently, lazily drifting down. Cara brushed a flake off of her nose and looked around, taking it all in. Mountains – covered in nothing but trees and snow – stretched for as far as she could see in any direction.
“Here you are.” Alina held out a small camera on a strap to her. “This is your personal camera, please wear it at all times. Now, these are rather difficult conditions, so in addition to the usual camera, we’re giving you three things to help you!”
“That’s a relief,” Cara said.
“But, there’s a catch!”
“Of course there is…”
Alina laughed. “The first thing I’m giving you is a hint. Ready? There’s a cave at the top of this mountain. It’s the closest, and best, shelter to our drop-off and pick-up zone. It also happens to be where your other two helpful objects are!”
“So, head for the cave?” Cara asked.
Alina shrugged dramatically. “Up to you!” She took the outstretched hand of a crewmember and he helped her back into the helicopter. “See you in fifteen days! Good luck!”
Cara scrambled for cover as the helicopter lifted away, blowing snow everywhere. She watched it rise, higher and higher, and fly away, until it was just a small speck in a snow-gray sky. She put the camera-strap around her head, realizing too late that she probably should have done it while watching the helicopter. She looked around curiously. The Shifter Survival crew always had people hidden around, filming. Alina had told her she wouldn’t see them, but while watching the show, Cara had always assumed that that was just drama for the audience and that a visible camera crew would be following her. Instead, she saw nothing but trees and snow. It made her smile. She really wasn’t much of a people-person and the challenge seemed somehow less daunting without a camera in her face.
“Now to meet my partner…” She muttered. “Wherever he is. I guess I’ll just head for the cave and hope he gets the same advice.”
Moving as swiftly as possible, Cara
stripped off her clothes and tied them into a small bundle. Already shivering, she shifted into her wolf form. Her thick fur provided instant relief. She had never spent the night outside with more than a dusting of snow. She stuck to warmer climates in the winter.
“Of course I’d end up here.” She took a deep breath and reminded herself that wolves were quite adept in the snow. With that thought, she shook to adjust the camera that had fallen around her neck, picked up her clothes in her mouth, and set off at a brisk trot toward the top of the mountain.
* * *
“Alright, Sam. Is it Sam? Samuel? Sammy?”
“Sam.”
“Sure, I’m going to call you Sammy.”
“Only if I can call you Shaney.”
Shane Rigel barked out a laugh and flashed a wink to the camera. “Sam it is!” he declared. “Tell me, Sam, what do you do for a living?”
“I’m a college professor. I teach Archaeology.”
“Very interesting. With all due respect, um…” Shane chuckled. “Archaeology Professor isn’t exactly in line with the professions we usually see on our show...”
“You know Indiana Jones is an Archaeology Professor.”
Shane grinned. “Touché! So, you’re trading in your glasses for a fedora?”
“Something like that.”
“Seriously though, do you think being an Archaeology Professor has prepared you in any way for this challenge?”
“Actually, yes. Not being a professor, exactly, but as part of my schooling I spent a number of years living all over the world. I spent six months living in Northern Canada, another six months on a small Pacific island, and a year in Kenya. I’m ready for any environment!”
“Were you alone in those places or with people?”
“I was with the native peoples there, but I lived in conditions that I find most people consider ‘primitive’. In some cases, not much better than what I imagine I’m in for soon.”
“And you think that has prepared you for this?”
Sam nodded. “Well, I just keep telling myself that if humans can survive – not to mention thrive – in some of the places I’ve seen them, then surely a shifter can!”
Shane grinned. “I guess we’ll find out! One last question, where was your favorite place, out of all of the ones you’ve lived?”
“Kenya,” Sam said without hesitating. Shane raised an eyebrow. “I’m a cheetah, so I made sure to get some running in. I actually saw some wild, animal cheetahs while I was there. I think…” He paused, trying to think of how to phrase his thoughts. “I know a lot of shifters who have never been to their animal’s native habitat. You know?” He gestured to himself. “Cheetahs who have never been to Africa. Tigers who have never been to the jungle. Polar bears who have never actually seen the tundra. I think it’s… I think it’s sort of sad. I think every shifter should make a point, at least once in their lives, to go to their native habitat. I’ve run with cheetahs across the Savannah. There aren’t many cheetah shifters who can say that and I think it’s a shame. There’s something about it that just… gets you.”
Shane nodded along. “I completely agree. So, you think you’re prepared for anything?”
“I sure am!”
“What about – this?” Shane flung the door open.
For a moment, Sam was blinded by the sudden light. As his eyes adjusted he realized he was staring at a vast expanse of snow. He bit back a groan of disappointment. He had ranked every possible climate he was prepared for and snow was at the very bottom.
“Wow…” Sam couldn’t think of anything else to say.
“Not to worry,” Shane laughed. “We’re giving you three things to help you out for this challenge!”
Shane held out the small, personal camera. Sam strapped it around his forehead and waited expectantly for more.
“Your two helpful items are in a cave at the top of this mountain!” Shane gestured to the door.
“And the third?”
“Shelter of course! The third is the cave! Good luck! See you in fifteen days.”
With no other choice, Sam took a deep breath and nodded to his host and the camera. “See you then.”
Sam jumped out, stumbling in the deep snow. When he was clear, the chopper took off in its own blizzard. When the snow stopped blowing, Sam made quick work of his clothes and shifted as quickly as possible.
