Bob wasn’t usually sent on important away missions for the family, but in recent months all his older brothers had gotten hitched and they were sticking close to home. Or at least, close to their mates. They were all in the blissful honeymoon phase of their relationships and frankly, it was getting a little annoying. Everybody at home was all lovey-dovey all the time. It made a single guy want to puke.

Okay. Maybe not puke. Bob was really happy for his brothers. Nobody deserved happiness more than they did, but it was getting a little hard to watch. Mostly because Bob was feeling kind of lonely.

Before, he would have been able to call one of his brothers to go out on the prowl and get a few beers any night of the week. Now, of course, they were all busy with their new mates. The eldest, Grif, had always been busier than anyone else because of his role as Alpha. He led one of the biggest shifter Clans in the States. Redstone Construction wasn’t just the family business. It was a collection of many different kinds of shifters, all working together under the banner of the Redstone family and Clan.

The second-oldest, Steve, was the badass head of security. He’d been mated for a few months now. He’d met his half-water sprite mate only a little after Grif had come home from a trip to Wyoming with his own cougar shifter mate. Both of them were busy with Clan affairs all the time, and now they had mates to consider. Sure, the middle brother, Magnus, was still available to hang out during the day when his new mate, who was a vampiress, was asleep. But it just wasn’t the same.

The youngest brother, Matt, was still single, but he was usually off in California, running a few critical construction jobs for the company, and hanging out with his vampire buddies in the Napa Valley. Bob felt like the odd man out. The only single guy who stayed close to home.

But that had changed suddenly when Grif asked him to go north to act as the Clan’s liaison with the Lords. It was just what he needed—a little break from all the happy domestication of home. Maybe he’d get a chance to have a little fun and make new friends among the shifters that gathered around the Lords—the two most powerful werewolves in North America.

Every shifter in the States answered to those two guys. They were identical twins who had been designated from birth to be this generation’s leaders. Twin births were rare among shifters. Identical twins were almost unheard of. But once in each generation, a pair of identical twins was born who were destined to be that generation’s Lords.

The current Lords were Rafe and Tim. Bob had met them for the first time yesterday when he’d arrived in their territory. He’d been nervous about it. It wasn’t everyday he met shifter royalty.

The Lords were wolves this time around. It varied. Bob got along well with the werewolf Packs in the Redstone Clan. In fact, he was probably on better terms with most of them than any of his brothers because a lot of them worked directly for him on the work crews he managed. He’d gotten to know a bit more about wolf habits than his brothers, and it was easy to apply that knowledge when he met the Lords.

But he shouldn’t have worried. The Lords were great guys from everything he’d seen so far. Their people were happy and well organized. That spoke well for the men who ruled over them all. And the shifters here were welcoming, though they seemed to want to get to know Bob better before they trusted him with the keys to the kingdom.

That was cool with Bob. He would have felt the same if one of them had come to his territory. It took a while to build trust between shifters. They had to sniff each other out a bit first before they could extend more than a basic welcome. Bob hadn’t expected anything different.

The fact that they’d given him a cabin of his own, and permission to prowl a decent section of forest on their mountain, spoke well for them. They obviously wanted the representative from Redstone to feel welcome. Bob could have done a lot worse. As it was, he had a nice log cabin to call home for the next few weeks and a new forest to explore.

It was cold out there, which he looked forward to. Las Vegas was great, and the desert did get cold at night, but up here in the mountains…this was the kind of terrain Bob really liked. Lots of cover. Trees, rocks, fresh running streams filled with fish. Bob couldn’t wait to shift into his fur and do a little claw fishing.

A grizzly shifter had shown Bob to the cabin right after he’d finished his initial meeting with the Lords. It was late in the day and the bear—an affable guy named Rocky—showed him the path to the cabin, which was lower down the mountain from the bear’s home. Strategically, it was placed at a much lower elevation than the Lords’ place, up near the peak, and the bear made it known that he and his mate, not to mention his bear-shifter parents inhabited the two closest homes to the cabin. No doubt, it was a not-so-subtle message that a bunch of grizzlies stood between Bob and the Lords. His actions would be watched by some of the most powerful shifters in the woods.

