THIRD CHAPTER!!!! I am so sorry but I was sick this weekened and when I'm sick I can't think at all. Now I would just like to say a gigantic thank you to a fantastic flilylouxxx who I have dedicated this entire chapter to! They gave me my first comment ever and I see that as a momentous occasion! You have no idea what that comment meant to me.  :'3 Its sort of silly how much I loved seeing someone comment on my first story but THANK YOU SO MUCH! And just for you lilylouxxx I have given you the first look at the mysterious and oh so sexy Rick Kodiak!

"Are you feeling okay?"

I looked up and smiled at Evie, "Now that's something new, a nurse being asked how they feel." I chuckled and she gave me a playful grin as she punched my shoulder. I rubbed it gingerly and gave her my best teddy bear eyes as I whimpered in fake pain. She shook her head and went back to spearing her food.

It was a rainy Wednesday afternoon in September, the sky was cloudy and gray as fat drops of water fell onto the growing fresh green grass. I was practically falling asleep as I sat trying to eat my hamburger and fries in the teachers' lounge with Evie.

Evie and I had always gotten along pretty well. She was only a few years older than me but acted like she was one of the students. She was a pixy-like woman, standing at only five foot two with beautiful strawberry brunette hair. What she lacked in height she made up for in personality. She certainly kept you on your toes with her whiplashes of moods and her firecracker personality. I sometimes felt pity for her mate until I realized he was the perfect man to keep her in check.

Her mate/husband was the definition of tall dark and handsome, quiet but nice, thick and strong, a true Lynx. I met him a few times and have seen him around when he comes to take Evie to lunch or the many times he stops by to give her flowers. And in those times I have only ever heard him say a maximum of 10. But what he lacked in words he made up for in devotion. Evie is truly spoiled.

I suspect in more than just the bedroom.

"Yeah, yeah you're hilarious. They should call you Fozzy, the Comedian Polar Bear."

She laughed at her own joke as I feigned hurt and muttered back, "Oh please, I don't even wear a hat or a bow tie."

After this went back and forth talking about the differences between me and the remarkable Fozzy Bear. I thought the subject of my well-being had been forgotten but after munching on her chicken salad a while Evie soon turned serious.

"What's going on with you?"

I gave her a thoughtful look then turned back to my lunch. What Was going on with me?

Ever since Saturday night I have been in a right down funk.

My body feels like the thermostat has been pushed to the Hell setting with multiple hot flashes hitting me a day. I have taken multiple cold showers, put ice packs all over my body, and even went as far as to use the sports facility's ice bath and nothing works for long. Then when I'm not sweating buckets I'm shivering uncontrollably under piles of blankets. It's like the Bermuda Triangle has taken over my thermostat. What's even worse is I can't control myself. It's not like my body is flailing about without my wanting it to it's just a few nights ago I went to bed and then woke up in the middle of the woods not even realizing I had left. My body wants to shift and my mind tells me not to. I haven't shifted for two whole days because I'm afraid what might happen. But I'm slowly losing the fight. I've grown so tired both mentally and physically.  

I haven't slept properly in days because every time I simply close my eyes I see them, two bright orbs looking straight at me. They fill my vision and block out my sense. Two orbs the color of warm honey.

"Earth to Avery! Come in Avery!" I flinched and look up to see Evie waving her fork in front of my face with a piece of lettuce on the end. I lean forward and take the leaf in my mouth, pull back into my seat, and chew it, listening to it crunch in between my mollars. I smile watching Evie fume in front of me as she looks down at her bare fork. She glares up at me before going back to stabbing her food, muttering about no good thieving bears.

"Sorry. I've just been out of it lately that's all." I shrugged and felt my stomach roil just by looking down at my hamburger. I pushed it away slowly at I took a big gulp of Sprite, hoping the carbonated drink will settle my angry organs.

"Out of it huh?" Evie munched thoughtfully on her chicken salad as she squinted up at me. "You do look a little flushed. Are you sure it's not some of bug. There might be something going around. I mean you do work at a school, one of the number one places to catch disease."

I shook my head. It wasn't impossible for shifters to get colds and such but this wasn't that.

"I had thought of that at first as well. I tried taking medication but it didn't help." I leaned forward resting my head on my hands as I let out a long, tired sigh. Either I was suffering from a new, unknown disease or something was seriously wrong with me. 

Evie turned back to her lunch and started picking at her salad with a thoughtful look upon her small face. We were quiet for a while just picking at our food and nibbling every now and then. Evie then began playing with her wedding ring, deep in thought.

"Maybe you need a vacation."

"Yeah, a vacation." My voice was sarcastic and I received a thump on the arm for it. I moved back in my seat rubbing my injured arm looking at her with hurt eyes.

