Grayson spent dinner talking with Donika’s grandmother Pearl, while stealing glances at Donika’s beautiful face. They couldn’t exchange more than a few sentences during the entire meal, but it suited him just fine. He knew her entire family as customers at the bakery and was pleased that his mate had come from such a big, happy family.

The guests at the inn were all just visiting for the show. He had never seen any of them before. They seemed excited to meet him. He was thrilled about the show, but it paled in comparison to meeting his mate for the first time.

After dinner, Donika’s sister Kamala went to the kitchen to retrieve the cake. She set it in front of Grayson and offered him a knife. He cut enough slices for everyone, even though the cake was meant for Donika. He couldn't wait to see the look on her face when she took her first bite.

He wasn't disappointed. Her fork cut into the yellow cake with the zesty frosting and she lifted a bite to her beautiful mouth. It slid between her lips and as the flavor hit her tongue, her eyes lit up and sparkled like a torch in the night. She was so beautiful in that moment, he wanted to bake a cake for her every single day for the rest of his life.

“This is good,” she groaned, shoving another piece into her mouth.

He watched her eat the cake greedily. His heart pounded, and his cock hardened. His inner grizzly paced back and forth behind his eyes, clawing and scratching. All the animal wanted was to launch across the table, grab Donika by the shoulders, and kiss her desperately hard on the mouth.

He shook his head and blinked his eyes, trying to push away the vision. That kind of behavior was extremely inappropriate. Even for a grizzly bear.

After dinner, Donika's mother and sister cleared the table and her granny escorted the guests into the front parlor to sit by the fire and drink some after dinner beverages. He was left at the table with Donika and the last piece of cake.

“If nobody minds, I'm going to eat this,” she said, sliding it onto her plate.

“I did make it for you,” he said. “But I'm glad we got to share it with everyone.”

She dished the piece up onto her plate and took a bite.

“I wish we’d been able to talk more over dinner,” she said, shoving the cake into her mouth.

Donika’s nieces and nephews came running through the dining room, screaming and laughing. Their mother called behind them.

“I don't think we’re going to get much peace and quiet in here,” she said. “Maybe we can take a walk down to the boat house.”

She took the cake with her as they pulled on their parkas and walked out onto the porch. As they stood at the edge of the porch, under the twinkling lights, he gazed into her eyes and smiled. She set the cake down on a table outside and turned to him.

“I don't know how this whole shifter mating thing is supposed to work.”

“I don't really know how it's supposed to work either,” he admitted. “Let's figure it out together.”

He took her hand and they strolled down the dock and into the boat house. The boat was unlocked inside so they climbed in. Donika turned on the heater, reached inside a nook behind one of the benches, and pulled out a bottle of moonshine.

“Aha,” she said. “Granny hasn't changed her hiding spot.”

Grayson chuckled as she poured them shots into a couple of plastic cups.

“Do you want to go for a drive out on the water?” he asked.

“Sure. If I haven't forgotten how to pilot a boat after all these years,” she said, turning on the engine and lifting the anchor. “Let's go.”

She pulled out of the boat house and they drifted onto the water of the Lake of the Fates. A big full moon glowed amidst a mass of twinkling stars overhead. They sat in the warmth of the cabin, looking up at the night sky.

“So, tell me about yourself,” he said. “There wasn't much in your profile.”

Donika took a long sip of moonshine and sighed. “I'm not sure what to say.” She seemed uncomfortable.

“You don't have to tell me anything you don't want to.”

“It's not that. It's just that my life has gotten really complicated lately. Where should I start?” she sighed. “I was born in Fate Valley, and I grew up here in the inn. I love my family, but they can be a little bit… overbearing. And crazy.”

“I like them.”

“Oh, don't get me wrong. I love the heck out of my family. But I don't think they ever understood why I wanted more out of life than to stay at the inn and run it for another thousand generations.”

Grayson chuckled.

“I graduated valedictorian of my high school class and got a scholarship to Harvard. I studied prelaw and then went on to law school. I graduated at the top of my class there too. It was quite an accomplishment, but I don't think that anyone was ever really very proud of me.”

“You don't think your family’s proud of you?” he asked, shocked.

“I think Mom and Granny would've been happier if I had found a guy and started a family, and stayed here, like my sister, Kamala.”

“I'm sure they’re proud of you in their own way.”

