Bearliest Catch (13 page)

“Sirena,” Drew stepped up, making the
introductions, “...this is John Marshall, Alpha and mayor of
Grizzly Cove.”

“Ma’am,” John said, moving closer. The other
mer ladies made room for him next to Sirena’s bedside. “The offer
of safe harbor has no strings attached, as I explained to Jetty.
I’m sorry she didn’t get a chance to tell you before you
encountered the creature, but from what Sven tells me, you’ll be
all right in a few days.”

“Thanks to your people,” Sirena allowed,
nodding toward the doctor and Drew. “And to you, for allowing us to
shelter here.” Sirena looked around at the small crowd. “Would you
mind staying for a bit so I can learn more of your offer?”

John smiled. “Not at all.” He motioned to
Drew. “Maybe we can scare up some chairs.”

Drew was already moving, getting the folding
chairs Sven kept around, plus the few office chairs. Within a few
minutes, he had seats for all the ladies and John.

What followed was a detailed discussion of
the kind of sanctuary John was offering to the mer in Grizzly Cove.
Sirena’s questions were more detailed than Jetty’s had been,
showing the woman had a sharp mind, even if she was severely
injured and obviously fatigued. When John suggested postponing
their talk, she objected.

“Please, Alpha.” Sirena put one hand out
toward John. “I want to send two of my hunting party back out—if
they’re willing—to get your message through to the pod. They will
come looking for us if we don’t report in on time, and I don’t want
any more of my people running into that…leviathan…if I can prevent
it. So we have to get all the information now, before my friends go
back out.”

John didn’t seem to like it, but he also
nodded, indicating his understanding. After a few more minutes of
thick discussion, Sirena seemed to relax a bit. He’d answered all
her questions in what appeared to be a satisfactory way. A few
minutes later, Janice and Marla stepped forward, volunteering for
the very dangerous swim back out to the pod.

Jetty had wanted to volunteer, but she was
torn. Never before had she felt so divided about either doing her
duty or being with someone. She wanted desperately to stay with
Andrew. She wanted… No, she
needed
, to be with him. But she
also wanted to help her people and be there for her hunting
party.

She’d never felt the friction between doing
her duty and doing what she wanted before. Not like this. Her heart
told her to stay with Andrew, but her honor demanded that she at
least raise her hand to do the dangerous work her hunting party
needed to accomplish for the good of the pod.

But Sirena chose two others to do the swim.
Part of Jetty felt guilty at the relief coursing through her veins.
She’d be able to stay with Andrew, but at what cost to her
honor?

“Jetty.” Sirena called her name as she doled
out assignments, and Jetty feared reprisal for not volunteering to
go back out to find the pod and pass along the message. “Since
you’ve made friends here, I think you should continue to act as a
liaison. If large numbers of our people decide to shelter here, the
town needs to be ready.”

“We’ve already begun discussing preliminary
plans,” Jetty was glad to report.

“Good. Continue with that. I’ll help, when I
can, but I will be the first to admit, that beast took a bite out
of me both physically and energetically. I’m running on the
infusion of magic from Gus right now, but he warned me I’m probably
going to crash hard when it runs out, which should be any time now.
When that happens, I’m going to be a bit worse before I start to
get better, or so the doctor assures me.” Sirena gestured toward
the tall blond doctor hovering in one corner, within easy reach. He
stepped a little closer.

“I’m going to watch over her,” Sven stated
boldly. “She’ll be fine, but she won’t be up to much for the first
few days, so set things in motion now, milady, and then, you must
rest.”

Drew looked sharply at his comrade. “Is this
normal?”

“A byproduct of the healing magic Gus had to
perform. The creature had spread some taint into her system, but
Gus was able to counteract it by infusing her with his magical
energy. These few moments of clarity are the result of that
healing, but it won’t last.” Sven looked grave, his sparkling blue
eyes concerned.

“So, you see, I’m running on borrowed fumes
here.” Sirena chuckled, her energy leaving her even as they
watched. “I won’t be much help until I start to recover. Jetty, you
have to represent us to the bears. Set things up. Get them ready
for the pod, if they decide to come. You know what to do.”