That was okay with Bob. He didn’t have any intention of doing anything wrong. Far from it. He would work hard for his Clan while he was here and enjoy the wilderness. It had been far too long since he’d had time to prowl new grounds and his inner cat couldn’t wait to discover what he might find just outside the cabin’s door.

The place was wired for internet, phone and cable television. All the modern conveniences, including a small kitchen and comfortable looking king sized bed. It may be just a cabin, but it had all the amenities a bachelor could want. Especially a bachelor who craved the wilderness just beyond his front door.

Bob stowed his gear, then stripped quickly. It was time to check the perimeter and make himself acquainted with his animal neighbors. The local wildlife was about to learn there was a new cougar in town and though it was only temporary, the cat inside him had a need to check things out and scratch some trees, maybe mark them in other ways that humans didn’t like to hear about. This was Bob’s territory for the next few weeks. It was time to let the wild cousins know it.

Bob opened the front door, placing his clothes in a neat pile just inside. He’d shift on the porch when he came back, though the handles on the doors were the type that a cat’s paw could easily push down and open. That was pretty standard for shifter accommodations. All the homes in the Clan’s neighborhood had them.

He closed the door and turned to survey the area. Not a soul in sight. His sensitive ears didn’t pick up any sounds except the rustle of leaves and normal forest sounds. Bob shifted, feeling his muscles stretch and reform, his bones slide into the new configuration with a blur of magic. A moment later, he was the cat. A full-grown, adult male cougar. Although Bob had always liked the name mountain lion a bit better. It made him feel sort of majestic. And he was now in the mountains, after all.

Bob nosed around the area by the porch steps. There were two simple wooden steps up onto the low porch. The cabin was dark wood. No paint marred the natural look of the place, and it blended beautifully into its surroundings—as did most of the buildings he’d seen so far. Whoever the architect was, he or she was a genius with blending the shapes and colors of the homes into their environments.

Bob’s sensitive nose picked up traces of the bear shifter who’d walked with him to the cabin. He could also smell old trails left by passersby. The faint scent of a human female had been in the cabin as well. Probably the person who’d prepared the place for his arrival. He’d have to remember that scent and if he ran across her, he’d thank her.

He moved out a bit from the steps and picked up other scents. Most of them were old, but one was tantalizingly fresh. And cat. Not cougar, but something similar. Wild. Furry. Feline. And very, very female.

Hmm. This would bear further investigation. He wanted to know more about this female who had pranced right across his new territory in the last fifteen minutes. He set off to follow the trail, enjoying the hunt. Bob, both in his cat form and in his human form, liked to play, and this might prove to be a fun game. If nothing else, it would help him learn the territory a bit and maybe he’d meet a pretty woman. She smelled young, but definitely adult. Ripe. Delicious. Like salted caramel and honey—two of his favorites.

Bob felt a strange imperative inside himself to find her. Such a heavenly-smelling female shouldn’t be out wandering alone. Especially not when there were strangers in town—meaning himself. Though Bob didn’t know for sure. There could be other visitors to the area besides him.

Unless that’s what she wanted. Maybe the feline female was looking for a little excitement with a new guy? Bob quickened his pace. Never let it be said he turned down a willing, playmate. Even if she wasn’t exactly a cougar.

When he found her a few minutes later by the stream that wound around the back of the cabin, he realized exactly what she was. He laughed, but in his cat form it came out more like a huffing sound. If he wasn’t much mistaken, the lovely, spotted lady with the tufted ears was a bobcat.

 

Serena’s head swiveled when she heard the sound of another cat. Scratch that. A big cat. The feline watching her was a full-sized—and then some—adult male mountain lion.

A shiver of fear passed over her skin and made her back arch as she hissed involuntarily. The cougar, standing about ten yards behind her on the crest of a rise took a step back in what looked like surprise.

Yeah, so, she’d overreacted. She was in the Lords’ territory. She was safe from any shifter found prowling here. Or at least, they had promised her she would be. She shouldn’t still be so skittish.

But she was. She couldn’t help it. Fear was something that had been learned over time. It wouldn’t dissipate overnight.

She tried to take deep breaths and consciously loosen her stiff muscles and arched back. Making her fur lie flat was a little harder, but when the mountain lion didn’t come any closer and didn’t seem angry, she was able to master her reaction. Little by little, she calmed.

