Free Riding Me Bear: (BBW Biker Mail Order Bride Group Shape Shifter Paranormal Romance) (Shifty Singles Book 5) by Leona Orsino

I was half-blind in a quarter-moon night. Thick black coated wolves shimmered silvery as they stalked a circle around me. Their paws shuffled sand slowly through the desert, laughter as breath through flared nostrils. Dark lips curled a smile over razor canines, their all-too-human eyes flashing hunger.
    Somewhere in the back of my mind, tucked behind the gut-punch dread, I thought how nice the cool air smelled—fresh and fragrant. Maybe that’s what they call a defense mechanism. Maybe my brain was giving up. Make the girl comfortable before she dies , my brain said. It’s the only defense I had.
    Maybe I should have just stayed where I was. Maybe I should have just followed through with what I'd come all the way out to this godforsaken desert for in the first place. That was always a problem for me—follow through. Surely bears were better than wolves?
    Then again, it wasn't really the bear thing that had thrown me, odd as that may seem, it was the means of... Well, I suppose I should explain what I mean by bears anyway. No need to be cryptic about it. Maybe I should start from the beginning. Maybe, maybe, maybe.
    I'm from the big city. It's why even when my life is in danger the only thing I can think about is how wonderful the desert smells at night—where I'm from the only thing you smell at night is piss and gutter oil, if you're lucky. I grew up with a good friend, Fiona, but a few months ago she just up and disappeared. Then, about two weeks ago I get a call from her up and outta the blue.
    "Jas, I have just the solution to your romance problems," she said, he voice more energetic and full of bubbles than I'd heard since college.
    "You disappear, then don't call for months, and then you just decide to come and give me some relationship advice?" I was not pleased.
    "Yup," she said. "That's how it works."
    I sighed. It wasn't like this was entirely beyond Fiona. She was a wild one after all. "Alright, alright.  Lay it on me. Lord knows I can use the advice."
    "Forget the romance."
    "I'm willing to forget just about anything. A guy who takes me out for some In N' Out and actually pays for once would do," I said, laughing. "Hell, I'll pay, if he'll grab the napkins."
    "Chivalry really is dead, isn't it," she said. "Well, I say we stomp it right into the ground."
    "Oh?  Is that what happened?  You married the first guy to slam the door in your face?"
    "Nah, I could've stayed where I was if I wanted that," she said. "No, Marcus is a perfect gentleman. Just, the way we met was a bit unconventional."
    "You really went through with that whole mail-order thing, didn't you?"
    "And you should too."
    "No way, Fi," I said. "Not gonna happen."  Of course, I'm terrible at follow through.  If I say I'm going to do something, I don't—and if I say I won't...well...
    "At least come visit me," she said. "And let me introduce you to the guys."
    "The guys?"
    "I've got some good friends down here that're looking for a mate."
    "A what??"
    "Uh, a lady friend. A wife."
    "You said mate."
    "Just come," she said, cutting me off. "If nothing else, so I can see you."
    "I've got some vacation days I can take," I said. "When's good for you?"
    "There's a Greyhound at eight."
    Impulsive as I am, I was on that bus that night, recording a voicemail for my boss to wake up to in the morning.
    When I woke up in the morning, back aching and head foggy, I was at my stop in the middle of nowhere. I stepped off the bus in a cloud of raw, caramel dust.
    "Jas!  You made it!" Fiona came rushing through the dry mist, arms wide and pulled me in, squealing. "I'm so glad you came."
    "What the hell is this place?" The dust cleared a bit more. "And what the heck are you driving?" There was no car in sight. Just a two-wheeled monstrosity, standing there in chrome.
    "I learned how to ride," said Fiona. "I can teach you. If you stay."
    "Yeah, maybe." She handed me a helmet and I snapped it on. "So, when do I get to meet the hubby?"
    "You'll get to meet