by R. E. Butler
“Get her out of here,” the man said. “He’s off his damn rocker.”
Felicity pulled Juliette out of the office as if she weighed nothing, and helped her across the hall to another office. There was a short couch against one wall, and Felicity led her to it and helped her sit.
“Do you need me to call the clan doctor? You look like you’re about to pass out.”
“I feel like I am.” Juliette pressed the heels of her palms to her eyes and let out a shaky breath. Dropping her trembling hands to her knees, she realized she’d dropped her pen. Well, better the loss of the pen than a limb. She leaned back against the plush couch. “I think I’m okay. What happened?”
“You tell me.”
“I said Cruz’s name and then he shifted. It was so fast, I’ve never seen anything like it.” She looked toward the open door, where she could hear the man talking to Cruz, who was growling and snarling in response. “He hates me.”
Felicity hummed. “I don’t think that’s it.”
“What do you mean? He took one look at me and shifted. Why else would he do that?”
She sat on the other end of the couch and rested her head on her upturned hand. “I think you’re his mate.”
“Shit, did I hit my head when I passed out?”
Felicity chuckled. “No, why would you think that?”
“Because you just said that the reason he shifted is because I’m his mate. That’s absurd.”
The woman’s eyes narrowed and amber streaked through the emerald color. “Excuse me? What’s wrong with being a bear’s mate?”
Juliette shook her head and put her hands up. “I didn’t mean to offend you, it’s just unbelievable. There has to be another explanation for his sudden shift. It looked like he was trying to hold back but couldn’t, like it was out of his control. Why would you think that it’s because I’m his... you know?”
“Mate.”
“That’s not a word humans use.”
Felicity rolled her eyes. “What about soulmates?”
“That’s the stuff of romance novels. Real love isn’t about kismet.”
“I’m not talking about love, I’m talking about how a bear shifter can look at another person, no matter whether they’re a shifter or not, and instinctively know that they’re the right person for them. It happened when I met my mate, Bernie.” Her eyes got an unfocused look and a small smile curved one corner of her mouth. “I was surrounded by unmated bears. My eyes locked with Bernie’s and that was it for me. My bear wouldn’t allow me to even look at anyone else.”
Juliette turned on the couch to face Felicity more fully. “He felt the same?”
“Sure, we’re mates. It can’t be one-sided, that would suck.”
Juliette stood. “I’m not looking for a mate.”
“You have one.”
“Um, no. It’s my choice.”
Felicity stood and walked over to the desk where she lifted a paperback book from a stack on the corner. Juliette recognized it as the first book in her popular vampire series. “You write about mates all the time.”
“That’s fiction. People like to read about a guy and girl meeting for the first time and having something click within them that tells them they’re with their forever person. This is real life. I’m not a character, I’m a human woman.”
Who was totally interested in the sexy bear in the other office.
She shook the thought from her mind and focused on Felicity.
“This is our real life, Juliette. You walked into a shifter club today and the male you were meant to be with was so overcome at the meeting that his bear couldn’t wait to greet you. Be flattered, not frightened.”
“I’m not a prize to be claimed.”
“To him you’re the most valuable prize a male can have – the one female on the planet meant for him. He’s alpha, which means he’s powerful and important to our people, and you’re the center of his world. Right now he’s in the office arguing with his brother, Tomlin. I can hear it. He’s pissed.”
Juliette’s mouth went dry and her gaze flitted to the open door. Part of her wanted to run out of the club and drive away as fast as possible, maybe screaming a little on the way. But most of her was curious about the possibility of what Felicity said. She was a romantic at heart, but also firmly grounded in the real world. And in the real world, at least the human one anyway, there wasn’t anything close to what Felicity was describing.
“I think I should go.”
Tomlin called loudly from the other office. “No way. You need to stay until Cruz is out of his shift.”
“You can’t keep me here.”
Cruz roared and there was a loud bang. Tomlin grunted and cursed. A few moments later, Cruz appeared, dragging a furious Tomlin behind him. Tomlin had his arms around Cruz’s furry neck and was trying to keep him from moving, but clearly the bear was stronger. An odd sense of pride swelled within her.
Cruz was a total badass.
“Listen,” Tomlin said, his face red and his muscles taut as he struggled to hold back Cruz. “If you try to leave, he’s going to follow you. Our people don’t leave the territory in our shifts because it’s dangerous. Humans can’t tell us apart from natural bears. For the love of everything holy, Cruz, would you stop!”
Cruz did stop, but not until he was standing right in front of her, staring her directly in the eyes. He was huge, a great big mass of flesh and muscle and dark fur. His bumped his nose gently against her stomach and her spine tingled. Then he sat back on his haunches with a deep sigh, sending Tomlin to the floor with a thud.
“I don’t know what I’m supposed to do here,” Juliette said.
“You could touch him,” Felicity suggested.
Tentatively, she reached out and rubbed the top of his nose with her fingertips. His arm shot out and wrapped around her, drawing her against him with a gruff sound, almost like a deep purr.
“Holy shit!” Juliette said, one of her heels slipping off her foot and her arms flailing with the abrupt motion.
