The last thing Samantha remembered was falling asleep in Benjamin’s arms. She woke the next morning to the smell of coffee and bacon and sat up in bed, taking a deep breath and stretching. She smiled and slipped out of bed into Ben’s oversized slippers and his plaid flannel bathrobe. The robe smelled of his cologne. She took a deep breath of his scent as she stepped down the stairs and found him cooking in the kitchen.

He was shirtless with gray sweatpants slung low on his hips. He turned the bacon over in the cast-iron frying pan and looked up at her. A light dusting of snow had fallen in the night. The world outside the big windows showed a scene of bare trees covered in the fresh snow. He poured her a cup of coffee and handed it to her across the counter. She slid into the padded high-back stool and sipped her coffee. He’d prepared it just the way she liked it. She took another sip and watched his chest muscles move as he finished preparing breakfast.

“I never imagined I’d be lucky enough to find a man who likes to cook breakfast in the morning,” she said.

He chuckled and brought their plates around to the counter, where he sat and sipped his own coffee.

“How are you feeling this morning?” he asked her.

“I feel wonderful.”

She took a bite of bacon and smiled at him. She really did feel wonderful. She could feel him inside her, even now. After their night of passion and bonding, it was as if their souls had overlapped. She could feel his feelings inside her, sense his thoughts and his moods. She could tell he was happy, that he loved her, and that he was counting his blessings every moment since he’d woken up. She leaned over and hugged him, and he returned her embrace, holding her close and stroking her cheek. They kissed briefly before smiling in each other and returning to their meals.

“But you know how I feel, don’t you?” she asked with a wink.

“I do for the most part. How does it feel to have a young bear inside you?” he asked with a hint of concern in his eyes.

“I can hear it in the back of my mind. It’s growling like a baby. No, it’s not so much a baby anymore, like it was last night. Now, it’s kind of a juvenile. It seems a bit unsure of itself.”

“Can you see what it looks like?” he asked.

“I can see her fur color. It’s a dark, dusty brown and her eyes are big and amber. She’s really quite beautiful.”

“That’s good. You should be ready soon.”

“Ready?”

“Ready for your first shift.”

“Already?” she asked.

She hadn’t imagined she would already be ready to shift. Truly, having Benjamin change her last night had been an impulse. But she was happy with the results. She wanted to be like him. She wanted to belong to him, and to the shifter community. Their closeness was something she’d never had.

In the cold and lonely city of New York, people barely looked at each other. There was an intense hustle and bustle and busyness, to get where they were going. A focus on work or pleasure, but never on each other.

Shifters were different. They were bonded, connected, and they really cared about their families and their community. It was something that Samantha had wanted all her life. Now she was getting everything she’d ever dreamed of. Becoming a bear, a magnificent and powerful creature, was a huge bonus.

She was still a little scared. The thought of her body shifting into large animal was intimidating to say the least. How could it not be? Her entire form would rip apart and be re-shaped into a three-hundred-pound grizzly bear. She had to admit, that sounded like it would hurt.

“Is it going to hurt?” she finally asked, hearing the juvenile bear huffing and puffing at the back of her mind.

“It will probably hurt the first time. But after that, it won’t hurt again.”

“How long does it take to shift?” she asked.

“The actual shift itself only takes a few seconds, even the first time. But preparing yourself for it—that could take days, or even weeks. It depends on how much you focus on the fledgling animal after you’ve been changed.”

“I can’t help hearing her. And I feel as if it’s part of me. A part that I somehow always knew was there, but never could really define.”

“That’s good,” he said, taking a bite of scrambled eggs. “Well, get ready for the day, and then I’ll take you somewhere private where you can try to shift. We’ll experience the forest together.”

“What if I can’t shift?”

“If the shift doesn’t come this afternoon, then we’ll try again another time.” he said, patting her knee.

