Bearliest Catch (12 page)

Oh, she wouldn’t let a little case of nerves
interfere if she needed to take action. She was a huntress, after
all. But she did like the small comfort of his grip on her hand
that said without words that he was there for her. That someone was
in her corner, willing to lend his support.

That was a new feeling for her. She’d felt
alone for a long time—even surrounded by her hunting party, who
were all like siblings to her after so long working together. She
thought she recognized the same camaraderie among the men of
Grizzly Cove. She asked Andrew about it as they walked from the
bakery, at the apex of the cove, to the doctor’s office, which was
at the end of Main Street.

He told her about how the core group of bear
shifters were all ex-Special Forces military men. How they’d served
together for many years, and all retired around the same time,
congregating around their commanding officer and Alpha, John.

“Sirena is our leader, though I guess that
title carries a little less weight than Alpha. She’s the leader of
our hunting party, but we all come under the pod’s leadership too.
Our society, though…it’s more relaxed than land-dwelling shifters.
Probably because the distances we cover are so huge. Our hunting
party ranges up and down the coast, while the pod proper is much
farther out at sea.”

“How does that work? I mean, don’t you have
to bring back your kills for the larger group? Isn’t that why you
go out hunting for them?”

He seemed truly interested, so she explained
more.

“There are many hunting parties, and part of
the work is hunting and providing for the pod, but it’s also
security. We patrol the coast. Other hunting parties patrol other
areas. We all return to the pod at organized intervals with our
catch and to exchange news and clarify orders from the pod
leadership. Our patrol areas get changed every now and again.
Sometimes, a hunting party will ask to be reassigned closer or
farther from the pod for personal reasons, and they do their best
to accommodate. We try to live in harmony with each other as much
as possible, but occasionally conflicts do arise.”

She didn’t want to go into exactly how those
rare conflicts were settled just yet. She didn’t think he was ready
to know just how violent life in the pod could be at times.
Although…if anyone would understand those battles for dominance,
she thought another shifter might. She just didn’t know enough
about their rituals and habits to know for sure yet, though she was
learning.

“The other part of our duty—the main part—is
security. We wanted the coastal patrol because we wanted to be
outliers. We sought the peace of the ocean, but didn’t want to get
involved in the pod politics and power struggles. Most of us in
Sirena’s hunting party are loners of one type or another, and we
like being on land occasionally. In fact, we all grew up on land,
unlike the true pod-dwellers who raise their kids in the ocean.
Sirena lets us go ashore to phone our parents, siblings and friends
whenever we want, which is something the others don’t really
approve.”

“How do you manage it? There aren’t many
towns along this stretch of coast.”

He seemed really interested and a little
concerned, as if he realized the dangers they faced each time they
came ashore. Maybe he did. Andrew had proven himself an insightful
man, and he had to understand the problems of shifting from one
form to another.

“Each of us has a cache somewhere. In my
case, I’ve got a waterproof knapsack containing a small tent, some
clothing, hiking boots, a prepaid cell phone and a solar charger,
stashed in some rocks a little way down the coast. The only
approach is from the water and it’s hidden well enough that no
casual observer is going to find it. If I go there at night, nobody
is likely to see me shift and dress. And, if I somehow run into
someone on land, I’ll pretend to be a hiker.”

“I’m impressed,” Andrew said as they walked
along toward the doctor’s office. “But, pardon me for saying, it
sounds kind of lonely.”

“Yeah.” She agreed with him. “It can be. But
I call my friends and family, then maybe sleep under the stars and
eat some land food. Camp a little. It’s peaceful.”

“Dangerous too. A female alone, out in the
wilderness.” He frowned.

She turned to meet his gaze, challenge in her
tone. “A huntress. Hunting. Armed and dangerous and able to go fish
and escape to the ocean where any pursuit cannot follow.”

“If you can make it to the water,” he
challenged.

“I’ll give you that one,” she agreed, though
she didn’t back down. “But I know my limitations and my abilities.
I’m not really in that much danger. I’m cautious.”

He held her gaze for a long moment as they
stood motionless on the sidewalk. He was still frowning, but rather
than be annoyed, she thought it was sweet that he was concerned for
her safety.

