Shiftr: Swipe Left for Love (12 page)

The shrill siren tone of Caleb’s alarm woke him on Christmas Eve. It was 4pm, which meant that it had been going off for the past hour, every six minutes. He groaned as he switched it off. He’d intended to wake in time to catch a sliver of daylight, give his body the opportunity to realize that it was time to be awake, but his body’s need for sleep had won out. He kept yawning as he got out of bed and stumbled around, trying to clear his head enough to decide whether he should go out and get some food or shower and get ready. The rumbling in his stomach was the decider. He went out and hunted enough food to make up for the past 48 hours, then he came back and got himself ready.

He scrubbed himself all over in the shower, shaved and applied some aftershave, trying to tell himself that tonight was going to be the night when he met his mate, and that he wouldn’t have to move to Green Fields or someplace else. But he didn’t believe it. The feeling he’d had two days ago had only grown stronger, and sat deep in the pit of his stomach, like an absolute certainty. He wasn’t going to find his mate in Stonybear Peak. He picked out a blue, plaid button-down shirt and dark blue jeans. When he was ready, he glanced in the mirror. He looked like a bear, he concluded. A sleepy one, with slight shadows beneath his eyes.
Oh well, it wasn’t like anyone else would be bursting with vitality either.

The gathering was being held at the community hall, just over a mile away. Although the snow was deep, Caleb decided to walk. He crunched through crisp snow, along a path that he’d trodden so many times in his life, with the stars twinkling in a clear, inky-black sky.
What would it be like not to be here any more, not to walk the familiar, well-loved ways?
he wondered.

He stamped the snow off his boots as he entered the hall. It was a big space, but it was built from logs, which created a cozy ambience, and an open fire on either side of the room kept it warm and comfortable. There was a large Christmas tree in the entrance way, and the hall was elaborately decorated with tinsel and streamers. Caleb was clearly one of the last to arrive, as the place was full. He paused and took a moment before he joined the throng. There were lots of familiar faces – of the many friends and relatives who made up his clan. There were some new faces too. Automatically, he zeroed in on the women. There were two tall, attractive brunettes chatting together animatedly. He waited for his bear to tell him something, but it stayed quiet, hunkering down sleepily beneath his skin. His bear would let him know when he found his mate, he was sure of that. It would struggle to be let out, unable to control its passion, and he would feel like every cell in his body was alive with yearning. His eyes lingered on the women, wondering why either one of them couldn’t be his mate. They were both good looking. They had classic female bear shifter figures – strong, sturdy, and broad in the shoulders – which most guys went crazy for, but he always had a sense that something was missing, and in his most private moments, he found himself longing for soft curves – buxom breasts, generous thighs and full, round asses. One of the women turned her head in his direction, doubtless feeling the heat of his gaze, and he looked away quickly and made his way over to the bar.

“Caleb!” Trey the bartender greeted him warmly. “How goes it?” He was an older relative of Caleb’s, and he’d always watched out for him after his parents had died in his late teens.

“Hey, Trey,” Caleb replied, propping an elbow on the bar. “You know, the shortest day’s over, it’s almost Christmas. What could be wrong?”

“Not much, for me at least. But your bear’s telling me something different.” Caleb laughed.

“My bear’s under strict instructions to keep quiet tonight, so I’m not sure that’s true.”

“Maybe it was something in your eyes then, but I didn’t want to get all soft on you,” Trey replied with a chuckle. Caleb sighed.

“No, I’m good. It’s just – I guess I’m feeling a little lonesome and blue. I woke up on the solstice and just got to thinking how another year has passed and I haven’t found my mate yet.”

“Oh, Caleb, there’s still plenty of time. You’ll find her. You’re a great guy, and you’ve always got plenty of women interested in you.”

“Thanks, Trey,” Caleb replied gruffly. “I’ve just been hearing that for a long time, and I want to find my mate now, you know? I want to start enjoying the good stuff in life, instead of sleeping the winters away like a grumpy old bear.”