“Thank you, Ben,” she said, wrapping her arms around his neck and sliding closer to him. He turned to her on the swivel chair and held her close, running the pad of his thumb over her cheek and cupping her chin. They kissed gently and softly, holding each other close. She rested her head on his shoulder and let out a contented sigh. He really was the most wonderful man. So tender and kind, but strong and protective. She felt so safe with him. The connection was like a bubbling geyser of emotion that shot up between them and fell in sprinkles all around. It was at once so comfortable and yet so thrilling. She knew she would always feel safe and never bored with him.

“We’ll go as soon as you’re ready.”

Later, they drove from Benjamin’s house and into town. He continued down the road, passing where the Midwest Mayhem group had their camp. A shudder went down her spine.

“There was something off with those people, don’t you think?” she asked.

“I definitely sensed it. There was a strange smell there that I’ve never sensed before. I couldn’t really place it.”

“A strange smell?” she asked.

“I can usually sense when there’s a shifter around. It was almost like there was a shifter among them. But it wasn’t any animal I’ve ever smelled before.”

“An unknown animal, huh?”

“Strange isn’t it?” he asked.

“It certainly is,” she said.

They parked at a trailhead that went deep into the forest. The air was still cold, and snow clung to the ground, but the sky was clear and blue overhead. A slight breeze ruffled the bare branches of the dogwood trees.

Ben grabbed several blankets and a thermos of hot chocolate from the backseat. They walked hand-in-hand down the snowy path for quite some time, until he led her off the trail and into the forest. The sun shone warm overhead, even as they crunched through frozen leaves on the snowy ground. They came to a clearing, and Ben spread a waterproof, fuzzy blanket over the powdery snow. He folded the other blankets on top of the first and set the thermos beside it.

Samantha gulped, not quite sure what to do.

“Are you ready?” he asked.

“I think so,” she said. “I can hear my bear more loudly now. She’s so close to the surface. It’s almost like, if I let her, she could jump out of my skin.”

“That’s good,” said Ben.

He began to remove his clothes and stood in the cold forest completely naked. Little flurries of snow danced on the breeze as they fell from the branches. She had to laugh as goose bumps pricked on his pale skin and he shivered.

“Aren’t you freezing?” she asked.

“Shifters don’t feel the cold as much as humans. But we feel it a bit. I’m going to shift first. That should help you find your bear and bring it out. I will be connected to you in both forms. You should be able to feel me.”

“Okay,” she said, pulling off her jacket.

She thought that she would be freezing without her winter coat on, but she wasn’t nearly as cold as she should have been. Finally, she dropped out of her pants and shirt and unbuckled her bra. Feeling embarrassed and nervous, she slipped out of her panties and stood naked on the fuzzy flannel blanket. The cold was getting to her now, and her teeth started to chatter.

Benjamin shifted into his bear form almost instantaneously. The sight of it amazed her beyond belief. He turned to her and grunted, hot air popping out of his toothy mouth. She reached up and stroked his face. Samantha could see her dear Benjamin behind the animal’s eyes. She leaned in to kiss his nose. He nudged her gently with his nose and she giggled.

“Okay, okay, I’ll focus,” she said.

He took a step back to give her room. He watched her intently as she closed her eyes. She focused on her fledgling bear. So young and inexperienced. She called out to it and invited it to come closer. Inside her mind, she could see the bear and her human form together. Her human self held out her hand to the bear, beckoning it closer.

The grizzly came out of the darkness of her mind, slowly pacing forward with its head down. It came to her and lifted its face to her hand, rubbing its cheek against her palm. All at once, the grizzly reared up and pounced into her.

She gasped as her body began to shift. The pain was excruciating for a split second as her entire form ripped apart and was re-formed into something completely new. She screamed, but it came out as a growl. The grizzly burst out from inside her, and she landed on four massive paws in the winter forest, breathless and startled.

She turned to Ben. He stood before her, grinning with his big toothy grin. She grunted, trying to speak through her grizzly mouth. She felt like laughing. It was exhilarating. Like pure adrenaline. She wanted nothing more than to run wild and free through the forest. Without a moment’s hesitation, she called to Ben across their connection and bounded into the woods.

“Catch me if you can,” she said to him.