Shifted Plans (2 page)

Avery trudged through her living room before dropping her bags in her bedroom. She
popped open a window to let in some fresh air and checked her phone. She needed to
let her parents know she made it and wanted to see if there were any girls slated
to move in with her.

Three text messages waited for her. The expected one from her parents, to which she
fired a quick reply. One from Shifter U’s Housing Management Office, notifying her
of three new roommates expected over the next couple of days. Last, but not least,
one from her best friend Reese, confirming their plans for dinner.

A sorority girl and member of the elite Gamma Liontari Phi, Reese’s education groomed
her for an advisory role to help plan the future of the prides in their hometown and
the surrounding areas. She would work with other sisters of the sorority, past and
present. Eventually, attaining a high-ranking position on the Council of Prides—one
coveted by women across the country and not just because of the hot men with equally
high-ranking positions.

Avery would have to be content to spend time with her best friend when she wasn’t
mired in sorority work. It wouldn’t be as often as she liked.

Shooting off a quick text, she confirmed the five o’clock meet up at Chugs for beer,
beef, and boot scootin’—the perfect way to start the new school year.

As Avery walked through the door of Chugs, the scent of full-bodied hoppy beer and
seared-right-past-the-point-of-being-blue rare steak assaulted her. Taking a deep
breath, she inhaled as much as she could. She wanted the memory of her favorite bar
imprinted on her soul for future recall.

Her phone vibrated in the front pocket of her jeans. Digging it out, she saw a text
from Reese.

At the usual
.

A smile lifted the corner of Avery’s mouth. “The usual” meant their table where they
always sat. The one she and Reese had claimed the first time they went to Chugs—even
going as far as carving their names in the wood top while the staff hadn’t been paying
attention. Of course, Reese then charmed the pants off those same staff members to
include the owners, and they in turn generally made sure no one took it.

Niklaus Braun, one of the bar’s owners and a Kodiak bear shifter, sidled up to her
suddenly before wrapping her in his beefy arms. He lifted her, her shoes dangling
a couple of feet off the floor, and crushed her against his massive chest. “My sweet,
sweet Avery,” he rumbled over her head. “’Bout time you showed up.” Placing a kiss
on top of her hair, he set her down, keeping a hand on her arm to steady her.

“Hey, Nik. How’s it going?” She took a step back, craning her neck to take in his
handsome face. Dark brown hair flirted around his chiseled features. Golden-brown
eyes, high cheekbones, straight nose, and lush lips graced an almost too-pretty face.
The scar running from his right ear to mid cheek the only imperfection.
If you could call it one
. She certainly didn’t.

Avery could admit, if only to herself, it made him even sexier. Nik never told how
he got the jagged mark but joked, saying chicks dug scars, so it didn’t bother him.
He felt it made him a bit of a mysterious bad boy.

At seven feet tall and built like a damn brick house, solid and formidable, Nik dwarfed
her by more than a foot and a half. The bar benefited since no one would mess with
him or his brothers, the co-owners of the bar. The bear shifters never had a problem
breaking up fights or arguments…or getting into them when the urge took hold.

Nik leaned against the wall, tugging her with him, out of the way of incoming traffic.
He casually monitored the crowd as he talked to her, always keeping an eye on the
place. Always waiting for someone to start a fight he could jump in. While it didn’t
get rowdy this early in the evening, it did happen, especially at the start or end
of the school year. Everyone wanted to cut loose one last time.

“Ah, you know. Staying busy keeping the twins out of trouble. Picking up women and
rocking their world.” His deep-brown gaze landed on her face. The sexy smile she had
seen him use to woo women and get under their skirts lifted the corners of his lush
mouth. “Speaking of women, you finally gonna cave and go out on a date with me?”

Not likely
. The Nik ship sailed the second he asked her friend out and she refused to be a temporary
port. Avery laughed and shook her head. “No. As you will recall, you went out with
Reese. Best friends don’t date their best friend’s ex-boyfriends.”

