Chapter One

Audrey

I sighed and hung my head outside a pet store window where tiny kittens played in a crate, not knowing their fate. They would be separated from their mother and siblings as soon as the humans deemed it so. Six weeks, from what I'd read online. Human babies and kittens were different, of course, but no one would dare take a nursing baby from their mother at six weeks.

Leaning my head against the glass, I caught their attention but only for a fraction of a second. They weren't like me. Shifters, and domestic cat shifters in particular, were birthed in human form and didn't shift until they were five or six years old.

They didn't know what I was.

Most people didn't.

My phone rang, tearing my attention away from the kittens. It was my friend and coworker Charlotte, asking if I wanted to have brunch the next day. Sundays were usually our standing brunch date, but she said her mate was whisking her away for a night out and he'd rented a place for them to stay for the night.

"Sure. That sounds good. I'm finishing up a project now, so it will be a perfect time to celebrate."

I hung up and ducked into the local coffee shop. The smell of roasted coffee beans along with sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon filled the air. At times, I got tired of working from home, looking at the same four walls, so this place and the library private rooms had become my offices away from home.

"Warm milk with honey and cinnamon?" the barista asked me before I had the chance to speak. I was nothing if not predictable, at least, in the mornings. Caffeine didn't sit well with me. My body was always energetic and ready to go—part of being a feisty cat shifter.

"Yes, please. And a cinnamon roll too." After paying and getting my treats, I sat in a booth in the corner. Though the table was near the entrance, it was tucked back so far that most people who came through the doors never even looked at me.

The great thing about working remotely was that I could leisurely eat my breakfast while reading emails and catching up on the pesky tasks.

I sat back after a few hours and bounced my legs, needing this project to be finished. I'd made everything the company needed for their new social media campaign and even included some extra designs. Doing what they asked was only part of the reason I did well as an independently contracted content creator. The above-and-beyond part always sealed the deal. This company had reached out before and been pleased, so, this time, they paid up front, knowing my work would be up to par.

Once I was pleased with everything and spell-checked my work, I saved it all to a thumb drive but would check it once more tonight. Taking a break from a project and coming back with fresh eyes always helped to catch mistakes.

I stopped at home, my cute apartment above an herb shop, and exchanged my laptop bag for my climbing gear. The frenetic energy inside me was constant and needed an out. Some cat shifters ran miles but, I'd tried that and gotten bored during the first mile or so.

Climbing was a way to calm my mind and wear out my animal, at least, for a few hours.

"Are you sure you want to climb this one?" A man sidled up to me and crossed his arms over his chest. He had all the best and most expensive gear on, all shiny, unscuffed, and new. The salesman at the sporting goods store must've seen him coming from a mile away.

"I'm pretty damned sure," I snarked, huffing out some frustration through my nostrils.

"It's the hardest climb here. And that part over there, where you have nothing to put your feet on, well, even I haven't been able to get past it."

The guy was handsome. Well-built and smelled good. Human cologne, but it had a nice scent. Too bad his pompous attitude was spoiling all of that.

Plus, he was human, which took him down all the notches in my book.

"Well, little old me will have to try and fail, then," I said, chalking my hands up and testing the ropes."

He chuckled. "You're feisty. I like that in a woman."

"Oh? Thank goodness. That was my goal for today, to impress a random"—I almost said human male —"man."

My sarcastic tone made him scrunch his nose. "Go on, then."

"Thanks for permission."

He watched me the whole time as I climbed the course. The hanging was no problem for me. My cat loaned me her dexterity and grip as I perused the handles and angles like a pro. Once I was done, the man stood there, jaw slacked.

I got some fist bumps from some women I'd seen in the place before.

The man turned on his heels and grabbed his stuff, stomping out.

Not the first time I'd turned someone off with my smart mouth. If a man couldn't handle my smart-ass ways, he didn't stand a chance surviving me.

But there were drawbacks to my sass. Males, especially human ones, found me off-putting. I was too much for them. They didn't know that once you got past my attitude, sometimes defensive in nature, all I wanted was to be loved and cared for by a mate. A mate who didn't have to be fated as far as I was concerned. I gave up finding that person a long time ago.

I went home and slept in a bed by myself. I longed for arms around me, heat enveloping me, but so far, that wasn't in the cards.

Perhaps I was fated to be alone but I hoped not.