Bjorn Ritter only wants one thing -- to live his life away from nosey, demanding bears. That's easier said than done when you're the son of the female running the Bayside Bear Community. Cecil Baxter might be a bat, but he grew up away from shifter communities and he's doing his best to continue to keep his distance. Shifters aren't an accepting bunch and Cecil has never fit the norm. Already facing a dreaded meeting with his mother, the last thing Bjorn needs is a stranger using his elevator to escape a pack of werewolves. And Cecil, whose day just seems to be getting worse and worse, could really do without the added stress of finding himself trapped in an elevator with a huge bear shifter. Still, what could go wrong in three minutes?

Elevator Pitch

There was a sound as if the bear moved his arm, maybe rubbed his face or ran a hand over his hair. Cecil wished he could’ve seen him. He hadn’t looked at him before everything had gone dark. Dark! He gasped.


“You’re fine, no need to use up all the oxygen.”


All the oxygen?Oh God, they would suffocate. He was out of air. He needed to breathe. There was no air!


“Calm down.” A large hand landed on Cecil’s shoulder. The heat of it wrapped around him like a blanket. “It was a bad joke, I’m sorry. There is no way to suffocate in an elevator, there’s ventilation, and even if you can’t see it now, there’s a hatch in the ceiling.”


The bear was quiet for a long time. “I can’t reach the ceiling, but if I lift you up, perhaps you can get out. But there is nowhere to go, we’re trapped between floors, and if the power comes back on and you’re up there when it gets moving…not a good idea.”


“What’s your name?” Cecil couldn’t continue to think about him as the bear


Chapter 5