The Panther's Arranged Mate

by Bonnie Burrows

  Shanya, while not considered good enough for any form of promotion—especially since that used to mean being considered good enough to share Jameson’s bed—was considered competent enough to make full time hours. She was usually kept to just under full time, though.

  She should have been getting some form of benefits from the company, but they never appeared.

  It wasn’t something Shanya needed. She still held her insurance from her research job. While her parents had seen to it that she was removed from her position, they hadn’t been so cruel as to end her health benefits. Unfortunately, she had to be careful when she used them because that tended to tip off her parents to where she was and nothing good ever came of them having that information.

  Shanya got up and went over to punch out. She had three hours to kill. As she approached the clocking station, she heard voices.

  “I can’t believe she’s still here.”

  It was Shelley. Her station was next to Shanya’s and she’d been a favorite of Jameson.

  “I know,” Tiffany said.

  Shanya wondered who they were talking about.

  “I don’t know why she puts that much effort into her makeup,” Shelley said. “It’s not going to change the bones of her face.”

  “Like lipstick on a pig,” Tiffany said, then paused. “Do you think that she slept with someone higher up? Like maybe she’s someone’s mistress?”

  “Who would want that?” Shelley said, shivering in disgust.

  Shanya felt bad for whoever they were talking about. Whoever the girl was, she certainly didn’t deserve to have them say those things about her.

  “She could be a freak in bed,” Tiffany said. “I mean, obviously, Jameson wouldn’t go for her. He liked them pretty. He’d never stoop to sleeping with Shanya no matter how good she might be.”

  Shanya felt like throwing up. She didn’t want them to think that she was eavesdropping. But they were right by the station and she needed to clock out fast before she was reprimanded for not doing something while she was on the clock. She had to make a decision quickly. Shanya moved swiftly and sailed past them. She didn’t look to see if they felt sorry for what they had said (more like sorry for getting caught). She held her card up to the scanner and went over to wait by the elevators.

  Laughter rang out and against her better judgment she looked back and saw that both women were laughing at her, openly. That wasn’t good news. Most people tried to make a pretense of being nice to her. She was harmless. She wasn’t going to steal anyone’s promotion. Shanya worked hard and tried to keep herself free of office drama. So far it had made her few enemies. But her face, her horrible misshaped face was the root of her problems.

  The elevator doors opened and Shanya stepped in, pressing C for cafeteria. The lunch options that SMILE Inc. provided for their employees were not ideal, but they were free. Shanya never ate out. While the food was terrible here, the fact that she didn’t have to pay for it and didn’t have to wait in line was a huge plus.

  The elevator was filled, but not packed. Shanya tried to make herself as unobtrusive as possible.

  “Are you new?” a male voice behind her asked.

  “No,” Shanya said not daring to look back.

  She glanced at the floor. She could see his pant leg and the shiny shoes he wore. He was from the top floors. She turned around. He’d lose interest when he saw her face.

  “Oh, um,” he said, looking away. “I just haven’t see you around much.”

  There were titters in the back of the elevator. No matter what, everywhere she went people were there to laugh at Shanya. When they reached the next floor the man bolted off the elevator, startling those waiting in line. Shanya looked down. This was a horrible day.

  On the way down the elevator thinned out. Shanya was glad of it. It stung. She didn’t like being confronted with the fact that were it not for her odd sloping face she would have been considered extremely attractive. She still had an athlete’s body. Her legs were long and her hair was impressive. But her face was perhaps even more jarring when compared with the rest of her.

  Shanya didn’t think that it would have been such a problem had she a different body. She was sure that on a more homely body, her face wouldn’t stand out so much. She’d never been able to find anyone with the same broad sloping forehead and compressed lower features. In her family there was a resemblance but no one had all of her features at once.

  As she stood in line for the food, she mused that she’d pretended that people were just freaked out by her yellow eyes. Over time they had mellowed in tone. But when she was young, they were a bright yellow.

  Today’s meal was some sort of rice, meat, and vegetable mixture held together by a thick sauce. The old women behind the counter reminded her of the women who had served her all through school. She took her tray and found a quiet corner to eat alone. Despite her time at SMILE Inc. Shanya hadn’t made friends. She didn’t see the point. Everyone else had such unpredictable schedules and there wasn’t exactly much time for socializing.

  Everyone was just trying his or her best to get by.

  It wasn’t bad working here. There were worse places. But there were also better places and those places tended to prefer people who didn’t want to remain completely unnoticed.

  When lunch was finished, Shanya was left with time to kill. She usually took this opportunity to shop around and look for other jobs in the area, but today she just didn’t have the energy. She still needed to make her 5 star rating quota and if she used up her energy on trying to land a new job, she was going to have to owe Clara the rent money.

