One Last Prowl: BBW Were Mountain Lion Shapeshifter Mail Order Bride Romance (Shifter Grove Brides Book 6) by Anya Nowlan Page B

thick, healthy forest though, so he followed. There was a tang to his scent, something far beyond normal human sweat and fear. It was somehow grittier and the way it changed as the distance grew was more than a little bit problematic.
    Within a few minutes, Austin found himself padding across the edges of a deep, rocky valley. Loose stones ripped and rolled down the cliff to the right of him, but his footing was sure. The trouble was, the smell was now coming from somewhere below and even his keen eyes couldn’t spy a way to get down without taking a plunge and hoping for the best.
    Austin let out a snarl, an agitated, throaty sound, as he prowled onward until reaching the point where the mountainside and valley met in a strict, cavernous fall. It was straight down from there, but at least here he could spot a few outcroppings along the way that could provide footing for a mountain lion. It was undoubtedly too little for a human, though, but the smell was strong here.
    Austin fell back on his haunches, quieting himself. He listened intently, inhaling the scent as if it would tell him all he needed to know. Somewhere below, he could hear the slightest of sounds, a yowl of sorts. That settled it. With one look to the seemingly endless fall, Austin got up and started the treacherous descent along the cliff wall, searching for footing and finding it as only a mountain lion could. He was half-expecting to find goats along the way, scaling the same path.
    As he moved lower slowly, the little yowls and yelps became stronger and louder, but also intermingled with the heavy breathing of a stressed person every now and then. The scent was maddeningly strong now and sometimes, he could note little hints of what he knew as Marcus’s smell as well. He was not too far by the time he heard the unmistakable, heavy buzzing noise of a helicopter approaching.
    Looking up, Austin made out the form of Slate’s approaching helicopter clearly enough, aided by the stark beam of light it cast in front of it.
    Dahlia… he thought with an internal smile.
    Of course she wouldn’t stay home. Leave it to a mother to find solutions when her baby was in danger.
    The helicopter drew nearer as Austin continued with measured steps. At one point, there was nowhere else to go that he could see, and he stopped, waiting for the helicopter to get closer. He let out a call, a growling yelp, testing if the owner of the noises heard him. Sure enough, a similar sound welcomed him.
    It was only when the helicopter found Austin, sticking to the wall like he was damn near levitating, that he could really tell what was happening. Marcus was flattened against the wall, his hands looking for support where there was none, on a ledge half as wide as Austin’s. But it took no effort to understand how he got there. Right before Austin’s eyes, and those of Dahlia’s and Slate’s, Marcus’s body contorted and twisted uncontrollably, tawny tufts appearing bit by bit and his already skinny body elongating even more until he stood as a juvenile mountain lion, precariously finding his feet. Marcus didn’t have anywhere to go either.
    Judging the situation, Austin could only see one way out. The boy had little control over his shifted state, marked by the fact that he changed again a minute later, heavy sobs making his chest rise and fall. Austin had to help before it was too late. He couldn’t call the helicopter closer, because the wind from the blades might knock them both off the cliff—something that Slate had clearly understood and he remained at a reasonable distance.
    Austin let the shift take him, trying his damnedest to find a spot on the wall that would at least give him some footing. He was large as a mountain lion, yes, but there was a lot more grace to him as the big cat than as a Texas cowboy. He held his breath as the shift took him, smushing his big body against the wall as close as he could. Marcus was watching him now with tear-streaked eyes, obviously