“You're probably right. But I haven't been home in two years. Right after law school, I got a job at the top firm in New York, and I've been working hundred-hour weeks ever since. To be honest, it started taking a toll on my health. I lost a lot of weight, and I haven't been sleeping right.”

“Well, I have the perfect cure for both of those things.”

She gave him a funny look and blushed.

“I mean baking,” he said. “When you have a stomach full of pastries, it helps you sleep better. And I've heard that it helps with the curves.”

“Oh…right,” she said. “How did you become a baker anyway? A big burly man like you. It doesn't seem to fit together.”

“I've heard that before,” he said with a chuckle. “After I came back from my military service, I started baking as a way to help with my nerves. We haven’t declared war since the Great War, but that doesn't mean that horrible things aren’t happening out there, every day. I saw a lot of disturbing stuff and the baking helped me ground myself.

“Nothing like kneading bread dough or rolling out piecrust to calm down. I just fell in love with it after a while. I used my veterans’ benefits to open the bakery. It's been history ever since. Now my dream is to start a factory to make baked goods to distribute worldwide. I know it sounds silly, but I believe that food is one of the best ways to share your love with other people. And I want to share my love with the world.”

“That's the sweetest thing I've ever heard,” she said.

They continued talking and looking up at the stars as they drank her granny's moonshine. Anchored out on the water, they dozed off together in the middle of the night.

* * *

As the rays of sunshine rose overhead early the next morning, Grayson startled awake.

“Donika?” he said, patting her shoulder. “We fell asleep on the water.”

She woke up and stretched.

“Granny's moonshine will do that to you every time,” she said, standing to pull anchor and drive them back to the boat house. “I should have remembered.”

A few moments later they were at the dock and turning off the motor. Grayson helped Donika out of the boat and they walked hand-in-hand to the back porch. It was then that he realized they had forgotten her last piece of cake on the porch. The plate was empty except for a few crumbs. Only feet away, sprawled on the porch, sat the remains of a dead raccoon. Donika shrieked. She flung herself into his arms, and he held her, cradling her head against his shoulder. She turned around and looked back at the dead creature. She shook her head in disbelief.

“What happened?” she asked, kneeling beside the cold body of the lifeless raccoon.

“It looks like it ate the last piece of cake and then died.”

“Why would a raccoon die after eating cake?” she asked, standing.

“Sugar overdose?” he suggested.

“Raccoons eat out of trash cans,” she said. “I doubt it was that.”

“Maybe it was just old,” he said.

“Maybe…” she muttered.

She seemed to have become very nervous and hurried through the back door into the kitchen. Her grandmother was sitting at the kitchen table, drinking coffee. Donika went straight to the coffee pot and poured herself a cup. She then offered one to Grayson.

“What were you two up to last night?” Pearl asked.

“We were out in the boat and drank all your moonshine,” Donika said. “Blame your moonshine. We fell asleep.”

“I'm not judging,” her granny said, taking another sip of coffee.

“There's a dead raccoon on the porch,” Donika said, sipping from her own cup.

“That's disgusting,” Pearl said. She lifted her cellphone and dialed. “Franklin, I need you to come dispose of another dead coon,” she said into the phone. Then turning to Donika, she asked, “What killed it?”

“I don't know, but it had just eaten the last piece of cake off my plate.”

Donika had gone cold and distant, and her eyes had glazed over in what looked like panic.

“I had a wonderful night talking with you last night Grayson,” she muttered. “But I'm sure you need to get back to the bakery. I have some things I have to take care of here.”

“I’ll be pretty busy after the baking show starts. But I’d like to see you again soon.”

“I’d like that too. Why don't you give me a call later?”

“I'll do that,” he said, patting her shoulder. “Don't worry too much about that raccoon. It was probably already sick.”

“I'm sure you're right,” she said, seeming to shrink away from his touch.

Grayson left the house, not knowing what to think. The raccoon surely wouldn't have died from something in his cake. It was all very strange and confusing. But that kind of thing happened all the time. Maybe it choked on the cake in its excitement to eat the delicious flavor.

He chuckled at the idea as he climbed into his truck and drove away. He hated that their first date had been interrupted by such an atrocious sight, but spending the night with Donika on the boat under the stars had been beautiful. He couldn't wait to get closer to her and spend time with her again.