Lori was sitting in Andrea and Magnus’s living room, and all her new girlfriends were sitting around her, casting glances at each other. As she took a sip of her coffee, she stifled a yawn.

“Rough night with Nancy?” Dina asked, holding Hayden on her lap.

“Mmm, I didn’t sleep much, but it wasn’t because of Nancy,” she replied. “Are there bears in these woods?”

“Yes,” Dina said cautiously. “There are a few. Why – did you spot one?”

“I’m not sure. I had the weirdest experience last night. Something woke me up in the middle of the night – a sound from outside. I went to the window and looked out, and I saw a pack of bears running by. I was sure I was awake, but I must have been dreaming, right? I didn’t think bears ran in packs, and, according to Google, they don’t. So it had to be a dream. But, after that, I was definitely wide-awake. I felt restless, and then Nancy woke up, and we didn’t get back to sleep properly until almost five.”

“Maybe you weren’t dreaming. There are some unusual animals in the woods of Hope Valley,” Lauren said.Lori looked at her questioningly, but she didn’t say anything more.

“You poor thing, you must be exhausted,” Melissa cut in.

“My body is tired, but my mind actually feels energized. I can’t explain it; it’s like I suddenly woke up after a very long sleep. I feel like I felt when I was in my teens, before I met Rob.”

“That’s amazing, sis,” Andrea said with warmth.

“I feel like I’m entering a new phase in my life. I was talking to Bruno last night about the store I used to own here, and I was thinking about starting it up again.”

“Great idea!” everyone said.

“So how did it go with Bruno last night?” Lauren said, eyes sparkling, and ignoring the frowns Andrea was directing her way.

“He was great. He really calmed me down after the fireworks freaked me out, and then we had a nice chat on the way home.”

“Annnd?”

“And nothing,” Lori said with a blush. “We were just talking like friends. And, anyway, he’s way too hot for me.”

“That is not true!” Lauren said. “I can tell you that definitively, girl, as all four of us have got ourselves insanely hot mates. And you’ll be doing the same very soon.” Lori eyed the other four women. They were all curvy girls, like her, and all totally deserving of their partners. But in her experience, guys as hot as Connor, Logan, Roman and Magnus went for the skinny girl, the size zero celebrity look-alike. They didn’t go for real women with meat on their bones. But last night at the ball, she’d also seen quite a few beautiful curvy girls with stunning husbands, and they all looked blissfully in love. She looked at her friends suspiciously.

“I feel like there’s something you’re all bursting to tell me,” she said. “There’s something about Hope Valley, isn’t there? And I’ve got a strong feeling that it’s about more than unusual animals.”

“You’ve got a very smart sister, Andrea,” Lauren said with a laugh.

“It is, but unusual animals are a key part of it,” Andrea said.

“I don’t understand.”

“I wasn’t exactly honest when I told you that I met Magnus through interviewing him. That was the second time we’d been in contact with each other. The first was through a dating app – the same app that all these girls used to meet their mates.”

“So it’s an app for curvy girls?” Lori said. Andrea took a deep breath.

“Curvy girls and shape-shifting men. In other words, men who are half animal, and who can switch between their animal and human sides at will.”

“The bears you saw last night were Connor and Logan’s clan. They were going for a swim in the lake together,” Lauren said gently. Lori didn’t say anything. Her eyes were wide open and her lips had pursed into a small O.

“Are you ok, hun?” Lauren said, laying a hand on her shoulder.

“You’re kidding me, right?” she whispered. They shook their heads solemnly. “You’re telling me that Connor and Logan, and Roman and Magnus are all half bear?”

“No, just Connor and Logan. Roman is a tiger and Magnus is a lion,” Kristin said.

“I don’t believe it. You must be playing a joke on me. Andrea, have you been telling everyone that I’m really gullible?” she demanded. Andrea burst out laughing.

“No, that’s just between us,” she said with a wink. “Would you like to see a demonstration?”

“Uh huh.” Lori nodded.

“Magnus,” Andrea called in a sweet voice. “Can you come and show us your lion, please?”

“O-k!” he called back, elongating the word like a bored teen.

There was a silence, while Lori waited with her hands folded in her lap. Then there was a scrabbling of claws on wooden stairs and along the bare boards of the corridor, and, at last, a magnificent male lion strode into the living room. It was huge, with a luxuriant mane and glinting golden eyes. Lori gasped and jumped up on the couch.

“Oh my god!” she exclaimed.

“Shh, it’s ok,” Andrea said. She held out her hand and Magnus walked over to her and gave a soft purr. She stroked his mane and tickled him behind his ears, and he put his head back and closed his eyes in ecstasy. “Touch him. It’s fine, I promise.” Lori climbed down from her hunched position and looked the lion in the eye. His eyes were unmistakably Magnus’s. He gave her a lazy smirk, running his pink tongue along his gleaming white incisors. She stretched out a trembling hand and touched his mane, before snatching it back again. “Go on,” Andrea urged. “He likes it when you rub his nose.” She reached out again and touched the animal’s long nose. He purred again, more loudly this time, and his tongue came all the way out and licked her hand. Lori shrieked.

