Dolores stood in front of the mirror in her cozy new bathroom, peering at her reflection, her heart beating fast in her chest. Today’s the day. The day that she’d return to teaching for the first time in six months. For the first time since an angry parent threw a firebomb through her front door and destroyed everything she cared about in life. She applied light make up and arranged her curtain of dark hair over the scar on her face. She was getting used to it, mostly. But sometimes the sight of it brought everything rushing back. And if anyone asked her about it, she felt her whole world crashing down around her. She was lucky, she reminded herself. She’d come close to losing the sight in her left eye. Another half inch, and her life would be very different now. But that didn’t make the thought of the day ahead any easier. Kids can be very cruel, as she’d learned over the years. And they didn’t have adult discretion. Their eyes wouldn’t slide away when they caught sight of the ugly pink weals that covered the side of her face. They’d say Miss, what’s that? What happened to your face? And she might fall apart again.

Just try, Tamika had said to her. Dolores hadn’t had to explain everything to her new boss. Tamika’s intelligent eyes had taken it all in. Try the job for a month, and if it doesn’t work out, no hard feelings on either side. I want you to be happy, Dolores. I care about that as much as I care about the kids. “Just try,” she repeated to her reflection. And then she shook herself, put her shoulders back. “Dolores Martin, you can do this. You’re tough.”

Adrenaline was still swirling in her stomach, but she ignored it as she brushed her teeth, collected her purse and jacket and strode out of her brand-new cabin.

As Dolores entered the school yard, Tamika rushed up to her and enveloped her in a fragrant hug, as if they were best friends.

“How are you, my dear?” Tamika trilled. “How’s the new place?”

“It’s beautiful! It’s the prettiest place I’ve ever lived in,” Dolores said, with a twinge of realization as she spoke the words. It was. It was even prettier than her old house.

“I’m so glad to hear that. And the neighbors will be over soon to introduce themselves, if they haven’t already. They’re a great bunch of humans and shifters. And did I give you Olsen’s number? Give him a call if you need any alterations making to the cabin.”

At the sound of Olsen’s name, Dolores got another little twinge in her stomach. Yesterday, he’d sent her a big thumbs up and another :-), to add to the collection of bizarre symbols that were coming her way. “Yes you did,” she replied, knowing that there was no way she’d call him.

“I’m dying to ask you all about your experience with Shiftr too, but I guess I should leave that until later in the day.” Tamika clapped her hands together. “Now, are you ready to meet your new class?”

“Sure am!” Dolores said, trying her best to conceal her nerves.

“Let’s go to the classroom and I’ll show you around, so you’ll be prepared for the little monsters when they arrive.”

Dolores must have looked stricken, because Tamika laid her hand on her arm. “I was joking, my dear. They’re lovely kids. All very well-brought up by their parents.”

The classroom was a joy to behold. It was so spacious and well-organized, with separate play and learning areas. All the equipment was new and very good quality, and the walls were covered with blank pin boards, crying out to be covered with children’s artwork. She’d be teaching the first graders – a year she adored. She loved their restless curiosity and enthusiasm, and the way they’d suddenly get sleepy in the afternoons and climb on her lap, reminding her that they were still babies.

“As I explained the other day, the curriculum is up to you. Please teach them as you see fit. I have every confidence in you,” Tamika said. Dolores glowed. Confidence. That was something she hadn’t felt for a long time. And right now, her mouth was very dry, and her hands were balled into fists.

Tamika brought them coffees and they sat down and chatted, Dolores telling her all the plans she had for the kids, while Tamika nodded enthusiastically and asked her lots of questions.

“I’m so excited to have you here, Dolores,” she said. “You’re a magical teacher. I can feel it.”

Dolores blushed and gave a nervous laugh. “I sure hope I can live up to those expectations,” she said.

The classroom door crashed open and two giggling, squealing balls of energy burst in and catapulted themselves at Tamika. They were large kids, but she managed to hold them in her arms as they smothered her in kisses.

“This is Bryce and this is Daniel,” she said laughing. “They’re both wolf pups. Boys, meet your new teacher, Miss Martin.” Immediately, they got shy, hiding behind Tamika’s chair. But Dolores crouched down and held out a hand to them, and slowly they came out and said hello. They were good-looking boys, with narrow, intelligent eyes. Bryce’s were pale blue and Daniel’s were an unusual shade of green.

