Free Cougar's Luck (Pacific Northwest Cougars Book 2) by Moxie North

After Vegas you swinging by? I’d love for you to meet Effie. Maybe we can all go visit Kenzi and King together.”
    “That sounds great, I’ll let you know when I finish up here.”
    Everett said his goodbyes and saw Will watching him.
    “What must it be like to have a mate whose feelings matter more than your need for revenge. Even when it was someone who really deserved it?” Will said this like he was pondering it deeply.
    “I hope to know someday, I really do,” Everett answered.
    William checked his watch and saw the time, it would be dark soon.
    “Let’s call it quits and I’ll introduce you to the pack. They should all be arriving about now.”
    The men headed out and found a number of people already gathering in the main rooms of the house. Will introduced Everett to everyone and many of them came up and shook his hand.
    After about an hour of mingling, Russell called out, “About time!”
    The group started moving towards the back of the house. The Kleins owned hundreds of acres of desert. Even outside of that is was all government land with very little road access. Lots of room for the pack to roam.
    As they walked past the glow of the house, people started stripping down. It was shifter protocol to not look at anyone else as they stripped. It was just considered bad manners.
    Everett’s cougar was itching to get out. The minute Everett shucked down his shorts and boxers, his cat was pushing at him. Letting him take over, his animal folded out through his skin, tawny fur sprouting and Everett’s view went to just a few feet above the ground and his cat stretched his huge paws into the sand.
    Letting his animal have full control, he felt the elation his cat was feeling getting to run with so many other animals.
    John Klein, the pack’s Alpha let out a loud roar, signaling everyone to take off. They did in a flurry of fur. All shapes and sizes, the young ones rushing out ahead. The older ones taking a slower pace. There were even a few kittens that were tripping over each other as they went out to try and hunt down scorpions or snakes.
    Everett’s cat followed the pack into the darkness.

Chapter 12
    K nowing she was running late , Layla ran through the house and through the back door. The pack must have been running for a few hours now. The older ones would have taken a short journey then returned to the house. Everyone else should still be out.
    As she reached the piles of clothes left on the ground by the pack, she stripped out of her clothes and put them all into a small tote she’d brought with her. She was not going to put her Lela Rose gold brocade dress on the dirt. Or her Manolo’s either.
    Once she was naked, Layla had to give her cougar a nudge. Her cat was ready to run, but she’d never be pushy about it. Letting the shift flow over her, her animal rolled out of her skin, long legs flexing. She arched her back letting all her cat’s muscles shift and change. Telling her cat to have fun, Layla stepped back, and her animal took off to try and find her family.
    She ran for a while with her cat stopping and sniffing a trail of a few pack members. She’d run across her parents already. She’d butted heads with both of them before running off again. The desert was noisy with feet skittering as the young ones of the pack chased after jackrabbits and other creepy crawlies in the night.
    As she was reached her favorite rock outcropping that looked over the valley, she got a scent on the breeze. Sniffing again, her cat recognized that scent and purred. Damn, Everett was out here somewhere.
    Layla wasn’t sure if she wanted to meet him. No, she was sure she didn’t want to meet him after her embarrassing dreams. Her cat, on the other hand, was very interested and wanted to track the scent. Her tail was twitching to run after it.
    Her animal so rarely asked for anything, Layla couldn’t deny her the hunt. Giving her agreement, the animal took off tracing the scent on the breeze. It was still