The mountain lion just sat there, on his haunches, his head tilted quizzically to the side as he watched her. After a few minutes of just looking at each other, he stood up and took a tentative step toward her. Serena stood her ground. She was safe. She was on the Lords’ lands. If she wasn’t safe here, then she wasn’t safe anywhere. Right?

She consciously kept her breathing as even as possible as the big cat slowly approached. His head was still tilted, his long tail waggling a little behind him. His paws were massive compared to hers, his size at least double hers. His coat was shiny and looked soft, his fur not quite the length and depth of hers. And he didn’t have spots. He was the tawny color of his kind. Like burnished gold. Very pretty.

But he was huge and she felt very vulnerable. She sniffed as he drew closer, but she didn’t recognize anything about his scent. He smelled a little of sand, which was odd. Unless…maybe he was the visitor she had been told might be arriving today. A shifter from Nevada, the wolves at the Pack house had said, though she didn’t know what kind of shifter.

Well, if this cat was the visitor, Serena knew now what creature shared his soul.

And having figured out the most logical answer for who he might be, she was able to gain a little more calm. She stood her ground as he got closer and was able to remain stationary when he stretched out a big paw toward her.

He didn’t touch. In fact, he stopped coming closer and sat quietly on his haunches, waiting for her response. Taking a deep breath, Serena allowed the cat in her soul to respond to the bigger feline. She reached out with her smaller paw and batted at his.

He allowed it, batting back gently. Allowing her to set the pace for their encounter.

Next, he lowered his head and sniffed at her, coming very close. She allowed it, sniffing him as well. He smelled deliciously dangerous to her feline instincts. Not the same as the male bobcats she had known, but still feline and very male. His scent didn’t remind her of bad times, as the scent of her own kind did now. Instead, the decidedly cougar aroma was just foreign enough to not trigger bad memories, but the feline edge of his musk made her feel surprisingly comfortable around him.

Serena didn’t think she’d ever feel comfortable around a male cat again, but this big, gentle giant seemed to be proving her wrong. And she didn’t even know his name. In fact, she’d never even seen his man form. But his cat was impressive. She’d bet his human form was the same.

Not that she’d go out of her way to find out. She had been through a lot in the past few months. She’d come here to heal and didn’t intend to get involved with any males while she was here—or any time in the foreseeable future, for that matter. She’d had enough of men for a while.

But she admitted to being a little lonely. Sure, she liked to prowl alone, but not all the time. Sometimes it was fun to have a fellow cat to share the wilderness with. Just to play. Cats loved to play and it was hard to play by yourself all the time. Eventually, even loners wanted someone to share a few moments of innocent fun with.

So she stood still while the bigger cat sniffed at her and then butted his head against her. It was a feline thing she understood well. Working up her nerve, she did the same to him, and then raised her paw to boop him on the nose.

He batted at her smaller paw, but he wasn’t fast enough. She scooted backward and nearly landed in the small stream. Twisting and yowling a bit, she scooted away to avoid getting wet. The mountain stream was cold. Fine for lapping at with a thirsty tongue, but her human side preferred to bathe in a nice, hot shower.

The cougar seemed to laugh at her antics as she settled on her haunches about three feet from her previous position. Even she had to admit, she’d probably looked funny. She reached up with her paw and waggled her stubby tail.

The cougar stopped to nose around the stream a bit before taking a drink. The waters here were clear and fresh. The Lords made sure they were kept that way so the shifters and their wild cousins could enjoy the streams and pools in their territory without fear of becoming ill. There were also a lot of fish in this waterway, but Serena hadn’t done much fishing. She had made it a point to take her meals in her human form since she had been here, eating at the communal tables in the wolves’ Pack house.

She had taken her turn cooking for those same tables too. Everyone in the Pack chipped in on the labor to keep the Pack house up and running. It was a vital resource for their little community and they’d been amazing to her since allowing her to stay there.

The cougar twitched his tail and jerked his head in invitation to walk with him. She was confident in her own speed and knew she could always outrun him if he turned out to be just another male on the make, so she followed along. They walked through the woods behind the old cabin at a leisurely pace. He stopped once in a while to stretch, rub his fur along the bark of trees and scratch his long claws into them, making deep gouges.

