Saving Grace (3 page)

“Everything in the house, actually.” He
scratched the back of his neck, feeling unaccountably flushed.

She paused to look around, running her hand
over the smooth wood of the table, then bending to look underneath
at the supports he’d made out of tree stumps. Then she looked at
the chair and whatever else she could see of the place. Jack felt
his skin crawl. What did she think of his den? He’d never really
shown it to anyone—especially a female—before. It was still a bit
of a work in progress in spots, in fact.

“You built the house too, didn’t you?” She
looked up at the exposed rafters high above.

“Guilty as charged.”

“It’s beautiful, Jack. Really in tune with
the nature around it. I can tell.” She went back to her soup,
leaving him wondering exactly what she meant. She hadn’t seen it
from the outside. She’d been unconscious when he brought her
in.

“How can you tell?” He was curious enough to
ask.

She looked up at him. “Oh. I can feel it.
Vibrations travel differently through air, but I can still feel the
forest’s satisfaction with the structure you have put within its
sheltering boughs.”

Jack was fascinated by the idea. “I like the
way you put that. It’s probably the nicest thing anyone’s ever said
about my building skills.”

He would’ve said more and asked more
questions, but his phone vibrated, alerting him to someone
approaching from the small rural road they’d run out to the edge of
the cove. He’d put sensors out there since traffic was so light. He
had more sensors all through his plot of land too, but in this
case, he was expecting John, the Alpha.

“We’re about to have company,” Jack said,
rising from his seat and heading toward the front door. “The Alpha
has come out to meet you.”

“Oh.” She looked a little alarmed.

“Don’t worry. He just wants to check you out
and make sure you’re on the right side. He’s responsible for who we
let into our territory, and it’s his job to be careful.” He saw her
face pale, and he cursed his lack of eloquence. “It’ll be okay,
Grace. I know you’re on the level, and he’ll figure that out within
moments of meeting you.” He placed one hand on her shoulder,
squeezing gently in what he hoped she would take as a reassuring
gesture. “Sit tight. I’m going to let him in.”

He saw her visibly gulp, but there was
nothing he could do about her nervousness. He kicked himself for
causing it. He shouldn’t have said anything.
Dammit.

Jack stalked toward the door and threw it
open less than graciously as John approached. John shot him a look,
but Jack ignored it. He wanted to get back to Grace and make sure
she didn’t bolt because he’d frightened her.

“Come on in. She’s in the kitchen,” he said
shortly, leaving John to close the door while Jack went ahead,
going back to the kitchen.

He cursed himself again when he found Grace
leaning heavily against the back of the chair, standing with the
table between them, a look of extreme fear on her face. He slowed
his steps and approached her as gently as he could.

“It’s okay, sweetheart. John just wants to
meet you. If he pulls any shit, I’ll throw him out on his ass.
Promise.” Jack was deliberately blunt, hoping to spark a smile out
of her, or at least a show of confidence in his ability to protect
her. But neither was forthcoming as John entered the kitchen behind
him.

“You might try, but I doubt you’d succeed,”
John said dryly. “Ma’am.” Jack looked back to find John nodding
respectfully at Grace. “I’m John Marshall.”

“Grace Waters,” she replied, still trying to
stand her own, but Jack could see it was costing her.

“For Goddess’ sake, sit down, both of you.
She’s just out of her sick bed and probably shouldn’t be up and
around at all yet,” Jack groused, standing at the side of the
table, between them.

“Please, Ms. Waters, sit down so we can too,”
John said politely, even going so far as to crack a smile.

Grace looked skeptical, but she retook her
seat, keeping wary eyes on John.

“Do you serve the Goddess?” the Alpha bear
asked in a low, stern voice.

Grace felt compelled to answer, even though
that question had hit her totally out of left field. She had
expected something completely different. Not an inquiry into her
spiritual beliefs. Just what kind of shifters were these bears,
after all?