The cold wind blew as easily through his thin fur as it had his clothes. He grabbed his clothing bundle and tried to run. Tried. The snow was nearly up to his belly and cheetahs were not meant to run in snow. With a curse, he resorted to sort of a half-jog, half-jumping gait. It felt awkward and he was sure it looked absurd. With his luck, the hidden cameras were on him right now.
This episode is off to a hilarious start for the viewers, he thought, trying to ignore how the pads of his feet already felt numb with cold. He turned his mind over to his inner cheetah, letting the feline set its own pace. He kept just enough control to guide the animal up the mountain and keep an eye out for his partner.
Chapter 2
The run up the mountain proved to be an interesting one for Sam. The helicopter had dropped him off in a clearing, but further up the slope he had found himself dodging pines. He tried to avoid the forest until he realized that the snow beneath the branches was much shallower. Even though he was slowed by avoiding the trunks, he could cover ground much faster. In fact, he felt a rush of adrenaline as he wove at break-neck speed through the pines. He always shifted in open spaces with room to run, but found that the obstacles held a new thrill.
All too soon the trees opened back into deep snow and Sam returned to his comical pouncing. He was relived, for a moment, when he saw the cave. But, once he had trotted up to it, he saw that it was hardly more than an indent into the face of the mountain. It was more of an L-shape, with one rocky side fairly protected from the wind and snow and the rest of it exposed. Hoping it wasn’t the cave, he hurried in out of the snow to get his bearings.
He was more protected from the wind than he had initially thought he would be and sat for a moment to rest. It was still cold, but much better without the wind.
Then he noticed two small bags, tucked as far into the “cave” as possible. Sam’s heart sank. This was the cave Shane had mentioned.
Sam pictured his human form and shifted back. Even shielded from the wind he felt instantly frozen as his fur melted into bare skin. He yanked on his clothes in record time. They were caked from the falling snow and were as wet and cold as his fur had felt.
“I’m going to have to quit from hypothermia at this rate,” he grumbled.
The ceiling was hardly high enough for him to stand upright. He looked around the small cave, measuring it. There would be just enough room for two people and a fire to fit comfortably, but it would certainly be cozy.
As he bent to pick up the packages, the personal camera bumped against his chin. Sam made a mental note to remember to adjust it after shifting. He pulled it into place around his head, then reached for the packages. Both were small. Very small. The cheetah couldn’t imagine what useful survival items could possibly fit inside them, certainly not a tent or a sleeping back. He ripped the first one open to reveal a small metal tool, hooked onto another one with a tiny keychain. Sam stared at it, baffled. It looked almost like a set of weird keys, but there couldn’t be anything he had to unlock. Unless… He opened the other package; inside was a tightly wrapped, shiny bundle. Sam knew what this one was at least. A space blanket.
With a bit of a flourish, he unfurled the metallic sheet. He had been half hoping there would be two, but no, it was one solid piece. It was big… but not big enough to be worth cutting in half either. It seemed like he and his partner were in for a cozy fifteen days.
Movement caught his eye and he turned. There was wolf standing in the snow, just outside the shallow cave. A camera hung from a strap around its neck and a bundle of clothes was clamped in its mouth.
The cheetah in Sam snarled and te
nsed his muscles. There was no question the wolf was a shifter and, in all likelihood, the woman he was about to get to know very well, but the shifter-meets-shifter instinct ran strong.
The wolf circled into the cave, moving herself out of the snow but no closer to the man. Keeping a wary eye on him, she set down her clothes down.
For a moment, neither moved.
Meetings between shifters always started off on thin ice, as their inner animals faced off. It was always easier when they were both in the same form. The cheetah knew it was vulnerable in the human body and urged Sam to shift. He ignored it.
At last, slowly, the wolf’s fur melted into skin. The fur on her head lengthened and darkened from wolf-grey to brown. It was over in a few seconds. The naked woman straightened and stood still for a few seconds as she adjusted to her new form.
Sam politely averted his gaze, but was compelled to study the woman who was about to be his only companion for two weeks. She had a dark tan and Sam had a feeling she was outside a lot. He tried not to look at her ample breasts, but they were hard to miss.
She gasped as the cold hit her and started scrambling to undo her clothing bundle. Sam watched the flurry of movement as she yanked her clothes on.
“Sorry,” she said, sounded flustered. “God, it’s cold.”
The cheetah nodded in agreement and studied her openly, deciding it was less rude now that she was dressed. The she-wolf was clearly giving him the same critical eye. Maybe it was the anthropologist in him, but Sam loved observing people. You could learn a lot about a person from observation.
Her pants were comfortable looking, loose-fitting cargo pants. An unusual seam around the leg made Sam suspect that her pants zipped off into shorts. Before she had pulled on a zip-up hoodie, she put on a simple T-shirt. Loose enough to be comfortable, but still flattering. Sam had tried not to look at her under garments, but noticed they were a mismatched set; blue-striped panties and a tan bra. A pair of well-used hiking boots completed her ensemble. She had come prepared for multiple environments, which Sam assumed meant she had some sort of survival experience. There was no sign of fold lines, like newly bought clothing would have, and her clothes even looked a little worn; suggesting she wore it frequently. It all hid the figure that Sam knew was quite appealing.