“Argh! It feels like a giant cat!” she exclaimed. Magnus jerked away from her and gave a snarling roar. Lori jumped and made a whimpering noise, but Andrea laughed. “You hurt his feelings. He didn’t mean to be aggressive. It’s just that all these shifters are more in touch with their instincts when they’re in their animal form, so they can be very direct at times. Thanks for your help, hun, you can go now if you want,” she said to Magnus. He shook his mane regally and stalked away.

“This is – this is too much to take in,” Lori said. She’d tucked her feet up under her and her arms were wrapped around her body.

“I know it seems crazy,” Kristin said. “All of us completely freaked when we first heard about the shifter secret. But when we came to terms with it, we were so glad we did. It’s brought us more happiness than we could’ve imagined.”

“So Roman does the same thing? Turns into a tiger right in front of you?”

“Yep, when I’m lucky,” Kristin said with pride. “In fact, I saw him in his tiger form before I ever spoke to him as a man. He was stalking me in the forest and I caught sight of him, up a tree!” Lori frowned.

“But isn’t it dangerous to be with these guys? Isn’t there a chance that their animal side will attack you?” Everyone laughed.

“Noo!” Lauren said. “Shape shifters give you the best of their animal side. You get endless devotion and protection. Shifters mate for life, and their mate is their number one priority. You become the center of their world, and they’d fight for you to the end.”

“That sounds kind of cool,” Lori said, and she paused, thinking things over. “So, Bruno is a bear, right?”

“Yes. Like all of the clan,” her sister said.

“Oh.”

“Why? You look worried. Or confused.”

“I don’t know. We were dancing together last night. It’s like, every time he touches me, I get this really weird sensation, like I accidentally touched an electric fence.” She laughed nervously. “I feel drawn to him, but like I want to run away at the same time.” The other women exchanged quick glances.

“I think you like him!” Lauren said, in a sing-song voice.

“Of course I like him; he’s a nice guy. But this reaction is something physical. It’s nothing like liking. I guess I can most compare it to wanting something that you know is bad for you.”

“Or very good for you – you just don’t realize it yet!” Melissa said, uncharacteristically cheekily.

“Shifters have this thing called fated mates,” Lauren said. “A force in the universe ordains that they are supposed to be with a certain woman, and they spend their lives trying to find their mate. They’re not always successful, but for them, it’s like the Holy Grail. This could be the experience you’re describing – that some crazy force is pulling you together.” Lori shook her head.

“I just don’t think so. He hasn’t been flirting with me or anything.”

“Bears can be shy,” Dina said. “They’re these really big, tough guys, with big hearts. But they can be rather introverted. It’s hard for them to make the first move.”

“Bruno must be on the app, right?” Lauren asked.

“What app?”

“The little dating app where we all met our mates. It’s run by a charming English lady called Tamika, and it’s called Shiftr – spelled without the E. It’s for shape-shifting men, and curvy girls only, as shifters prefer voluptuous women. Tamika lives in Hope Valley, and a lot of shifters come to live here too, hoping to meet their mate. It’s a pity she wasn’t at the party yesterday so I could have introduced you, but she’s overseas at the moment, looking at international opportunities for her business.”

“So any curvy woman can sign up to it?” Lori asked.

“No, she has to be pre-approved by Tamika, and has to promise that she won’t discuss the app with anyone who’s not already on it, apart from one person of her choosing, once she’s found her mate,” Andrea explained.

“And you’re telling me as your one person?” Andrea nodded, and Lori broke into a grin. “But, do you think Tamika will approve me?”

“Already done!”

“But how?”

“We just sent her your photo, and told her a little about you. It didn’t hurt that you were my sister either, of course!” Lori gazed at each of them in turn.

“I don’t know what to say, ladies. I’m really touched. But I’m just not sure that I’m ready to be dating yet. I mean, I’m still breastfeeding Nancy a little bit. Although I guess I should probably stop.”

“There’s no rush. You might not be ready to meet someone yet, but I think it’s healthy to look around, to remind yourself that there are great guys out there for when you are ready,” Andrea said. “Now, give me your phone.” Lori automatically slipped into obedient little-sister mode and handed it over.

“We set a profile up for you already to make things easier for you, but you can change anything you don’t like. You also need to answer the app’s questions, which help it to match you to your ideal mate.”

Andrea installed the app and handed the phone back to her sister, with the feed showing on the screen. “Now, take a look at these delicious specimens!”

The women watched with pleasure as Lori scrolled up and down. Andrea shuffled closer to her.

“Tap on the thumbnail if you want to see the entire profile,” she said, tapping a photo of a very muscular, black-haired guy with a goatee. The image enlarged, and she scrolled down to reveal his personal details.

“He’s gorgeous,” Lori breathed.

“And, if you want to see his animal side, swipe to the left, like this.” A photo of a black wolf appeared, lithe and unsettling, on a dark forest track. Lori shivered.

“That kind of gives me the creeps.”

“That’s important to recognize,” Lauren said. “You have to engage with their animal, as well as their person, or it will be a very incomplete match. So if you don’t like the look of the animal, it’s a sign that you’re probably not suited.”