He was marking his new territory, she realized belatedly. He had to be a high-level visitor if they gave him the best guest cabin to stay in. When Serena had arrived, there had been a visiting Alpha from one of the big wolf Packs in the northeastern part of the country staying there. He had left, and then a few days ago her new friend Maggie, Rocky’s human mate, had cleaned the place and prepared it for its next occupant.

Serena hadn’t realized the shifter from Nevada would be staying there, but it seemed logical based on the cougar’s actions. They walked companionably up and down the little hills and valleys created by the stream. He rubbed against her once or twice and she allowed it after an initial moment of unease. She batted at him when he tried to get closer and he seemed to take the rebuke with easy amusement.

And then they came up on one of the deeper holes fed by the stream. The cougar seemed to perk up as he examined the water from the very edge of the pond. There were plenty of fish in there and they seemed to have caught his attention.

When he pounced, landing in the water with a joyful, deadly splash, she could tell he was enjoying himself. His head dipped below the water line for a moment and then came up with a big fish in his mouth. He paddled for a while, then reached an area near the bank where he could stand on his hind legs, the rest of him buoyant in the murky water. His front paws lifted out of the water and he had another, slightly smaller fish in them. He lobbed it toward the bank and it landed at her feet, wriggling. She put one paw on it to prevent it from sliding back down the bank as he trotted out of the pond, tail swishing.

He dropped the fish in his mouth alongside the other one and then walked a few feet away to shake out his coat. Considerate of him, though she still felt a tiny bit of the water spray as he shook himself. She watched the fish, wondering if he was going to chomp on them raw.

Her bobcat didn’t turn its nose up at raw food. In fact, there were times when she preferred to hunt her meals in the forest, but lately she’d been trying to overcome her more primitive desires. She’d been trying very hard to reconnect with her human half. Eating cooked food was one step on that path. She’d been careful not to eat raw meat since coming here and she thought it was helping her on her road to recovery.

But the fish looked good. Really good. Still, she didn’t know if this big male would share his catch with her. His actions seemed to indicate he was offering the smaller fish to her, but she didn’t want to presume.

She was looking at the fish when she felt the unmistakable tingle of shifter magic. The cougar had transformed.

Serena raised her chin and got her first good look at the man who had worn the cougar’s fur. He was a knockout. Hands down. Hot, hot, hot. Even her cat could appreciate his male perfection.

Blond hair on his head and around the part that seemed to perk up under her scrutiny. Oh yeah, he was definitely male. In a very emphatic way.

His body was beautifully honed. Like a sculptor had gone nuts creating the perfect male specimen—a specimen that had muscles in all the right places, including the most impressive six-pack she’d ever seen.

As a shifter, Serena was used to seeing nicely shaped, muscular bodies. Most shifters benefitted from the active lifestyles of their animal halves. Most were in good shape and good looking due to a blessing of genetics. This man, though… He was way beyond her experience.

“Hey there.” His voice was gentle, as if he was aware of her skittishness now that he’d shifted shape. “Do you want to eat this raw or shall I cook it up for us back at the cabin?”

Neither option appealed to her sense of self-preservation. There was a third option though he hadn’t mentioned it. She stared at him, blinking slowly. He’d get the message that she didn’t want to talk when she stayed in her fur.

“I’m Robert Redstone, by the way. You can call me Bob.” He sighed. “I guess you don’t want to talk, eh? That’s all right. I just wanted you to know I enjoyed prowling with you. I’ve never actually met a bobcat before, though people have called me that for years. It started as a joke because my name is Bob and well…I’m a cat.” He shrugged and she couldn’t help but be a little affected by his natural charm. She was getting the idea that this powerful shifter was about as far from the strong, silent type as you could get. That was fine with her. It made him somehow less of a threat, even though he was still way bigger than her. “If you want to stick around and maybe take your human form later,” he went on with a gentle tone of hope in his voice, “I’ll cook up these fish for us.”

She was tempted, but she really couldn’t take the chance. This man was very appealing but it was too soon. She’d only just started to be able to stay in her human form for more than a few days at a time. She’d come here to heal. She hadn’t come here to get involved with the first pretty cat-man that strolled across her path. That could only lead to trouble. And she’d had enough of that for a lifetime.

