by Jade Alters
We’re not a secret in some circles, and that’s just the way it is. It was the government that covered us up. Once we went into services like search and rescue, firefighting and national defense, the government felt it was best to keep our shapeshifting abilities from the public. I already knew from early childhood experiences that some people really freaked out when they saw a shifter, but their concerns involved journalists, privacy, exploitation and a very long, tiring discussion on other countries and their combat readiness with shapeshifters. I think that was what bothered the government more than anything else. Shapeshifters will defend. They will rescue. But if there are shapeshifters on two sides of a war, they won’t fight against each other. Animals don’t go to war against other animals. So, the secret may have been to prevent shapeshifters around the world from knowing who is working for their government.
Natalia slapped me on the head for saying that, which was probably the most exciting thing a woman had ever done for me and almost made me want to give her a good roll on the spot. The government had a good point. We would not want the publicity, or the notoriety, she said. She said I couldn’t imagine what it would be like if millions of people knew of our existence. That much is true. I’ve never been in a city larger than Anchorage, and I’m told you could drop it in the middle of San Francisco and lose it. I was a Denali villager. My tribe is Athabascan. Like the Haida, my people could peer into the shapeshifters and see their animal. They weren’t millions of people, just a few thousand, and the most anyone thought about it was that bear shifters had the duty to protect and defend the tribe because they were the most powerful members. It all worked for me.
And the Coast Guard worked for me. We sailed all over the state. I’ve docked at so many ports, I’ve forgotten the names of them all. We were required for the toughest jobs; the ones battling the worst temper-tantrums Mother Nature knows how to throw, operating in areas that demanded extreme stealth and cunning. Just so you know, bears have a lot of stealth and cunning.
I didn’t see any harm at all in Natalia’s friend knowing we were shapeshifters. Darkhorse seemed to think it was minimal damage. “You’re never going to keep local people from wagging their tongues. Some will believe the stories. Some won’t. Rhoda is local.”
“She remembered me, even on drugs,” said Roy, puffing out his chest.
“Okay, so she knows,” said Josh finally. “What should we do? Put on a performance for her?”
“No,” said Natalia. “But she did give me some ideas.”
We all stirred uneasily. That’s what mama bears are for; to give us ideas, but ideas meant change and we liked routine. “What kind of ideas?” asked Josh, who had decided not to allow even one curly hair to grow.
“Ideas of what to do when your leave is up.”
“Oh.” It was a universal sigh, and we universally put our hands over our stomachs and looked at the ceiling.
Natalia folded her arms and stalked around the room. “Oh. None of you have thought past a minute beyond the next meal. In one week, your leave is up. You’ll be returned to active call.”
Josh tried to catch her up in his arms. “We’ll be docking in Valdez. We’ll still have some time together.”
She pushed him away. “I’m not going back to Valdez. I’m quitting my state trooper’s job.”
The deflated air went through the whole room. Josh scowled. “Then what are you going to do?”
“It isn’t about what I’m going to do,” she said. “What are you going to do? You live on a boat. I can’t just fly all over the place and meet you wherever you dock.”
We’re not good on the uptake when it comes to thinking things out. We usually dealt with emotional issues by popping out with furry hides, and Mama Bear didn’t put up with that sort of thing. Growing a very long face and rubbing his chin, Darkhorse said, “We could build a house somewhere along the coast the way other married seamen do, someplace we can come home to.”
“You mean, as if we’re all married?” asked Josh, turning to face him with astonishment.
Darkhorse scratched his neck. “Basically, we are.”
“Yeah.” Josh began stroking Natalia’s autumn wheat hair, the loosely twisting curls at the bottom wrapping around his finger. “Where would we build a house?” he asked dreamily.
“Nome,” suggested Roy. “We’re often in Arctic waters.”
“Only in the winter,” objected Josh. “And it’s not the most hospitable place to live for someone like Natalia. Kodiak’s a good place. I know people there. I could buy a house.”
