Free Ravaged by Her Weretiger Prince (Steamy Paranormal Weretiger Shifter Romance) by Meghan Archer

RAVAGED BY HER WERETIGER PRINCE
    (Steamy Weretiger Paranormal Romance)
     
     
     
    The sound of my ringtone cut through the last moments of my peaceful dreams. It had been a fantastic dream, one where I a gorgeous man lavished me with attention, all the while having my every whim catered to by an army of servants.
     
    I always loved dreams like that, which made the sight of my boss’s telephone number all the more irritating. Harvey was insufferable enough when I was clocked in, but calling me on my day off? That crossed a line.
     
    I contemplated letting it ring through to my voicemail, to act like I’d never gotten the call or slept through the obnoxious sounds I’d assigned to his number to match his winning personality. But something in my gut told me that missing this call might be a bad idea.
     
    “Hello?” I mumbled, still working the sleep out from my eyes.
     
    “Amber? Hey, sport!” Harvey’s condescending voice made my guts clench. God, how I hated that man, especially when he used pet names you’d use for a kid and definitely not for a grown-ass woman like me. “Gonna need a huge favor from you, kiddo.”
     
    “It’s one in the morning, Harvey. Couldn’t this have waited until I came into work?”
     
    “No can do, slugger. I’m gonna need you to handle this ASAP. We’ve got a last-minute delivery coming in—a big critter, from what the people upstairs are saying.”
     
    “We’re getting another animal?” I asked, my voice rising and any trace of sleep evaporating instantly. “Without any notice? Shit, Harvey. Do we even know what species it is?”
     
    “Nope,” he said, and I could practically hear the smile on his face. “Big boss upstairs just said it’s a big animal. Very dangerous, and we need a keeper there to make the hand-off. I figured you’d be perfect, since you’re on call this month.”
     
    “Since when?!” I hissed, my heart beginning to race. I closed my eyes, trying to bring my pulse back down to normal. Fuck this heart problem, I thought as I took a few deep calming breaths, focusing on the way the air rushed into my lungs, then back out again.
     
    “Since I made that call. And, as the most recent hire, your continued employment sort of depends on doing your damn job.” All the sugary overtones had melted out of Harvey’s voice, leaving only the sleazebag I’d come to despise. “Now get your ass out of bed and make sure this goes off without a hitch, got it?”
     
    I didn’t even dignify him with a response, instead sliding my thumb over the “End Call” button on my touchscreen. I flopped back into bed and screamed at the ceiling in frustration. I’d only worked at the zoo for a few months, and already I hated it with a fiery passion.
     
    The fact that we were getting a new animal with absolutely no warning was strange enough, but to not even know what kind of animal it was? There were so many questions we didn’t have any answers to. What kind of habitat did it need? Was it an animal we already had? If it’s so dangerous, why not send it to a much larger zoo with the facilities to take care of it? Most of our animals weren’t even in the greatest of shape, thanks to our lack of funding and Harvey’s refusal to find space in the budget to hire a full-time veterinarian to work on-site. Another reason to hate the scumbag.
     
    It took me only a few minutes to get myself out of bed and get dressed in my work uniform, a set of unflattering khaki shorts and a green polo shirt that was a size too big. Apparently, fashion sense was too much trouble to hope for, either.
     
    I grabbed my ID badge and a newly-brewed cup of coffee from my kitchen and sped off to the overcrowded shelter I was being paid to call a zoo.
     
    “What a waste of a degree,” I grumbled to myself as I pulled into the employee parking lot. “I could have been an accountant and actually making some damn money like my mother said.”
     
    I got out and slammed the door, beginning