  Biting her lip, Shanya looked around. Without her usual diversions, there was really nothing to do. She didn’t have the money or time really to go out and see a movie nor did she have anything to read. There was her phone, but it was a simple model and decidedly not a smart phone. She never took a job that would have required one.

  The hours before she could clock in again dragged on forever. Shanya ended up in the gym. It was usually used by their superiors and the higher ups, though technically anyone could use it. Shanya walked on the treadmill and watched the news. Someone was talking about the latest problem in the Middle East.

  It was the same old everything.

  At least it was until someone from the Human Research Council came on. Shanya froze and it was only the treadmill’s frantic beeping that got her moving again. She fumbled with the headphones, finally plugging them into the right port and turning up the volume.

  “—we really just promote knowledge,” the spokesperson for the Human Research Council was saying. “Everyone deserves to know their history so they can make the best decisions.”

  “You don’t think that organizations, like the one you represent, promote fear and lack of understanding?” the newscaster asked.

  Shanya didn’t envy the spokesperson. They had a hard job. In the last few months, the Human Research Council had gotten nothing but bad press over a few statements.

  Unlike Shanya, who would have caved under the pressure, the spokesperson just smiled—bright red lips parting to reveal perfectly straight, white teeth.

  “No, that’s the thing, Sharon,” the spokesperson said. “Shifters are protected under the law, but they too recognize that there are benefits to keeping the lines pure. We just aim to provide humans the same resources as the Shifters have.”

  “That does seem reasonable,” Sharon said. She turned to the man on her left. “Blake, you’re a Shifter rights activist and you disagree.”

  The two started to have the average cable news fight. Neither side agreed with the other on almost any point. Shanya sighed and switched her headphones over to the channel with the music videos.

  It looked like the woman was on the West Coast, but things could be manipulated. Shanya shook her head and got off the treadmill. It was time to get back to work. There was no way her family could have tracked her all the way here. She’d disappeared again and again, leaving less of a
trail behind her every time. She’d legally changed her name. There was no way that they would be able to find her. She was safe here and after living in the city for this long, she knew few people.

  Clara was her only contact and there was no way that she’d talk to any of the goons her parents had sent. She was smart. Even if Shanya hadn’t told her exactly what was going on she knew enough not to answer anyone who asked about Shanya.

  She’d lost most of her friends when she disappeared from her family the first time.

  Shaken, she went back to the floor. If there was no one at her station, she was going to sit there and try to make sense of it all. She couldn’t believe that her past would keep haunting her like this. How far did she have to run before they would stop chasing her?

  Shanya wasn’t sure if she was prepared to cross the border to get away from her family. Would that attract more attention? Surely they would know when she crossed the border. Shaking her head to clear it, Shanya clocked in.

  She went through the rest of the day in a haze. There were no more angry callers. It was shaping up to be a good day after all. Instead of becoming happier like she would have if she hadn’t seen the news story, Shanya floated through her day. She should have paid more attention. She wasn’t sure what happened, but when she was only an hour away from finishing her shift, Mr. Coxson stalked over to her.

  “Shanya,” he said, glaring at her. “My office.”

  Shelley tittered in her area nearby. Shanya didn’t know what was going on. Mr. Coxson looked angry, though that was hardly new. He permanently looked pissed off.

  “Of course,” Shanya said.

  She transferred the call and apologized to the client. It was never good to keep a superior waiting. She followed behind Mr. Coxson. She knew that everyone’s eyes would be on her and tried to keep her head down. There were whispers and a few giggles.

  Mr. Coxson was not the type of man who liked to be kept waiting. He also wasn’t known for being the type of guy to call someone into his office for a good thing. Shanya ran through her memories. There hadn’t been a day where she’d forgotten to do something vital, had there? That was possible. There was nothing that he could be reprimanding her for, right?

  She followed him through the door into his office. The walls were made of glass and everyone could see exactly what was happening.

  “Don’t sit down, Ms. Black,” Mr. Coxson said. “You’re fired.”

  “What?” Shanya gasped. She hadn’t been expecting that. “But I haven’t even finished today’s shift.”

  “Don’t argue with me, Ms. Black,” Mr. Coxson said. He leaned on his desk. “You haven’t met your quota. There have been reports made about you. You, quite frankly, haven’t stood out at all.”

  “I’ve worked hard!” Shanya protested. No, no, no, no, no. This couldn’t be happening. She needed this job. He didn’t understand. What was going to happen to her now? There had to be a way for her to fix this, but she couldn’t see how.

  “Too bad,” Mr. Coxson said. “You’ll have to go up to one of the upper rooms to have your exit interview. I suggest you don’t keep them waiting.”

