Shifters of Grrr 1 (9 page)

As he rounded the corner, he slid to a stop. Harper was on the far side of the street, just getting into one of the few cabs that plied the streets of Moonshine Canyon. He sighed with relief, hoping that she was simply headed home. There wasn't much more he could do now, so he had to pray for the best.

"So what do we do next?"

"Find some forest, go for a run and get some sleep."
 

The others all crowed their excitement. It had been awhile since they had let their wolves run free, and now, with nowhere to stay after their lodgings had burned to the ground, they would be staying out under the moon. Jake had to admit, it had a certain appeal to it.

In the morning he would begin his hunt for his mate.

***

Harper

"Ow."

Wincing, Harper squeezed her eyes shut and vowed never to talk again. She would be blind and a mute for the rest of her life if it meant not having to experience the pain that was shooting through her head even now. The night before seemed blurry in her eyes, but the hangover was definitely crystal clear.

Trying to go back to sleep had never worked before in the past, and didn't seem likely to work today either. So, a shower, coffee, painkillers and a greasy breakfast seemed to be in order instead.
 

Dreading what would happen, she opened her eyes slowly, just enough to show her the way to the shower. As the warm water began to cascade down over her body, a small semblance of life began to return to her. It wasn't much, but enough to keep her pressing on, even opening her eyes to more than just slits.
 

The coffee maker beeped to signal it was done just as she grabbed a towel. There was no smile on her face, not after what had happened yesterday, but at least this morning seemed to be starting off on a better foot. Perhaps she would find out that the day before had been nothing but a bad, bad dream. A nightmare, in cold harsh reality.
 

Harper sat down with her coffee, opening her laptop to see the day's news. There, in big, bold headlines was the proclamation that she hadn't been living in a dream for twenty-four hours. 'Muller L&C Campground BURNS'.
 

The laptop slammed closed so that she didn't have to read the article. It was very disconcerting to read a second-hand account of events you had witnessed firsthand. Like Harper Muller needed another reminder of how her life had shattered to pieces yesterday. Any progress made in her life had been wiped out in the fire and smoke.

It had all started in the morning. The signs were all there, she should have just called it a day with life and come back the next. Instead,
 
she had tried to press on. The first sign had been when she was cleaning her full-length mirror and it had fallen over. Thankfully it had only broken into a few large fragments instead of shattering.
 

The mirror had been her grandmothers and then her mothers. Harper had hoped to one day give it to the kids she wanted to have, but now she would no longer be able to. From there the day had only escalated. A sharp brake for a traffic light had resulted in a fender bender that looked to be far more expensive than it should. Then, to top off the first half of her day, she had received an email from her bank declining her mortgage application.
 

Harper had gone to her office in the campground and had a good cry over lunch, letting loose some of the pent-up stress the day had been inducing. The last thing she had been prepared for was the shrill cry of the fire bell.
 

After an orderly evacuation, Harper had watched in horror from the entranceway as her life went up in flames. For the past five years, Muller Lodge & Campground had been her baby. She had nurtured it from an idea into a profitable business right in the heart of town. People came from far and wide to stay there for the enjoyable experience she had managed to offer.
 

Then it had vanished behind a curtain of red-orange heat, billowing smoke, and grey-black ash. It looked like the entire place was going to be a write off. Irreparable damage had been done, flattening the reception area, all half a dozen cabins, and the two dozen camping sites that she had developed from nothing.

One of her biggest problems in developing the property had been the challenge of how to block off all the noise from the city. In the end she had planted a pattern of trees and bushes around the perimeter of the property. Over the course of five years they had eventually grown enough to provide an effective barrier from the outside world. According to the Fire Marshall, that barrier looked to still be intact. So a rebuild could happen, but Harper didn't have the money for it, and it was unlikely she would get enough from insurance to help either.

The dream was over. All that was left today was to go in, find out the results of the Fire Marshall's report on how it had started, and then move on to something else. Perhaps, she thought, the grocery store needed a helping hand. Her eggs and bacon for breakfast helped the hangover, but didn't cure the looming depression that was building overhead.

***

"This is where it all began ma'am." The Fire Marshall pointed to a place on the ground, what looked to be the remains of the fire pit.

The two of them currently stood in the ruins of Site Fourteen. She didn't recall who had been there, but the names were likely in her record books.
 

"How did it start?" She hated how weak and dull her voice sounded, but she was still in shock over the whole thing.
 

"Unsure ma'am, we may never know exactly what, but the epicenter is right at their fire pit. If I had to hazard a guess, I'd say a fire that wasn't put out properly, that then sparked and caught fire in the grass."

Harper seethed in anger. A careless idiot had destroyed her entire life, all because they couldn't be bothered to dump a bucket of water on their fire. She mumbled her thanks to the Marshall and moved towards the exit. Along the way, she found a rock, sitting down on it to ponder everything. The Marshall's truck rumbled down the road, slowing as it approached her, but then continuing on as he decided to leave her in peace.

Try as she might, the tears just would not fall. There was no doubt in her mind that she needed to cry, for her eyes welled up with the tears, but they never fell. Sitting upright, Harper looked around as she thought, trying to puzzle out what her brain was trying to tell her. It was as if it wanted her to go on a treasure hunt, to find something that would magically allow her to cry her tears of sorrow.