She scoffed, "Don't look at me like that. You deserved it. Now come on Avery when's the last time you've had time off? You've been working here for a good three years and I've never seen you take leave."

"I have too." I said indignantly.

"Sick leave doesn't count." She pointed an authoritative finger at me and I shrank back a bit under her feral look.

"I've never felt the need to." I tried to defend myself but even to my own ears it sounded pitiful. If I truly looked into the reason why I didn't take vacations it would be because... I didn't have anyone to go with.

"You're out of it Avery. You said so yourself, that's the perfect reason to take some time off."

She smiled as we both knew she was winning this fight. I sunk in my seat thinking about it.

Maybe.

The lunch bell rang signaling the end of peace and quiet as Evie stood up and carried her leftovers over to the door where the other teachers were heading. She turned her head back around like an owl, "Just think about it Avery. Everyone needs a break from real life sometimes."

I smiled and waved after her retreating body but soon slumped back in my seat looking down at my practically uneaten hamburger. I sighed, stood up and moved to the trash dumping the meal in the black trash bag, "Great. Another wasted meal."

I let out an angry sigh and went to washing off my hands before heading back to my station.

I then spent the rest of the day daydreaming about vacation ideas. Even if I brushed Evie's suggestion off I still felt slightly inclined to... mull it over. In the end I realized I didn't really have much for prospects in the vacation category. I could only come up with:

Going to the lake-alone

Movie Binge-alone

Barbeque-alone

Hike-alone

Go back to Full Moon Saloon? N.O.

At one point I got so frustrated with myself I threw a clipboard at the wall. A teacher walking by gave me a very odd look as I tried to play it off with a shaky grin and said, "Big spider?"

I was so embarrassed I closed my blinds and door and just huddled in a corner till someone came to bandage up their knee from soccer practice.

Thursday went about the same with me getting out of bed, taking a cold shower, going to work, eating with Evie, going home, and trying to get some sleep.

I was afraid this might become a ritual for me. I could just see it now, my life was going down the drain of insanity and I didn't even know why. That is until Friday at lunch when Evie came with some 'different' kind of news.

"Jeffery's Loggers has brought in some new recruits."

I peeked up from my chicken noodle soup and lifted an eyebrow. "Okay?"

Evie's face was a mask telling me, 'I know something having to do with you.'

"Well you know, new people is exciting." She gave a little wave of her fork and a cheesy smile of 'excitement'. I looked at her for a while still not connecting the pieces.

Jeffery's Loggers was the big logging company in the area. Jeffery was a burly timber wolf who had started his own business in the area a while back. It's a family owned business and he's done pretty well by the community. In the Canadian north logging is a profitable enterprise and Jeffery has given a lot of jobs to the area and to people who needed it. It wasn't anything new to see his new workers out and about in the area. It was confusing why a new group of workers would make big news to Evie. Evie was more along the lines of the 'gossiper'. This didn't really seem up her alley.

"Tell him congratulations for me." I gave her a confused look and went back to poking at my chicken noodle soup. I could get soup down better than solids but it still took some effort. My fever was ever present as always and I had taken to wearing just a t-shirt and cargo shorts with a break and shake ice pack handy. I had installed four fans in my room and a stock pile of blankets for those random cold spells.

My life was truly going down the gutter.

"Well, why don't you tell him yourself since they're coming to the school today."

I blew off a small spoon of broth and carefully swallowed the hot liquid. "What are you talking about?"

Evie beamed wickedly as I could see little horns sprouting from her head, "Well it seems the Principal asked if Jeffery could give a presentation on logging and forestry to the students this afternoon since it's so important to the area. He's coming over with some of his men to show them what it's like."

I felt a knot begin to form in my stomach at the gleam in Evie's eyes. Nothing ever good happened when Evie got that look.

Knowing this I should have known better than to go to that presentation but Evie practically dragged me there with the help of Tom who wanted nothing more than an excuse to touch me and sit close to me.

I wish I could say I was the strong and powerful polar bear that stood his ground and didn't let a 5 foot nothing Lynx and a horny wolf drag him to the school auditorium... But sadly, I'm nothing but fluff in that department.

And so here I sit. Off to the side with the other teachers watching as the students made their way around the auditorium finding their friends and talking about their day. It was a type of organized chaos only a school could pull off and I still wondered how it happened almost seamlessly.

There was muffled coughing over the speaker system and the students began to quiet down as the Principal came out in front with a black mic in his hand.

His name was Blake Rider. A gruff Alpha who didn't take shit from anyone. His build was on the slimmer side of bulging and he kept his presence at a commanding, slightly overpowering, Alpha level. He wasn't mean by any meaning of the word, he has certainly made me feel welcomed in the school over the years but he's simply more of a rocky person by nature. His thick black hair is already showing a few grays along the edges, but it simply gives him a more fearsome look in my opinion.

