Shifting the Night Away (81 page)

She'd never been this close to a mountain lion. Except once, at a rehabilitation center for wild cats but that was behind the safety of several square feet of chain link fencing.
 

Once, on another hiking trip, she'd seen one jump down from a rock and run off into the wilderness. That had been magical-- to see the big cat in its natural habitat, busy being a big cat doing what big cats do... far away and going in another direction than she was.

This was less magical. This was more like one of those moments when you find out if you really believe in God or not.
 

At this exact moment, Tara definitely believed in God. And she was really hoping she wouldn't be finding out if she was right or wrong any time soon. She pulled her shoulders back and stood as tall as she could, trying to position the pack high on her hips to make her look even taller. She planted the foot attached to her tender ankle squarely, doing her best not to appear injured.
 

The cat studied her, as if it was thinking about what to do next. Tara saw the muscles in its neck flex subtly, the elbow joints of the powerful front legs bend ever so slightly.

Time came to a stop as they stood fixed in each other's gaze.

Tara thought she heard something from the brush uphill from her but she knew better than look away. The big cat's rear haunches moved slightly, Tara drew herself up as tall as she could and began to raise her arms in a last ditch effort to convince the thing that she wasn't a suitable dinner when movement exploded into her peripheral vision from the right. Something large, black, and covered in fur moved with lightening speed on all fours, positioning itself between her and the cougar. In seconds, Tara found herself staring at the ass end of a very big dog.
 

Not a dog. A wolf. A really big wolf, almost all gray with black tips on the ears. At this moment, its fur was bristling out from its body, making it look like some sort of creature from a horror movie. Like a werewolf right after its finished its transformation under the full moon, standing its ground between her the mountain lion, its jowls pulled back to show razor sharp gleaming white fangs, spittle flying from its maw as it snarled its claim.

The cat backed down quickly at the wolf's challenge. Slowly moving from side to side on its front paws as though deciding which way to retreat before suddenly turning and bounding down hill and out of sight.
 

Tara was trying desperately to put a lot of information into order in too short of a
 
time frame. There weren't supposed to be wolves here. That's about all she could come up with.
 

The wolf stood its ground, waiting. When it was satisfied that the big cat had retreated for good, it turned to face Tara. Tara worried for a moment that the wolf might have challenged the cougar just to steal its dinner but as she watched the wolf change its position to face her she saw something familiar flicker across its eyes. It was as though it knew her, as though it expected her to know it.

Then she saw it, something in the way it tilted its head; she
did
know this wolf. Recognition spread through her body as she watched the shape of the huge canine fade as it was replaced with the familiar form of Lane.

"You're a wolf." She realized it sounded pretty stupid but she wasn't quite sure what else to say.
 

Lane stood perfectly still, watching her, waiting for her response.

"You're a wolf." She said it again, this time with less surprise, her voice softer and filled with relief.
 

Lane saw the shiver run over her skin as new tears slid down her cheeks, he felt her body temperature dip, he saw the color drain from her face. It didn't matter if she was angry with him or afraid of him now, she was going into shock. He moved with lightening speed and caught her in his arms just in time for her body to go slack against him.

She lay her head against his solid chest and tucked her arms up between their bodies, letting him enfold her in his arms. She was vaguely aware of the tears sliding down her face and the faint shivers as though it had suddenly gotten very cold out, but mostly she kept hearing her hoarse whispers repeating her relief that Lane was, in fact, a wolf, "You're a wolf...you're a wolf... you're really a wolf."
 

"We need to get moving." Lane whispered against the top of her head.
 

He didn't want to rush her, he wanted to hold on to her and feel her against him. He wanted to stand there until she had recovered from the fright of the cat encounter, until she had time to digest the reality of his story and of seeing him shift. He would stand there for days if that's how long she needed. But they didn't have days.
 

Tara was taking deep breaths against his chest, trying to calm her nerves and regain her composure. She had her eyes shut tightly and was desperately trying to convince herself that the entire day had been one long bad dream, that Lane was here now holding her and that she was safe and always would be as long as she stayed right there with his arms wrapped around her.

She was telling herself that none of it had been real. Lane wasn't a madman, he wasn't a werewolf, there was no mountain lion, and when she opened her eyes she would be back in camp with a warm fire going and hot coffee ready for breakfast.

Yeah. She liked that idea. The whole day had been a bad dream. She was just going to hit "reset" and start it over at the beginning. All she had to do was open her eyes and it would all be new again.

"Sweetheart, we have to get moving." Lane's breath was hot against her scalp and his voice betrayed her denial. She could hear the urgency in his words, not only was the day real-- it wasn't over.

Tara found her breath again and willed her heartbeat to return to a normal level. "But you're a wolf." She whispered against his chest as though that somehow meant that no danger could come to them.

A short chuckle rumbled through Lane's chest. He held her upper arms and moved her just slightly away from him, taking one hand to tilt her chin up toward him, "but I'm a wolf that is currently very far from his pack. We need to get back into my territory."

Tara caught on. Lane was concerned. He was doing his best to ease her panic, but he was trying to tell her they were in danger. "Do you think the cougar is going to come back?"

Lane was relieved to see that Tara was recovering. Again, he was impressed with her strength. He reached down for her pack and slung it easily over his shoulder while steadying her against him with one arm to help with her footing on her swollen ankle. "That was no cougar." He said with a grim tone as he glanced back over his shoulder in the direction the big cat had run, "and yes, it's coming back."

About the Author - Claire Ryann

Inspired by the real lives and loves of the women that she's known personally, Claire prefers to create heroines for real life-- what we see in ourselves, what we see in others, and what we want to be.
 

A little too curvy? A little past our prime? A little too picky to settle for anything less than the real thing in the right package? Claire's heroines always meet their match-- and their mate--whether it's a ruggedly handsome adventurer, or a seriously sexy alpha bear shifter, or just the new neighbor across the hall.

Whether you prefer your happy endings with a dose of reality or in the paws of a sexy shapeshifter, Claire probably has a story for you.
 

Most of Claire's books are in short story format because that's what she loves to read herself. Perfect for a bedtime story or a lunch break read.

Claire Ryann on Amazon

Visit Claire's Website

Thanks for Reading Shifting the Night Away

Thank you for reading this great group of 10 Shifter Paranormal stories.

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