On the Growl: A Shifter Romance Anthology

by Lynn Red

  Jena shrugged at his words and said, "So, my sleep hasn't been great the last few days. It happens. I watched a scary movie."

  Don just kept watching the dolphins playing in the waves. He said, "My first assignment that went bad, I had nightmares for months. ‘Til someone took me aside. I'm not inclined to let you go that long. It compounds."

  "I slept just fine until you moved in here." Jena didn't mean to say that, but the words erupted out of her.

  Don finally looked over at her and said, "Good. They were waiting, the shock wore off. I know seeing me just made you remember faster. Better to deal with everything sooner."

  "You don't know me, Don. You think a little accident we all walked away from and a few nights sleeping rough is enough mess up my sleep?"

  He lifted an eyebrow and Jena flushed. She looked away and refused to answer.

  "Just assume I know everything. For one thing, I'm not deaf." His dry tone did nothing to lighten the flush of embarrassment that flooded her. Oh God, he heard everything. Great.

  "Are you assuming that taking some lovers would make me wake up screaming in fear?"

  "Considering you screamed for Matt and Jack to help, and that Jason was touching you, it wasn't the sex I was talking about."

  "I didn't..." but she stopped herself. She wasn't going to lie to him.

  "Yeah, fine. I dreamt I was trapped in the wreckage, but instead of it being Matt and Jack that pulled me out, Jason found me. It wasn't pleasant. I imagine I called for any number of people." She tried to downplay it, but her hands started to shake. Jason scared the hell out of her. And he was out there somewhere. She was grateful that Don didn't try to touch her or move closer to her.

  Don said, "Will it offend you if you found out one reason I was here?"

  "Probably. You mean you didn't fall in love with our little community at first sight?"

  Don shrugged and smiled, "Well, it was the most perfect thing I've ever seen."

  "But that wasn't what brought you here." Jena just wanted him to get to the point.

  "No, it's true, you being here brought me here."

  "Are you going to creep on me?" She tried to lighten the mood, Don had never given any indication that he wanted anything to do with her that way.

  He laughed at her and said, "You are practically a baby. I'm here because Jason is still out there. Until we're sure they aren't targeting you, that they actually believe it was just the worst luck ever that had you sitting on that plane, I'm making sure you stay safe."

  "Aren't you just making it more likely that they'll find me, with you being here?"

  "Oh, they can find you easily, the question is are they going to come here."

  Jena gulped. Jason could find her easily. She flexed her hands and the condensation from the water bottle made them slippery. As if they were covered in blood. For a moment she was back in that alley, covered in blood as a man died. She shook her head and said, "You know I'm not worried about Jason hurting me, right?"

  "I know. But I don't want you to be put in that situation ever. You're a good kid, you don't deserve any of this shit. I'm sorry you got dragged into it."

  "I don't especially want to be labeled as associating with terrorists."

  "Damn it, you don't understand. We aren't terrorists."

  "You blow shit up. Or set it on fire. Or whatever happened to that building."

  "I can't explain, but do you think I would be sitting here if I were a damn terrorist? Not everything is black and white. The world is filled with people who put a good face to the public, and the government requires back channels to correct. Will you accept that?"

  She shrugged her shoulders and said, "It's not like I have much of a choice, do I?"

  "I don't want to fight with you. I just want you to know that I am doing what I can to keep you safe from something you never signed up for."

  "Thanks, Don. Can I ask you something?"

  Don smiled at her, clearly expecting her to ask about Matt and Jack.

  She smiled back and said, "It's less asking, I guess, more telling. Since you are as likely to disappear from here as stay, I need you to be careful with Vera."

  The smile fell off his face and he said, "Are you warning me off your friend?"

  She tilted her head at him and said, "Warning you off? Just warning. Vera locked herself away here for a very long time after her husband died. You are the first man I've even seen her flirting with. I would hate for her to get hurt and shut herself away again, over a man that isn't available."

  "What makes you think I'm not available?"

  "Are you retired?"

  "Well, no."

  "Then you aren't really available, are you? Vera needs a chance with a man who can be there for her, all the way."

  "You never know what is going to happen in life, I could get hit by a bus."

  "Just be very aware of what you could be bringing her into. You worried about me? If you think bad men might come after me, why wouldn't they target anyone they think is close to you?"

  He just nodded at her sharply, and after a long moment said, "I guess I see what you are saying. I guess listening to one's heart is foolish."

  Her mouth twisted and she said, "It really is. You just can't trust other people to be there when the chips are down."

  His eyes softened and he said, "Hey, I'm here for you."

  "No, you're here so that you and your little friends can sleep well at night, knowing you 'protected' me." Jena stood abruptly and looked down at him, unaware of how forbidding and cold she'd become and said, "I appreciate the gesture, but I learned my lesson long ago. I know better than to expect people to be there for me." Her anger at being left finally flared up and she continued, "I admit, I forgot for a moment, let my guard down. But like all things, the moment passed. I don't need you. And I don't need people who don't even know how to say goodbye hovering around the edges of my life."

