Cute But Prickly: A short sweet shifter romance by Zoe Chant

Author:Zoe Chant [Chant, Zoe]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Shifter Bites
Published: 2021-02-08T16:00:00+00:00

Hester

It was very cozy, with just the flickering light of the fire and a lantern sitting on the end of the couch. Hester couldn't believe how quickly she had relaxed around Mauro. It was as if she'd known him for her entire life instead of just a few hours. Like something in her that had been missing had clicked into place as soon as she saw him.

Mauro was noticeably starting to relax as well. He was a little shy, but he was wonderful company, making them both laugh with stories of bizarre hotel guests.

He had moved to the United States from Argentina as a kid, he said, and didn't remember much of it. "We were in a small town there, I do remember that much. I've always liked wild places."

"I never knew that I did," Hester said. "But I think I do. There's just something about—" And then she had to break off abruptly, aware of her mom in the room.

She was thinking that shifting would be easier here. She always had to be so careful most of the time. The idea of just being able to walk out into the woods and shift was amazing.

And her hedgehog was wildly excited at the idea of being able to snuffle around in the woods. It was too cold right now, of course. But in the spring and summer, there must be a thrilling amount of forest floor to explore, full of new things to smell.

In the city, her forest explorations were limited mainly to parks, and she had to be very careful not to encounter people. Hedgehogs weren't native to North America, so there was always a risk of some well-meaning person picking her up and taking her to an animal shelter. She had gotten in the habit of keeping some big potted plants around her apartment so that she had some dirt and leaves to root around in when she was in the mood.

But here, she could just walk out into the woods and shift. How freeing it would be!

She realized that she had stopped in midsentence and both of her dinner companions were looking at her. "There's just something about the woods," she finished weakly, and ducked her head, jamming her fork into what was left of her lasagna.

There was a brief silence, broken only by the crackling of the fire. Then Peony yawned and stretched out her arms in what Hester was pretty sure was some of the absolute worst acting that she had ever seen.

"Well, I'm completely bushed," Peony said. She got up and collected their plates. "Tell you what, I'll handle the dishes, since you did the cooking, and then I'm going to go up and read in my room."

"Wait—but—" Hester began, but Peony had already hooked her little finger through the handle on top of a lantern and was up and away, with the light dancing around her.

After a moment in which neither of them said anything and tried to look anywhere but at each

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