Cruz nuzzled her throat, his tongue rasping up her neck and making her shiver from head to toe. She had a feeling if she tried to leave, Tomlin’s prediction would come true, and she’d be tailed by a bear all the way to her apartment. She’d hate for him to get hurt.
“I’ll stay until he can shift back, but I’m not making any promises after that. I have a nearly four-hour drive ahead of me, so how long is this going to take?”
He licked her throat again with a hum that made his body vibrate. She pushed at his head until he stopped, and watched Tomlin stand and brush off his jeans.
“Three hours, give or take.”
She groaned, thinking about how very late it would be when she got home.
“You can stay at the alpha’s house for the night,” Felicity suggested. “At least you’ll be comfortable.”
“I don’t want to stay here tonight. I have a home and responsibilities. I planned to interview Cruz and hit the road. I didn’t plan for whatever the heck this is to happen. But I guess being in a home instead of the club is okay. Is it far?”
Tomlin shook his head. “You can walk with him there. Give me your keys and I’ll drive your car over.”
“Okay. But I’m not making any promises,” she said as she wiggled from Cruz’s hold. She was aware that he let her go. If he wanted to, she was certain he could simply hold her where he wanted her for as long as he cared to. “I just don’t want you to get hurt following me back home.”
He nodded and chuffed, gesturing with his head toward the open door.
“I’ll come, too,” Felicity said. “I can answer your questions while we’re waiting, and if you don’t mind, I’d love for you to sign my books.”
Juliette found her heel and slipped it on. “Uh, yeah, that would be great. Thanks.”
As they left the office, Juliette saw her pen in the hallway and scooped it up, giving it a few reassuring clicks. When they were outside the club, she took a few deep breaths o
f the fresh air, the chill of the club leaving her skin quickly in the wake of the early evening’s sunshine. She felt positively surreal as she walked with a bear down a well-worn path into the woods. Felicity, clutching the stack of books with Juliette’s name on them, walked behind her and Cruz. If she’d set out to write this particular situation into a story, she didn’t think anyone would think it was possible.
“How often does this kind of thing happen?” Juliette asked Felicity.
“Which part?”
“The sudden shifting.”
“Never that I can recall. It’s a phenomenon our people call an uncontrollable shift, when the beast is so determined to make himself or herself known that they shift no matter how much the person tries to retain their humanity.”
“So normally you’re in total control?”
“Of course. Can you imagine what the world would be like if we just went around shifting without being able to control it? Plus, I’d lose a ton of clothes in the process.”
Juliette chuckled, thinking of how absurd Cruz had looked with his clothes hanging in tatters around him. If she hadn’t been so startled, she’d have laughed and maybe taken a picture.
They followed the winding path through the woods until it ended in front of a large cabin. The two-story house had a wraparound porch set with rocking chairs, flowerbeds filled with colorful plants, and red gingham curtains in the windows. She stopped walking and stared at the house – it was a bigger version of what she’d always dreamed of having for herself. This wasn’t a quaint little house for one person, it was a big home for a family. An odd ache filled her, tears stinging her eyes, but she blinked them away quickly as they approached the porch.
The screen door swung open with a soft squeak and a petite woman with dark hair arched a brow at them. “I’m not sure what to ask about first.”
Felicity stepped onto the porch and hugged her. “This is Juliette.”
“Ah, the author.” The woman gestured inside the house as she held open the screen door. “Come on inside. I’m Cruz’s mom, Viola.”
Juliette looked at Cruz who jerked his head toward the door. She stepped onto the porch and introduced herself.
“Welcome,” Viola said, waiting until Cruz was inside to let the door swing shut. “I heard you were coming today, but I’m curious why my son is in his shift. I hope he didn’t frighten you. He’s a big old beast, just like his father.”
“I heard that,” a man said as he walked into the spacious family room.
“Juliette, this is my mate, Oscar.”
“Nice to meet you,” Juliette said, shaking his hand. She looked around the room in awe. Although the house was large, it still felt cozy, from the braided rugs on the gleaming hardwood floor to the fieldstone fireplace that took up nearly half of one wall. There were windows everywhere to let in the natural light. The only modern touches were enormous ceiling fans and a big flat-screen TV hanging on one wall with several couches in front of it. It was a perfect mix of modern and old-fashioned, a virtual sanctuary in the woods like she’d always dreamed of having.
“So who’s going to explain why Cruz is in his shift?” Oscar asked, his voice tinged with humor.
Juliette looked at Felicity who lifted her hand toward her, urging her to respond.
Cruz leaned against Juliette, just enough so she could feel the press of his body against hers. With a deep breath, she explained what had happened.
Tomlin walked into the house as she finished the tale.
“Tell me, Dad,” he said, “didn’t someone back in your day shift like that when he found his mate?”
Oscar arched a brow. “Don’t say ‘back in your day,’ that makes me sound like I’m a hundred. But yes, there was a male I went to school with who shifted suddenly when a new student came into class. It was startling and hilarious.”
“I can relate,” Juliette said.
“You must be terribly confused,” Viola said. “Come, sit down so we can chat. You came for an interview; let us help while our son is in his shift.”