“Wolf pups are often shy around strangers, but very affectionate when they get to know you,” Tamika said. “And here are their moms – Christie and Annabel.”

Two attractive women with curves as full as Dolores’ own entered the room and came over to them.

“It’s so great to meet you!” Christie said, as Dolores introduced herself. “I’ve been home schooling Bryce for the past few years, as there were no shifter schools anywhere around, so I’m real excited for him to have a real teacher. Especially one with your experience.”

Annabelle also greeted her warmly.

“Same here,” she said. “It’s sure been a steep learning curve bringing up a shifter pup. Whew!” She passed her hand across her forehead in mock exhaustion. “I’m looking forward to someone who knows what they’re doing taking him off my hands.” Dolores flashed a confident smile, belying the fact that her guts were churning.

“I’ll be sure to do my best with your sons. I can’t wait to get to know them. They seem like lovely boys.”

Christie blew out a puff of air. “They are, when they’re not tearing the house up, or demanding to be taken out in the forest. Good luck!” Both women grinned at her and waved goodbye.

“I hope that didn’t put you off,” Tamika said, once they were out of earshot.

“Not at all,” she replied, wondering just how much of a handful those kids were going to be.

Dolores spent five minutes speaking to the boys, trying to figure out their level of learning and thinking about how she could get the best out of them, and then some more kids came in with their parents in dribs and drabs, until she had a full class of fifteen.

“I’ll be employing a full-time teaching assistant for you,” Tamika explained. “But until then, I’ll be filling in. So don’t worry – you won’t be left alone with them, until you’re more experienced at dealing with shifters.”

When all the parents had gone, Dolores’ nerves dropped a couple of notches. While she was edgy about looking after a class of unruly kids, it was the parents she truly feared. She had them all sit down on the carpets, cross-legged, and they stared up at her, with bright, curious eyes, while she took the attendance register. She found they loved telling her their names and what kind of shifter they were, and she even managed to guess a couple of the species before they were revealed. She had two wolves, six bears, three tigers, one lion, one coyote, and two horses.

“Bears are always overrepresented in Hope Valley,” Tamika said. “It’s because they live in big clans, and after the first couple moved over here, lots of other bears joined them. But I think you’ll enjoy teaching them. They’re straightforward and good-hearted, and very good with their hands.”

Olsen popped into Dolores’s mind again, and she gazed around the room, thinking how much of it had been built by his hands.

Next, Dolores asked the kids to tell her their news, getting each one to stand up in turn, and tell a story about something that had recently happened in their lives. At first, they were polite, each waiting for their turn to speak. But soon they got excited, and started speaking over each other. She noted that each species was competitive among themselves, but they were a little shy of other species. So in the next task, she split up each species, and sent some to play in the sandpit, some to the painting table and others to the clay modeling table.

They were very nice kids, she noted, as she watched them interact with each other. There was none of the hostility that she’d seen at her previous school – hostility that the kids had evidently learned from their parents then played out among their peers.

There was the midmorning break, where Dolores was amazed to see the kids happily tucking into fruits and vegetables from their lunchboxes. And then she let them loose in the outside play area. Tamika had to go and attend to an urgent task, and Dolores found a spot where she could stand and watch them all at once. They were incredibly agile, most of them looking like they could try out for the national gymnastics team. Four of them were playing on the hanging ropes, taking turns to race to the top. One of the bigger kids – a bear shifter – started trying to pull one of the others off the ropes, accompanied by lots of excitable yelling and shrieking, then they all joined in the new game. Soon, it was getting more and more boisterous, and as she moved closer to tell them to cut it out, something weird happened. One of the kids dropped onto all fours, and his back humped and his arms and legs got a lot bigger. Then his clothes tightened all over his body, there was a ripping sound, and they burst off him altogether. But his skin didn’t look like skin – it seemed to be sprouting fur all over. There was a series of clicks and crunches, followed by a loud crack, and the boy was no longer a boy, but a wolf pup. Dolores clapped her hand over her mouth to silence the scream that had arisen on her lips.