  CHAPTER TWO

  Shanya couldn’t believe that she was fired. The woman on the top floor had assured her that her final paycheck was going to be mailed to the apartment and that unfortunately she could not give Shanya a recommendation as Mr. Coxson had written her up several times and Mr. Jameson had never mentioned her. There was nothing that she could do but wish Shanya well.

  It was dark by the time she got back to the apartment. It was in a bad part of town, but Shanya was never the type of girl who attracted trouble. Some days it seemed like she was so ugly that she was completely invisible to most people. At times like this she didn’t mind much. It meant that she was safer than if she had been extremely pretty.

  All Shanya wanted to do was go take a shower and go to bed. But when she walked in the door, Clara was still there.

  “I thought you were going clubbing?” Shanya said.

  “Oh, baby, what happened?” Clara said, rushing over and taking Shanya’s purse and coat. They were then flung on to the teetering coat rack. She shut the door and dragged Shanya over to the plush new sofa. “You can tell me.”

  “He fired me,” Shanya said.

  “Mr. Jameson? Can’t you, like, sue?” Clara asked.

  “No, he’s gone, it’s Mr. Coxson.” Shanya wiped at her eyes. She didn’t want to cry in front of her roommate. But there was nothing else she could do and it had been such a terrible day. “I didn’t even make the quota today, so I don’t think I’m going to be able to make rent.”

  “That’s okay,” Clara said. “I can cover you until you find a job.”

  Shanya started to cry. “I can’t do that. I’m never going to find a job. I’ve been looking for another one since I got here and I haven’t found anything.”

  Rubbing her back, Clara sighed. “I’m sure that you’ll be able to find something.”

  “Like what?” Shanya asked, tears streaming down her face. “I’m never going to find something as good as what you have—whatever that is.”

  Clara laughed. “I don’t think you’d want my job.”

  “Why not?” Shanya looked at Clara. She was desperate. She didn’t know what Clara did but it had to be something that allowed her to make a lot of money in a short amount of time. She didn’t ever seem to have trouble with money anymore. Shanya honestly had no idea what it was she did. “I’ll do anything.”

  “Well,” Clara said reluctantly. “I’ve been telling everyone that I’m a blogger and this stuff is just to test out and sell the lifestyle. But I actually work at the Were Human Approved Heat Relief Center.”

  “What?” Shanya asked.

  Clara glanced away. “Well, actually how much do you know about Shifters?”

  “Not very much,” Shanya admitted. “Not all of them can shift at will.”

  “So basically nothing,” Clara said. “Anyways, if you’re a pure Shifter, or really close to that, every so often you kinda end up, you know, in heat.”

  “What?”

  “Well, okay, for the guys it’s different, it’s more of a rut for them,” Clara said.

  Shanya had no idea what she meant by that.

  “So what do you do there?” Shanya asked.

  “It sucks if you don’t have someone to stay with you during a heat or a rut,” Clara said. “So that’s what I do. I’m there.”

  “Is it like being a nurse?” Shanya asked.

  Clara groaned. “This is so embarrassing. I don’t know why I’m telling you this but it’s sex. That’s what the mating, heat, rut, whatever you want to call it is. I have sex with the guys or girls who are in a rut and can’t find anybody.”

  Shanya frowned. That sounded pretty crazy. Her mom would kill her if she did this. But, as she looked around the apartment, Clara did have a lot of nice things and a job like this would mean that Shanya could go back to school if she wanted to or look around and find a job that she wanted.

  “Okay,” Shanya said. “I want to do it.”

  “What?” Clara looked shocked. “You never have sex!”

  Now it was Shanya’s turn to blush. She looked away. “I’m not a virgin or anything.”

  “No, but I thought you were like a prude,” Clara said. “This is basically like being an escort, are you sure you’re okay with that?”

  It’d be nice to have sex more, Shanya thought and the Shifter men that she had grown up with were always attractive.

  “Who even needs this service?” Shanya asked. “I thought that Shifters mostly stuck to their own kinds.”

  “Well, not everyone can find someone every month or so,” Clara said. “Though I guess a lot of people have—well, it’s kinda like birth control. But pretty much everyone takes it. Only you have to have a period every so often to keep everything working.”

  “But why not have it with a girlfriend?” Shanya asked, “Why some random girl?”


  “It’s kind of a big thing,” Clara said. “And not everyone wants to go that route. Anyways, I’d bet you’d make a killing, with your pure human status.”

  “Why does it matter if I’m pure human?” Shanya asked.

  Her mother had insisted on extensive tests. At first Shanya had thought it was a hobby of hers but as she grew older she had realized that her mother wanted her to have that one thing in her favor. It’s so no one can say that you’re part animal, she’d said as she’d presented Shanya with the paperwork.