  She turned her back on the man and strode away, letting anger carry her up to her home, where she threw herself into the shower and let the loneliness and fear and sorrow explode out of her. Her sobs shook her from head to toe, while the hot water pounded her flesh. She finally picked herself up off the floor of the shower and flicked the hot water off. The shock of the icy water hitting her face brought her firmly back to herself.

  She might be alone. She might be missing those big stupid bears. But she was strong, and she wasn't going to let this break her, any more than she'd let anything else in life destroy her. Jena popped out of the shower and called her editor to see if there was anything interesting for her to go do. Now was a good time for a travel piece. Taking pictures of some far flung locale sounded great to her, even if the pay was terrible, which it always was.

  She mulled over the list of offerings. None were the exotic escapes she was hoping for, but none of them were sensitive or dangerous assignments either. She settled on one she could easily drive to. Jena still wasn't ready to try flying.

  If she ran into Don one more time, she just might scream. She had to answer the door to him, since Vera could see the door and was very aware of what Don was doing. And Vera wasn't above sending him on errands, including telling her to come to dinner. At least now, other than Vera’s errands, Don no longer came to her door. Jena made it clear she'd answer, but wasn't going to be drawn into any private conversations.

  Still, she knew he was keeping an eye on her and it was driving her mad. She had to watch Vera grow more attached to Don as each day slipped by. She loved the bounce in Vera's step, but feared what would happen if he just up and disappeared. She supposed that he'd at least shown back up, not like Matt and Jack.

  Jena ran into the waves, swimming out past the break. At the rate she was going, she was going to be running a marathon every day. Swimming was so much more exhausting, plus the only way to reach her favorite beach was by boat or just swimming out to it. Swimming out wasn't bad, it was with the tide, practically pushing her up on to it. She loved the little island. It was such a
n odd location and had such a small area you could land a boat on that she'd never seen anyone else out there.

  She ducked down into the little tunnel that connected to a hidden cave. She finally relaxed, feeling safe for the first time since she'd boarded Don's little plane. Why didn't I come here sooner? She fell asleep on the soft, warm sand, sleeping deeply for the first time since Don first appeared. Jena finally woke up to the water lapping at her toes. She hadn't meant to stay so long, it was going to be a real slog getting back. She stretched and swam back out into the ocean.

  She was focusing so hard on her swim that she didn't notice the small speedboat on a crash course with her, it wasn't until they were practically on top of her that she even heard them. Jena panicked, fearing Jason had found her. She tried to dive under the boat, but she felt a hand in the center of her back, grabbing the material of her suit, yanking her into the air. In the seconds she was in the air, she could only gasp at the strength plucking her out of the water, until she landed on her side against the wood and the air was pressed out of her. She scrambled to her feet, and aimed for the side, determined to launch back into the water.

  Instead, she crashed into a massive chest that crushed her in its arms. A strangely familiar voice said, "Stop. Please, Jena. Stop."

  Shock made her freeze, but then she put her hands up and pushed away from Matt's chest.

  She said, "Let me go, now."

  He released her immediately, and she staggered backwards, tripping over Jack's feet. She pushed herself backwards with her feet, until she had her back to the edge of the boat. She flipped a hand to grab the edge, the other extended towards the men. Trying to ward them off.

  Silence hung over them, as Jena's eyes darted from one man to the other. She tried to gather her strength. When she moved, she was going to have to get over the edge and dive deeply. The boat was faster than her, but there was no way the beefy men would move fast in the water than her. For a moment, she wished she was a dolphin-shifter or even a selkie. She did not enjoy swimming as a wolverine, so shifting was out of the question.

  "Jena, please, don't go overboard." Jack's voice shook and Jena didn't understand. Both the men looked strangely white.

  Matt slumped to the deck, sitting with his hands in his head, and said, "You swam off hours ago. I thought, we thought," he took a deep breath before continuing. "We thought you'd been swept away. You were moving so slowly in the water."

  Jena didn't move but said, "I was swimming against the current. Of course I was moving slowly." She felt her heart slow down, although the shock of seeing the men almost undid her. She had no chance to armor herself against them and now she held on to the edge of the boat to keep from flinging herself at them, to feel Matt's chest against hers, to feel Jack against her back. She wanted them with a strength that shocked her to her core. Seeing them again showed how wrong she was, she was never going to forget how much they were meant to be together.

  Jack said, "I didn't hurt you, did I?"

  She started to laugh, almost couldn't stop to say, "You scared me. Don said Jason might try and find me, then I'm almost hit by a boat and yanked out of the water. It was unexpected."

  She knew she should slip over the edge, but she couldn't leave them, not yet. She just needed a few more moments. She had to have her goodbye, this was probably her one chance. But she couldn't make herself speak anymore. As the adrenaline flowed out of her, she felt her eyes tear up. She fought them back, she would not let them see how weak they made her. That just seeing them tore her apart with longing. They sat there in silence, until Jena felt like she was in enough control to speak.

  "Well, you clearly wanted to see me about something." She was shocked how measured her tones managed to be. She was proud of herself. Her hard fought control would keep her safe from them hurting her anymore. She pulled herself up, making the boat rock. Jena was surprised to see them tense, as if they were going to fling themselves at her, and her eyes went wide. They all froze again, until she turned and sat on the wide edge, and said, "I just wanted to get up off the ground."