“Oh my God!” she said aloud. Her instinct was to run away from this wolf, which although a pup, was practically the same size as her. And then another boy also dropped onto all fours, his body beginning to contort. Dolores looked around wildly. She was pretty sure this shouldn’t be happening. And she wanted to go get help. But she also knew that there was no way she was going to leave the kids alone. Then one of the wolf pups let out a howl – a baby sound, but loud enough to echo around the grounds. Shit. This is my fault. She didn’t know how she could have prevented this, but she knew that she was to blame. And then the other wolf pup howled as well. Didn’t Tamika say that most shifters didn’t experience their first shift until their teens? What have I done? Her heart began to pound, hard. Then the two wolf pups launched themselves at each other and began to scrap, claws and teeth flying.

Dolores ran up to them clapping her hands together, but they paid her no attention at all. They were growling and snarling like fighting puppies, rolling over and over, and nipping at each other’s flesh. “Oh, God! Stop it right now!” she yelled and clapped, and at last she waded in and tried to separate them. But all she got for her efforts was a bite on her wrist. She stifled the yell of pain, and backed away, the color draining from her face. Her head spun. I can’t do this again. I can’t endure any more injuries from the kids I teach.

Suddenly, a loud, animal rumble came from right behind her. She gasped and spun around. There was Olsen, hands on hips, and deep blue eyes blazing with annoyance. Her stomach tightened. He’s mad at me. He took a couple of long steps toward the scrapping kids and made another long, deep sound, somewhere between a growl and a purr.

Immediately, the pups quit fighting, and turned and stared at him. Then, in unison they rolled onto their backs, exposing their white, furry tummies to him. He purred again. Then he bent down reached behind the head of each one, grabbed them by the scruff of the neck, and, even though they probably weighed around 80 pounds each, held them up high in the air.

“No fighting in school,” he said. “You do exactly what Miss Martin tells you. Do you understand?” Both pups whimpered. He released them from the grasp of his huge hands, and they fell to the ground. “Now, try to shift back to your human form. Think of yourselves as boys. Imagine your bodies getting smaller. Your fur becoming skin again.”

Dolores had to stifle a laugh as she watched their efforts. They contorted their small bodies, letting off yaps and grunts, as they tried to shuck off their fur, and regain their smaller, human forms.

For a long time, it wasn’t happening. But then there was some clicks and crunches, and their bodies began to thrash and hump, as if they were having a seizure. And slowly, painfully, they reshaped themselves into the human forms, and two little boys stood in front of her, looking dazed and exhausted. And they both burst into tears.

“Shush, it’s okay. Come here.” Olsen squatted down and held out his arms, and the boys rushed into them, burying their small faces in his massive shoulders. Olsen threw Dolores a sheepish glance. “They’ll be fine now,” he mouthed. Dolores separated her hands, realizing that she’d been twisting them together painfully, and rolled her shoulders back.

At that moment, Tamika strode into the playground.

“Good heavens, what’s happened here?”

“Nothing much,” Olsen said, one corner of his lips quirking into a grin. “We just had a shift that we weren’t expecting.”

“Goodness! Are you boys okay?” The two of them turned their tear-stained faces toward her, and Dolores was relieved to see that they were no longer crying.

“They’re good. But they’re going to need some more clothes,” Olsen said, glancing at the two piles of shredded clothes that lay on the ground.

“Oh, of course. I’ve got plenty of new clothes in the office for exactly these kinds of mishaps,” Tamika said. “Come on, boys.” She took their hands and led them back inside the school buildings.

Dolores crouched down beside Olsen and looked at each of the remaining children carefully. They were all big eyed, but there were no tears or obvious signs of distress. “Are you guys okay?” she asked each of them by name, and they all nodded. “You want to go back and play?” They nodded again. “Okay, off you go. But no fighting this time!”

“Are you okay, Dolores?” Olsen said to her, as soon as they’d all scampered off. Then he laid his hand on her back. The sound of her name on his lips. That touch again. She felt the heat of his hands coming through her shirt, right onto her skin, and it calmed her instantly. She started to get to her feet, but he was quicker, standing up and extending his hands to help her. As his big hand enveloped her own, she felt another little jolt.

Automatically, they positioned themselves side by side, eyes constantly sweeping across the play area.

“Yes, I am now. Thank goodness you were here though. If I’d been alone, I don’t know what I would done.” She passed her hand across her forehead, aware that she had a lot to learn about shifters, and although Tamika had told her that it’d take a while, she wanted to be a perfect teacher to them as soon as possible.