“Just one thing,” Dina said. “Don’t swipe right, or they’ll disappear from your feed completely. I did that by accident when I found Logan on the app, and I almost lost him forever!”

“Ok,” Lori muttered, scrolling up and down, and swiping left and back again. From time to time, she muttered “bear”, “wolf” or “tiger”.

“Are you matching them up?” Melissa said, coming to sit on Lori’s other side.

“Yeah. It’s weird, but my guesses have been pretty accurate so far.”

“Shifters aren’t just half of one thing and half of another. The man is the animal and the animal is the man,” Lauren said. “That’s why, when you know what you’re looking for, their animals aren’t hard to spot.”

“I’m starting to see that. Like, Roman is obviously not a bear. But I think I could guess he’s not a lion either. There’s very definitely something tiger about him.”

“Uh huh,” Kristin said with a grin.

“What is your type, Lori?” Melissa asked. Lori stared into space.

“Looks-wise, tall, dark. Not too slim. I like guys who look like they could sweep you up in their arms and keep you there forever. So men with some meat on their bones, I guess.”

“Brown eyes or blue?”

“Either! I don’t have a preference. I guess I really like unusual eyes. You know, ones that make you look twice when you see a guy in the street.”

“And personality-wise?” Lori gave a dry laugh.

“The direct opposite of my ex-husband. I like guys who are protective and manly, but kind and caring. No, but I also want someone who gives me my independence and doesn’t try to control me. Is that too much to ask from one person?”

“No, not at all,” Lauren said. “And you’ve pretty much described bears. They’re naturally really protective, but they’re very good-hearted and understanding, and not macho at all. It’s like they know they’re big and strong, and they don’t need to put on a front.”

“I like the sound of that a lot,” Lori said. “Now let me try to find some bears here.” She went back to scrolling up and down her feed.

“You can filter by animal if you want?” Lauren suggested. “Right here.”

“Ok, just bears,” Lori said, ticking the relevant box. “Oh, he’s ridiculously hot,” she muttered. The girls all crowded around the screen as it filled with a deeply tanned guy with a broad torso. He had short black hair and deep brown eyes, with an expression of kindness in them.

“Woo-hoo,” Lauren said. “He is a hottie. Not that I’m looking, of course.”

“Mmm, it says that he’s a solitary type, looking for a mate to share his lair, deep in the forest. And he doesn’t want to have kids. That’s not someone I could be with. If I ever meet anyone, it’ll be really important that they love and accept Nancy. But how likely is that?”

“I think you’d be surprised,” Lauren said. “Shifters don’t have silly human preconceptions. They’re very nurturing. I think most of them would want to have cubs with their mate, but they’d also be very happy to welcome existing children into the family.”

“Sounds almost too good to be true,” Lori murmured, as she continued scrolling. “What’s it like being with a shifter in bed?” she asked suddenly, pausing on a photo of a very sexy bear, with honey-colored hair and sparkling amber eyes.

“It gives a whole new meaning to the term ‘animal sex’,” Kristin said solemnly, and everyone burst out laughing.

“Joking apart, having sex with your mate is the most intense, wild, incredible thing you can imagine,” Lauren said. “They have incredible stamina. But, most importantly, they put your pleasure first. Their animal side makes them very intuitive to your needs, and it’s a matter of pride for them that you’re always satisfied.”

“I’ve never been satisfied before,” Lori said. Everyone gaped at her. “I mean, not when I’m with a man.”

“Are you saying you never, um, climaxed with Rob?” Andrea said. Lori shook her head.

“Nope. Not even when the little one was conceived. How sad is that?” Four faces turned into masks of pity. Lauren recovered first.

“Girl, we need to finish signing you up to Shiftr right now! Things are going to change very soon! Let me show you how to switch on your messaging capability and fill out your personal questions.”

“Ok, please show me how. But I don’t think I’m ready to do it just yet. I’ve had a lot to take in today, and I just need a little time to process things before I launch myself out there.”

“Of course, sis,” Andrea said, stroking her shoulder.

“I still find it hard to believe that these guys could be interested in me. But I trust you ladies. And it has given me confidence that you’ve all found amazing guys for yourselves.”

“Your perfect match isn’t far away, believe me,” Lauren said. “You’re an awesome chick and really beautiful. The Shiftr guys will be fighting over you!”

“I don’t know about that,” Lori said shyly. But she allowed herself a small, secret smile. Is it really possible that there could be someone out there for me, who would love and protect me, and undo all the hurt that my ex-husband has caused me? she wondered.

At that moment, Magnus sauntered into the room. He locked eyes with Lori and grinned.

“Sorry for scaring you. My lion’s a naughty beast sometimes,” he said.

“That’s ok,” she replied, returning his grin. There was something endearing about his lion’s cockiness. She could absolutely see why he and Andrea were perfect for each other. And she was also very glad that she could choose to be with a bear shifter, instead of a lion.

“I think you should make it up to Lori, and to all of us, by going and getting us takeout from that new Italian place,” Andrea said sternly. Magnus yawned, hmmphed and padded to the kitchen and came back with the menu. Andrea winked at Lori and they both giggled.