Free Bear Meets Bride (Online Shifter Dating Agency Romance) by Sasha Winter

her dispatch desk to bid them all good luck, as was her usual way. More alarmingly, though, was the fact that her computer wasn’t turned on and there was no sign of a coat or handbag. Their own wits were essential when they couldn’t rely on Nana’s.
    “Is Nana ill or something?” he asked one of the younger officers, understanding that they wouldn’t be receiving the same level of assistance as usual when it came to conversing with ambulance crews and road maintenance.
    “We’re still trying to get hold of her,” the officer replied.
    “What do you mean? No one’s heard from her?”
    “Not yet, no,” was the response.
    Tom continued on his way out towards his vehicle, but this last development refused to lie down in his mind. Part of the job was always to endeavor as robust a public services as possible whenever circumstance happened to be against you—and losing Nana was a big loss from operations. He knew her as well as any of his colleagues, however, and could just not imagine her failing to call in if she was unwell. Nana was so organized, she would’ve been preparing backup plans from the very moment she suspected a bug or virus might be endeavoring to get the better of her.
    Other than having found a wonderful woman who was as good in bed as she was at baking cakes, the last few weeks seemed to have been trying to turn Tom’s world upside down. He didn’t trust luck or fate anymore and, although it was only a short distance to the scene of the pile-up, there was enough time to make a worst-case scenario phone call that he didn’t want to regret not making later—even if it might be alarmist.
    Being a bit of a hi-tech wiz went in his favor in making this so, in having a Sat-Nav wired up to his car that, like his cell phone, had voice recognition software. Thankfully the snowfall hadn’t affected internet access and, within twenty seconds, he had requested a search for Cold Lake Hospital’s phone number and then requested it be dialed.
    Announcing that he was the police was useful in providing him with a quick transfer to the hospital’s most useful department, to whom keeping good contacts with would usually have been Nana’s territory, and Tom was soon able to ask if there had been any women recently admitted unidentified or otherwise. It turned out there had been two admittances, one of whom might have been called something like ‘Nana’, though the woman who answered the call didn’t seem sure.
    As a result, Tom knew he had found her there and then, but what on earth had happened? That they weren’t sure of her identity was utterly bizarre, suggesting that the most organized person he knew had been found outside without ID. Even more disturbing was her condition, however. Although stable, she was described as incoherent, badly beaten and with something like claw marks on her skin.
    Tom nearly slammed on the brakes and spun his vehicle around there and then. This case was becoming personal, as well as continuing to escalate in its number of victims. If this was the work of the bear shifter again, then its bloodlust must have been out of control and they would soon be finding bodies everywhere, but he couldn’t be sure without visiting her. That anyone could survive such an attack was unlikely, so it might have been that something else strange had occurred.
    Not that he was going to take any chances; he would go and see for himself.
    Cursing his morning routine for failing to take advantage of the coffee machine, Tom had just enough discipline to reach the highway incident and give Jake a briefing before heading off to the hospital. The scene was a mess, though fortunately there were no casualties, but Tom still had to be insistent with the sheriff that his departure was necessary, even swearing to suffer the consequences if he was mistaken.
    “If this is the killer again, then someone needs to be on it,” he urged. “This distraction could work right into his hands. I’ll take whatever