“We of the sea are different from you land
dwellers. Neptune is real. He rides the currents in his
seahorse-drawn chariot. We fear him, but we revere the Light. Some
of my selkie friends worship the Goddess of which you speak. We
simply serve the Light, though there are those in the deeps who
worship evil and dwell in perpetual darkness.” She frowned. “We
steer clear of them as best we can. It’s a very big ocean, and
there are relatively few of us.”

“What happened to you that washed you up on
our shore?” The Alpha went on, a bit more compassion in his
tone.

“I didn’t see the entirety of the creature
you call the leviathan, but it’s huge. Larger than the largest
whale I know. And it seethes with anger. Its limbs roil the water
and raise clouds of sand and debris wherever it is, which is why I
couldn’t see much of it. It felt like the tentacles just came out
of nowhere at me.” She cringed, remembering those horrible impacts.
“Each blow propelled me through the water, and I tried to swim as
fast as I could away, but it pursued.”

“How did you get away?” Jack asked. She saw
concern in his eyes, and she was instinctively drawn to him.

“I made for the shore, thinking it couldn’t
pursue me there. It was too fast to out-swim. I finally reached a
point where I felt your ward as I passed through and realized the
creature couldn’t come any closer. It was repulsed by the ward. And
then, the tide took me, and the next thing I knew, I woke up
here.”

John frowned, steepling his fingers together
on the table in front of him. “Ms. Waters,” he began, seeming to be
searching for words. “I don’t know how much Jack’s already told you
about our town, so let me nutshell it for you. We’re a community of
shifters. Bears, mostly. And among land-based shifters, bears are
some of the most magical. Usually, we don’t congregate together in
such large numbers. This town is sort of a social experiment. We’ve
become aware of the possibility that concentrating this much magic
in one area might have attracted the creature—whatever it is—to our
shore. We’ve already warned all our people. We’ve also contacted
specialists, and we’ve been promised help, but our best bet is to
just keep everyone out of the water for now.”

“Yet my kind live in the water,” she said,
her voice filled with sadness. She missed the ocean, but she didn’t
want to die there. Not anytime soon, at any rate.

“You can’t live on land?” Jack asked,
frowning.

“Oh, we can,” she replied. “We just mostly
stay in the ocean these days unless we have a reason to be ashore.
It’s simpler. Land dwellers aren’t as used to magic as they once
were. I grew up on land, though, with my mother and father. Dad’s
human, and Mom is still with him. They live in San Francisco. I
visit often, but I’ve been learning the ways of my ocean sisters
for the past twenty years or so. They tell the neighbors I work in
Tokyo.” She smiled at the subterfuge. Her family was small but
perfect and full of love. “We live probably as long as you do,” she
added. “And Mom was able to give Dad some of her magic so they can
be together as long as possible. That happens with true mates like
them.”

“That’s good to know,” the Alpha said,
sitting back in his chair. “I assume there are more of your people
out there, off shore.” It wasn’t a question, and she didn’t want to
betray specific information to this unknown leader of bears, but
she would trust him…a little.

“We live and work in small groups—hunting
parties are the most common. Some larger ones exist—shoals and
pods. I am part of a hunting party. I think the rest of my group
are probably worried about me by now, though we often go off on our
own to scout. That’s what I was doing when I ran into the
leviathan.”

“And do they all serve the Light, as you do?”
the Alpha asked, his expression again serious.

She couldn’t understand why they were so hung
up on religion. She needed to know more about that before she could
tell them any more about her people.

“We do, but why are you so concerned about
our beliefs? I don’t understand.” She figured she’d try the honest
approach first and see what the bears did.

The Alpha blinked a few times. “I guess you
don’t know about the problems we’ve been having up here on
land.”

“Grace, shifter groups all over the world
have been under attack by agents of the
Venifucus
. Do you
know who they are?” Jack said gently, his gaze concerned.

Chills ran down her spine. “I’ve heard of
them, but…” She cast through her memories of history lessons from
her youth. “They’re supposed to be over with. Gone. Disbanded when
their leader was banished to the farthest realm. Our people were
involved with the battle against Elspeth back then. I think that’s
probably the last time we mixed freely with land-dwelling Others in
any great numbers.”

