The Double Shift

I had precisely eight minutes to make it back to the alley, strip off a four-thousand-dollar suit, shift back into a 150-pound wolf, and look pitiful on the bakery back porch before Maya walked out to trash the morning espresso grounds.

*Faster,* Fenris urged in my head. *If she catches us out there as a human, the whole plan falls apart.*

I ducked behind the dumpster in the narrow back alley, loosening my tie in a blur of movement. I peeled off the jacket, neatly folded the trousers, and stashed the clothes inside a waterproof duffel bag hidden under the emergency fire escape.

Then came the shift.

It never got easier, but years of military-grade discipline made it swift. Muscles tore and reconstituted, spine lengthening, bones cracking and rearranging under a wave of intense heat. Black fur erupted across my skin, my jaw extended, and my view of the alley dropped three feet lower to the pavement.

I shook out my coat, grabbed a mouthful of wet leaves from the ground, and rubbed my side against the brick wall to destroy the scent of my expensive cologne.

*Pure perfection,* Fenris purred inside my skull, shaking out his paws. *Back to being a mutt.*

I trotted up the three wooden steps of the back porch, flopped down right beside the screen door, and let out a heavy, dramatic sigh.

A second later, the latch clicked. Maya pushed the door open, carrying a silver bucket of spent coffee grounds. She froze, her wide brown eyes lighting up the moment she saw me lying there.

"Bear!" she gasped, setting the bucket down instantly. She dropped to her knees, gathering my giant head into her arms and burying her face in the fur of my neck. "Where did you go? I came out to check on you after the rush and you weren't on your rug. I thought you ran away!"

My heart thumped hard against my ribs. The scent of sweet vanilla and cinnamon enveloped me, dissolving all the lingering stress of pack dominance and high-stakes corporate warfare. I tilted my head, giving her cheek a long, damp lick.

"Ew, Bear, dog breath!" she laughed, though she didn't pull away. She leaned her back against the brick wall, pulling my massive head onto her lap and resting her hands over my ears. "You won't believe the morning I've had."

I rested my snout against her knee, gazing up at her with big, innocent, dim-witted wolf eyes. *Tell me everything, little mate.*

"Those horrible real estate men came back," she whispered, her fingers massaging the spot behind my left ear that made my back leg twitch involuntarily. "They practically threatened to burn the place down. I was so scared, Bear. I really thought today was the day I’d have to pack up my mother’s bakery and tell everyone I failed."

A cold, lethal growl vibrated deep in my chest.

"I know, right?" Maya agreed, taking my growl as sympathy. "They were awful. But then..." She let out a long breath, a faint, rosy flush dusting her cheeks as she stared out into the alley. "The most insane thing happened."

I perked my ears up, playing dumb.

"This man walked in," she continued, her voice dropping to a near-reverent whisper. "Mr. Blackwood. Fenris Blackwood. Bear, I swear to you, I’ve never seen anyone like him. He looked like he walked straight off the cover of a magazine—tall, broad, dark hair, eyes like gray steel... and he just *owned* the room the second he stepped inside."

*Oh, really?* I thought, my tail giving a subtle, arrogant wag against the wooden porch floorboards. *Tell me more.*

*Don't let it go to your head,* Fenris grumbled in my mind, though he was practically preening with pride.

"He bought the whole block," Maya said, still looking dazed. "The entire commercial district! He froze my rent for ten years and gave me an exclusive corporate catering contract. Just like that! He saved *The Sugar Whisk* in less than five minutes."

She looked down at me, her brown eyes soft and searching. She cupped my snout with both hands. "He was intimidating, though. Powerful. The kind of man who could crush a person without lifting a finger. But when he looked at me..." She trailed off, biting her lower lip, a nervous flutter in her chest that I could pick up with my heightened shifter hearing. "I felt this crazy spark. Like my whole body went on high alert."

*That's the mate bond, sweetheart,* I thought fiercely. *You feel it, too.*

"Anyway," Maya snapped herself out of it, shaking her head with a soft chuckle. "Listen to me, blabbing to a dog about a billionaire standard-issue prince charming. He’s a high-powered CEO, and I’m covered in flour half the day. It was just a business transaction."

She patted my head and stood up, smoothing down her apron. "Come on inside, big guy. I saved a strip of unseasoned bacon for you, and then we need to get ready for the evening rush."

I trotted behind her into the warm kitchen, my wolf spirits soaring.

She felt the bond. She was attracted to Fenris Blackwood, and she was fiercely protective of Bear.

Now, I just had to make sure the Vance Pack didn't figure out that the billionaire landlord saving her business and the massive stray sleeping on her kitchen floor were the exact same monster.