Free BBW Shifter Bundle (BBW Paranormal Shifter Romance) by Becca Fanning

damnit that dream was about to get good! Sighing, I looked at the dashboard clock. It was just past 2 in the morning. It was pitch black outside, with nothing but the deep forest as company.

    “Are you sure we’re here?” I said. Out the front and to both sides there was nothing but trees.

    “Service Road 43-B, right?” he said.

    “Yeah, then I guess we’re here,” I said. I wiped a little cold drool from the side of my mouth and spun around. “Hey guys, we’re here.”

    The two men in the back groggily woke up and rubbed their eyes. Dale stretched and looked outside the window. Mr. Duggar stifled a yawn and shook himself awake. “I trust this is the right location?”

    “Yes, Service Road 43-B. It ends right here. We can’t go any further in the Jeep,” Jimmy said.

    “Then we continue on foot. Let’s get our gear, please make sure you have everything. We won’t be back here for a week,” Mr. Duggar said, opening the door and stepping outside.  

    A gust of freezing air flowed into the Jeep and made the three of us grit our teeth. This was going to suck. I inhaled sharply, as if holding my breath would do anything, and leapt out into the frigid air of these ancient mountains.

    Ancient and unique. It was known that there were many species that only existed on small stretches of these mountains. The unpredictable weather and inaccessibility made exploring and cataloging its inhabitants difficult. I knew a group that had come here seven years ago discovered a new species of salamander, and I was excited at the possibility of us having the same luck. Maybe it would even be named after me!

    Ok, probably not. And we were here looking for fungi, not critters. Getting a fungus named after me would be kind of cool, I guess. But a frog or worm would be so much cooler!

    I closed the door behind me and immediately wanted to get back into the vehicle. there’s something about being out in the wilderness that is really discomforting. Everything is sharper, more enhanced. With no traffic, no street lights, no signs of civilization at all, your senses turn up to eleven. That evolutionary part of your brain kicks in, that little part that kept your ancestors alive for tens of thousands of generations.

    And right now that little part of my brain wanted to book a hotel room at the nearest Mariott and order some room service. I swore at my rotten luck, ignoring the fact that I volunteered for this and luck had nothing to do with it. I walked to the back of the vehicle where Mr. Duggar was putting on his pack.

    I reached past him into the open trunk to retrieve my pack. I pulled it out of the trunk and it landed with a dull thud against the forest floor.

    Thirty-two pounds didn’t sound like a lot of weight when I was deciding what to bring. A week was a long time, and I thought there couldn’t be any harm in overpacking. Better safe than sorry, I told myself as I wandered the aisles of the sporting goods store. Tent, sleeping bag, camp stove: those were defensible purchases. But why did I buy a collapsible camping chair? A folding knife and a comically large bowie knife? Why yes, I would like the canister of bear mace!

    I dragged my pack away from the trunk so everyone else could reach their stuff. I lifted the pack up with both hands and tried to swing my arm into the shoulder strap. I succeeded, then got pulled backwards and fell down onto the forest floor. “Help,” I said, my arms flailing like an overturned turtle.

    “Whoa there,” Dale said, rushing over to me. He took both my hands in his and pulled straight back. there was no strain in his effort: he lifted me like one would lift a pillow off a couch.

    I practically flew up into the air and crashed into him, my breasts pressing into his firm chest. I felt my cheeks go flush, and a bit of warmth inside me fought against the cold night air.

    “Let’s make that the only fall of the trip,” Jimmy said, coming around to the back of the vehicle. He