“Bristol Bay,” said Natalia. “We should live in Bristol Bay. It’s perfect. It has the Arctic and the Pacific spread right out in front of you. It has nice summers. And Rhoda is going out there with her new number-one boyfriend to look at the lodge he just built.”
“Wait a minute,” said Josh, gravel creeping into his voice. “You’re not following that dizzy bitch on another adventure with another unknown man.”
“He’s not an unknown,” she countered, shushing him with a kiss on the lips. “She’s known him for three years. She only recently rotated him into the number-one position. He was the only one of her boyfriends to fly into Ketchikan to see her.”
I let out my breath in a big, “Ah! So that’s how they move up the line. But with us, it’s all even-Steven, right?”
“Right and right,” she said. “That is a good way to move up the line, and if one of you fucks up, you’ve all fucked up.”
I’m learning. They should give girl lessons out there in the wilderness. Women are a whole different species. They talk hard, but they’re soft. They act mean, but they’re gentle. And they’re smart. She didn’t bring up the subject again that night, but she let us know what we would be missing when she was gone. I never felt a touch that caused me to tingle the way hers did. Goosebumps went up and down my spine as she kissed me on the neck and chest, her hand steadily moving downward.
I don’t know how she did it, making it all about me, but giving to them as well. Her legs draped over mine like silk, yet the hands that touched her were not my own. Her fingertips traveled lightly down my arms then wrapped around my wrists as her rhythm changed from lingering strokes to the hot-throated pants of passion. She left me in a complete stupor, yet at the same time, so completely aware of how short and precious these moments of bliss truly were. She also left me feeling vulnerable, for those moments were the only times I felt completely human.
That awareness knotted up in my stomach muscles and nagged at the back of my brain like a schoolteacher. I began to regret how carelessly we had spent our early days with Natalia. We should have been storing those moments up like seashells. She wanted a house; we would build her a house. We would buy property on the moon if that was what she wanted.
When I took her in my arms, all I wanted was to satisfy her in any manner she pleased. I cupped her wonderful breasts gently, giving them the respect they deserved. I tasted the sweet honey perspiration of her flesh, buried myself deeply inside her while the red sun on her belly writhed and glowed.
She let matters rest for the night while we remained saturated with her pleasures. She didn’t in the morning. Josh had a combined meeting with the harbor master and the military police, wrapping up the report on the murders, and Darkhorse was taking Roy with him to visit the district attorney concerning the kidnappings, but did not want me to come along—leaving me in the capable hands of Natalia. I figured we’d have a good jaunt through the town, maybe buy a few souvenirs, so I dressed to look sharp in my officer’s uniform. It was the right call. Mama Bear gave me a smile that made me feel like a million-dollar project. She straightened my jacket at the shoulders and brushed it off. She corrected the angle of the cap and tucked back my hair. “Petty Officer Brightwater, you are to accompany me to the Pioneer Lounge.”
I knew about the joint but had never been there. It was one of those places used by the sports fishermen who spent hundreds of dollars on charter boats. It was far enough f
rom town and close enough to the sea to feel wild and adventurous, yet the first grocery store and gas station were just five minutes away. Two float planes snuggled in the small cove that curved to one side of the lounge, with two other planes perched on a small, private runway.
It was a nice enough spot. It had the standard, rustic thing going on with a central fireplace, giant windows, lots of fat leather chairs and tables set in strategically scenic spots, and a bar. The food was renowned, but it was expensive. A soda pop was expensive here, nearly three dollars for a can poured over ice.
Despite its name, the Pioneer didn’t cater to locals. It catered to tourists. Practically everybody in the lounge looked up and turned their heads when they saw an officer of the Coast Guard walk in with a local girl by his side. Some even whispered to each other. Teenagers in short shorts and puffy vests, dying of boredom in the wild setting, twisted the ends of their hair and twittered between themselves when they saw me. The out-of-shape wives of the sportsmen, positive they wanted the Great Alaskan Adventure until they experienced it, looked at Natalia with their lips compressed angrily together as though she was personally responsible for luring their men into untamed country.