Olsen’s sparkling blue eyes regarded her kindly. “You would’ve done just fine,” he said. “Considering that was the first time you witnessed a shift, you’re pretty coolheaded.”

Dolores let out a strangled laugh. “What makes you think that was my first time?”

He shrugged. “Just a hunch I had.”

“You’re right. And I wasn’t expecting it at all. Tamika told me that shifters don’t usually start shifting until the teens. I don’t think I’m cut out for teaching little shifters.”

“Tamika’s right. But from what I understand, there’s still a lot to learn about human-shifter offspring, and it looks like these kids might start very young.” He gave a dry laugh. “But don’t worry about them shifting. They were as surprised as you were.”

“It was amazing the way you calmed them. And you’re not even the same species –” she broke off, worried that she’d said the wrong thing.

“The species is less important than asserting dominance,” he said. “The secret to teaching shifters is understanding that they all live in packs and clans, and they look up to the leader. As long as they understand that you’re their leader, you’ll be fine.”

“So I’m supposed to be like – like an Alpha?” She gave an involuntary giggle. The thought of her being an Alpha was so ridiculous.

“Pretty much.” He grinned. “It might seem strange now, but you’ll soon get the hang of it. And their parents will expect you to be the Alpha when you’re teaching them. Don’t worry.”

Dolores looked up at him, startled.

“Something happened with the parents of one of the kids you used to teach, didn’t it?” He said, in a much softer voice.

“How did you know?” She heard her voice quavering, and felt her pulse beginning to pound.

He shrugged. “I just sensed it. From the way you get real tense when the subject of parents comes up.”

She stared at the floor, her lips working, but no sound coming out. “Something happened,” she said at last. “Something that made me think I could never be a teacher again.” He nodded, somehow sensing that she couldn’t say any more about it.

“Dolores –” he said haltingly. “I’m sorry about that message I sent you. It was dumb.”

“It was very… cryptic,” she replied meeting his gaze, and registering embarrassment in his narrowed eyes. “What are you, the Marlboro man?”

Olsen kicked at the dirt with the toe of his boot, which suddenly made him look endearingly vulnerable. “I guess I’m not one for writing a lot,” he said.

“It’s okay. I got the message – I think. Except – what was the deal with the truck?”

He looked so deeply uncomfortable that somehow she burst out laughing. She clapped her hand over her mouth. Damn me and my inappropriate laughter. But, to her surprise, Olsen threw his head back and laughed too. It was such a deep, rumbly, unrestrained sound that it set her off laughing again, and they both laughed for a long time, as if each other’s laughter was infectious.

“I think I was trying to say I’d see you later,” Olsen said. “But I can’t rightly remember now.”

“That was one of the interpretations I came up with while I was sitting in a motel the night before I moved to Hope Valley,” she said.

“Really? You spent time trying to interpret my dumb message?” He looked impressed and a little ashamed at the same time.

“What can I say? I can never say no to a challenge or a puzzle.”

“I can tell you’re real smart, Dolores.” He wasn’t smiling anymore. He was looking at her with such an intensity that her breath caught in her throat.

“Here we are!” Tamika trilled appearing beside them, with the two boys in tow, each wearing a brand-new pair of jeans and T-shirt. “Off you go and play now, and no more fighting, okay?” They both nodded seriously and scampered off. “I don’t think we’ll hear a squeak out of either of them for a while now,” she said.

“I’m sorry I didn’t manage to stop them shifting, Tamika,” Dolores said.

“Don’t be silly! I never would’ve left you alone with them if I knew there was any chance of that happening. You coped very well, my dear.”

“Oh, it was all down to Olsen.”

Olsen scratched at the earth with his boot again. “It was nothing,” he said gruffly. “I better get back to work now.” He nodded to each of them in turn and walked off with his long, powerful strides.

“Olsen was great at handling the boys,” Dolores said to Tamika, as they watched the children playing.

“Yes, he’s a natural. He seems to really understand kids.” Tamika sighed. “He’s just come back today to make some minor alterations to one of the buildings. I’ll miss him when he’s gone, that’s for sure.”

Dolores fell silent, very curious about this big, kind shifter, who sent her incomprehensible messages, but seemed to know exactly how she was feeling. I wish things were different, she thought. And then she startled. What the hell am I thinking?