The Mating Season: A Paranormal Shifter Romance Read Online Free

think anyone in this village would.” He just couldn’t bring himself to take that step out the door to go home. “Anyway, see you tomorrow, eh?”
    “Yeah, see you tomorrow,” Kim said as she closed the door behind him, smiling.
    Keith stepped out of the house, his broad smile replaced by a frown as he wondered what could have scared Kim so badly. He had seen the news of the murders on the news a few months ago. He wondered if she had any connection to that. He’ll have to go talk to Tony. According to the reports, the guy hadn’t been caught yet.
    He decided to take a walk to the band police station, a double wide trailer with one of the rooms converted into a holding cell. Usually it was just used for someone who’d had too much to drink, to sleep it off before heading home.
    He passed by the communal orchard, noticing that the cherries were ready to be picked, and the apples were growing at a decent pace. He made note to stop by the general store to pick up some seeds and fertilizer for Kim’s garden. It was the only shop in town, restocked once a week during spring and summer and, whenever the roads were clear enough, in the winter. They usually ordered much larger quantities in mid fall to make sure they had enough supplies to last the winter.
    Keith arrived at the police station and opened up the door. He looked around and saw his cousin Tony sitting at one of the two desks.
    “Hey, I thought you had the day off today, Cuz,” he greeted.
    “Yeah, I was gonna but I figure I’d look into something. Did you get a chance to meet Kim?” he asked.
    “Yep. I did. I think she likes me, too,” Keith replied with a goofy grin on his face.
    “ ‘Bout time you landed someone. The elders will be happy.”
    “Didn’t land her yet. I hope I do, though. Gonna help her with her garden tomorrow.”
    “Ah, that’s so like you, being the white knight. Remember, girls like a little bit of a bad boy streak,” his cousin chided.
    “Maybe. I want to take it slow before telling her all about me, that way I don’t scare her off. Speaking of Kim, when I was over there, helping her set up some stuff, she saw something and got really scared for some reason. I mean shaking, running off to hide terror. Never seen anything like it.”
    Tony sat up. “What do you mean?”
    “Like, I didn’t see it, but it obviously scared the daylights out of her. I hope it wasn’t one of the other guys stalking around. I hope they know better than to change when there’s someone brand new in town.”
    “Remember, Keith, nobody new has come to town in almost thirty years. You’d hope the rest of us would have some common sense, but if one guy didn’t hear, well, she might have seen him stalking around town.”
    “Maybe that’s what happened,” Keith stated, not quite believing it. He had a hunch that there was something else. “You know that double murder that happened outside of Golden a few months back? That guy was never caught, eh? One survivor.”
    “Yeah, what of it?” Tony said, losing patience with his cousin. He wanted to get back to watching his movie.
    “Well, the news said there was one female survivor. They didn’t want to give out her name...because the killer was still out there.”
    “You think it’s Kim?” Tony scoffed. “Come on. Like, I bet she’s here because of a bad break up, nothing more. Her grandmother wasn’t very forthcoming about why she had to hide here, but until she causes trouble, I’m gonna leave her alone, at least as a cop.” he added with a wink, and the allusion was painfully obvious to Keith.
    “You’re an asshole, you know that? Anyway, I’m gonna keep an eye out. If something or someone is stalking her, I’m gonna put a stop to it. You’re the cop, so you should want to help.”
    “Well yeah, but I can’t go on that kind of hunch. I need hard evidence. Anyway, you keep an eye out. I’ll do the same. Nothing wrong with keeping her safe. She looks like she’s been through a