I thought we were going to have one of those cappuccinos she likes so much, then leave, but instead of walking toward a table, she waited by the bar until someone with a familiar scent came up behind us and tinkled, “Natalia, you made it—and you managed to drag one of your boys along. He’s gorgeous. Are you going to introduce us?”
I swiveled my stool away from the bar to face her. Rhoda looked a lot better than when she was first brought home. She had looked like a rubber doll, her face waxy, her eyes dull and vague. Now, she was clean and healthy again. She had the kind of prettiness you see in prom queens—nice skin, girlish features, dimples, big smile full of perfect ivory teeth. She was a little smaller than Natalia and she fiddled more with her hair and make-up. I guess she was a more stylish dresser, too, but Natalia still outshone her—in my opinion, at least.
“Rhoda, meet Lee. He did visit you in the hospital, but you probably don’t remember.”
“I don’t want to remember,” said Rhoda. “I’ve remembered all I need to for as long as I’ve needed and now, I’m going to forget everything I can.”
I had to admire the girl. She was resilient. She was also Natalia’s best friend, so I needed to put on some manners. “Should I order drinks?” I asked.
Her voice tinkled again, this time in light laughter. “No, it’s too early for that. We’ve got a table over by the far window.” She pulled at my arm. “Come on. I want you to meet Drew Petty.”
Now I got it. I was being ambushed by this nefarious new invader into Natalia’s life. He would try to get me on his side, thinking all was well, but I would show him I was no push-over. My resolve isn’t the greatest in the world. As soon as I saw him, I liked him. He didn’t look all that pretentious, just successful—a successful millennial. A tie slid down an expensive silk shirt, the knot two inches below the open collar. His sleeves were rolled up, revealing a tattoo that began at the wrist and traveled up under his shirt, ending at the neck. He had one of those crisp, shiny haircuts you get in salons, and crisp black eyes measuring me from light-reflective glasses. The fancy ones that turned lighter or darker as needed.
He liked talking about himself. He was originally from Seattle and had made his way through college working fishing boats. He’d received his small airplane pilot’s license shortly after graduation and made his first million four years later with a game that gave a real-life simulation of flying into the wilderness.
“Now I own my own plane,” he told me. “I’ve been flying for these guys for a while, but I like the Bristol Bay area better. It has its own energy. All these islands. They’re a bit like a jungle. The majestic skies, that’s what I’m aiming for.”
“And bears,” giggled Rhoda. “Drew wants to be where there are more bears.”
Just then, Natalia received a phone call. She texted in a message and said, “The captain and the others are on their way over.”
“Oh, the guests here will be talking about us for the rest of the day,” whispered Rhoda, leaning across the table. “Imagine, four Coast Guard officers here in full uniform.”
“They know what we are?” I whispered back in controlled alarm.
Rhoda rested her chins on her fists and grinned. “They know you’re seamen. How often do you think real seamen come in here?”
I heaved a sigh of relief and sat back, straightening my uniform even more. That was acceptable. I returned to my conversation with Drew. “What’s wrong with Ketchikan bears?”
Drew chuckled and order two double-shot espressos. Now, that’s what I’m talking about. None of this stuff shot through with air and milk. Real coffee, more concentrated than the cook’s poisonous brew. “There’s nothing wrong with Ketchikan’s bears,” he said. “But the tourists want to see big bears. Northern bears.”
“Like me,” I said without thinking.
“Like Katmai bears,” Natalia said hastily.
“Of course,” said Drew, smiling but giving me a knowing look. “Like Katmai bears.”
My anxieties were beginning to drive me through the roof. There were all these rules about what I was and wasn’t supposed to say among non-Native people and what I couldn’t say to non-local people. It was too complicated, and I was flopping around like a flounder in the bottom of a boat. I let out an audible sigh of relief when the captain and the rest of the team appeared.
