by Meg Ripley
Maren watched Brad hustle into the adjoining kitchen. He was a big man, the type most humans would probably find intimidating. But he seemed ill at ease and uncertain of himself, which didn’t fit the description Garrison had given her. Maren began to realize this wasn’t going to be as much of a disaster as she’d worried about. They were just as nervous and curious as she was, even though some terrible things had happened.
Brad returned with whiskey for each of them. It wasn’t her preferred drink, but Maren took a polite sip and found the burning sensation a nice distraction from everything else she was feeling.
When their host sat, it was on the edge of his seat and leaning forward. “Garrison tells me we have a lot to talk about.”
“I want to start by saying I’m sorry,” Maren began. “I didn’t even know there were other shifters in the area until he told me. I just assumed everyone who looked human was human, which in retrospect was a terrible mistake. I never meant to hurt anyone.” Before she knew it, she’d launched into the same history that she’d already hashed out with Garrison. It was the kind of thing she’d always kept private before, but now that the lid was off the jar, she couldn’t help but pour the contents out and smack her hands in them like a child with finger paint. She told them all about the way the lake had changed in her lifetime, how the human populace had encroached on her territory more and more every year, how there was so little space left for her. She peppered her tale liberally with more apologies.
Brad and Tracy were listening intently. The slim coyote had moved from the fireplace to sit on the corner of the coffee table, her knees pulled up to her chest and her arms wrapped around her legs as she listened raptly. Ethan remained where he was, defensive and unrelenting in the corner, his eyes shooting daggers at the newcomer.
“I see,” Brad said when she finally paused for air. “It sounds like what we have here is a giant misunderstanding.”
Maren let out an audible sigh. “Indeed.”
“You’re kidding me, right?” Ethan snorted from behind Brad. “You know what she did! She’s burned down our forests, she’s killed our members, and you’re just going to say that it’s all a big misunderstanding?”
The black bear turned in his seat to face the mountain lion. “Are you going to say you’re infallible? Particularly when you’re in your other form? I do recall some very interesting headlines about joggers and mountain lions.”
“That was different!” the blonde man argued, his fists balling.
Maren was only a foot or two away from Garrison, but she longed to have him at her side. She wanted to feel the level of tension in his body to know if she was in any danger right now or not. He knew these people better than she did, although she was fully aware she hardly even knew him. For the moment, though, Garrison had remained seated, simply watching the proceedings with a diplomatic look on his face.
“We could argue all day about it,” Brad pointed out, “but you also have an entire pride to back you up when something happens. Maren’s been alone. I should also say that you should be thrilled right now.”
“What?” Anger and confusion mixed on Ethan’s face. “Why?”
Brad’s shoulders rolled casually. “You were the one who insisted the lake monster was responsible. It turns out you were right. And now we can say we personally know the lake monster.” He laughed at his own joke, slapping his knee. “No offense, Maren.”
“None taken. I’m used to it.”
There was no mollifying the mountain lion, even if his theory had been proven correct. “We can’t just let this go unpunished. We have to do something.”
“You’re right,” Tracy piped up. “We do have to have to do something.” She turned back to Maren. “We need to figure out a way to make sure the land here is equally divided, so that we all have room to live the way we want and need to. It’s been easy enough for the rest of us to blend in with society, but as Brad pointed out, we’ve had each other to lean on.”
“This is ridiculous,” Ethan sneered.
Brad stood up and crossed the room to a desk, pulling a laptop out of the drawer. “Ethan, if you really think that, then maybe you shouldn’t be a part of this conclave anymore. We’ve been operating on the idea of majority votes and keeping things as fair as possible. I’m not saying what happened is all right or that I’m happy about it, but I do think it’s a lot more productive to move forward and find a way to make the future work for everyone. So, you tell me if you’re in or you’re out. I’m sure your pride would have plenty to say about it.”
The other man’s shoulders fell although his eyes were still filled with hate. He clearly didn’t like being made to give in to everyone else’s plans, but little choice was left to him. “Fine. But let it be known that I think this is a bad idea.”
“Suit yourself.” Brad opened the laptop and pulled up a map.
“I don’t think we could’ve asked for that to turn out any better,” Garrison said as he drove the car back through the impressive gate.
“No, I guess not.” Brad’s home had been an imposing fortress when they’d driven up, but now it seemed like just another one of the lavish places that had been built around the lake to accommodate those with enough money to have a nice view of the water.
“Is there something wrong?” He glanced at her with concern before turning his eyes back to the road. “If you didn’t like the way the land was divided up, I’m sure we could’ve talked to them about it.”
“No, it’s not that.” Garrison said ‘we,’ but he’d sat back and let her handle things as she, Brad, Tracy, and a reluctant Ethan looked over maps of Lake Tahoe and determined who could do what on which sections of land. And that had been fine. She hadn’t needed him in that moment. It’d been almost too easy to convince Brad and Tracy of the truth, and from there it was like a giant boulder rolling down a hill. It was work to be done, but it was easy.
