Dana woke up feeling groggy but better than she had before she’d gone to sleep. It took her a minute to remember where she was. The last two years that she’d been living in the Updikes’ mansion, she’d slept in what was basically a utility closet off the kitchen. Waking up in Jessie’s spare bedroom in his big comfortable bed was initially alarming until she remembered what had happened. She let out a deep sigh and sat up, looking around and taking in the space.

Silent tears slid down her cheek at how lucky she was to have found Jessie at this point in her life. She only hoped the Bear Patrol would find whoever had killed Chuck Updike so that she and Jessie could get on with their lives. She wanted to believe that she could have all the love she so desperately desired and that her terrible luck wouldn’t destroy her chance for happiness. As much as she wanted to put aside her fears, she knew that life had never handed her anything less than challenging before.

Dana was a survivor. She knew she had to use the tools she’d learned over the last decade to persevere once again. The light in Jessie’s eyes promised something better, something that she had longed for since she’d lost her parents. Love and belonging.

She climbed out of bed and slipped on her shoes before making her way out into the hallway. She looked around the living room and found the prettiest outfits lined up on the couch. Dana put her fingertips to her lips and gasped as she walked toward the clothing.

She picked up the first dress, it was made from white silk, and covered in an intricate floral design. It had a belted waist and flared out in a wide skirt that hit just above the knee. She giggled at the thought of wearing such a beautiful outfit. She set it down and went to the next dress. It was a formfitting red number with black leather strips that went up the sides. The red fabric that made up most of the body was ruched and it dipped into a scooped neckline. She’d never worn anything so mature and alluring. The third dress on the couch was pale blue with a white belt. It had a higher neckline than the red dress but had a similar form-fitting shape.

All three outfits were accompanied by matching shoes. Jessie had said he would have his sister-in-law bring some clothes over, but Dana wasn’t expecting anything like this. Everything was her size or close. Even the shoes looked like they would fit. As she stood over the outfits, trying to decide what to wear, Jessie walked through the front door with grease on his shirt and a smear on his face.

Something about the grease on his tanned skin looked so sexy as his blue eyes sparkled at her. She grinned and looked back at the clothing.

“I didn’t expect such nice things.”

“Daisy has good taste. She’s studying to be an interior designer and even has clients already.”

“I can’t decide which to wear. They’re all so lovely.”

“I’m going to hop in the shower while you decide. Daisy also brought over a bag of makeup and hair supplies if you need them.”

“I’m going to have to thank her for helping me so much.”

“I’m sure you’ll like Daisy. She’s my brother Cyrus’s mate. Daisy and my brother Buck’s mate, Maria, have become great friends. They both went to the Bright Institute for Shifters. Maria already graduated and now she’s giving lectures at the Institute and all over the state. She really has a talent for gardening.”

“I can’t wait to meet everyone in your family. They sound wonderful. I’ve missed having a family so much, I barely remember what it’s like.”

“Now that you’re part of the Kincaid clan, you’ll be drowning in family,” Jessie said with a laugh.

“I’m counting on it,” Dana said softly as she picked the white printed dress with the flared skirt.

She hadn’t worn anything so feminine in a long time. The white floral dress seemed perfect for a summer dinner date at Fate Mountain Lodge. She picked up the matching shoes, a pair of pumps that matched that pink in the flowers, and made her way back to the guestroom while Jessie went to use the shower.

She heard the water turn on and all she could think about was Jessie stripping out of his clothes in the room across the hall. She bit her lip as her inner fox whined to go and join him. As much as she wanted to hop in the shower and wash Jessie’s hot body, that’s not how her mother had raised her. She’d have to wait, at least until they’d known each other for longer than one day.

A little while later there was a knock at her door and she opened it to find Jessie wrapped in a towel, his hair dripping wet. She gulped hard, unable to tear her eyes from his perfect chest. Her fox howled and she felt her feral claws extending from her fingernails.

“The shower is free if you want to take one,” Jessie said.

“Yes. Absolutely,” she stammered.

“I hope I’m not being inappropriate,” Jessie said, gripping the towel around his waist.

“No, not at all,” she said, her eyes bulging at his overpowering manliness.

After two years with the hyenas, she wasn’t prepared to see such a big, hunky bear shifter in the buff. She bit her lip, wishing that he would drop his towel and let her see what she was missing. Dana shook her head, dispelling the desire growing in her belly. She’d never been kissed, let alone anything else.