Juliette sat on one of the couches, and Cruz sat next to her, resting his head on her knees. He sighed deeply, staring at her with his mesmerizing amber eyes. She was momentarily silenced by the strange feelings that filled her. He was a bear, and she shouldn’t want to curl up against him and take a nap, but she did. Shaking the thoughts free, she opened her purse and pulled out her notebook and pen. Flipping to the page of her questions, she started by explaining how her editor had suggested her new series about shifters wasn’t realistic, which had led her to setting up the interview with Cruz.
While she asked her questions, Oscar set the coffee table with platters of baked goods and a pitcher of iced tea. He served Juliette a small plate with a blackberry tart and a cookie and sat next to Viola on the other couch. Juliette put her notebook down and took a bite of the tart, marveling at the flaky crust and perfectly sweet berries.
“This is delicious,” she said, thinking she could eat a few dozen if she had the chance.
“Thanks,” Oscar said. “Viola and I have a commercial bakery in our territory. We ship to stores all over the country, as well as individuals. “
“And the club,” Tomlin said.
“He’s the baker,” Viola said. “I’m the decorator.”
Juliette thought it was so sweet that they worked together.
“How big is the clan?” Juliette asked.
“Forty-seven,” Viola said. “Five kids under shifting age, two pregnant females, and about a dozen unmated males and females.”
“Is that a typical clan size?”
“There really isn’t a norm,” Oscar said. “Clans vary in size from a single family unit to two or three times as large as ours. The point of the clan is to provide protection and support for each other. The larger the clan, the more people to protect, but also the more people who are looking out for one another.”
“What about rogues?”
Oscar frowned. “What do you mean by rogue?”
“In my story, the villain is a rogue lion who’s attempting to take over the pride. He’s rogue because he was exiled from his home pride for crimes against the alpha’s daughter, and now he’s a lion without a pride.”
“That’s... fictional,” Viola said. “By and large, shifter groups aren’t must-belong organizations. There isn’t a government or shifter coalition policing every single shifter to ensure they’re part of a group of their own kind.”
Juliette mused on that for a moment and accepted a second blackberry tart. “I think that’s one of those things my editor was suggesting I’d pulled from my vampire series.”
Oscar made a face. “Thank goodness vampires aren’t real. I mean, can you imagine a creature who needed human blood to survive?”
“Her vampires only have to drink real blood once a month, and they eat regular food,” Felicity said.
“True,” Juliette said. “But vampires are entirely fictional, so I can create whatever mythology around them I wish. With shifters, it’s not that easy, which I’ve learned after talking to you all.”
Felicity reached over and squeezed Juliette’s hand. “I’d be happy to read your story and let you know what’s off about it if that would help.”
Juliette glanced at Cruz, who hadn’t taken his big head off her knees or his watchful gaze from her. She’d planned to get in and get out, to walk away as soon as he was able to shift and she could tell him that she wasn’t buying what he was selling. She didn’t believe in mate-at-first-sight any more than she believed in love-at-first-sight, no matter that she freely wrote about both concepts in her stories. Which meant she didn’t know how friendly Felicity would be once she made it clear that she was going to hightail it home ASAP.
Alone.
“Thanks,” Juliette said finally. “I think that’s all of my questions. I’d be happy to sign those books for you.”
The time had passed quickly, and she’d loved every second of it. His family was supportive and easy
-going and weren’t offended by any questions she’d asked. She knew a lot more about shifters than when she’d started. It was hard to ignore, however, the often-mentioned word “mate,” when referring to her and Cruz. Juliette knew that to shifters, mated meant married. A mating was considered official when the male marked the female with a bite to her neck and they consummated the relationship. Afterward, the clan would celebrate with a big party before sending the newly mated couple on a honeymoon for at least a week.
Which sounded romantic as hell.
Except for the fact that she was human, and Cruz hadn’t even said one word to her in person before he shifted. She wasn’t sure what to make of the situation, but she did know one thing – she wasn’t just going to go along with this mating because he insisted on it. If he wanted to be with her, he had to win her heart just like anyone else would. He might be sexier than any guy she’d ever laid eyes on, but she needed to know he wanted her, and not just because his bear had flipped out.
He ambled to his paws and made a few gruff, grumbling sounds.
“That’s our cue,” Oscar said.
“I’ll grab some clothes,” Tomlin said.
Juliette finished signing the last of the books for Felicity, then placed her favorite pen in her purse.
“I’m looking forward to getting to know you better,” Felicity said, clutching the books to her chest as if they were precious.
“Thanks,” Juliette said.
“You still look entirely freaked out,” Felicity said.
“I am.”
“Don’t be. Once he shifts and can talk, it will all make sense.”
Juliette wasn’t so sure, but she tried to smile in a convincing way.
Tomlin appeared with a stack of clothing and a pair of hiking boots. “We’re leaving,” he said.
“What? Why?” Juliette asked, watching as the group headed toward the front door.
“We have excellent hearing,” Oscar said. “You and Cruz need privacy, and it’s just easier for everyone if we leave the building.”