“If it’s Ethan, don’t let him bother you. I get the feeling he’s just stubborn, no matter what’s happening. And I think Brad can keep him in check.”
She nodded as she watched the houses slip by on the winding roads. “I’m sure you’re right. I’m just feeling a little strange. This whole experience has been weird for me.”
“I understand.”
But could he really? Maren hoped so, deep down, but she wondered if Garrison could truly sympathize with what loomed over her heart right now. Yes, there was another dragon in the world, and she’d found a sense of comfort in that. Yes, she’d gotten things all worked out with the other shifters with very little effort, something she had to be incredibly grateful for. And Tracy’s solution of dividing up the property sounded like it would work very well. The only true change for any of their lives would be Maren would have specific hunting ground where the other shifters wouldn’t travel. It didn’t restrict anything else about their lives, and they could all live in peace.
But now that it was all done and over with, Garrison would have to leave. He’d told her all about his work with the SOS Force—or at least as much as he was allowed to say—and had talked proudly about his construction business. He had a life in D.C. His mission was done. He’d be leaving, and she was going to miss him terribly.
In fact, now that she knew he existed, she wasn’t sure how she could go back to just living her life as she always did, hunting territory or not.
Maren pressed her lips together. “If you’re not in too big of a hurry, I mean, if you don’t have a plane you’ve got to catch right away or anything and if you’ve got some time to kill, why don’t you spend some time with me at the lake tonight?” She hardly dared to look at him as she asked. Why did he have to make her so shy? She knew she didn’t need to be that way, and yet just asking him to hang out with her seemed like the biggest burden she ever could’ve asked of anyone.
“Sure,” he replied, easing some of her worry. “I’d love to. I mean, I got to spend a little time swimming with Tahoe Tessie the other night, but that was before I’d gotten
to know her.”
His smile was infectious.
8
Garrison relished the feeling of Maren’s arm looped through his own as they casually walked past a strip of tourist traps disguised as gift shops that were decked out for Christmas. He’d been so determined to spend all his extra time skiing while he was at Lake Tahoe, but the slopes were the furthest thing from his mind as he watched her stop and point to a snow globe in a window.
“Look at this one,” she said with a laugh, her eyes sparkling in the street lamps.
He raised an eyebrow at the figure inside the snow globe, a cartoon-like representation of an upright dinosaur with giant eyes and a goofy smile on its face. “What? It looks exactly like you.”
She gave him a playful punch in the arm. “Thanks a lot.”
“Anytime.” He smiled, but not just at his own joke. Maren’s mood and attitude had changed completely since they’d had their meeting with Brad and the other shifters. She’d shown him snippets of who she really was before, but it was like meeting with the Alphas had made her take off a mask she’d been wearing for decades. He liked this side of her, the light-hearted, carefree side that allowed her to make fun of herself and live in the moment instead of focusing on the past or worrying about her future.
The next shop they passed had already closed for the evening, as many of them were in the process of doing now that the sun had officially disappeared behind the mountains. But the display window in the front showed a vast array of Tessie memorabilia, from a wooden sign that looked like it had a bite taken out of one end and said, ‘I Survived the Tahoe Monster!’ to a giant claw that claimed to be from the beast itself.
“I guess they’ll go to any length to make a buck or two, huh?” Garrison remarked, pointing to the claw.
But Maren tipped her head at it curiously. “You know, that really could be mine. I guess if someone is that determined to have my fingernail clippings sitting on their mantel, then they’re welcome to them.” She laughed again and pulled her arm a little closer in to his.
They moved on down to the next window, where the shop was trying to make their profit in a slightly more classy way. Instead of cheap tokens, someone had made a series of oil paintings. Many of them showed Lake Tahoe in general, with views of the mountains, the water, and the brilliant sunsets. But Garrison noticed that several of them had a dark, shadowy figure in the corner or some unexplained wakes out in the water. “It’s amusing to me that both the locals and the tourists have focused so much on you when there are creatures that would blow their minds living right next door. Imagine what would happen if they found out what Brad, Tracy, or Ethan truly were.”
“True, but you have to admit that Tracy’s a bit of an odd creature, even in her human form,” Maren remarked fondly. “In a good way. I kind of like that she’s so fascinated by everything, and that she never sits still.”
“I think she likes you, too. Not that I blame her.” Garrison knew what was happening right now. He was clinging onto the last moments he would have with Maren. He’d sorted out the problem and completed his mission as he said he would. It was time to get back home to see what else the SOS Force and Stokes Construction had in store for him. No doubt Roy and Mrs. Shively had been duking it out with each other over that bathroom sink, and they were both dying to have a word with him just as soon as he was willing to answer his phone again.
The two of them turned away from the shops and toward the beach. It was getting late enough that even most of the tourists had retreated to their condos and the overpriced beer they’d stocked their fridges with. The beach was quiet and empty, and Garrison had to wonder if times like this made Maren think of the way her world had been before all the sightseers. He wouldn’t ask her, though. Those memories were clearly painful to her, and he enjoyed seeing Maren happy.
“Fancy a swim?” she asked coyly as they neared one of the docks.
