Chapter 10 #4
Zephyr held his own cup at arms-length, trying to stop Ashley from poking curious fingers into it. “Actually, I think you should do the toast this year, Leonie.”
“Me? Why?”
Zephyr regarded her with a rather enigmatic expression. “It just feels appropriate.”
“I agree,” Conleth said. He raised his cup. “Go on, Leonie. Set the tone for the summer.”
Feeling a little self-conscious, she stood, wondering what to say. Searching for inspiration, her gaze fell on Shan, sitting a little way apart from everyone else. She smiled, the perfect words coming to her.
“Camp Thunderbird is a place everyone can be their true self, whether they’re a camper or on the staff.” She raised her cup into the air. “So here’s to finding your place. To finding yourself. And to finding the truth.”
“To truth,” everyone echoed—or nearly everyone. Shan raised his cup in silence, barely touched it to his lips before setting it aside again. Maybe he didn’t like Mountain Dew.
“And I think my time is up,” Zephyr said wryly, as Ashley started to wail in earnest. Putting his cup down, he snuggled her against his shoulder, patting her back. “I’d better get her to bed. Good night, all.”
Paige yawned as Zephyr headed off. “I don’t want to be a party pooper, but I think I need an early night, too.”
Conleth was abruptly a blur of motion. Paige squeaked as he scooped her up. “Conleth! I’m perfectly capable of walking to the car.”
He straightened, not putting her down. “And I’m perfectly capable of carrying you.”
Paige rolled her eyes, but looped her arms around his neck. “You’re being ridiculous, you know.”
“I am a ridiculous sort of person,” he replied, not sounding at all sorry about it. “You knew that when you married me. If you expected it to change, I’m afraid you’re going to be disappointed.”
Paige kissed the mating scar on the side of his neck. “Never. See you tomorrow, everyone.”
“That’s optimistic,” Leonie murmured as the pair left. “I’m not sure Conleth’s going to let her get out of bed in the morning.”
“It is right for a man to put his mate’s comfort above all else,” Ragvald said, a shade reproachfully. “Especially when she carries his child. You cannot blame him for that.”
She grinned at the wyrm. “No, but I can certainly tease him about it. I grew up with Conleth and his brothers. I’m just getting my own back for years of pranks.”
“Actually, I think Conleth has the right idea,” Honey said. She leaned back on her hands, eyeing Buck speculatively. “Want to carry me off to bed?”
Buck frowned at her. “It’s only the first day of camp. You can’t be tired out already, woman.”
Honey gave him a sweet smile. “Who said anything about being tired?”
Buck digested this. Then, in one smooth movement, he knocked back his drink, discarded his cup, and tossed Honey over his shoulder.
“Have fun!” Leonie called after them as Buck carried his laughing mate away. She flashed a wry smile at Moira, Ragvald, and Shan. “So much for all the mated couples. Just us poor, unfortunate singletons left. Shall we drown our sorrows together?”
Moira gave her a considering look. “Actually, I think I shall retire as well.”
“Already?” Leonie said in dismay. “Are you okay?”
“Perfectly well, thank you,” Moira replied, rising gracefully. “Ragvald, escort me to my cabin, please.”
Ragvald levered himself to his feet with rather less elegance. “Of course, Princess. Though may I have your permission to return to the fire afterward?”
“No,” Moira said firmly. “I shall require you to check the perimeter. With all this talk of something in the woods, I am concerned for the campers’ safety.”
Shan started to get up as well. “I will join you, Ragvald.”
“No need,” Moira said before the wyrm could reply. Her blue eyes sparkled with mischief. “Ragvald is a very capable warrior. To imply he cannot protect the camp alone would insult his honor.”
Ragvald blinked. “It would?”
“Yes, it would,” Moira informed him. “Please stay and enjoy the fire, Agent Zhao. I’m sure you and Leonie have much to discuss.”
Leonie shot Moira a dirty look, which the sea dragon ignored. With a parting wave, Moira swept regally away, Ragvald at her heels.
Shan stared after them. “You have interesting colleagues.”
“They’re more like family, really.” She let out an exasperated huff. “Nosy, argumentative, and frequently maddening. Sometimes I want to bury them all headfirst in the ground like a row of carrots.”