Suddenly, she had a mission. One at which,
Jetty knew she could excel. Honor was satisfied. She would be able
to fulfill her duty to her people while, at the same time,
satisfying her personal desire to be with Andrew. Thank the
Goddess.

“I’ll do my best,” she promised Sirena.
“Don’t worry. All you need to do now is rest and heal. I’ll check
in on you as often as I can, and when you’re feeling better, I’ll
have everything prepared. I promise.”

Jetty placed her hand on Sirena’s arm, in a
small space between wads of bandages. Sirena covered Jetty’s hand
with her other hand, bandages and all, meeting her gaze. Jetty
could see the fatigue quickly sweeping over her friend and
leader.

“You’re a good friend, Jetty. Do us
proud.”

“I will.” As Jetty spoke, Sirena seemed to
slip into slumber.

Jetty looked up at the doctor. He’d moved
closer, closely monitoring the electronic readouts that were
connected to the many sensors they’d placed on Sirena’s body. He
nodded to Jetty.

“She’s all right. Sleeping naturally. I won’t
leave her side, ma’am. Not until I’m sure she’s completely out of
danger,” Sven promised, his tone very serious.

“Then, she’s still in danger?” Jetty asked,
worried.

“I won’t lie. There’s always a risk with
injuries this extensive,” Sven told her. “But I’m confident that we
got to her in time. Gus did his thing, and the evil taint has been
chased from her body. Now, it’ll be up to her, but I’m very
confident that she’ll be fine, given lots of rest and a bit of
time.”

“I’ll stay with her,” Beth spoke up. She’d
come back into the treatment area and looked a lot better than she
had before. “I was a nurse-companion to an elderly lady for a few
years when I lived on land. I know how to help someone who’s stuck
in bed. And I can sit with her when the doctor needs to rest.”

Beth was the youngest of their hunting party,
a somewhat shy girl. They were all teaching her the ways of the
ocean, since she’d only joined them less than a year ago. She’d
spent most of her life on land, and two of her sisters still lived
on an island near Seattle.

Jetty realized the hunting party was looking
to her now for leadership. Sirena had given everyone a job to do
except Beth, but here was the perfect thing. A job that was
important and suited to Beth’s skills. It would also give Beth a
purpose—something she felt was entrusted to her care. Everyone
needed to feel needed, and Beth was perhaps needier than most right
now.

“Good. If the doctor agrees, I think that’s
the perfect use of your talents, Beth. I’m sure Sirena would
agree.” Jetty spoke softly, in deference to the sleeping
patient.

They left Sirena in the care of Sven and
Beth. Gus was sleeping on Sven’s couch when they left, and Peter
was watching over him. Everyone who needed looking after was in
capable hands for the moment, and it was time to make plans.

With Sirena and Beth at the doc’s office,
that left Drew with Jetty and the two ladies who were going to make
the dangerous swim to report back to the pod. Marla had red hair,
and Janice was a blonde. Both were pretty and had athletic builds,
and were exceptionally quiet around him, eyeing him with a bit of
suspicion, if he wasn’t mistaken.

He hoped to alleviate some of their fears,
given a chance. He figured a shared meal was a good place to
start.

To that end, Drew ushered them all to the
bakery, where he told them to order whatever they liked, his treat.
Nell Baker packed up their order to go, and Drew escorted the women
back to his boat. He had to move it from the town dock back to his
own private pier.

He figured the women would eat at his place
while they strategized the safest way to get them back out to sea
in the vicinity of their pod. He knew they wanted to swim the whole
way, but he couldn’t, in good conscience, let them do that. Not
when he might be able to deliver them closer, with more safety. He
just had to convince them it was a good idea.

He figured he had his work cut out for
him.

Janice helped him tie up the boat, her skills
indicating that she had prior experience with boats. Both women
struck him as very capable and more obviously warrior-like than
Jetty, though she was definitely in charge. The other two looked to
her for permission to enter his house, and Jetty’s small nod wasn’t
missed by Drew or the two who sought her guidance.

Though his house hadn’t been designed for
guests, the ladies seemed to like it. Marla was the first to offer
a compliment on the decorating, even unbending enough to send him a
guarded smile.

