Saving Grace (2 page)

“Are you okay with this?” he asked, helping
her hold it, probably wondering if she was strong enough to do it
herself.

She held up one finger while sucking on the
straw. As thirsty as she was, he wasn’t going to have to wait long
to take the pitcher away. Empty.

Sure enough, after a few intense moments of
sucking water through the straw, Grace was starting to feel better.
She allowed the straw to make noises along the bottom of the
pitcher as she sucked up the last of the water, then she released
it and looked up at him.

“More, please?” she whispered, not sure how
her voice was going to sound.

Much to her surprise, it was all right. She
hadn’t spent a lot of time on land since leaving San Francisco, but
she did talk with her sister occasionally above the surface. She’d
screamed her throat raw when the monster attacked, though, and it
still felt very sore. Luckily, it seemed like she hadn’t lost the
use of her voice completely.

“You can have all you want, ma’am,” the man
said politely, lifting the pitcher and moving toward another
doorway in the room she hadn’t noticed before.

He opened it, and she realized it was a
bathroom. The tub looked large, and it had a shower too. She heard
the water running in the sink, and a few minutes later, he returned
with the pitcher full again.

“Do you want it now, or shall I just pour you
a glass and leave the rest on the table?” he asked solicitously. He
seemed a little nervous around her, though he was very polite. In
all likelihood, he had saved her life.

“Just a glass, thank you. And my name is
Grace,” she told him. “Thank you for rescuing me. Did you find me
on the beach?”

“I did. You were cut up pretty bad,” he said,
frowning a bit. “Sea monster trouble, right?”

“How did you know?” She’d thought none of the
land dwellers realized what had come to their shores, but maybe she
was wrong.

“The big one ate the Master vampire of
Seattle’s yacht a few weeks ago. He survived, but he wasn’t happy.
And then, a smaller version of the creature attacked my friend’s
mate. It wrapped a tentacle around her leg and tried to drag her
into the cove, but my buddy fought it off.”

“He must be quite the warrior to have
defeated such a creature,” she said, impressed.

“Zak? Yeah, he’s okay, even if he is smaller
than the rest of us.”

“Smaller?” She wondered how large these men
were if the smallest one could take on one of those creatures and
prevail.

The man took a seat on the chair and met her
gaze. “He’s a black bear. Most of us are grizzlies.” She was
impressed that he was speaking so openly about their differences.
If he was talking so freely, he must realize… “And you’re a
mermaid.”

His gaze held hers.

“Something like that,” she admitted, feeling
her cheeks heat with embarrassment, though she had no idea why she
should be embarrassed. Although… “It’s been a long time since
anyone on land knew what I was.”

“Well…” He sat back, looking only marginally
less threatening. He was a
big
man. “You’re safe here. Most
everyone in this town is a shifter. Mostly bears of different
varieties, though grizzlies outnumber the others. We have a few
select humans who are mated to some of my colleagues. And a lot of
us are ex-military. Special Forces. We can protect you.”

“On land, maybe,” she muttered.

“Yeah, sorry about that. We’ve got a call in
to some specialists, but they can’t come right away. They’re busy
on the other side of the world and out of com range, but when they
finish their mission, we’ve been promised they’ll come help with
our little sea monster problem.”

“What kind of specialists? Some sort of
water-based shifters? I have to tell you, they won’t have much
luck. That thing is unlike anything I’ve ever seen before, and it
reeks of evil.”

“We have connections with a couple of water
sprites—well, descendants of a water sprite and a human. They’re
Navy SEALs.”

Grace was impressed and didn’t mind that her
face probably showed it. He’d been pretty up front with her, and
she wasn’t getting any bad vibes off him. He seemed honest and
exactly as he claimed. She had no reason—yet—to doubt his words,
though she would be wary. She’d been warned that land dwellers
weren’t always as straight-forward as those in the sea.

“Sprites might have a chance,” she admitted.
“They’d need a lot of magic to go up against that thing.”

“Do you know what it is?” he asked
quietly.

