Free Deer Heart [Shifter Crossroads 3] by Zenina Masters Page B

on the charm.” Kris looked at her watch and moved her hand in a hurrying motion.
    Venny grabbed her carry-on and duffel. They contained everything she needed, including her laptop. She returned to the Herd Master’s backyard and nodded her head. “Ready.” Kris handed her the small scroll, tied the charm on and smiled brightly. “Off you go.”
    Venny looked and a doorway opened at the edge of the patio. “Thank you for this, Krisia.” Kris smiled slyly, “Just go before my husband finds me. He tries to squelch my attempts to leave our home. Good luck and think happy thoughts.” Venny shot her a nervous smile, nodded to the Herd Master and walked through the gateway that had been opened to the Crossroads. With her heat approaching in a matter of days, she was on the clock.
    If this worked, she would find a way to send Krisia a fruit basket or something.
     
    She paused as she walked out of the gateway and looked around. A surprised couple was looking at her, and she inclined her head in greeting. “Um, I am looking for the swan?” The woman walked forward and smiled. “My name is Teal.”
    Venny looked down and stuck out the hand holding the scroll. “I am Venny. Uh, Venezia Raingo.”
    Teal took the scroll and read the instructions.
    She walked to the dark-haired male and spoke quietly to him. He nodded and took Venny’s bags before he headed out the door of the building that the gateway had appeared in.
    “He will make the arrangements at the Open Heart Bed and Breakfast, so all will be ready when we finish our tour.”
    “Are my bags okay?”
    “As long as you don’t have a collection of shiny things, they are perfectly safe. Just kidding, he won’t unpack anything. Come and let’s take a look around. It’s still afternoon, so we have plenty of time.”
    Bemused, Venny allowed Teal to take her hand and lead her out into the light of the Crossroads.
    There were far more males than Venny had anticipated. She saw them in the café, the general store and the more formal restaurant. The bar had several groups of males packing together, and they all turned to look her over the moment she and Teal entered.
    “Why aren’t they staring at you?”
    “Everyone knows me here. I am the first face they see. The other females and males here who have partnered up wear cuffs that shift with them. So that it is glaringly obvious that they are taken.” Venny grew restless when she noticed that the men were scenting the air.
    Teal smiled and tugged her away. “You can meet them after you have had a shower and settled in.”
    “Is it always so obvious? I mean, the males looking over the females?”
    Teal laughed. “Of course it is. We aren’t here for a tea party or for folk to find book club members. They are here to find a mate, just like you are. If you remember that, everything becomes a little clearer. You know what they are after, because you are after the same thing. No games aside from the usual mating rituals.” They paused at the first-aid station where Venny met Lee. Lee was a lion shifter and everything about her screamed it. That led to another question. “Do I have to tell them what I am?”
    Teal and Lee shook their heads.
    Teal answered, “You only tell them what you want them to know. Ladies like Lee can’t help but broadcast what they are. You don’t have that problem. I have been wandering around with you and you don’t feel like a prey species, though by your name, I have a fairly good idea what you are.”
    “I thought that Krisia would have written it down.”
    Teal shook her head. “No. Your species is held with the same privacy as sexual activity. You do what you want to do, nothing more, nothing less. We occasionally have a little problem with the males forming packs while they are here, but we have countermeasures for that if it becomes an issue.”
    “Countermeasures?”
    “Lee, Jim and Chuck. They are all apex predators and can do a delightful job on anyone overstepping their