Nik sighed dramatically and shifted to get a better look at something or possibly
someone. “Women have the strangest rules,” he said absently.

Avery rolled her eyes. He would have no problem replacing her, not that she believed
in his earnestness when he asked her out anyway. Sure in her belief, he only did it
out of habit after all this time.

“Not strange, just courteous. I see you’ve got your eye on something. I’m going to
head over to Reese. See ya, Nik.”

Nik’s gaze slid to her, a sheepish grin softening his face. “Sorry, Av. I’ll see you
later.”

“I’m sure you will.” She chuckled. On impulse, she got up on her tiptoes and planted
a kiss on his cheek. Turning, she walked away, not bothering to wait and see how he
reacted. The move totally out of character for her, but if she wanted this year to
be different, she needed to be a bit more daring.

She made her way to the corner of the bar, weaving between the bodies heading for
the dance floor. A soft country tune pumped through the speakers, and she felt herself
begin to relax.

Nearing the table, she found Reese talking to an attractive blond-haired man. Around
six feet tall, he had a handsome, roguish kind of look. Shaggy hair, mischievous glint
in his eyes, and a devil-may-care smile.
Definitely a wolf
.

Detouring, Avery slid onto the empty bar stool, picking up a menu. She didn’t need
it, but it would give her something to do while her friend flirted.

She could practically taste the seared rare steak she planned on getting, the slight
burn of the marks, and the red, juicy meat that would melt on contact. Her mouth watered,
and her lioness purred in approval. She caught the eye of a waitress, signaling her
over. The woman nodded in acknowledgment, holding up her finger in the universal sign
for
give-me-a-minute.

Mission accomplished.

Avery got comfortable settling in to watch the scenery.

Girlish giggling erupted from Reese making Avery chuckle. Depending on the guy, her
friend played the ditzy card even though she was far from one. She’d once told Avery
powerful women intimidated men even before a woman came into her power. It made dating,
Reese’s sole goal in college besides getting her degree, hell.

Looking for her mate never entered Reese’s mind. In fact, she confided in Avery she
knew she wouldn’t find him until much later.

Avery perused the bar patrons while Reese focused on the male. Maybe there was a guy
out there for her to flirt with. Or maybe
blondie
had a friend. She sneaked a peek at the guy then fixated beyond him. No typical cluster
of horny college guys watching intently to see if their friend scored.

Must be a lone wolf.

Fidgeting in her chair, she impatiently waited for the waitress, who got waylaid by
another table. The woman shot her an apologetic look and continued taking the order
from her current table.

Bored and with no food or drink in sight, she thought about interrupting Reese when
someone rudely bumped her chair. She jolted forward, catching herself against the
table as a group of men walked by, none of whom bothered to apologize.

So preoccupied with their rudeness she was thrown off guard when her lioness shifted
violently within. The scent of tall grass and crisp, earthy musk swirled in the air,
making her head spin. Still gripping the edge of the table, her claws emerged to dig
into the wood, keeping her from falling off the chair.

Holy shit. That’s never happened before
.

Shaking her head, she took a fortifying breath, pulling in the scent. Her grip on
the table tightened in preparation of the same dizzying effect, but she was surprised
when her lioness chuffed, urging her to get up and follow blindly.

Ever so casually, Avery surveyed the bar, trying to see where the group of men went.
Much to her disappointment, they disappeared into the crowd. The man the scent belonged
to must be with them, she mused. Nothing else made sense.

Her lioness demanded action.
Mate. Follow.

“Oh, hell no!” she exclaimed louder than she expected.

Reese stopped talking, turning her attention away from her companion. “What’s wrong,
Av?”

What
was
wrong with her? For the last six years, she’d hoped to run into her mate, and now
she had. Sorta. An embarrassed blush filled Avery’s cheeks as Reese continued to stare
at her with concerned green eyes. Blondie didn’t appear too thrilled at the interruption.
His eyes narrowed and firm mouth lowered into a frown.

“Um, nothing.” Quickly glancing about, she came across the perfect excuse. “The waitress
is going to another table. Again. I refuse to wait any longer. I’m starving.”