“I can’t imagine anything I’d like better,” he answered. He wanted to be anywhere as long as it was with her.
They slipped into the water, still in their bipedal forms. Maren was a strong swimmer, and he admired the slope of her pale shoulders against the black water as she moved out into the depths. Garrison felt completely transfixed by this creature who was so like him, yet so not. When she ducked under the water and resurfaced a moment later, not as a human woman but as a sleek dragon, he understood even more just how different their lives had been. She was wild and untamed; her own person. She’d made this place her home and had been determined to keep it, no matter what happened, while sometime ages ago, Garrison had decided it was easier to just blend in.
He thought about how much he admired her as he shifted in return, the cold water slipping over his scales as his tail flipped up above the surface. It was practically erotic, the way it felt; so much more than simply skinny dipping. For a moment, he was that wild creature as well, stalking the deep waters, a monster to be afraid of.
“I can see why you do this so much,” he said as the chill squeezed the air out of his lungs. “It’s exhilarating.”
“It’s even better when you have someone with you,” she admitted before slithering in a circle just beneath the surface. “Come on. There’s something I want to show you.” She surged through the water like a powerboat, her strong muscles and the smooth architecture of her current form making it easy.
Garrison took off after her. He could see now why so many who had tried to capture her, or even a picture of her, had been unsuccessful. Even if they managed to catch a glimpse of her tail or a claw, they wouldn’t be able to get their cameras up quickly enough to get a shot. He followed her through the water, intoxicated by the chill and the speed of it all. When he thought she might stop she only continued on, and he had no choice but to continue with her.
Finally, she flipped her wings outward to catch the current and stop her tunneling action through the lake. “Here we are,” she said, breathless. He could still hear the excitement in her voice, though.
“And where’s here?”
“Emerald Bay,” she explained. “We’re all the way on the south side of the lake now. It’s a state park, but it’s a place I kind of enjoy, too.”
He was learning to sense the lake around him, even though he’d spent so little time in it. “It’s not quite as deep here.”
“No, but there’s so much more than that. You can hardly see them at night, but there are boats sunk all along the edge of the bay. The humans have made it into an underwater diving trail, and people come from all over just to dive down and see them. Come on.” She was racing away in the water once again.
Garrison turned to look over his shoulder. Something was bothering him, but he couldn’t quite figure out what it was. There shouldn’t have been any danger there. The lights on shore indicated there were campgrounds nearby, but he didn’t see any evidence of anyone out on the water.
He followed Maren, but for a moment, he couldn’t see her. It was then he realized she was no longer near the surface, and he saw her sinuous black body when he dove further under the water. She was swimming near the dark shape of an abandoned fishing boat. Maren led him to several other similar sites, bobbing to the surface every now and then to tell him what she knew about them.
“I guess you’re not completely anti-human after all, if you like looking at their boats so much.” Garrison liked goading her, mostly because he loved that sassy look she’d get.
“It’s something different to look at, and since it’s under the water, I don’t feel that I’m taking much risk,” she explained.
He was about to ask her something about the massive wooden barge they’d just examined when a strange noise gave him pause. “Did you hear that?”
She was still in the water now, and he knew she had. “I don’t know what that was, though. A boat, maybe, but I don’t see any lights.”
Time stretched out as the two of them waited. Garrison turned his head, spotting a small boat speeding by on the far shore of the
bay. Its twin was pulling the same maneuver on the opposite waterfront, and they were moving far too fast for any tourist boats.
“I don’t like this. Let’s get out of here.”
Maren led the way, but he quickly caught up to her. They swam in silence for less than a minute before they slammed into a wall.
Garrison reeled backward, caught off-guard by this object in the water that hadn’t been there when they’d come into the bay less than an hour ago. He could feel it pushing backward against them, throwing them off-balance in the water. Maren’s limbs and wings flailed alongside his own, thrashing as they tried to gain traction after being bowled over repeatedly. He felt a rush of adrenaline in his bloodstream as he pushed back against it.
Tearing his claws through the water, Garrison realized what was going on. It was a net, a long stretch of it through the water between the boats they’d spotted. “They’re closing in around us,” he spluttered as he began slashing through it. “We’ve got to get out of here.”
But the look in Maren’s eye wasn’t one of fear, and he knew she had no intention of escaping. “Fuck them. I’m sick of this. Come on.” She grasped the net in her claws and pushed, swimming hard and fast toward the entrance to the bay.
Garrison joined her, but he didn’t have much confidence in the plan. “There’s no way we can overpower those boats.”
Her glare was determined as she glanced at the approaching vessels, which had crossed paths and were now working toward drawing the net in a full circle around them. “We don’t have to. I just want to get those assholes a little bit closer.”
They rushed forward through the mouth of the bay just as the boats were bearing down on them. “We can just fly out of this. They won’t expect that.” It would be a weak launch out of the churning water, but they could do it.
“No. They’ll have guns. They always do, and we’ll be an easy target. Just a little further.” Waves broke out around her as she used her wings to propel her further forward.