She shook her head. “Evil. That’s all I know.
As I said, I’ve never seen anything like it before, and I pray I
never see its like again.”

“The witches we know think it’s a
leviathan—an evil creature from another realm, brought here by
servants of the Destroyer of Worlds.”

“I can believe that. It’s pretty awful.”

“We have wards on the land that reach a short
way off the beach, but we didn’t know there were any magical folk
out there, like you, who might run afoul of the things once we
pushed them back. I know we didn’t intend to cause you
trouble.”

“I think I felt the ward when I crossed it,
and the creature couldn’t follow. I was badly injured by then and
let the tide take me, since it was pulling me away from the
monster.” She thought for a moment. “We’ve all known something
wasn’t right for a while. I don’t think your wards caused it to get
worse.”

“It cut you up pretty badly,” he said after a
short pause. “I did my best to bandage your wounds, but I wasn’t
sure what special care you might require. Can I get you anything
that will help you heal faster?”

“Just keep the water flowing,” she replied,
lifting the glass and draining it. She placed it back on the
bedside table, and he refilled it from the pitcher. “I didn’t
expect to live through that encounter. I think you probably saved
my life, and for that, I thank you.”

He held up his hands, palms outward. “No
need. I’m just glad I was there to help. My name is Jack Chambers,
by the way. I’m the cove’s Game Warden.”

She had to smile at that. “Looks like you
found more than you bargained for washed up on your beach last
night.”

He smiled back, and she loved the way his
eyes crinkled up at the corners, as if he smiled a lot. He really
was the most handsome man.

“You’ve got that right. And when you’re
feeling up to it, the Alpha would like to talk to you.” He stood
and gave her a small black remote control. That disarming smile of
his made her heart beat a little faster.

“The remote is labelled pretty well, but ask
me if you need anything. The TV will pop up if you push that blue
button, and I’ve got a satellite on the roof, so lots of channels
to choose from. There’s also a selection of music and intercom
access if you want to find me. See the orange button?”

He pointed it out, and she was impressed by
the level of technology in his otherwise rustic-looking home. She
hit the blue button, and a large black screen rose from inside the
opposite wall and turned on to a news channel.

“I haven’t seen television in a long time.
Thank you. I’ll familiarize myself with what’s been going on
ashore.” Scenes of an explosion half a world away distracted her
while he stood.

“If you’re okay, then I’ll be back in a bit.
Just hit the orange button if you want anything.”

“Will do. Thank you, Jack,” she said,
watching a fiery crash on the television as he walked out.

Jack dialed John’s number as he walked out
into the main part of his home. The Alpha picked up on the first
ring.

“Sitrep,” was John’s short greeting. All
Alpha. Always in charge. But Jack didn’t mind. John was a good
leader and had never steered any of them wrong.

“She’s awake,” he told John. “Nice girl.
Currently watching TV in my guest room.”

“Does she have any intel on the
leviathan?”

“Not really. She said it was evil, but she
claims never to have seen anything like it before. I believe her.
She has no reason to withhold information.”

“That you know of,” was John’s skeptical
answer.

“Yeah, okay. You got me there. But you didn’t
see her injuries, John. She told me she didn’t expect to live
through the encounter, and if I hadn’t come along, I don’t think
she’d have made it ‘til morning. That thing sliced her up bad.”

“I’ve got to make the rounds, but I’ll come
by later today. Keep her there.”

“I don’t think she’ll be going anywhere
today, but if she wants to take her chances back in the ocean, I
can’t, in good conscience, keep her here against her will. I will
strongly suggest that she shouldn’t return to the water, but I
won’t hold her prisoner.” There were some things at which Jack drew
the line.

“Understood,” John replied. He didn’t sound
happy about it, but Jack knew the Alpha really did understand the
need to give any magical creature its freedom. “I’ll see you in a
while.”

Jack hung up and peeked in the door to find
Grace’s eyes closed. She was asleep again, poor gal. He figured she
needed the rest, so he slipped quietly away and headed toward the
kitchen. He’d prepare some food for when she woke again. Maybe
something salty. And liquidy. Soup was a good bet. He probably had
a can of the condensed stuff somewhere that he could start
with.

