Once Upon a Shifter by Anne Conley, Lily Marie, Kim Fox, Zoe Chant, Ariana Hawkes, Terra Wolf, K.S. Haigwood, Shelley Shifter, Nora Eli, Alyse Zaftig, Mackenzie Black, Roxie Noir

Austin demanded. “Stay away from her!”
    Austin put his arm around her. She flinched away, then forced herself to keep still.
    “Don’t you dare touch my mate!” Owen yelled. His booming voice seemed to shake the entire forest.
    “She doesn’t want to have anything to do with you,” Austin said. “Do you, Raina?”
    Miserably, Raina said, “No.”
    The look Owen gave Austin made Raina surprised that he hadn’t dropped dead on the spot. “Raina, I can explain.”
    “Okay,” Raina said. She knew it was stupid, but she couldn’t help hoping that he did have an explanation that would convince her that he wasn’t a monster after all. “Explain.”
    Owen gritted his teeth. “I have to do it in private.”
    “No way am I letting myself be alone with you,” Raina said. “I’m not an idiot. Explain here, or don’t explain at all.”
    Owen clenched his fists, looking from Raina to Austin. Then he looked back at Austin, seeming to realize something. “Austin, what are you doing here?”
    “I hike here all the time,” Austin said blandly.
    “This is private property,” Owen said.
    Austin shrugged. “Sorry. I didn’t see the signs.”
    “And there aren’t any black bears here,” Owen went on, his eyes narrowing dangerously. “A grizzly lives here; its scent scares them off.”
    “That’s nice,” Austin said sarcastically. “Come on, Raina, let’s go.”
    Owen looked straight at Raina as he spoke. “Raina, I’ll explain now. I’m not going to hurt you. I’d never hurt you. Yes, I’m a bear shifter. I know I looked scary, but all I was doing was defending you against the black bear— Austin Stroud, right here.”
    “You’re insane,” Austin said.
    Raina looked at the two men. She wanted to trust Owen. Every fiber of her being told her that Owen was trustworthy and honest, and would never hurt her. But what if she was wrong?
    “Think about it, Raina,” Owen urged her. “You know that bear shifters exist. You’ve seen one. Is it impossible that there could be another?”
    “No…” Raina said slowly. She took a step away from Austin. “It is awfully coincidental that you showed up just in time to rescue me, in the middle of someone else’s forest.”
    Owen said, “And it’s just as coincidental that a black bear would attack you, in a forest where there are no black bears, so I was forced to become a bear to save you.”
    At that moment, Raina was certain of the truth. “So I’d run away from you, and then Austin could save me!”
    “This is ridiculous,” Austin said.
    Hot fury filled Raina. She whipped around on Austin. “You played with my feelings! You nearly broke up the best relationship I’ve ever had. Why?”
    “I saw you at the bachelorette auction, and I knew I had to have you,” Austin said. “But you went off with Owen. So I followed you here. You belong with me, Raina. I want you for my mate.”
    “You son of a bitch!” Raina yelled. “What were you going to do once you got me alone in a car with you?”
    Austin smiled his creepy smile. Then he hastily wiped it off. “Nothing!”
    Before he could finish his sentence, Raina jerked up her leg and kneed him in the nuts.
    Austin bellowed in agony and doubled over. Then he grew, looming taller. His clothes became black fur. As Raina started to bolt, the black bear lunged at her.
    A colossal grizzly bear bowled him over, roaring in protective fury. As Raina watched, amazed, the two bears rolled over and over, clawing and biting in a frenzy.
    Owen’s shaggy grizzly bear easily overpowered Austin’s black bear. It wasn’t just that the grizzly bear was bigger, it was that Owen’s bear was a better fighter. And Raina somehow knew that Owen’s bear was filled with righteous rage and protective fury.
    The grizzly bear beat the hell out of the black bear, while Raina watched with vengeful delight. Owen’s bear was ferocious, but she no longer feared it. She knew that his size and strength and rage would only be used