Chapter 2

Zane

M y alarm going off has me waking with a start. Seems like lately, I feel as though I just close my eyes and then it's going off. But spring and summer are busy times for my crew; daylight lasts longer and we're able to accomplish the tasks we have while still getting downed trees to the sawmill. Rolling to my side, I sit up then turn off my alarm. Once I'm standing, I stretch, working the kinks out of my body. I may be a shifter, but sixteen-hour days are still hard on my body and I'm not getting any younger.

Chuckling, I walk naked into the bathroom, take a quick piss, then start the water in the shower. I may have taken one last night once I got home from work, but it's an ingrained habit to take one in the morning, plus it helps to wake me up.

As the water sluices over my body, I quickly wash up, then grab the towel and wrap it around my waist while I brush my teeth and shave. Satisfied with my appearance, I dry off, hang the towel back up so I can reuse it tonight, swipe on some deodorant, then head back into my bedroom to get dressed.

A quick stop in the kitchen to fill up my travel mug of coffee, and I'm heading out the door to my truck, where Sebby and Alex are waiting for me. "Already got our next site, Zane," Sebby says as I unclick the locks.

"Jonas and Bub headed up with the Bobcat and trailer," Alex adds, sliding into the back. "They're grabbing breakfast for all of us before we start."

"Sounds like a plan to me," I say, "we can eat while we double check that the correct trees are marked for cutting."

"We could get through the sites a lot faster if we just trusted that the trees are the right ones," Sebby retorts.

"How many times have we found mistakes?" I question, looking over at him with skepticism. "The front crews may be a good idea, and I'm not saying they're not, but more often than not, they're not doing their job right. It's our job to make sure that we don't simply take their word for it and chop down trees that aren't ready yet."

Since this is a regular discussion between me and the guys, silence reigns in the cab of the truck, allowing me to think about the upcoming days. Typically, we are assigned a ten-acre tract, and before we go in with our chainsaws, axes, and the trailer to take the felled trees to the sawmill, another team goes in and marks the trees that are supposed to be cut down. Except… sometimes, they screw up, which throws the whole process off when another team like mine goes in and just blindly cuts.

"You're right," Sebby finally admits. "I think that's why Mr. Stephens prefers our team to some of the others. I know I don't mind going into the office."

"You just like flirting with the girl who does the orders," Alex teases. "Emilia's her name and damn, for someone who's blind, she knows her shit. I'm amazed at what she's able to do on her computer."

My ears perk up; I've seen the woman they're talking about in passing but haven't been close enough to her to say anything. Hell, I wasn't aware she was blind, which says a lot about how much I don't get into the gossip that runs rampant around the sawmill. I've got my own issues to deal with and they surround the ragtag group of men that insist I'm their alpha. There are definitely days it feels like I'm herding a bunch of cats, which is a bit ironic since we're all mountain lions. Still, we've built a family with one another and because most of us no longer have our families we were born into, we're close. We fight like family, then make up, which is where most of my headaches seem to stem, especially when Sebby and Alex get going. Right now, since they're single, they share a trailer and it's almost like that old show, The Odd Couple , because one is a slob and the other is beyond fastidious.

"Wait, where's Alastair? Y'all didn't mention him when you gave me the update about where everyone else was at," I say.

"Misty was in labor, so he's with her," Sebby advises. "Told him to help the midwife since she can't exactly go to the hospital."

I nod in agreement. The last thing we need is the humans to see a supposed female give birth to cubs instead of a human baby. That would definitely throw the world as we know it into a complete and absolute whirlwind frenzy, and shifters would be rounded up so the government could experiment on them. Thanks, but no thanks.

"We'll cover him," Alex adds. "These are the first cubs we've had since getting together and it's what family does."

"Yeah, it is," I reply, proud of them for stepping up and filling his shoes.

Standing back, I wipe my sweat-soaked brow with the bandana I carry in my back pocket for just that reason as I look out over the site. When we arrived earlier, Jonas and Bub had the two large coolers of water set up, along with a tray of Mama Rosita's breakfast tacos. Bub had even started going through and double checking the marked trees, which I definitely appreciated as the site foreman.

"Any news on Stair and Misty?" Jonas asks as he makes his way to my side.

"Last I heard was it wouldn't be much longer," I reply. "But that was a few hours ago."

"Bub and Sebby are loading the trees now. I'm gonna run the Bobcat over the areas so they're ready to replant when the trees arrive," Jonas says. "Alex went to pick them up so we could keep moving without any delays."

"We've got a well-oiled machine with our team," I admit. "I think that's why Stephens gives us so many assignments."