“Just let me know if you need anything,” he said. “There’s shampoo and conditioner in the shower. They aren’t fancy but they should work.”

“Great. Sounds perfect.”

She’d been using the dregs from the shampoo bottles she collected from the showers in the mansion for the last two years. She was sure that Jessie’s man products were superior to that. In fact, she loved the idea of smelling like him.

Daisy crossed the hall and went into the bathroom to start her shower. She peeled out of her clothes and stepped under the warm stream. As she washed her hair and body, she contemplated the events of the last twenty-four hours. She’d left the Updikes for good, but her plans had been completely altered.

She couldn’t be happier that she’d found Jessie, but that didn’t change the fact that she’d been on her way to Portland that very morning. Now she was standing in the shower getting ready to go on a date with a man she just met. As a fox shifter, Dana was prepared to fall in love with her fated mate at first sight. Most shifters were. But as it was happening to her, she couldn’t help but consider how strange it all really was.

She’d waited all her life for someone to love, and now he was here, offering her everything he had. It was better than she ever could have imagined or expected. But she still didn’t know if she was ready for it. The hand of fate had dealt her many blows, and now it was dangling Jessie in front of her. The fear that she would lose him overpowered her other emotions. And she knew it would be hard for her to let go and connect to him the way she wanted.

She finished the shower and climbed out to wrap fluffy towels around her body and hair. She dried off quickly and hurried across the hall to her bedroom where she laid the dress across the bed. She was glad that Jessie didn’t see her in her towel with wet hair and looking a mess. Her fated mate should accept her no matter what, but she still felt a rush of insecurity when it came to presenting herself to her mate. She wanted to blow him away. She wanted him to see her as the most beautiful girl in the world. From what she understood, Jessie had had plenty of other girlfriends in the past. She just didn’t know how she was going to stack up.

Dana dried her hair and body and slipped into some of her own underthings before climbing into Daisy’s dress. She looked at herself in the mirror and could barely believe her eyes.

In the last two years, her body had filled out and matured into something she barely recognized. It wasn’t as if she hadn’t seen herself in the mirror over the last two years, but in that time, she’d been wearing that ridiculous French maid uniform. It did accentuate her curves but in a slutty and humiliating way. This dress made her look beautiful and dignified, mature and worthy of the love of a man like Jessie Kincaid.

She ran her fingers through her hair and dug into the makeup bag that Daisy had brought her. She found her skin was a shade darker than Daisy’s but most of her things would work anyway. The bronzer in Daisy’s makeup bag brought a warm glow to the pale makeup.

Dana had learned how to put on makeup a long time ago in high school. The Updikes had forced her to wear it, but they’d insisted on fake eyelashes, blue eyeshadow, and bright red lipstick. Daisy had the kinds of things that women liked to wear. Makeup that brought out natural beauty.

Dana went about putting her face together with Daisy’s high quality cosmetics and looked at herself in the mirror as if she was seeing a whole new woman. She blew out her hair and curled it up so that it hung in thick ringlets down her back.

When she was done, she inspected herself for long moments in the full-length mirror on the sliding closet door. When she was satisfied, she tentatively walked to the door of the bedroom and stepped into the hall. She could hear a baseball game from the television in the living room. She walked in the pumps down the wood-floored hallway and stepped into the living room.

Jessie was sitting on the couch with his elbows on his thighs, watching a baseball game. When he looked up at her, he dropped the remote on the floor with a loud clank. His mouth dropped open and his eyes widened with amazement. He shot upright and crossed the space between them, taking her hand in his.

“You look amazing,” he said.

“You don’t look too bad yourself,” she said, taking in his breathtaking form.

Jessie was wearing black slacks, black dress shoes, and a blue button-up shirt that brought out the color of his eyes. It’s was snug around the arms and shoulders, showing off his muscular build. He had his shirt tucked in at his narrow waist and the whole package made her weak in the knees.

“Are you ready? Do you need anything else?” he asked, squeezing her hand.

“I’m all ready,” she said, clutching a small bag to her hip. It had been her mother’s and was one of the few nice things she still had.

“Let’s go. Our reservation is for fifteen minutes from now. We should make it to the restaurant just in time.”

“I can’t wait,” she said, feeling flushed and excited as the smell of Jessie’s cologne and pheromones wafted through the air.