He was just finishing making the soup when he
heard the pitter patter of bare feet on his hardwood floors. She
was up? He hadn’t thought she’d be out of bed before tomorrow, at
the earliest, but then again, what did he know about mermaids?
Maybe they healed faster than he’d guessed.

Jack turned to find her standing uncertainly
in the archway to the kitchen.

“I’m surprised you’re up. How do you feel?”
He tried to put her at ease, but she looked decidedly uncomfortable
standing there in his shirt that came down to her knees.

She was totally
hot
too. Her long,
dark hair had dried to a wavy chestnut, and her unforgettable eyes
were the color of cool, pure water. A bright aqua blue so pale they
almost looked like crystal.

But the uncertainty on her face made him want
to comfort rather than pounce. Maybe he’d get to pounce later. Or
maybe not. Either way, he wanted her to feel welcome in his
home—unless and until she proved to be something other than the
innocent she looked.

“A little shaky,” she admitted with a tiny
smile. “Is that soup?”

“Chicken noodle, with some added veggies.
Nothing fancy, but they say chicken soup is good when you’re
healing. Want some?” He turned back to the stove, already grabbing
the ladle and pot. He’d put out a bowl earlier, intending to make
up a tray for her.

“Sure,” she agreed and sat at the kitchen
table while he spooned soup into the bowl.

He set up another bowl for himself and joined
her at the table a few minutes later. She was already sipping at
the hot liquid, her face radiant, her eyes closed as she savored
each bite. Jack felt a warm glow of satisfaction fill him. He’d
guessed right on what to make for her.

“This is great. It’s been a long time since I
had land food. Everything we eat below is cold. And raw,” she
added. “But I guess you probably understand. You eat in your
shifted form, right?”

“Yeah, my inner bear likes to hunt,” he
agreed. It was new to have this sort of conversation with a woman.
All of his lovers in the past had been human and, therefore,
uninformed about his true nature. It was oddly refreshing to be
able to be open with Grace about his other form.

“My mer form may not look like as full of a
shift as yours, but it probably is. I have scales everywhere, and
even though I can still speak with my mouth above water, I don’t
often do so. We tend to live rather solitary lives, hunting in our
own territories, gathering only rarely with family.”

“Sounds a lot like us. Most bears are
solitary. This town is a big experiment.”

“Why?” She took a sip of her soup, then
clarified. “Why gather so many shifters in one place? Why are you
doing it?”

Jack thought about how to answer. “There are
a few different reasons. For one thing, we were all ready to
retire. We spent a lot of years fighting human wars, and the core
group of us formed strong bonds. We didn’t want to disband
completely, which is what probably would have happened if our Alpha
hadn’t come up with this idea.”

“You mentioned you were a warrior?” Grace
asked, looking genuinely interested.

“Soldier. Special Forces,” he clarified. “We
all were. A bunch of bear shifters gathered together under one
leader, which is very unusual for our kind, but John doesn’t take
himself too seriously, which is good, and he’s also a master of
strategy. Like I said, he came up with this plan to build the town.
He bought up most of the land very quietly during his years in the
military and had it all ready to go when we’d all had enough. He
cleared everything with the Native humans who live just to the
south, and came up with our cover story too.”

“Which is?” she asked, arching one eyebrow as
she smiled over her spoon.

Jack had to smile back. “Believe it or not,
we’re an artists’ colony. Each of us is expected to produce some
kind of art or craft and put it up for sale in the galleries in
town. That’s our cover, and so far, the few humans who trek through
here have bought it—and the crap we put in the galleries too.” He
shook his head, still not quite believing it.

“So what’s your art form?”

He shifted in his seat a little
uncomfortably, but he’d started this conversation, so he had to
fess up.

“I make furniture out of saplings and tree
limbs,” he admitted, feeling a bit sheepish.

“Oh!” Her eyes went round in surprise. “All
the lovely furniture in my room! I feel like I’m sleeping in the
forest. I was admiring it when I woke up. And you made all
that?”