Both men sighed, and the sounds weren’t
happy.

“They’re back,” Jack said, practically
spitting the words. “They’ve been quietly regrouping these past
years and planning ways to bring their leader back. Several
attempts have been foiled over the past few years, but they keep
trying. According to our sources, they’ve even infiltrated the
Altor Custodis
organization, using information from the
watchers’ files to target shifters and Others they think will try
to stand in their way. Many innocents have already died.”

“That’s awful.” A sense of dread came over
her with each of his words.

The presence of the sea monster was starting
to make more sense now. If evil was trying to return to this world,
its minions would be the forerunners. That creature had to be one
of those.

“I didn’t know,” she told the men. “Word of
this hasn’t reached us beneath the waves. I doubt my parents know.
They keep to themselves and don’t mix with Others. But it might
explain a few things.”

“Like the monster in the ocean, perhaps?” the
Alpha asked astutely. When she met his gaze, he was smiling, just
slightly.

“Exactly what I was thinking. When evil
forces stir, the creatures that do well in such an atmosphere grow
bolder. Or so I’ve been taught.” She understood now why they were
so insistent on knowing what side she was on in the perpetual fight
of good against evil. “I’d like to call my mother and warn her, if
that’s okay.”

“Certainly,” the Alpha answered right away.
“I’ve also been wrestling with the question of what to do if more
of your folk wish to come ashore until the danger is past.” He left
his thoughts open-ended, possibly wanting her to offer an opinion.
She didn’t know exactly what to say, but she did know where to
begin.

“Alpha, please let me set your mind at ease
on one point at least. Mer do not generally seek to align ourselves
with evil. There may be the isolated group or individual here and
there, just like in any population, but mostly, we are peaceful sea
dwellers. When we are shifted, our animal nature is very strong.
I’m not sure how it is for you, but we tend to be very all or
nothing. Hunt or play. Fight or sleep. Black or white. Good or
evil. The mer form is very interested in survival in the ocean
currents and finding its next meal.”

“So is the bear, most of the time,” Jack
agreed, nodding. “The animal side is more primal than the human
side.”

“But how much does the beast side control
when you are in its form? I’ve heard it’s different for land
dwellers than for us in the sea. For me, the mer is definitely
running the show, since the human side of me wouldn’t really know
how to survive in the open ocean for long. I’m like a passenger in
my own body while the mer is in charge, and it’s the opposite when
I’m on land.”

Jack’s eyebrows drew together in a tiny frown
as he thought about her words. “I wouldn’t describe it like that
for me. The bear is always there, in the back of my mind. He’s
listening in right now, watching, hearing, evaluating scents,
reading body language, and offering his own insights. And when I’m
furry, I’m still me. The human side is present in the shifted form,
helping the beast side make decisions and recognize things about
the human world the beast doesn’t always understand.”

She was starting to understand the
differences. The knowledge gave her new insight.

“Alpha…” She was about to reveal information
about her friends and family. She hoped she was doing the right
thing. “My hunting party will mostly likely be looking for me. If
they follow my trail, they’ll probably find the same evil that
found me. I can vouch for every member of my group. They are all
creatures of good intentions who serve the Light. I would ask that
if any of my group come ashore, that you would render aid, as Jack
has done for me. Please.”

The Alpha sat up straight and looked her in
the eye. “I’ll do more than that, Ms. Waters. My instincts tell me
to trust you, but for the sake of the town, I’ll ask you to stay
with Jack here, for the next few days, at least. I’m going to offer
you—and any like you who wish it—asylum here in Grizzly Cove, for
as long as you need it. I’m doing this on my own authority, but
I’ll bring it before the town council and let them know what’s
going on. To that end, I’d like you to come to one of our meetings
so they can see you and ask you a few questions. When you’re up to
it, of course. Not right away. I’ll break the news to them and tell
everyone to be on the lookout for any mer that might be in
distress.”