“Well there’s plenty of new faces here. I’d say a young man like you should be spoilt for choice on a night like tonight,” Trey replied with twinkling eyes. Just then, a heavy hand landed on Caleb’s shoulder.

“Dude, I’ve been looking for you everywhere!” Dominic exclaimed in a tone that suggested he’d already had a couple of beers.

“That’s true!” Trey said with a rumbling laugh. “He was worried that he’s been neglecting his wingman duties.”

“It’s ok, I just got here. I overslept as usual,” Caleb explained.

“Then you’ll be needing a drink! Two more beers, Trey,” Dominic hollered over his shoulder. Trey put a frothing mug of beer in front of Caleb. He took a long swig.

“Here’s to us both finding our mate tonight,” he said, raising the mug and clinking it against Dominic’s beer with more enthusiasm than he felt.

They chatted to Trey a little longer, before heading into the bustle of shifters filling the hall. The Christmas party was the biggest event of the winter, and all the clan turned up, along with members of several other clans, making the journey from far and wide.

“Are you still planning on leaving The Peak if you don’t find your mate tonight?” Dominic demanded.

“Sure am.”

“I was kinda hoping you’d slept on it and decided it was a crazy idea.”

“Nope. Nothing’s changed. I remember being right here a year ago, in exactly the same situation. And another year’s gone by, and I still haven’t met her.”

“Her?”

“Do you believe that there’s one woman out there for you, and only she will be your perfect match?” Caleb asked.

“I don’t know,” Dominic replied, after some thought. “I mean, if there’s only one in the entire world, it seems a little unlikely that you’ll find her, doesn’t it? So maybe there are a few women who could be your mate, but not that many, which is why you have to make a lot of effort to find her. What do you think?”

“I’ve always felt like there’s only one for me. That a particular woman is pulling me to her, and until I find her, I won’t be happy. And there’s got to be, what, 20 women here that I haven’t met before. What are the chances that she’s going to be one of them?” Caleb finished, his voice dragging with despondency.

“Bro, don’t be like that,” Dominic said, knowing Caleb’s moods all too well. If he started feeling sorry for himself now, it would be impossible to get him out of his funk for the rest of the night. “This is your last chance at finding a mate here, before you abandon us all. And I have an idea. Let’s set ourselves a challenge.”

“A challenge?” Caleb echoed, instantly brightening, as Dominic had known he would.

“Let’s promise ourselves that we’ll speak to every single woman we don’t know tonight, and, whoever speaks to the most women wins.”

“Wins what?”

“Well, hopefully a mate. But, failing that, a beer,” Dominic said with a grin.

The two best friends spent the next few hours circling the room, talking to every new girl they saw. They had the typical feisty personalities common to the clans, and they were all handsome women, as female bear shifters usually are, and wearing all kinds of beautiful dresses. It wasn’t hard for Caleb to fall into conversation with them. The sight of a tall, dark-haired bear, with sharp cheekbones and dazzling, ice-blue eyes striding towards them was usually enough for them to break off whatever conversation they were having and gaze at him open-mouthed as he came over and introduced himself. For his part, Dominic had abandoned his wingman duties and was focused on the competition. They split up and kept a note of the names of the girls they’d spoken to on their cell phones.

By the end of the night, Caleb’s mind was buzzing with all of the conversations he’d had, but his heart was still empty. They were all such nice women, and they’d been real fun to talk to, but his bear hadn’t stirred inside him, not even once. He slumped on a chair at the edge of the hall, near one of the fires, and watched Dominic talking to a woman that he’d spoken to hours earlier. She was tall and athletically built, with long red hair, and a broad smile that flashed lots of white teeth every time Dominic cracked a joke, which seemed to be pretty often. They were standing close together, and she kept touching his arm, and from time to time, his hand slid around her waist as he stepped closer to hear something she said. Caleb’s stomach tightened. And as Dominic’s arm remained around her waist and she tipped her head back and they kissed, his stomach flipped over. He stared down at the floor as a wave of heat rolled through him. He didn’t want to be jealous of Dominic, and he wished him the best, but it was so unfair.
Why am I the only bear who can’t find a mate?
he asked himself over and over.

