Sabrina Wayne checked the GPS coordinates on her satellite phone even though she knew they were correct. She leaned against a sun warmed boulder in a small clearing far off the Appalachian Trail in North Carolina. The old maple with the words ‘Paul + Nancy’ carved into the trunk marked it as the location Madame Eve specified in her email. The thick summer grass muffled the sound of Sabrina’s boots as she paced beneath the late afternoon sun. She had arrived an hour earlier than the time set up by Madame Evangeline, eager to meet her mates. That is, her potential mates.

Nervous energy had her running her fingers through her hair. Not that it really mattered how good she looked, as soon as she shifted her hair would go back to its usual, messy black waves. Part of her wished she’d dressed up for the date, but she knew she wouldn’t be wearing clothes for long. Not if Madeline and Nick were who she had been searching for.

The last vestiges of sunlight burned through the forest, turning the warm spring air a golden butterscotch color among the emerald green of the leaves. It had rained the previous night and the air still held the hint of moisture. She drew in a deep lungful and reminded herself that Madame Evangeline, matchmaker extraordinaire of the 1Night Stand dating service, knew her craft. True, having a matchmaker set up a first date in the middle of a vast forest didn’t exactly seem conventional, but it was perfect for a werepuma.

For three moon cycles Sabrina had gone without a mate, and her body paid the price. She walked around in almost constant arousal and her dreams always left her on the cusp of a screaming orgasm, only to awaken aching and frustrated. Masturbation took the edge off, but her inner cat was getting seriously pissed about the lack of a mate.
While she didn’t lack for attention or offers, no one had set fire to her soul. Being two-natured was part of the problem. She hungered for the embrace of a man and a woman. In her case, that meant a pair of Alphas. It wasn’t uncommon for a werepuma to have more than one mate, but as a Beta, her animal instincts demanded that her mates be just as strong as her or stronger. This had led to a very long, dry spell that hopefully would be broken by Nick and Madeline, even if only for one night.
Sex between werepumas wasn’t just physical, but a magical exchange of energy that satisfied her soul as much as her body. Too bad she’d only experienced that pleasure a handful of times. It disappointed her even more that while the sex had been fantastic, the next morning she quickly realized outside of bed, she wasn’t compatible with the other couple at all.

She needed someone who would understand the fierce nature of her people and embrace her wild side with strength to match her own. The thought of waking up, pressed between the rock hard muscles of a man and the supple curves of a woman made her body and heart ache.

So, she waited for the first half of the couple to meet her. Madeline Turea, mate to Nick Turea, was supposed to arrive in the clearing at sunset. They would evaluate each other before Madeline gave her either the thumbs up or thumbs down to meet Nick. Madame Evangeline made sure both parties agreed to that rule before they met and Sabrina couldn’t argue with it. To be honest, she wanted to meet Madeline first. In her relationships with other couples, she found it took a very special kind of woman to share her mate, and Sabrina wanted to make sure  Madeline really, truly wanted her.

The harsh crack of a breaking branch cut through her musing and she spun in a crouch. A blonde woman moved out of the shadows with the intrinsic grace of their kind and Sabrina’s heart sank as she first set eyes on Madeline Turea. Why in the world did Madame Evangeline send her a soft and cuddly kitten?

Small and round, at first glance Madeline looked more like a buxom Playboy Bunny lost in the woods than a deadly predator. Sabrina couldn’t imagine her hurting anything bigger than a housefly. Disappointment sliced her deep and she bitterly wished she had never let Madame Evangeline get her hopes up.

It was only when Sabrina met Madeline’s golden amber eyes that she realized the woman’s fierce spirit did not match the sexy bunny packaging.