“Truth,” Shan murmured, sounding amused. “But you still care for them.”
“I love them like my own brothers and sisters.” She narrowed her eyes at him in mock-threat. “And if you ever tell them I said that, I’ll plant you in the ground like a carrot.”
Shan made a faint, deep rumble that might have been a laugh. “Truth.”
“You better believe it.” She leaned back on her hands. “I guess this is a long way from your day job. You don’t usually work in a team, do you?”
“No.” He paused, then added, “Not one like this, at least.”
Was that a hint of longing in his voice? “Sounds lonely.”
“I am accustomed to it,” he said, which was not actually a denial. “You seem to enjoy your work.”
“It’s the best job in the world.” She smiled, contentment warming her as much as the fire.
“My position is full-time, so I’m always working for the camp in one way or another.
I spend the rest of the year planning activities and recruiting staff, as well as helping Zephyr with the other events and courses he runs here over the winter.
But summer is always my favorite season.
I love seeing the kids grow and bloom here, and their counselors, too. It makes all the work worthwhile.”
“Truth,” Shan murmured. He let out a breath, shoulders easing down. “Your life sounds very full.”
“Too full, sometimes,” she admitted wryly. “This place has a way of taking over my every waking hour. But I wouldn’t change a thing.”
Shan had seemed to be relaxing, at least as much as he ever did. At her last words, however, he shot her a sharp look. “That is not entirely true.”
She wrinkled her nose at him. “Your ability can be very annoying, you know.”
“Yes,” he said, and there was a lifetime of heaviness in that one word. “I do.”
Poor man. Her momentary irritation evaporated. It couldn’t be easy, having to live with a constant random barrage of flavors.
“Sorry,” she said, hoping that would wipe away any lingering unpleasant taste. “I’ll try to be more careful in future. Of course my life isn’t absolutely perfect. But nobody’s is, right?”
Shan looked into the fire. “So what is missing from yours?”
“Oh, I don’t know,” she said, and then realized that she’d probably just filled his mouth with rotten lemons. “Sorry. Okay, well, maybe I do. It’s more a who than a what, though.”
“Who, then?” Shan paused, and added, tone neutral, “A mate?”
“What?” She stared at him, surprised, and more than a little offended. “Oh my God. Shan, do you assume every unmated female shifter you meet must be sitting around pining for a man?”
He jerked back, hands lifting in surrender. “No! I didn’t mean—I just assumed—”
“Well, don’t.” She sniffed, folding her arms. “We’re not all relying on fate to give our lives meaning, you know. Not that I wouldn’t like to find my mate one day, but I’m not going to be devastated if it doesn’t happen.”
“Truth.” Shan sounded relieved, possibly that he wasn’t now neck-deep in dirt. “Though many shifters would not feel the same way. I am glad you are not one of them. And I apologize.”
Her ruffled hackles settled. “Apology accepted. No, I don’t mean a mate. You can’t really miss someone you’ve never met. I was thinking of my sister, actually.”
Somewhat cautiously, Shan lowered his hands. “Your sister?”
“That’s right. Lola.” Just saying the name made the empty place in her chest hurt. “We’re twins. We were always very close, growing up. We shared everything with each other. But I don’t get to see her as much as I’d like these days.”
Shan ran his tongue along his upper lip. “Why not?”
“It’s just harder to spend time together now that we’re adults.
My life is here, while she’s based in Alaska.
She’s a smokejumper. It’s selfish of me, but I can’t help wishing she’d found a place on a crew closer to the camp.
” She shrugged, smiling. “But there’s no point in yearning for what you can’t have, right? ”
“True.” Shan looked away, staring into the fire. “Though it does not prevent us from doing so.”
She wondered what he yearned for. It was clear there was something. It was written in every line of his body; the shadowed planes of his face.
She was dying to ask, but she held her tongue. He was here to solve a mystery, not to have a nosy co-counselor prying into his own secrets. Time to move the conversation to less personal matters.
“We should take the opportunity to discuss your real business here, while there’s no one else around to hear,” she said. “You told Zephyr that your first day was informative. What did you learn?”
