Jingle Claws by
Megan Slayer
Paranormal,
Contemporary, Holiday
Novella
Shara Azod
Publishing
Christmas is the
time to come together. But for a tiger shifter stuck in his tiger form, it can
be a lonely time. Kash isn’t just alone, he’s stuck in the zoo. He needs to
find his mate and fast—or his human form will be lost to the tiger forever.
There’s one woman who can help him out...if he doesn’t scare the hell out of
her first.
Charise doesn’t
believe in shifters. There isn’t such a thing. When the man appears in the sick
bay where the tiger once lounged, she’s not sure what to think. He claims she’s
his salvation. Will she be able to accept the Christmas spirit and his wild
story in order to get her happily ever after? Only time and a little visit from
Jingle Claws will tell.
Available now:
And
now an excerpt!
1
“What a way to
spend the holidays.” Charise Sutton scanned the medical sheets on the tigers
under her care. Volunteering to care for the animals over the holiday break had
seemed like a good idea—back when the other workers were still at the zoo.
Instead, there she was, alone on the night before Christmas. Well, alone save
for the bare-bones staff. For once, she wished she still had family around.
Someone to care about her during the Christmas season and a place to go to
celebrate. Nope. After breast cancer had claimed her mother and throat cancer
took her father, she’d vowed to help others. Charise shut the lid on her laptop
and glanced over at the monitor for the tiger enclosure. She’d administered the
meds they needed. The three Bengal tigers napped happily in their faux jungle
enclosure. The white tiger grabbed her attention. She loved the look of the
massive animal. Then again, she’d always had a love of cats. Big,
small...didn’t matter. Such intelligent creatures and so full of attitude. The
tiger hadn’t moved much since that afternoon. “He should be up and at ‘em by
now,” she murmured. He’d been withdrawn since the transfer from the Paducah
Zoo, but the meds should’ve worked. She left her seat and strode over to the
quarantine enclosure. The tiger flopped on his side and stared up at her. His
chest moved, proving he was still alive.
She squatted at the
outside edge of the enclosure. “I just want you to get better,” she said to
him. She closed her eyes and placed her hand on the chain link. “God, help him.
If I can’t bring him around by my hand, then I offer him over to you.”
Charise opened her
eyes. He didn’t seem to be responding—not even to her prayer. She sighed and
stood. Sleep beckoned. She’d been up all day worrying about him. If she didn’t
get some rest, she’d be no good tomorrow. “Good night, handsome boy. Merry
Christmas.”
She made her way
back to the main lab room and plopped in front of the monitors. The office
chair wasn’t an ideal place to crash, but any port in a storm. Charise removed
the clip from her hair and kicked out of her shoes. Just a little nap. Long
enough to recharge, then she’d check on the tiger again. She leaned back and
draped her arms along the thinly padded armrests. Charise closed her eyes. Just
a tiny nap.
A roar jarred her
from sleep. Charise sat up and blinked. Where the hell was she? She rubbed her
eyes, then glanced around the room. Oh, yeah...the lab. She turned her
attention to the monitor. A man sat in the sanitary white enclosure.
“No freaking way,”
she blurted.
She scrubbed a hand
across her face once more. Her eyes had to be playing tricks on her from lack
of sleep. She checked the wall clock. Two a.m. Well, shit. Her nap had lasted
more than four hours. She looked back at the screens to the isolation areas.
The man still sat
against the wall, his long legs stretched out before him. She looked closer at
the black-and-white image. No...couldn’t be...well…he was naked.
“Oh, my God.”
Charise jumped up from her chair and bolted from the observation room into the
main isolation room. “How did you get in there?” she demanded. “Get out of
there. You could be killed.”
At once she
regretted what she’d said. Get out of there? What if the man was a maniac? She
slipped her cell phone from her pocket and dialed 911.
@Copyright Megan
Slayer 2013
No comments:
Post a Comment