The human’s eyes were wide. They reminded him of the full moon at midnight. Only, not nearly as calm. Tension radiated off of her in waves. Her hair was a wild tangle. A better reflection of her mood. Her face was pale. She was like a deer that had caught scent of a predator. He recognized her from earlier at the bar. The shell-shocked one. He wasn’t surprised to see her running. Not everyone was cut out for Shifter Night. “Did something happen?” he asked, releasing his hold on her somewhat. She’d looked nervous before but not like this. Had one of the males tried something? Why was she running scared like this?

“No!” She shook her head. “Nothing! Unless being an idiot counts.” She sighed.

“Are you sure nothing happened? Did anyone try something? Did …”

The skittish human pursed her lips for a moment. “No, really. Nothing happened. I overreacted. I’m … a lost cause, okay?” She was panting heavily, liked she’d just run a couple of miles.

“I’m going to let you go now, please don’t run away.”

She nodded.

Winston released his hold on her completely and took a step back. She was still breathing too quickly, still far too pale but better than before. “Would you like to go for a walk?”

She shook her head, her eyes widened back up to full moon status.

“Okay, okay.” He put up his hands, tempted to back up even more. Even more tempted to look at the ground, anything to keep from spooking her. “Do you see that bench over there?” He pointed to a wooden seat between rooms eighteen and nineteen. It overlooked the garden.

She gave a tentative nod. Winston noticed how her legs were bent at the knee, how her leading leg was just that inch or two more forward than the other. She was getting ready to run for it.

“How’s about we sit there for a few minutes, seeing as we both need some air? I’m a shifter.”

“I know. I mean, I realized,” she spoke quickly.

“Well, that means you’re safe with me. Firstly, because I would never hurt you ‒ shifters are creatures of great honor ‒ and secondly, because I wouldn’t allow harm to befall you.”

She pushed out a big lungful of air and gave a nod. He noticed how she looked down at her feet, how her shoulders sagged.

Winston took the first step towards the bench and the little female followed. She sat as far on the other side as she could get. He did the same, still careful not to spook her.

They sat in silence for a time. It was a peaceful time of the day. The odd car could be heard in the distance, or the barking of a dog. Winston preferred very early morning though. That time just before the sun rose. It was normally crisp and extremely quiet. The time just before the rest of the world awoke. Or, at least, that’s what it felt like to him. Especially back home. Deep in the mountains, surrounded by miles and miles of trees.

“I’m sorry!” she whispered.

“No need.”

“It’s just that I … made a mistake … I made a really stupid mistake. I shouldn’t have come. I’m sorry to have interrupted your night.” She sucked in a quick breath. “Oh flip! I’m sure you have somewhere to be … someone waiting for you or,” she groaned, “you came out here in the hopes of having a quiet cigarette after … after … you know.” She looked horrified for a few seconds. “I’m sorry … I’ll just …” She stood up.

“Sit.” He chuckled. Couldn’t help himself. “Please. You’re wrong on all of those counts.”

“Oh! Okay, so whoever you were with left already. Okay then.” She breathed out, touching a hand to her chest. “Makes me feel marginally better.” Thankfully, she sat back down.

“Nah!” He shook his head. “No worries. You have that wrong too.”

The female frowned. “Aren’t you a shifter?” Her frown deepened. “Of course you are, you just said so. It’s Shifter Night.”

Winston smiled. “Yeah, I know. I’m not looking to hook up though.”

“Said no shifter male ever, or so I have been told …” He could see her thinking it over. “Did I misunderstand what Shifter Night is all about? I was just at the Dark Horse and I’m sure I didn’t misunderstand. Maybe Shifter Night isn’t Shifter Night for all shifters then?”

“You didn’t misunderstand. The guys all come through to unwind. I just decided I didn’t feel like it this time.”

“I don’t have much experience with shifters. It’s just that I heard they all wanted to hook up. I’m—”

He laughed. “Don’t worry about it.”

“Sorry, I’m nervous, I babble when I’m nervous. Ignore me.” Her breathing had normalized. Her eyes had lost that frightened look.

“I’m Winston.” He held out his hand.

Her heart rate picked up a tad and she looked down at his hand like it was scaly or bleeding or something.

“I won’t bite you.” Maybe not the best thing to say to such a timid female but he said it anyway.

The female giggled. “Right, well, um …” She took his hand in a surprising grip and shook once before letting go. Then she stared off into the night sky. She was a pretty, little thing. Sandy brown hair with blonde streaks and blue eyes. Her hair smelled funny, like she’d put too many products in it. Why did human females do such things? It was beyond him. They were perfectly beautiful without all the bleaching, varnishing, and primping.

