Free Sheer Bliss by Leigh Ellwood

wish upon a star.
    Oh, hell no. Maya
trotted back and forth, as though appraising Calla. Unless I’m
drunk, and I’m not, I have no other explanation. You obviously have
panther blood in you, girl.
    Fat lot of good it does
me . Calla rose to all fours and stretched.
    What do you mean? Now
all your dreams of Caleb can come true. Maya’s voice echoed
with consternation in her head.
    Just because I’m a
panther doesn’t mean I’m going to beat a path to his door,
Maya, Calla said. True, this made things easier if she chose to
pursue a relationship with Caleb again, but…
    The wolf edged closer. What’s on your mind, doll?
    Calla watched the wolf,
swearing Maya grinned underneath all that fur. How is it, she asked, that you managed to get this far in life without
being forced to mate?
    The wolf tossed back her
head and let out a yip. Well, for one, werewolves aren’t
endangered , Maya said. There’s no pressure for me to mate,
not with all the hungry she-wolves roaming about. Besides, I rather
like the single life. So many possibilities, as you already
know.
    Right. Calla tried
to picture rolling around with Maya while in their animal forms and
shuddered. Why aren’t you at the party?
    It’s boring, and I’m
not the only one who thinks so. With that, Maya nodded her
snout toward the glass doors as one of them opened.
    Calla turned, expecting to
see Caleb dart out to look for her. Instead his aunt stormed up the
patio, her face contorted with anger. Only one thing could inspire
such rage on this important night.
    Trisha. The belle of ball
had bailed. Good for her, but Calla felt for the girl’s cousin, who
no doubt would suffer some of the repercussions.
    Maya , you
wouldn’t happen to know where Trisha—
    When Calla turned back,
she saw only a wide expanse of sand and waves.
     
    * * * *
     
    “ Caleb!”
    His heart stilled for a
moment, thinking Calla had finally arrived. Forty-five minutes into
the ball and his mind worked rapidly to concoct a plan for a
discreet exit if she didn’t show. He had no reason to be here
anyway, he mused to himself. It wasn’t as if this was the actual
mating ceremony and he had to give his cousin away.
    Somebody called for him
again, and Caleb thought suddenly of Trisha. He’d been so wrapped
up in meeting Calla here that he realized he hadn’t seen his cousin
in a long while.
    A hand gripped his arm.
“Wake up!” Sheila admonished him. “I’ve been yelling at you from
across the ballroom for five minutes.”
    “ The music’s too loud,” he
said. A lame excuse, yes, but at least Sheila kept quiet as she
dragged him to the outdoor patio.
    “ I know what you’re
thinking,” he said as the warm August night quickly inspired
perspiration to bead on his forehead. “I haven’t seen Trisha, and I
don’t—”
    “ We’ll worry about her
later,” Sheila snapped, and grasped Caleb’s shoulders as though to
hold him still. “Just stand here.”
    Caleb did as told, now
worried for his aunt’s mental health.
    “ Do you smell it?” she
said, prodding him. “Concentrate.”
    “ Fine.” Anything to humor
her, and keep her from bugging him the rest of the evening. “What
exactly am I…”
    That’s when his panther
senses picked on it. Her .
    Calla was here, but where?
He’d know her unique scent anywhere, only now it seemed different
somehow. Matured, more distinct.
    Caleb froze. Like a
panther’s .
    He turned a hard stare on
his aunt. “Did you see her?”
    “ No, but she’s close. I
don’t understand it. Wes told me she was only recessive for
shifting, and as long as we’ve known her I never picked up so
strong a scent.”
    Caleb paced the length of
the patio. If this were true, then Calla had this ability for some
time, when they had first dated! Had they only known back then… He
couldn’t decide whether to cry or whoop with joy.
    “ Maybe Wes was wrong,” he
said. “Or he read her records wrong.”
    “ What does it matter now,
she’s a panther!”