Serena bent down and took the slightly smaller fish in her teeth, then stood on all four feet. It was a clear sign of refusal he should understand. She looked at him once more.

He shook his head slowly, just once, his expression a bit deflated, but not quite defeated. “Okay then. But the offer stands as long as I’m here. I’d like to see you again, kitten.” His final words were said in a low voice that sent tingles down her spine, but she refused to allow this smooth-tongued devil to make her stray from her chosen course.

With a surge of his magic and a blur of energy, he resumed his cougar shape, taking the larger fish between his teeth once again. Together, they walked back toward the cabin at a leisurely pace. It was as if he didn’t really want their encounter to end, and she had to admit—if only in the privacy of her own mind—neither did she. Not really.

He was the most handsome man she’d ever seen up close and his feline form was impressive, to say the least. His presence impacted her on many levels and made her feel the cold shiver of excitement along with the warm impractical belief that somehow, even though she didn’t really know him at all, she was safe with this man. He exuded confidence and a calming power that made her feel comfortable with him in a way she hadn’t felt comfortable with any male in a very long time. It was something to ponder.

When they reached the short path that led to the front door of his cabin, Bob tossed his fish onto the slightly raised front porch with a quick jerk of his head. His jaws were larger than hers and rather impressive, and he’d already proven he was a good hunter—at least in the water.

Bob paused for a moment to rub his head against hers in a sort of feline farewell that she allowed. She even returned the gesture with somewhat shyer motions. She didn’t want to give him the wrong idea, but she also didn’t want him to think she was either stuck up or angry with him. So she stood and allowed the touch for a moment or two, trying not to skitter away or respond too enthusiastically. Either was a possibility with her unstable emotions in play.

She was rather proud of herself for standing her ground, and when he finally stepped away from her, she was able to leave him with her head held high. Serena scampered away from the cabin and headed toward the building that had become her refuge and salvation, the fish still held in her mouth. She would drop it in the kitchen, then go to her room to dress and then go back down to the kitchen, to fry up the fresh fish that had been the first gift a man had given her in too many years to count.

A spontaneous gift that expected nothing in return. It was a beautiful concept. And though a fish wasn’t exactly chocolate or roses, it appealed to the predator in her soul. The strong male had gifted her with the means to survive. Sustenance. It was a basic survival instinct that impressed her inner bobcat with the skill of the male who had been able to provide for her.

Her bobcat liked the cougar, even if he was a different species. Goddess knew, she’d had enough grief and terror from bobcat males to turn her off them permanently. Serena had thought any feline male would be a problem for her going forward, but apparently cougars were just different enough. And this particular cougar male had impressed her both in his fur and with his friendly words and accepting nature when he’d shifted and spoken to her.

Serena padded into the kitchen of the Pack house and dropped her fish on a low platter left out for just such instances. Many within the wolf Pack hunted and delivered their excess to the Pack house, to provide for those that needed the help of their community. The concept of the Pack house was something unique to wolves, but the Lords had welcomed Serena to stay there while she recovered, extending the hospitality of their Pack as well as the wider community of shifters that surrounded them. It was an honor she didn’t take lightly.

Going up the stairs on paws she’d been careful to wipe off on the doormat, Serena stayed in her fur until she entered the room she’d been assigned. It was a suite, really. There was an attached bathroom that was fully stocked with necessities, and even a few frivolous things like bubble bath. Serena had discovered she really loved bubble baths. She took one almost every night, finding they helped her relax enough to sleep in her human form.

With a quick burst of her magic, she shifted to her two-legged version and went into the bathroom. A quick shower was in order. She’d been prowling around in the woods all day and would present herself clean and tidy in the kitchen. It was her turn to help cook anyway. She would be able to prepare her fish just the way she liked it, as well as pitch in with the communal meal. Win-win.

Serena smiled as she dressed a few minutes later, having finished her quick dousing. She paused a moment to savor the feeling. She hadn’t had much to smile about in recent years. It was definitely a nice sensation. She had to believe that the encounter with Bob the cougar had a lot to do with her suddenly positive mood.

It was sort of shocking. A male feline was responsible for her smile. It was something she wouldn’t have believed before meeting the cougar.

A cougar who had admitted, somewhat sheepishly, that his nickname was Bobcat.