Take this female for example. Her lips were full. She didn’t need the lipstick or gloss. She wasn’t quite as curvy as human females often were but she was gorgeous nonetheless. Plump little breasts and a tight little ass. He immediately felt guilty for checking her out. It had become normal to size up the opposite sex. To pick and choose who he wanted to spend Shifter Night with. It was wrong when he thought about it. They were just as much meat to the shifters as the shifters were to them. Plain wrong and it wasn’t going to happen again.

“This is the part where you tell me your name,” Winston said.

“Oh!” A gasp. “I’m Ana.”

“It’s good to meet you.” He paused for a time. “You’re sure nothing happened that I should know about? I can help, you know?”

“No.” She shook her head. Her cheeks heated. “Cody was a perfect gentleman. I just … I get these panic attacks.” She glanced his way, then quickly averted her eyes. “They used to be really bad. I’ve worked hard at getting them … myself under control.” She swallowed hard. “I thought I had a handle on it but I guess I don’t. Like I said, I’m a lost cause.”

She sounded so sad, looked sad come to think of it. “Don’t say that,” Winston said. He wanted to reach out and touch her arm but he thought better of it. Didn’t want to scare her all over again.

“I don’t mean in general. I have a great job, wonderful friends and a family who loves me but … yeah … I suck at this.”

“At sex?”

“No, I don’t suck at sex, although maybe I do. It’s been a really long time.” Then she covered her face. “I shouldn’t be telling you all this. You’re a complete stranger.” She looked at him from between her fingers.

“Talking helps.” He shrugged.

Ana took her hands away from her face.

He continued, “I’m a totally unbiased person who you’ll probably never see again. Why haven’t you had sex in a long time? You’re an attractive female.”

“It’s because of the panic attacks. It’s hard to meet someone when you have them at the drop of a hat. Dating? Forget about it. I had hoped that a one-night stand might cure me of this … anxiety.”

“What do you do for a living?”

“I’m a nurse.” She beamed. “I really love my job.”

Winston could tell. “So, I take it you don’t have these attacks at work?”

She shook her head. “No, I’ve never had one at the hospital. It’s like I go into work-mode. I feel safe at work, and don’t get them there. Things were going so well tonight. I had an attack a few weeks ago and prior to that it was months.” She frowned. “I only seem to get them when I try to date. The one I had a couple of months ago was when my friend set me up on a blind date. I was so sure I was over them. It was awful. We had barely said hello and my heart started to race. The worst part is that there’s nothing I can do about it. There is no logic to it. I’m an intelligent person, yet …” She chewed on her lower lip, looking more and more agitated.

“What happened a few weeks ago?”

She pulled a face and sighed. “I decided to try internet dating. Such a stupid idea.”

Winston smiled. “It’s not stupid.”

“I ended up puking on the guy before we could place our appetizer order.”

“Oh! I’m sure he understood … after you explained things.”

She shook her head, looking down at her lap. “I fainted; he left before I could come to.”

“Bastard mother fu—” He grit his teeth for a few seconds. There were tons of dickheads out there. “Good riddance. He is a loser and not worth your time.”

She smiled, it was small and shy.

Winston breathed out through his nose. “What happened tonight then?”

“I don’t know. I was doing so well. I went to the Dark Horse, had a couple of drinks. My friend and I checked you guys out.” Her cheeks flushed. “Sorry!”

“No need to apologize.” He shrugged. “It is what it is.”

“Cody came up to me and we got to talking. I really enjoyed his company and I found him attractive. We ended up staying until the bar was closing. In hindsight, I may have dragged things out by asking for another drink and then another. I sipped really slowly. I should have recognized the signs. It’s just that I was so happy. For once I had met a guy, a cute guy, I could talk to him without having an attack. I was so sure I would be able to see the night through and then …”

“You panicked.”

“Yes, I panicked. When push came to shove, I lost it.” She groaned, covering her face with her hands. “I’m such a loser.” The words were muffled.

“You’re not a loser. It sounds like you’re making progress. Have you seen someone about this?”

She pulled her hands away and made eye contact. “I’m down to one session a week. I was doing so well.”

“You are doing really well. You’re talking to me.”

“Yes, but it’s not like … we’re dating or about to hook up or anything.” She narrowed her eyes. “What about you?” she asked. “What’s going on with you? Why aren’t you holed up for the night like all the rest of the shifters in town?”