She’d expected Shan to be relieved at the change of topic, but instead his shoulders tensed. “Perhaps nothing useful. Though I am now certain that Rufus is concealing whatever he knows from the other children.”
“Even Finley? Those two have been inseparable ever since they were born. I don’t get it, Shan. None of this makes any sense.”
“And that worries you,” Shan said quietly.
“Yes, it does. The ghost story, Rufus… even the way they behaved today, with you All the kids are acting out of character. I know they must be doing it for a reason, but I can’t figure it out.”
For a moment, Shan said nothing. A muscle in his face twitched a few times, as if he were engaged in some silent debate. If he’d been any other shifter, she would have assumed he was consulting his inner animal, but that didn’t seem likely. Maybe he was just deep in thought.
“Rufus and the others…” he said at last. “Were they at camp the first time I visited?”
“You mean a couple of weeks ago? I’m pretty sure they were around, yes. Why?”
Shan let out his breath. “I believe the children saw me talking to you and the other staff.”
“What?” She groaned, getting it. “Oh, crap. They know you’re from Shifter Affairs.”
“I think so. Though I am not sure how.”
“Archie’s dad is the local sheriff. He’s the one who asked Shifter Affairs to send someone to look into those weird reports in the first place.
I guess Archie overheard enough to put two and two together.
” She frowned. “But... Shan, that just makes all this weirder. If the kids recognized you, why stick to the silly ghost story? Even without knowing about your ability, they must have realized a Shifter Affairs agent would quickly discover they’re lying.
They should have panicked and confessed the moment they saw you. ”
“Unless,” Shan said, “they wanted a Shifter Affairs agent to investigate.”
“What? Why would they—”
The answer hit her like a brick.
“Oh, no,” she breathed. It would never have occurred to her if they hadn’t just been discussing the topic. “Shan, the kids think we’re mates!”
“Yes.” Shan’s tone was as expressionless as his face. “I believe so.”
How on earth had the kids jumped to that conclusion? They could only have seen her exchange a few words with the man. And she’d hardly been pining over him. Until Zephyr had told her Shan was coming back to camp, she hadn’t given him a second thought.
Still, it explained a lot. Even their strange obsession with trying to remove Shan’s sunglasses made sense now.
“Well, it’s easy enough to set them straight,” she said briskly. “We’ll just tell them that we’re not.”
Shan cleared his throat. He still wasn’t looking at her. “They would want proof.”
Was he worried that he’d have to take off his sunglasses in front of the kids? Not that the campers would care in the slightest, but Shan himself was obviously sensitive about his appearance.
“That’s easy enough. Rufus can vouch for us. He’ll be able to tell we’re not lying.” She stopped, belatedly realizing the real issue. “Oh. There’s a problem. If they know we’re not mates, they don’t have any reason to try to keep you at camp.”
Shan opened his mouth, then paused, as though needing a moment to readjust whatever he’d been about to say. “You believe they would confess to inventing the ghost sighting?”
“Beth and Finley are both honest kids. They must both be eaten up with guilt about lying in the first place, even if they thought it was for a good reason. The instant they can come clean, they will.”
“And then they would expect me to leave,” Shan said slowly.
“And when you didn’t, they’d realize you’re here to investigate something else. It wouldn’t take long for them to figure out the details. And then we’re right back at the situation we were trying to avoid, with kids haring into the woods in search of ghosts.”
“Could we ask them to keep it to themselves?”
“I know Archie and Estelle. Those two can’t resist an adventure. If there is anything in the woods, you can bet they’d go looking for it.” She hesitated, face heating. “Um, given the circumstances, would you be willing to, ah… let the kids think they’re right? About you and me, I mean.”
Shan stiffened. “I cannot pretend to be your fated mate.”
“No, no! Nothing like that.” Oh God, she must be bright red.
“I’m not saying we actually have to fake date or anything.
But could you just… I don’t know, watch me whenever I’m not looking, or make a point of standing as close as possible?
It wouldn’t take much to make the kids think you’re secretly pining over me. ”
Shan didn’t answer straight away. He stared into the dying fire, flames reflecting from his sunglasses. She couldn’t interpret his expression at all.
“Yes,” he said at last. “I can do that.”