"Doesn't hurt the bank account either," Jonas replies, smirking at me.

I can't help the chuckle that escapes because he's not wrong. We're one of the highest paid crews and have earned a reputation of being thorough, yet quick, when we take down trees, then replant in the areas we've been assigned to work. Despite our relative wealth, all of us long for one thing; a mate.

"While you're getting the soil ready for the new trees, I'll walk ahead and see if the next section is good to go. We've got a good rhythm going, and rain's coming in later this week, so we'll have some downtime. Might as well see what we can get done before that happens," I announce.

"We'll leave out around seven in the morning," I tell the guys as we exit our trucks. "We made great progress today, even without Alistair."

"Hell yeah we did!" Bub exclaims. "Might even get a bonus this quarter."

"Bonuses are nice, but it feels good to know that we're reforesting the area that we cut trees from," Alex says, which has all of us nodding our agreement.

Most of the sawmills now do this very thing; they thin the trees out that are ready for culling, then turn around and replant the same kind of tree. Hell, there are tree farms that the owners buy from so they're not just putting in saplings which take years to grow to maturity. The site we're working on now won't be cut again for at least ten to fifteen years. Thankfully, the town and area we work in has sufficient work so we can stay in one place.

"Y'all get some food in you and a good night's rest. I think we can clear the rest of it tomorrow," I advise.

"Shouldn't be a problem since Alistair will be back now that Misty's had the cubs," Jonas replies.

With a wave, I head into my trailer, kicking off my boots once I'm inside the door. Sixteen-hour days are rough and all I want to do is faceplant on my bed, but common sense and my mountain lion remind me that we have to eat. Sighing, I walk into the kitchen and open up the refrigerator, grinning when I see that Misty sent over a cowboy casserole, something she probably did for all of us as a way of saying thanks for letting Alistair be with her instead of out working. Like we'd let him stay away from his mate, for fuck's sake! All I know is the woman can cook and this particular dish is definitely a favorite. It's become one of our favorite staples considering it's filling, full of protein—which I need to keep my shifter side happy, and easy to reheat. I set the oven and once I hear the ding, slide the casserole dish onto the middle rack, program the timer, then head to my bathroom for a much-needed shower, because right now, I smell like a mangy goat.

My evening shower is longer than my morning one, obviously, as I have to scrub to remove any tree sap from my hair and skin, as well as the sawdust and dirt. Once I'm finally clean, I step out of my shower then spray it down with cleaner to remove the remnants of my day. Shaking my head, I can't help but grin since I tend to catch shit from my crew for my obsessive cleanliness. When we used to all bunk together, they drove me crazy because they didn't realize that to me, it was like washing up in the same shit I worked in all day.

"At least we all have our own places now," I murmur, gathering up my dirty clothes and tossing them into my hamper so I can wash a few loads of laundry.

The Stephens Holdings, the company we work for, has a setup of about thirty smaller trailers that they allow their lumberjacks to use. Most of the crews are transient, coming in during high volume times to assist, but the one I'm a part of stays here and works, year in and year out.

It works for us because the heavily forested area allows us to shift and run freely without worrying that humans will see us. We keep our mountain lions happy and in return, we get to live in a beautiful, mountainous area.

After slipping on some cut-off sweats, I grab my overflowing laundry basket and walk back into the kitchen where my washer and dryer is tucked into a corner. Once I sort my stuff and make sure I didn't leave anything in my pockets, something I'm notorious for doing, I get a load started, then turn to face my kitchen.

Much like my bathroom, I prefer my kitchen to be clean and tidy, and considering the sheer number of hours I've been working, the biggest thing I have to do is wash out my travel mug, which I do every night once I'm home. Still, since the casserole still has about twenty or so minutes to cook, I take the time to wipe down the counters, then check to see if there's anything I have to add to my grocery list. Usually, Misty runs that errand for me, but with her just having her cubs, I'll take on that chore this week.

I think it bugs me to be in the store because of all the various scents that don't always mesh together. While my senses are further heightened when I'm in my lion form, they're still far more enhanced than a normal human's and being in an enclosed box like a store means by the time I'm home, I usually have a pounding headache. Granted, it goes away pretty quickly, but it's still annoying as hell and I'm getting too damn old to be messing with that shit.

By the time the buzzer goes off on the oven letting me know dinner is done, I have the kitchen sparkling once again, and have switched my laundry from the washer to the dryer and started a second load. I figure after eating, I'll fold what's dry and swap once again, so I can toss the last load in the dryer in the morning. At least I've got plenty of clothes to choose from for the rest of the week.