Read Online The Shifter's Mate (Paranormal Pleasures) by Nadia Nightside - Free Book Online

This was going to a perfect summer, Lauren knew. No, it was going to be a Perfect Summer, capitals both P and S .
    Lauren would not allow anything else. It was all going to go her way.
    She stood in the dirt and gravel parking lot of Camp Sunshine Springs, clipboard in hand. Behind her, strung in front of the large center building that served both as a cafeteria and a recreation center, was a large banner with friendly bubble-letters reading, “Welcome Counselors!”
    Lauren made the banner herself, hung it up herself.
    The warm summer temperature had her in a dark blue pair of shorts and her camp counselor t-shirt, which was bright sky blue with a big, happy orange sun in the middle of it, beneath which was the name of the camp. Her long, golden brown locks—probably Lauren’s favorite feature about herself—were tied back in a high ponytail. No more than ten minutes ago, she had finished a breakfast of scrambled eggs and spinach, with a small fruit bowl on the side and a tall glass of water to go along with that.
    And all of this—the banner, her appearance, her meal, her timing—was exactly how she had planned. Most of Lauren’s days were accorded far in advance, with increments of exactitude increasing as the day itself approached. At any given time she had about a dozen plans in her mind, half of which were everything she would like to happen in the next forty-eight hours, and the other half were arranging themselves for anything that would most possibly go wrong in the next twelve hours.
    So, this morning so far was exactly how she wanted it be. She was in control. She smiled broadly as the first cars began to arrive, just at about nine in the morning. They were all on time—just as she had asked them to be.
    Perfect.
    She deserved a perfect summer at this point her life. She deserved something that would go absolutely perfect, with no exceptions. No excuses. No dirty little remainders staining her memories. Just wonderful, clear perfection of a time all the way through.
    At the age of eighteen, preparing for college at the end of the summer, she had many bitter memories of high school. Being ignored or frowned upon or mocked because of her intelligence and drive, comments which invariably deteriorated to observations about her weight and shape.
    Lauren was, for lack of a better word, curvy.
    Her friends had many better words—bosomy, voluptuous, curvaceous—but these all seemed like such glamorous terms and Lauren had trouble applying them to herself. It didn't matter that her generous measurements were healthy and had guys staring at her breasts every day—all she really focused on was how she wasn't quite slim enough for the norm.
    So, perfect, yes. Summer, yes. Perfect Summer, yes. She would make it happen. She deserved it.
    As the Counselor Supervisor of Camp Sunshine Springs, she had every tool she needed to make it all come true. Her authority in the camp was absolute in all but name.
    Sunshine Springs boasted twelve counselors, including Lauren and her only superior on the site, Heather Springs (also the owner of the camp, of course). Most of the time, however, the jovial middle-aged Heather acted much more like a matronly counselor—her chosen classes were nutrition and yoga—than any kind of a boss.
    The counselors began rolling out of their cars in front of Lauren, most of them taking the time to let out big yawns and stretches—all of them from the ages of eighteen to twenty-one, and none of them really accustomed to waking up at a normal hour like Lauren was. She doubted they had eaten breakfast yet—which was why she already had a table with water, toast, and fruit prepared next to the small gated entrance. The fence and gate were wooden—with big long logs of wood, the kind that were a lot of fun for children to play on and stand and jump.
    The children themselves wouldn’t be arriving for another week—this week was all about building teamwork and learning the routine of the camp for the