Free Shifters of Grrr 1 by Emerald Wright, Terra Wolf, Shelley Shifter, Artemis Wolffe, Wednesday Raven, Amelia Jade, Mercy May, Jacklyn Black, Rachael Slate, Eve Hunter Page A

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