No, not something, she realized with a start.

Someone.

"Oh give me a fucking break. You can't be serious! After all that's just happened, you're telling me I'm sad because I don't have someone in my life?"
 

She was yelling into the empty air, expressing her own frustrations. This was an ongoing battle Harper had fought with herself numerous times over the past few years. She was only twenty-nine, but the solitary lifestyle she had chosen to lead over the past few years was beginning to catch up with her mentally. She no longer found herself wanting to spend the night alone watching TV.

Instead, she wanted to spend it curled up under a blanket with someone who she could relax around. Then there was also the growing desire to have children of her own. Each year that urge grew stronger, and now it seemed to be eclipsing even horrific events in her life. The problem was, she had never met anyone who could handle her.

Oh, Harper had curves and was well aware of it. That never slowed her down, in fact, the few men who had shown interest in her at first had found themselves intimidated by her sheer willpower and drive to succeed. When they found out she had built a successful business from the ground up, many of them began to have confidence issues.
 

So she left them in the dust. There was just no time to deal with that kind of bullshit. If there was to be a man in her life, it would have to be one that was a mature adult, who could handle her the way she was. Right now, that meant someone who could deal with her being broken and devastated. That brought the list down to exactly zero candidates.

There was no one out there for her at this moment she told herself firmly.

Without warning her brain triggered a memory, throwing her back to the night before at the Travelers Waypoint. She was surrounded by the old brick walls, the worn hardwood creaking underfoot as someone moved her around the makeshift dance floor. His steps had been sure, his movements confident as he turned her, moved around her and guided the two of them through the song.

As fast as it was there, it was gone, leaving Harper breathing hard and leaning against a signpost as she tried to recover from the experience.

What the fuck was THAT?!

It was so vivid and strong, as if she had been transported back there for another dance with the mystery man. The same stranger who had sought her out, tried to talk to her, and even came to her rescue when she made a stupid mistake.
 

The events of the evening all came rushing back to her then. With a start, Harper realized she hadn't recalled doing any of that until just now. It was as if the entire memory of the day before had been blocked. Blocked and hiding from her thoughts, for she hadn't even tried to think about what had happened. How was that even possible?

And who was the mystery man?
 

The curiosity was already becoming unbearable as she tried to picture his face. The only thing she could remember was the piercing green eyes that had stayed focused on her for so long.
 

She cringed with embarrassment as the memory of her attempt to take him home rose to the top, followed by her going over to the other man, who had been more than happy with her advances. Harper almost threw up as her brain replayed to her over and over again the images and feelings of him groping her.
 

Her entire body crawled at the sensation of his hands touching her. Wiping it away didn't help, nor did throwing up, as Harper found out moments later. The only thing that seemed to work was focusing on her mystery dance partner.

The more she thought about him, the more she became positive that there was something there, something between them. She couldn't remember any details about him, and yet at the same time, her body remembered the press of his muscular chest when she lay her head on it, and the slightly foresty scent that infused her nose each time she inhaled.

The wetness between her legs surprised her, but it didn't fade the entire walk back to her car. Even as she sat there, the throbbing from her clit intensified as she felt his hands on her waist once more. They were so strong, pulling her across the dance floor with the slightest of pressure in one direction or another.

Whoever he was, he was skilled, and for whatever reason, interested in her for more than just sex. If that had been his entire plan, he wouldn't have turned her away so bluntly when she practically tripped into his lap. Instead, he had tried to send her home and even stepped into harm's way to help her later.

Who is he?

She needed to know, and the Traveler was just up the road. Her car covered the distance to the road swiftly. Instead of going farther though, she simply parked on the grass of her property and walked. She hoped that they were open.

The door swung open as she pushed, letting the brilliant sunlight into the darkened room. The few patrons there shielded their eyes and grumbled at the interruption before going back to their drinks.
 

"Hi, how are you feeling today?" The bartender obviously recognized her. Despite it being so close to her campground, Harper had never been there until the night before, preferring some of the classier joints in town to this dive.
 

"I've had better days, actually. Can I have a pop? Any kind will do."

"Sure thing, miss."
 

As he poured her the drink, she asked him about the man the night before.

"Can't say as I've ever seen him around these parts. They ran out of here after you. I followed to ensure they didn't try any funky business, but they saw you getting into a cab and that seemed to calm them down. I heard them say something about going for a run, which seemed to get them far too excited for that sort of thing if you ask me."

Harper chuckled conspiratorially, since both of them were on the bigger side of things. It wasn't that Harper didn't keep busy, she was always moving with her job. The idea of just running, however, had never appealed to her.

"I need to find them, do you have any ideas?"

He didn't, which didn't help her newfound quest to find Mr. Mystery, as she had started to think of him as. Mr. M could have already left town though she didn't seem to think that was the case.

With a sigh, Harper paid for her drink and headed towards the door. Halfway there, it opened to admit the bald man from the night before and one of his friends. He recognized her instantly she could tell, an evil grin spreading over his face as he leered at her.

"Why hello there lovely. Did you miss me?" He made some rather repulsive kissing noises at her, before taking a step closer.

"Leave her alone Carl. Don't make me call the police. I really don't have the time for that today." The bartender had his phone out and in hand, apparently ready to dial, though she couldn't see the screen from her vantage point.