“Nothing much to tell.” He smiled.

Ana cocked her head. “Yeah right. A shifter not looking for a booty call on Shifter Night? There must be a story there.”

“I guess I’m sick of all the hook-ups. I come into town once a month and screw some nameless female. We’ve been frequenting either the Dark Horse in Sweetwater or The Cock Inn in Smitherson for years. You do the math. I’m sick of it. I tried having a causal relationship ‒ and I use the term loosely ‒ but that doesn’t work either. It seems that all the human females I’ve tried it with began to assume that we were together in a real relationship. This despite my only being in town one night a month. Nah! I’m done with all the meaningless sex. I want a real relationship.”

“Two things, firstly, what I wouldn’t do for sex, meaningless or otherwise.” Then she blushed. “For the record, I’ve never had a one-night stand before.” She pulled in a breath, looking mortified at her admission. “Secondly, why not just have a real relationship if you truly want one? I’ve heard ‒ might just be rumors ‒ that shifters and humans are in committed relationships. One of my friend, Eileen’s, work colleagues disappeared to go and live in some settlement in the middle of nowhere, apparently.”

“You’re right, only I’m not on the list.”

She frowned. “List? Cody was also talking about a list as well. What list?”

“Shifter females are practically non-existent. They just stopped being born. We ended up with a ninety-five to five, male/female ratio.”

Ana gasped. “I didn’t realize it was so bad.”

“We were forced to look elsewhere for mates, hence looking to human females. Shifters and humans are highly compatible. Thing is, we can’t just descend on the rural towns in the area and mate half the females. It might cause problems. So, for now, we all wait our turn to find a mate. A few males at a time. Bide our time. We live longer than humans so it’s doable.”

“Oh, I see.” Her eyes widened. “The only time you really get to mingle with women is on Shifter Night.”

“Exactly. We take turns coming into town to spend time with females. It’s the only interaction most of us get.”

“Oh no!” She chewed on her bottom lip. “Poor Cody.”

“Forget about Cody. He’s a fully grown male, quite capable of taking care of himself. You guys had a fun night, didn’t you?”

“Yeah, but I’m sure he wanted sex and it’ll be too late for him to pick up another woman.”

“What do you take us for? We’re not that desperate.”

She widened her eyes.

Winston choked out a laugh. “Okay, maybe we are … not all of us though. Don’t worry about Cody. He’ll be just fine.”

Ana smiled. It was wide and bright. It eased something in him to see her happy. Such a sweet, kind female deserved to be happy. “So, you’re going to wait then? No more messing around until you make the list?”

Winston nodded. “Yep, I hope it doesn’t take years, I doubt it will. A couple more months, a year max and I should reach the top.”

“It’ll be your turn?”

He nodded. “Yup, it’ll be my turn. No more screwing around. I’m done with that. Done with being seen as a piece of meat and viewing females in the same way. It isn’t right.”

“Good for you. I really do hope you make that list soon.” Ana stood up and smiled shyly at him. “I’d better get going.” She gestured towards the parking area.

“Tell you what, why don’t you come to the Dark Horse in a month. Come and have a drink with me.”

Her eyes clouded. “No, you saw what happened. I couldn’t …”

“Relax, we can go as friends. I think it would do you good. That way you could put yourself out there a bit, talk with the males but with no need to worry. I’ll have your back.”

“I’m not sure—”

“You should get out, and you never know, maybe you will meet someone who blows you away. Someone you feel comfortable with.”

Ana’s chest rose and fell in quick succession. Was it happening again? Had he pushed too hard?

“Look,” he put up a hand, “no pressure, okay? I’ll be there in a month.” What am I saying? He hadn’t planned on going back to the Dark Horse. The place was a meat market. It was too late to take it back. “Come if you want. Bring your friend. Join me for a drink.” He shrugged.

“I need to go.” She pointed to the parking lot.

“I’ll walk you. Or, I could give you a ride home.”

She shook her head so hard her hair went flying. “That’s okay. I’ll manage.”

“You sure? I wouldn’t mind giving you a ride.”

“Nah. Thanks for the offer but I’ll be fine. I’m used to standing on my own two feet.” She started to walk away. Her heels clacking softly on the pavement.

“Ana …”

She stiffened and then glanced back over her shoulder, “Yes?”

“For what it’s worth, I don’t think you’re an idiot or a loser. I think that the right male would be understanding and patient.”

She smiled. “Thanks.” Then she was gone. Once she was far enough away, Winston followed, just to make sure she got her cab safely.