By the time they’d shared the impromptu meal,
they were all chatting amiably. Marla and Janice seemed to relax as
Jetty talked with them about the town. Drew didn’t bring up the
subject of their proposed journey back into the ocean until they
were all sipping fresh coffee and eating the sweet treats Nell had
added to their order.

“When do you plan to go back out?” Drew
asked, trying for nonchalance.

Marla answered, though she and Janice looked
at Jetty first. “Sunset, I think. Or just after, to help prevent
any possibility of being spotted.”

“All right, but I want to drive you out there
on my boat. As close as you’ll let me come to where your people
are.”

Marla and Janice seemed upset as they looked
at Jetty. They didn’t speak, but seemed to expect Jetty to
object.

“He’s right,” Jetty said, sighing heavily and
running one hand over her hair to push it back from her face.

“But—” Marla objected, but Jetty didn’t give
her a chance to say much.

“I know.” Jetty held up one hand, a gesture
asking for patience. “But the whole reason I agreed to let him take
me out this morning was because Drew can sense the creature. He can
also shield against it and shield others too.” Marla and Janice
looked at him with suspicion. “That’s why we were able to get away
this morning. Once you were on the boat, his protection extended to
you all.”

Now they were eyeing him with something more
like intrigue.

“How does that work? Can all the shifters
here do it?” Janice asked, a shrewd look in her blue eyes.

“Do all mer have the same strengths and
weaknesses?” Drew countered. “As far as I know, I’m the only one
with this kind of magical ability. Each of us has our own set of
skills. Mine just happen to allow me to steer clear of that
creature and hide my magical signature from it, so it won’t come
looking for me. From everything we’ve been able to learn, the
creature is attracted to magic. That’s probably why it’s here,
since there are so many of us gathered in one place, concentrating
the power.”

“Makes sense,” Marla said, shrugging as she
polished off the last of her cheese danish.

“So if we go with you, your protection can
shield us until we get in the water?” Janice asked.

“A short distance from the boat, actually,”
he said. “I can cover a small radius around me. But more
importantly, I can sense where the creature is and let you know,
when you get off the boat, what direction to avoid, if at all
possible.”

“I think you should let him take you out as
far as the hunting grounds,” Jetty added decisively. “Maybe even a
little farther.” She was looking straight at her two comrades now.
“We can’t divulge the exact coordinates of the pod’s current safe
hold, but he already knows where our hunting grounds are from this
morning’s action.”

Damned if she didn’t sound like a commando
planning a raid. Drew thought it was sexy.

For the second time that day, Drew drove his
boat out past the mouth of the cove and took stock of the magical
currents only he could feel. Jetty was at his side, offering advice
on where to drop off their two guests, but speaking quietly. Maybe
she sensed what he was trying to do. It took a moment of focus to
feel where the danger lay.

He blinked and looked at her. She was
watching him closely. “Do you know where the creature is?”

“I think so.” He motioned toward the ocean
chart he had displayed on his left. “The big one is in this area
right now. Some of the smaller ones are clustered here.” He pointed
to another area on the map that was near where Sirena had been
attacked earlier that day. “There could be a few outliers, but I
won’t be able to sense them until we get closer to them, if at
all.”

“Okay. Then, we need to go here.” She reached
across him to point to the chart. “This is the southern end of our
hunting range, away from the big creature and most of the smaller
ones. Once we get there, you’ll be able to sense if there are
others nearby, right?”

He nodded. “I know you’re very secretive
about the location of the pod, and I’m not asking to know where
they are. I just hope you’ll let me get your friends as close as I
can before we send them out there into Goddess-knows-what. I don’t
want to see anyone else hurt today, and that leviathan, and its
little friends, are probably still pretty fired up about this
morning.”

“I trust you, Andrew.” Her voice was firm but
soft, her gaze speaking of more than just this moment. “But you
know I have obligations to hide the location of the pod. I’ll get
us as close as I can without breaking my vow of secrecy. With your
help, Marla and Janice are much safer than they would have been
swimming out by themselves, so you’ve already cut the danger by a
big margin.”