A few days later, Mason was preparing for his shifting evening with Emma. She’d been working with him for the past several days, but the real trial was upon him.

Shifting with someone else.

His porcupine wasn’t his normal, hyper self at the thought of shifting, so maybe they were both nervous.

“How about Jens?” Mason asked aloud, if for no other reason than to break the silence in his car. The radio hadn’t worked for months. He sat in his car where she’d told him to meet her, staring at trees. He was out in the middle of nowhere. His porcupine growled and shuddered.

“Okay. Jens is a bad name. You know, this would be easier if you gave me a hint.”

The porcupine chittered indignantly.

“Carlos?”

Another growl.

“Flower.” Because who didn’t like Bambi?

A quill pressed against the underside of Mason’s skin.

Apparently, his porcupine didn’t like being compared to a skunk.

He’d been trying to come up with a name for his spirit animal for two days and had come up with nothing. But the communication between the two of them had been amazing. Still no words. Still just emotions and sounds, but it was glorious. “Bones?”

The porcupine perked up and then purred.

“Seriously? You want to be called Bones?”

A knock sounded on Mason’s car window.

He jumped, then rolled it down when he saw Emma standing outside. Completely naked.

His eyes shot back to the steering wheel, heat immediately rising up his neck. Emma knocked again.

“You know, you sound like a crazy person sitting there talking to yourself. Come on. It’s chilly out here.”

Mason drew in a long steadying breath and wrapped his fingers around the handle. Don’t look. Don’t stare.

He opened the door and stepped out, ducking immediately back inside to grab his repaired satchel.

When they had decided to shift, he’d immediately given up his satchel free lifestyle. Though, grudgingly and against his better judgement, he had at least decided he would leave the satchel in the trees rather than carry it with him.

“It’s about time you showed up.”

“I was expecting you to drive.”

“It’s quicker to go cross country. You’ll see. We do that often.”

Mason couldn’t help himself. He had to look. And he immediately cursed his own lack of propriety, but damn she was gorgeous.

Long, slender legs with hips that curved just right into her waist. Her hair was down, draped over her shoulders and falling just about her breasts. Like goddamn flashing signposts pointing right at them.

He dragged his eyes upwards, meeting her gaze.

She smiled smugly.

There was no point in denying his attraction and he certainly wasn’t going to get naked in front of her so she could see how she’d affected him. “You’re… gorgeous.”

“Thanks. Now, come on. Are we going to shift or what?”

It really didn’t bother her that she was standing there naked in front of him. Which kind of blew his mind a little bit. “Right. Give me just a second.”

“A wha—”

He turned towards his shelter in the trees.

“Where are you going?”

“To shift.”

“Seriously? There’s no one around.”

“Yes. Seriously. I’ll be right back.”

Mason disappeared behind the trees and dropped his satchel over Bones’ stack of bones.

He was really calling his porcupine Bones.

His animal spirit growled in contentment.

Well, okay then.

“Mason, hurry up,” Emma called from a few feet away.

He sighed and started stripping. For time’s sake, he didn’t bother folding his clothes as neatly as he normally did, but he still made sure to put his shoes into the shower cap. As he stuffed his pants into the bag, the little notebook fell out. Maybe he would consider a smaller bag to carry with him in the future. One that would fit just his glasses and the notebook. Emma couldn’t give him too much shit about that, could she?

Pulling off his glasses, he slid them into their assigned pocket and set the attached pen on top of the notebook. He was pretty sure he could convince Bones to carry the notebook. What if something came up that he had to write down?

Finally naked, Mason crouched down and invited Bones forward. He nearly burst out, so excited to be free that Mason had to coax him back for the notebook.

Bones ambled back and picked it up, careful not to pierce the leather cover with his teeth.

Mason was impressed.

They emerged from the bushes to find Emma leaning against his car with her arms crossed over her chest. Her shoulders had bulked up and were covered in a swatch of short golden fur.

How did she do that?

“It’s about damn time.” She stepped forward and stood tall. “Quill boy.” She shifted.

It was the most graceful, beautiful thing Mason had ever seen. Her shoulders, already covered in fur, bulked up further and the fur rose up her neck, darkening her natural blonde as her long locks shortened, revealing rounded ears on the top of her head. As the transformation finished, Emma shook her head and dropped down to all fours, letting out a low, contented growl.

All Mason could think of was Cinderella being turned into a princess by her fairy godmother. Because, for a bear, Emma was incredibly gorgeous. Snout and all.