How strange? Any other man questioning her
ability to keep herself safe would have pissed her off, but not
Andrew. She wasn’t sure why, but she had a sneaking suspicion that
she couldn’t allow to take form right now. She had to see to her
people first. Her duty trumped her personal desires this time.

A change of topic was in order. Right
away.

“How far to the doctor’s office?” she
asked.

His face looked pained for a moment longer,
then cleared. He gestured behind her with one hand.

“We’re here.”

Drew wasn’t quite ready for the way the other
members of Jetty’s hunting party looked at him when he ushered her
into the doctor’s office. They’d been quiet on the breakneck boat
ride back to shore, clustered around Sirena mostly, while he and
Jetty were in the wheelhouse. Since they’d all left the boat at the
dock, he hadn’t really thought about them, but now, he realized,
they were giving him cautious looks that he couldn’t quite
interpret.

Instead of dealing with the women, Drew
decided to stick with the males in the office—the doctor, Sven
Olafsson, who was a polar bear shifter, of all things, and two guys
who were assisting him, Peter Zilakov, a big-assed Russian bear,
and Gus, the closest thing Grizzly Cove had to a priest. He was the
shaman who worked with both the local Native tribe to the south and
the residents of Grizzly Cove. His bear was something special—a
rare white-ish bear that most called a Spirit Bear. Drew thought he
was a little spooky, but in a good way.

Both of the assistants had field medic
training, as did a few other members of their community. Drew
figured they’d been closest to render aid when the call had come
in.

Peter saw him and came out of the treatment
area, stripping off his bloody gloves and tossing them in the
hazardous waste container. His expression was reassuring, though he
frowned.

“She will live,” he told Drew, coming right
to the point, his words lightly accented. “The injuries are bad,
but she’s a fighter, this one.” Peter almost smiled.

“Can I see her?” Jetty had come up beside
him.

“In a few minutes. Your comrade, Beth, is
just helping Sven learn the ways of treating your people. Once we
got the water salinity right, she began responding very well.”
Peter did smile that time, at Jetty, and Drew’s bear wanted to
growl. “They’re just cleaning her up, and Gus is doing his magic.
Once he’d done, you can all see her.”

“Magic?” Jetty frowned up at Drew. He liked
that she turned to
him
when she had concerns.

“Gus is our shaman. He can help her,” Drew
explained.

Just at that moment, Gus stepped out of the
curtained area, looking tired.

“Jetty, this is my friend, Gustav. We call
him Gus.” Drew made the introductions as Gus seemed to regain some
of his strength. He must’ve been working magic to be so drained,
but he smiled at Jetty and shook her hand.

“She’s out of danger,” he said quietly. “I
think she’s lucky she ran into one of the smaller creatures. Not
only were you able to fight it off, but it had less of a magical
punch to it, which I was able to counteract. She’ll be okay, but if
you’ll excuse me, I have to sit down now.”

Drew reached out to support the shaman,
helping him into Sven’s private office, where there was a couch, as
well as the desk and some chairs. Jetty didn’t follow, for which
Drew was grateful. He’d seen Gus extend his magical energies
before. He knew the shaman would be okay with a little rest.

He helped Gus to the couch, then went over to
Sven’s mini fridge and got a can of pop and some snacks, leaving
them on the low coffee table in front of the couch. He opened the
soda can and unwrapped the jerky and individually wrapped mini
cheese blocks, leaving them on a plate within easy reach.

“You gonna be okay, buddy?” Drew asked,
noting the women moving outside the office, toward the curtained
area, which was now open.

“Yeah. Thanks. I’m fine. A little rest, food
and sugar…” he reached for the pop and took a long swallow, “…to
restore my energy, and I’ll be good as new.”

“Drew?” He looked up to find Jetty leaning
against the door frame. “Sirena wants to talk to you.”

With a last questioning look at Gus, Drew
straightened.

“Go ahead. I’m okay,” Gus replied to the
unspoken question.

“Would you mind some company? I think Beth
needs to sit down too. This whole thing shook her up quite a bit,”
Jetty said, reaching out a hand behind her to draw the woman called
Beth forward.