All I know is that he's probably the only person who could ever be able to do this job. I mean when you really think about it; who in their right mind could possibly control an entire school of hormonal shifter teenagers?

I'm just glad it's not me.

"I would like to thank in advance Mr. Cromwell and his men for coming here today to give us all an informational presentation on forestry and logging which is a very important part of our community. I would like you all to be on your best behavior and show Mr. Cromwell and his men the respect they deserve." This last was said with the authority of an Alpha and I could see almost all of the assembly straighten a little at this tone.

I say almost because I was not apart of this. His dominance as an Alpha didn't affect me very much. For most it's like a brick wall was pressing down upon them. But for me it's like a soft drizzle of rain. It's there, but not overbearing. There are also a few students who had Alpha blood, or were strongly dominant in their own right, that made a show of fighting off the effects to their friends and crushes.

"Now give our guest a warm welcome!" This was answered by a soft roar of clapping and a few show offs whooping.

Mr. Rider stepped aside and motioned for the burly Jeffery Cromwell to come forward. Jeffery was at least a few inches taller than Rider but he still bowed his head slightly in respect and took the mic into his large paw of a hand. Jeffery cleared his throat and smiled out on the audience with sincerity, "How's everyone doing today?"

There was a muffled reply of 'fines' and 'ehhs'. He chuckled and walked forward a bit putting a hand in his pocket in that casual manner most men find themselves doing once in a while.

He was dressed rather nicely for what you might imagine of a lumberjack. He had on khaki dress pants along with a long sleeved dark blue button up. His head was bald but he wore a thick bushy beard showing off his natural red hair. He had a wide welcoming smile and laugh lines across his face. He was as good at handling people as he was with wood.

He played the students like they were a chainsaw.

He made them laugh and asked for volunteers every so often to keep them involved. But along with all the fun he got in important points and information about his job in the forestry business. He had pictures and information on machinery and such. I had barely noticed an hour go by when he stopped for a moment after telling a joke about a mountain lion and fast food.

"Now I'd like to introduce you to some friends of mine."

He motioned for someone off to the side to come out and soon out came a short line of men who were immediately recognizable as loggers. Not that they dressed with red plaid and suspenders but they were GIANT. They looked large and in charge and as they lined up beside Jeffery there was a plentiful round of applause to welcome them.

As they went along the line saying their name, what their job was, and how long they had been in the business I watched silently nodding every so often as they told what they did smiling to myself at how non-stereotypical they were.

There was a man named Charles who was only about 5'6" who worked as a chopper. He barely reached the other mens' chins. One was a man named Bobby who was a whopping 6'6" who worked in marketing the products. I chuckled as he answered a question on why he wasn't a pro wrestler. As they laughed and joked my eyes wondered down the line until I saw them.

Two orbs the color of warm honey. Looking straight at me.

I felt the air in my lungs being dragged out of me all out once. The only reason I didn't go crashing into the ground was because I was already sitting. I felt sweat drip down my forehead as I tried to pull air back into my body. And as I silently gasped for breath I couldn't help but notice the scent that had been trying so hard to break into my system for the past hour tear down all my walls and invade my body in one fell swoop.

The steady gaze did not leave mine as a voice cleared over the sound system.

As if my body received a jolt of electricity I felt myself jump to my feet and quickly, and not so calmly, race out of the auditorium with the sound of the presentation resuming fading behind me.

I ran to my office and quickly tore through my things until I found my water bottle and started to chug it trying to cool the festering flame inside of my very veins. I gasped as the bottle was emptied and I dropped back into my chair trying to catch my breath.

What was that? WHO was that? My heart was hammering in my chest as I tried to piece everything together but my addled brain just couldn't do it.

I was lost.

There was a light knock on the door and after a moment of debating whether to let them in or not I finally gave a tired grunt of acknowledgment. I heard the door open and then softly close. For a time it was silent and I almost forgot there was even another person in the room. But then slowly, like the smell of rain it came.

The scent.

I didn't want to turn around at first. But then without my wanting them to my feet turned my chair till I was facing the doorway. Standing there, solid as a rock, was HIM.

He was tall and thick as a tree with short brown hair that had a slight wave to it. His chin was dusted with a well-trimmed beard of coppery brown hair. His skin was lightly tanned and his hands were rough from work. He had a strong jaw with angular features to accent his stature. But what held my rapt attention were his eyes. Two orbs the color of warm honey that shone with emotions that made my breath catch in my throat painfully.

His chest rose slowly as if with a purpose that almost crippled him as he seemed to savor my scent. His pupils dilated ever so slightly as his voice rung out like the sound of rolling thunder.

"Hello, my name is Rick Kodiak."