“I can get her over here if you want.”

Avery turned to her friend in time to see Reese raise two fingers to her mouth. No
way in hell would she allow her to let loose a loud, obnoxious whistle, drawing undue
attention to them.

“No. Don’t! I’ll go to the bar and order. I can get my drink quicker, that way.”
And I can look for my mate. Follow his scent. Hunt him down and make him mine.

Before Reese could protest, Avery hopped down from her chair. Snatching her purse
off the back of her chair, she slowly threaded her way to the bar, all the while looking
for the group of men from earlier. He had to be with them. No one else walked by,
that she noticed.

She followed the grassy, musky trail until it tapered off, lost in a clashing mix
of perfume, cologne, steak, and beer. The arousal wafting from the bodies grinding
together on the dance floor didn’t help matters.

Damn it, where can he be?
She bit her bottom lip in frustration, torn between searching the bar more and getting
food as her stomach rumbled in protest.

Face it. She’d lost the scent.

Would she be able to recognize it if she came across it again?

Who knew?

The scent could have had been a manifestation of her own creation. Her romantic side’s
feeble attempt at a last hurrah when it was really the newest men’s cologne of the
season. She
had
been thinking about finding her mate earlier. Made the choice to not look for him.
She could have fooled herself into believing in the imaginary. Old habits did seem
to die hard.

Fool
. Dejected she propped herself up against the end of the bar and waited for one of
the bartending twins, Levi or Landon, to make his way to her.

Levi and Landon were Nik’s younger twin brothers, the ones he swore he constantly
had to keep out of trouble. Avery thought they
all
attracted the crazy female type, and there was no way in hell any of them would shy
away from it. The twins were tall and devastatingly handsome like their older brother.
An inch or two shorter than Nik, they still commanded their fair share of attention.
Knowing their appeal to the sexes and using it to their advantage.

Damn horny bears.

She studied the tight fit of Landon’s jeans as he leaned on the bar opposite from
her, flirting with a group of women. The well-worn fabric cupped his ass in the most
fantastic way, calling out inviting people to touch and fondle. Following the tight
fit down his muscular legs, she confirmed what she assumed before. Beat up, black
shit-kickers were on his feet. Landon’s signature wardrobe piece. Levi preferred biker
boots.

A frown dipped down the corners of her mouth, her forehead crinkling in thought as
she took in the detail of the stitching on the back of his ass. Where was the spark
of arousal she should feel? The compulsion to find out exactly how tight and firm
his ass was?

Thinking back over the years, she didn’t recall ever being tempted by the Braun brothers.
Even before Reese hooked up with them.

The bears loved sex. Lots and lots of it and they didn’t care who with. It didn’t
matter what kind of shifter, male, female, or if the person pure human. She’d heard
enough stories from Reese about Nik to know the man
and
his brothers were good in the sack. She should want a taste of them, shouldn’t she?

The correct answer would be yes. That’s what Reese would say. Something in the back
of her mind didn’t agree, told her it would never happen, even if one of them were
remotely serious when hitting on her.

Regardless of her attraction or lack of, it didn’t mean she didn’t appreciate a good-looking
man in a nice fitting pair of jeans though.

Tired of waiting Avery knocked on the bar, garnering the closer twin, Levi’s attention.
He nodded and started toward her. It took him a minute or two to reach her through
the throng of women attempting to get his attention.

A bra whizzed by her head and landed on his chest right before he stopped in front
of her.

“Nice,” she said, tilting her head to the side, pretending to study the silky confection.
“I’m not sure seafoam green is your color. You look more like peach.”

Levi wiggled his eyebrows lasciviously before plucking the garment off and tossing
it on the wire strung above his head. “Good thing I don’t plan on wearing it then.
What can I do for you, Avery?”

“Steak, rare, and a Black and Tan. Tall as they come.”

“Partying it up tonight? If you need someone to keep you company later, I’d be happy
to help out.” A grin kicked up the corner of his mouth, his eyes glinting with interest.