“So,” Drew continued, as soon as introductions had been made and everyone was seated comfortably. “I bought a piece of property about sixty miles from Dillingham. It already has a small lodge on it, but it needs improvement. I’m going to make it bigger. It’s going to have a lounge, guest rooms, fishing guide and charter boat services, bear viewing tours. Natalia is looking for a job, so I’m hiring her.”
“Why Natalia?” asked Josh suspiciously. He was still rankling over the kidnapping ring and wasn’t much into trusting anybody. He automatically put a protective arm around her. Always one to think about our unity, I pressed close to Natalia, too, and gave Drew my best scowl.
“She’s a people person,” explained Drew. “And she thinks on her feet. She’s a survivalist. Rhoda told me all about her, and of how she rescued that girl, Amy. That’s the type of person I want running my lodge.”
“And Natalia agreed to this?” There was an audible rumble in the captain’s throat.
“On one condition.” Drew pushed away his cup and gave all of us a straight-up look. “You have to invest with me. She said you were looking for a location to build your house—here’s your location. I need a business partner to make this work. I don’t have the funds to cover the entire lodge, plus staff and expenses. It’s a business venture, maybe a gamble.”
Darkhorse pulled at his chin, making one of those very long faces he made when he was thinking. “Not a big business venture for us. We all have our Coast Guard income. We were going to build her a house, anyway.”
“A house on the coastline, so we have a place to go to when we’re off-duty,” agreed the captain. “Would the costs be much more?”
“The upkeep, maybe,” hedged Drew. “Unless we can draw a good clientele. We need people to talk about us. Word-of-mouth is the best advertisement.”
The captain’s brow was growing dangerously thick. “We don’t do anything illegal.”
Drew made a placating gesture. “I know you don’t. I admire and uphold the law. Would I hire someone like Natalia if I didn’t?”
“Oh, she would so kick your ass if you didn’t,” I muttered.
He gave a nervous laugh and wiped at his neck. “Here’s the thing.” He waved us all in closer, so we were leaning over the table like conspiring politicians. “People want to see bears. They want to see them up close and photograph them, but they don’t want to see them in a zoo. They want to see them in the wild. And wild bears are dangerous.”
; This was a fact we could agree upon. Katmai bears had gotten used to being photographed, but they could still be unpredictable, and the reserve was a two-hour flight from the lodge location. There were a lot of Bristol Bay bears, but historically, they weren’t very nice. Most lodges discouraged them from coming too close to prevent possible mayhem and murder.
“I was thinking,” he said, dropping his voice even lower, “that since you will be there on shore leave, you could stalk around the property in bear form.”
“Bear form?” asked Darkhorse innocently.
“Yeah,” put in Rhoda. “Prowl around the perimeter. Keep the grounds safe and, at the same time, give our guests a good look at bears.”
Josh made a dangerous sound in his throat, and Natalia quickly put her hands over his. “They know, Captain. They both know. Let it go.”
“They would never know you were shifters,” pointed out Drew. “Maybe you could even do a few neat bear tricks.”
This time the rumble was very menacing. “Okay, no tricks,” he retracted nervously. “But there are documented cases of bears opening and drinking beer. Would you mind if I left out a cooler?”
“Bears drinking beer is natural,” said Darkhorse. That sounded about right, so I nodded my head up and down vigorously.
“A cooler is acceptable,” agreed Josh. He was starting to get into it. We could be adaptable when the necessity arose, and this seemed like a necessity. If we had to do a little bear flashing to keep Natalia happy, it wasn’t such a bad idea. “Perimeter watching. Occasional kitchen invasions. No mass media advertising, however. No attaching the name of the lodge to any viral clips. No cute tricks.”
Now I know why there are businesspeople and lawyers. Ordinary people couldn’t possibly imagine all the things that might come up in a partnership or a venture. We spent the next three days working out a verbal agreement that was formally drafted out after we had a chance to look at the property. The one structure on the property was a two-story cabin with a sharply pitched roof. It was solid and wouldn’t take much to add onto it. The ground was also clear and ready for development.