  The men exchanged glances and sat opposite of her, giving her lots of clearance. Jena appreciated the gesture, although she didn't like how well they could guess what she might need. Now that she was comfortable and in a place she could much more easily plunge into the ocean to escape, she could tuck her feelings down hard inside and sit in the silence until the men finally spoke.

  Matt said, "Don told us to come."

  "I'm not Don."

  "He's worried about you."

  Her lips pressed together. Oh, Don was worried, and that made them come. She was such a fool, there was nothing between them. She said, "I fail to see how that has anything to do with you."

  Jack said, "Please, don't."

  "Don't what?"

  Matt said, "You know we had to go."

  "You drugged me. I woke up to everything gone. And a one line note. And an angry enemy on my tail, apparently."

  Jack said, "We did what we thought was best in the moment."

  "And it involved not trusting me in the least. It means you, rather than saying anything to me, left me in a place I had been attacked, alone and unable to defend myself. Not able to tell if the men picking me up where good guys or bad guys. Or even if you were good guys or bad guys."

  The men went silent. Finally Jack said, "It wasn't like that."

  "Wasn't it? Are you telling me I woke up to a cold campsite only in my head?"

  They both shook their heads. Jena looked at both of them. The men were only here because Don asked them to be. They didn't actually want to be here, to be near her, doing any of this.

  "Then I come home, and the news is, pardon the pun, exploding with stories about a plant being bombed! A manufacturing plant we were all heading to!"

  Jack started to say something, but Matt shook his head at him and he stopped. They all just stared at each other. Closure was for suckers, this was even worse than not knowing.

  She pulled her legs over the edge and said, "Let me do the courtesy you failed to offer me. Goodbye, gentlemen. I'm going home."

  Matt said, "We're going to follow you to shore."

  "If you feel the need, you have made it very clear that I can't stop you from doing whatever you want. You will soon see I am perfectly capable of doing this swim."

  She slipped into the water and headed for shore. Half expecting them to zoom off with a flourish, she was surprised that they were following her. She almost made it to the break, it was only waist deep, when she heard a shout as she stood. The boat was close as the men jumped into the water and ran towards her. Her instincts let her down again, as she stood her ground. She should have run, instead, she was pulled into Matt's arms.

  For a glorious moment, she was wrapped in Matt and Jack's arms as the waves crashed around them. She forgot everything but their strength and warmth and couldn't help but cling to them. Matt pressed a hard kiss to her mouth and Jack bit her neck.

  As Jack went to lift her, she came back to herself and said, "Please, you have to let me go."

  Matt said, "You are ours. Your body knows."

  "It doesn't matter. I'm the master of my body. And I know you're going to leave. Do you want to fuck me on the beach and leave me again? I don't even really know who you are. Do you want me to bend to whatever you want right now so you can just leave me again the moment your little group or whatever you are calls you? That's a slave and I'm not interested."

  It shattered her heart all over again to break away from them. She felt their arms grab for her, but she slipped out of their grip and ran toward the shore.

  Jack shouted, "Wait, please."

  Jena paused, but didn't turn back.

  He said, "We're not killers or terrorists. We're special agents under cover. We're trying to prove that they are not legitimate researchers, but that they are experimenting on shifters. That's what we were doing. We hurt no one - I swear it. We completely cleared the facility. No one died."

&nbs
p; She just couldn't believe them. She believed they would say whatever they needed right now. Jena just wanted to sink to the ground and wail, but she couldn't let them see her flinch, to give them a place to push against her will. She kept her eyes forward and stared walking. Finally, she glanced back and saw them just standing where she left them. Don was standing on the beach in front of her and as she passed him, he put a hand on her shoulder.

  She said, "Don, please, don't stop me. You reassured yourself, I'm okay."

  "That's not why..."

  "It doesn't matter," Jena said.

  "Of course it does."

  "No, Don. How long would it be before whatever kind of organization you are calls them away again? Maybe they wouldn't leave me drugged and vulnerable, again, but the only thing that future leads to is pain. Please Don, let me walk away before it really will hurt me."

  He dropped his hand and nodded. He said, "I'm not moving though."

  Jena nodded and kept moving away from the beach. She knew if she stopped, if she even looked back and saw them, she'd never be able to take another step away from them. She could not give that power to anyone. Even if the strange threads that were woven between them tightened around her heart with every step she took. They would take whatever physical thing they wanted from her and leave her an empty husk. Never again.

  Jena threw the last bag into her car and shut the trunk. She dropped her keys at the voice that said, "Guessing it ain't a laundry run?"

  She gasped, spun around and said, "Jesus, Don, you almost gave me a heart attack."

  "You were just gonna take off without saying anything." His voice was flat, and she just looked at him and lifted one eyebrow. He dropped his eyes and the void between them grew until Jena finally took pity on him and broke the growing silence.

  "Don, I know you're just doing your job. But you know I'm not going to run my mouth off to anybody and blow your cover. I just need to get the hell away from everything for a while."