Gus smiled. “I don’t mind at all,” he
replied, turning to address Beth. “There’s water and pop in the
small fridge over there, as well as some food. Feel free to raid
Sven’s stash.”

Beth gave them all a shy smile and headed for
the small fridge near the desk. Drew left with Jetty, glad Gus at
least had some company, in case he wasn’t quite as
okay
as
he claimed.

Drew put his arm around Jetty’s waist and
went with her toward the cubicle where Sirena lay against the white
sheets of an adjustable bed, propped up almost into a sitting
position. Her friends clustered around her, but parted when Drew
approached. Sven was off to one side, adjusting an I.V. drip.
Saline, Drew noted, with a hit of strong antibiotics, which was
Sven’s way of playing it safe in case some stray microbe dared
attack her wounds.

“Ma’am,” Drew said politely as he met the
older woman’s gaze. Sirena wasn’t too much older than Jetty, but
she definitely had an air of authority about her, even injured and
sitting in a hospital bed.

“I wanted to thank you, Andrew, for coming to
our aid. I don’t want to think what would have happened to us if
we’d had to face the bigger creature, if a small one could do this
to me.” She gestured to her bandaged limbs.

“It doesn’t bear thinking about,” Drew
agreed. “I’m just glad I was in the right place at the right time
to give you ladies a hand.”

Sirena smiled, and suddenly, there was a
sparkle about her that was very appealing. Oh, she wasn’t as
beautiful as his Jetty, but there was definitely something about
Sirena when she smiled. Drew saw the way his buddy Sven perked up.
He’d noticed it too.

“I can see why Jetty speaks so highly of you.
Even I didn’t realize bear shifters had such strength, though I did
not doubt your courage. The way you faced that creature…” Her voice
trailed off as her gaze seemed to move into the distance, into the
past. “I will never forget that as long as I live.” Her voice, too,
powerful as it was, seemed to drift away for a moment before she
refocused on him. “We all owe you a debt.”

But Drew held up his hands, palms outward,
smiling to soften his words.

“No, ma’am. You don’t owe me. Like I said,
I’m just glad I was there to help.”

The last thing he wanted was for these people
to feel beholden to him. He’d done his duty, as far as he was
concerned, and that didn’t require repayment.

Drew noticed Sven on the phone in the corner,
speaking quietly. If he had to guess, he would say the doctor had
just reported Sirena’s status to the Alpha. With any luck, John
would show up and take the attention off Drew… But Drew didn’t want
to leave without Jetty.

Would she leave her leader? Or would she
choose her people over him now that they were here? Drew was
nervous about the answer to that question.

He stood back to watch the women talk
quietly, each of them seeming to want to reassure themselves that
Sirena was all right. Even Jetty seemed drawn to Sirena’s magic,
and Drew began to wonder if her name was more than just a name.
From the cultured—almost magical—timbre of her voice, he’d bet she
was part sea siren.

Though he had never met one before, there
were many stories about such beings having magical voices that were
so seductive, they could lure men to their deaths in the ocean
waves. He wasn’t sure if that’s what sirens really did. Maybe they
only used that kind of power on bad guys? Or maybe they got their
kicks killing people? The former, he could respect, somewhat. The
latter could be a big problem.

“Sirena, I was coming out to give you my
report on the cove and the people I’ve met here,” Jetty surprised
him by saying. “I didn’t get a chance to tell you the most
important bit of news. The Alpha here—his name is John
Marshall—sent me with a message. An offer of safe harbor for our
people during this crisis. They call the creature a leviathan, and
they’re already working with Others to find a solution. They’ve
managed to secure the waters here, as we suspected, by way of
permanent wards cast by a powerful mage. They’ll let us shelter
here.”

“And what do they ask in return?” Sirena
asked, her eyes narrowing.

“Nothing.” The deep voice came from over
Drew’s shoulder.

He’d known the moment Big John had walked in
the door, but apparently, he’d taken the ladies by surprise. Scent
cues were probably very different underwater, which was something
he made a note to ask Jetty about later.