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exactly had I left the comfort of my condo in my gated community in fun Las Vegas? For a cattle stampede?
    "Wait. How do you know we're headed toward a river?"
    "I can smell it. Now stop talking and run like your life depended on it."
    Now scared out of my mind with thoughts of being trampled to death by big, vicious cows, I ran as hard as I could force my body to go. But they were getting louder despite how quickly we moved.
    "Are we going to make it? What should we do?" I was starting to panic. My body was hot and—
    "Oh shit." I was glowing orange in the dark. This was not happening.
    Mick looked at me in alarm. "Keep going. We're almost there."
    I couldn't stop the magic no matter how hard I tried. I pumped my little legs as fast as I could until I felt my body change mid run. Fur disappeared and I began to fall when Mick scooped me up in human arms and flung me in the air ahead of him.
    I'm pretty sure my heart stopped as I imagined my body breaking into a million pieces when it slammed into the ground. My muscles tensed and I tried to brace for the fall with my eyes squeezed shut.
    The shock of landing in ice-cold water took my breath away as I sank under the surface. For a few immobilized seconds I considered whether I was about to die. Fortunately, I discovered that I did have instincts to survive as I kicked and flailed in the water until I broke the surface and gulped for air.
    I twisted from side to side and searched for Mick. He wasn't there and I hadn't heard him hit the water behind me. I strained to see the bank of the river and could only make out shapes moving around. Had to be the cattle.
    "Mick!" I screamed.
    "I'm here." He splashed the water about fifteen feet from me and I breathed a sigh of relief.
    "Thank the Goddess."
    "Come here, sugar."
    We swam to each other and I sank into his embrace, not caring for a minute that we were both naked in the middle of a freezing cold river.
    "Hey, are you two okay?" Someone called from the water's edge and we both turned to find hundreds of naked people standing there staring at us.
    "What the heck? Mick, what is going on?"
    "It seems that the stampede of cattle we ran from were actually Shifters."
    "Seriously?" I whispered. "There are cow shifters? What next? Skunks?"
    Mick smiled and I groaned. Clearly, I had led a sheltered life from much of the paranormal world in Las Vegas.
    "I'm ready to get out of this water now. My tits are freezing."
    Mick jerked under the water, an apparently involuntary reaction that made me smile.
    "I can help you with that," he offered.
    "Maybe when there isn't an arena sized audience."
    He scooped me into his arms and began walking toward the water's edge. "I'm going to hold you to that."
    I didn't tell him that the idea of him touching me like that made my body tingle. Nor did I tell him about the heat gathering between my legs despite the cold water. He'd probably find out soon enough.
    When we reached the first of the group, Mick asked if anyone had any spare clothing for them to use.
    "Sorry, man. We're naturists."
    "Nature what?" I asked. That sounded an awful lot like—
    "Nudists, sugar. As in no clothes."
    "I know what a nudist is, thanks." This situation was getting freakier by the minute. Cow Shifter naturists. Certainly I had heard it all now.
    "Our little cowtown is just beyond that tree line." One of the men pointed to a cluster of trees that didn't look too far away. "We could offer you blankets and warm food and even a bed for the night if you need it."
    "That would be great except we left our car at the 99 rest stop."
    The man smiled. "No worries. We can have someone drive you back to your car after supper."
    "Thanks, we really appreciate that," Mick said, adjusting me in his arms so at least the front of my body was mostly hidden.
    We followed the Shifters back to their 'cowtown' and were pleasantly surprised to discover what I would describe as a charming village with all the amenities you could need.
    However, as