Just then, there was a flash of red in front of him, and a second later, a girl deposited herself in his lap with a flounce of her skirt. He instinctively put his arm around her shoulder and looked into a pair of impish black eyes.

“Hello, grumpy bear!” his friend Rita exclaimed, eyes glittering with playfulness.

“Hey, Rita,” Caleb replied, his heart lifting a little at the sight of her. The two of them had grown up together, always being in the same classes at elementary and then high school, and they knew practically everything about each other. Apart from Dominic, she was his closest friend.

“I’ve been trying to talk to you all night long, but you’ve been otherwise occupied,” she said, her lips curling in a mischievous grin. “What’s up with that?”

“Ah, let’s just say it was a last ditch attempt to find myself a mate,” he said, adjusting her on his lap so he was more comfortable.

“Still single, grumpy bear? Me too!” she said, in a careless tone.

“How is that even possible?” he said, gazing into her eyes. They flirted. A lot. They’d even hooked up a few times. But it meant nothing. They both knew they weren’t destined to be together.

“I don’t know. Maybe it has something to do with the possibilities on offer here,” she said, sliding a glance along the side of the room. The room was lined with chairs which were filled with male bears, slumping in them. “Part of the problem is that most of the guys here are half asleep. And don’t get me started on the ones who haven’t even bothered to shift!”

“What? Where?” Caleb turned his head to where Rita was indicating. Sure enough, there was a pile of bears at the back of the room, fast asleep, in their bear form.

“Jesus.” They both giggled. “I guess it’s a little rough having a party at the time of year when most of us are at our sleepiest.”

“Sure, but, come on, I’ve slept for the last two days straight to make sure that I’ll have enough energy to get through this.”

“Me too.”

“But your friend Dominic seems to be full of beans,” Rita said. As Caleb cast a glance in Dominic’s direction, his jealousy rose up again. He and the woman were practically devouring each other. Dominic’s hands were running all over her body, and they were kissing hungrily.

“Sickening,” Rita said, shaking her head.

“Some guys get all the luck.” Caleb paused. “No, that’s not fair. He’s been single for a long time too.”

“All three of us have, bucko. Do you ever think it’s time to do something about it?”

“Actually, yes.” Rita’s huge black eyes stared at him expectantly as he tried to form the words.

“I was actually thinking that I need to leave Stonybear Peak and find myself a mate from another clan.” Rita broke into a grin.

“That’s a great idea!”

“Really?”

“Yeah. As long as you bring her back with you.”

“I hope that’ll be possible. I mean, some clans won’t let the women leave.”

“Uh, like ours, you mean?” she said.

“Oh. I hadn’t thought about that.” Rita fiddled with a button on his shirt.

“Not that I’d want to. I mean, everything I care about is right here. But sometimes, I hate the idea that I’d have my whole family on my tail if I ever tried to go off on an adventure by myself. But you don’t have that issue, so you should make the most of it. I’ll miss you like crazy though,” she finished, her eyes suddenly very bright.

“Hey, guys,” Dominic called, coming up to them, and they jolted out of the intense place that their conversation had taken them to. The woman Dominic had been kissing was clinging to his hand and her face was flushed, while Dominic’s face had taken on a tell-tale predatory look, as if he could hardly contain his bear. The woman was his mate; Caleb knew that without a doubt, and he felt happy for his friend.

“Guys, this is Elaine. Elaine, this is my best friend, Caleb, and Rita.” They shook hands, and talked for a moment, but it was obvious that the couple were dying to be alone together.

Caleb and Rita watched them wave their goodbyes to the other people at the party and make their way out of the hall.

“And another one bites the dust,” she said wistfully. Caleb rocked her gently on his lap, enjoying the feeling of her warm, feminine body pressing against him.