The second she was shifted, he could feel another presence in his mind. It was in addition to his porcupine—Bones. It had to be Mal?

And Emma. Was Emma touching his mind?

There was something so intimate about the idea that it set him back.

The bear started into the trees, but when Mason didn’t follow, she looked back. He could still see Emma in the bear’s eyes. Could she see him in Bones?

Mason nudged Bones on, but the porcupine seemed apprehensive. Had it been any other bear, Mason probably would have been too. But it was Emma.

Mal grunted and swung his head back and forth and Mason felt a press of encouragement—laced with what he was sure was irritation—press against them.

Come on, Bones.

The porcupine perked up at the use of his new name, and ambled along behind the bear, his quills raised slightly on alert. Once Emma and Mal were sure Mason was following, they picked up the pace, accelerating to a jog that sent ripples of golden fur down their back.

If Mason could begrudge porcupines anything, it was their short legs. As they started moving, Bones fell into pace, taking no less than a dozen steps for each of Mal’s one, but he grew more confident, more at ease. Exhilarated.

Mason let himself sink into Bones’ presence, and together, they became one. He noticed each stone and branch under foot. Smelled the musk of the forest, the soil and leaves.

It wasn’t the first time he’d let Bones completely take over, but today was new.

Mason felt alive with Bones. And as cliché as it sounded, one with nature. He would have to tell Emma when they shifted back. She would probably get a kick out of it.

A surge of laughter that didn’t belong to Bones swept over him like a blanket.

So, she already heard? How as that even possible?

A sharp smell assaulted his nose.

Bones turned and dropped the notebook on the ground… next to a pile of bones.

It smelled of fresh decay and Mason could see a tuft of fur not far away. The pile wasn’t big, perhaps that of a larger rodent. Maybe a cat.

But he knew immediately what Bones was after.

Sitting right in the middle of the pile was a completely intact skull. A surge of giddiness swept through them as Bones started digging.

Another presence pressed on their mind, and branches cracked behind them as the bear pushed into the brush where they had stopped. Mal took a step forward and Bones hissed, quills standing up in full array. His eyes flicked between Mal and the skull, which he had almost stepped on. He had one long toenail resting on the little black journal that Bones had dropped.

Mal snorted, and took a step back. And Mason could swear he saw him roll his eyes. He didn’t think bears could do that, but what did he know?

Bones skirted around the skull until his rear-end was facing Mal and nosed up to the skull, bumping it gently. Then he picked it up in his mouth. Dropped it. Looked at the journal. Picked up the skull again and set it on top of the journal, then stepped back.

He looked up at Mal.

The bear sat on his haunches, plucking at something on a front leg with his teeth. When he noticed Bones looking at him, he dropped back down and growled.

Mason was beside himself. What was Emma going to think?

Bones was conflicted. For probably the first time ever, he wanted to please Mason by carrying the notebook, but he seemed to have realized that he couldn’t carry both the notebook and his treasure.

Mason had to bite back his laughter at the absurdity of it. He pushed on Bones’ thoughts, trying to suggest that he try and get Mal to carry the notebook.

Bones balked.

Mal growled again, apparently more aware of Mason than he’d thought.

Nudge the notebook towards him. Emma will pick it up.

Bones flicked his eyes between the skull and Mal.

Come on. It’ll be fine.

Bones crooned, and his quills pulsed up and down.

Please.

Bones flattened himself to the ground, ears back and quills flat. He skulked around the skull until he was facing Mal and then reached out with his snout and pushed the skull off the notebook. With a quick glance at Mal, Bones pushed the notebook forward.

Mal snorted and Mason saw something flicker in his eyes. Mal swung his head back and forth, a grizzly refusal.

Bones took half a step back from the notebook, picked up the skull again.

Mal exhaled, his lips flapping. A string of saliva flicked towards Mason and Bones. Then, he reached down and picked up the notebook with his teeth.

Mason was never going to hear the end of that. He didn’t sense anything from Mal as the bear backed out of the brush and back onto the open way they had been following. They weren’t on one of the trails in this section of the woods, but Mal had led them through a part of the woods clear enough for a bear to wander without trouble.

Mason urged Bones to follow and the porcupine did without complaint. There was even a spring to his ambling steps.

They didn’t travel much further, emerging into a sweeping clearing with a stream running along one edge. The grass swayed in a light breeze, pressed down in spots by past lounging wildlife. The standing grass parted around Mal as he moved, swishing back and forth in his passing.

This was easily the best day of his life.

He just hoped Emma understood how much this meant to him.