Chapter 7
The air was moist and humid, but not unpleasant, when Shelly walked down the steps of the private jet. The scent of tropical flowers was in the air, along with moist, loamy earth, delicious to her senses.
She noted a large docking facility for boats not too far away, along with a very utilitarian warehouse near it.
That was where the supplies came in and were stored, she realized.
In fact, a large boat was moored there right now, with a few bare-chested men toting boxes back and forth.
An efficient-looking woman with a clipboard was overseeing the whole operation.
Shelly waited on the tarmac for Mark. She’d seen one of the men from the cabin take her bags down already, and she gave up worrying about where they’d end up. Mark’s people were competent and well-organized. She’d probably find them waiting for her when she arrived at her room for the night.
The only thing she’d kept back was her drawing case.
She’d asked Mark about it during the flight, and Nick had been able to easily retrieve the small portfolio that contained the tools of her trade, which included a laser measuring device, as well as a good old-fashioned tape measure, just in case.
She also had pencils, plenty of paper and a fully charged tablet computer that she might need, depending on what she found when she got to the building site.
“What do you think?” Mark asked, coming up beside her.
“It’s beautiful. Although, I might clad that warehouse in something a little less reflective, which would cut down on the glare off the roof. There are a few materials available now that are both protective and insulating that might do the trick.”
“We went with that skin to keep the temperatures inside within reason,” Lucinda said, coming up beside her. The woman moved so silently—all of the jaguars did—that Shelly had to try hard not to jump at her sudden appearance.
“Yeah, I can see that. It’s a good way to go, but there are newer materials out there that could do the same and be less of an eyesore.
I bet that roof shines over at the house when the angle of the sun is just right,” Shelly commented, judging the distance from house to warehouse and the position of the sun.
Lucinda laughed. “Yeah, that was an unexpected side effect when we built the warehouse, but we got used to pulling the shades or just not going into those rooms at certain hours.”
“You were involved with the warehouse project?” Shelly asked, since the female pilot seemed knowledgeable on the topic.
“My little brother designed and built the thing,” Lucinda said proudly. “He’s not formally trained, but he’s got a bit of talent for construction. He got the plans from one of his contacts in the Redstone Clan.
Now that was a familiar name. “Redstone Construction? They’re one of the best companies out there,” Shelly agreed.
“But why do you call them a Clan?” Shelly wondered at the implications.
“They’re not… They…” She turned to look at Mark, who was just standing there, looking amused. “Are they jaguars too?”
“Cats,” Mark replied. “But not jaguars.” He paused, and she absorbed the meaning of his words. Holy crap. There were shifters everywhere!
“Cats? Like housecats? Or like lions?” she squeaked.
Both Lucinda and Mark laughed as the three of them started walking toward the path that led to the mansion. It would be a bit of a hike to the building, but Shelly needed the exercise after being cooped up for the past few hours.
“Cougars,” Lucinda finally replied. “The Redstone family are all cougars, but their Clan is a very inclusive one. Basically, any shifter group that wants to work for the construction company agrees to come under the leadership of the Redstone Alpha, so Grif Redstone has all sorts of shifters under his banner. Wolves make up a large part of the construction crews, but there are bears, other cats, raptors and who knows what all working for Redstone in one capacity or another.”
“Raptors? You mean like birds of prey?” The only other thing that word brought to mind was the scary velociraptors from that old movie franchise, but Shelly didn’t think there was such a thing as a dinosaur shifter. Was there?
Lucinda was nodding. “Hawks, eagles. That sort of thing. They make natural born iron workers since heights aren’t really an issue for them.”
“Wow.” Shelly didn’t realize she’d said that aloud until Lucinda chuckled. Well, she probably already looked foolish, so she decided to ask the question still lingering in her mind. “Are there such things as dinosaur shifters?”
Mark guffawed but then seemed to control his amusement.
“Sorry. As far as I know, the dinosaurs really are extinct, though I did hear a rumor that there were once dragon shifters. Of course, I’ve never seen one, or know anybody who has.
I think, if they ever did really exist, they probably died off in the Middle Ages when knights were actively hunting them. ”
“I’ll see you up at the house,” Lucinda said before taking her leave off a side path that connected with the one they were on.
Lucinda was gone before Shelly even had a chance to raise her hand in farewell, her mind was still stuck on the idea of dragon shifters.
Though her responses were probably a bit sluggish from all the travel.
These jaguars were quick. Shelly would have to up her game if she was going to keep up with them.
She assumed the path Lucinda had taken would lead to the warehouse.
She’d practically disappeared into the jungle foliage.
Even here, where it was carefully manicured and held at bay along the pathways, the leaves were thick, though Shelly noted someone had already felled any of the larger, old-growth trees in this immediate area.
It had probably been done when the mansion was built by the previous owner.
“We already have a skeleton crew living on the island. Most are housed in the mansion, but a few like to live a bit wilder, so don’t be surprised if you run across a few folks like that.
” Mark nodded his head toward the curve in the path ahead of them, where Shelly was surprised to see an absolutely gigantic jaguar sitting in the shade of a huge fern.
The cat stirred itself as they approached, sitting up and nodding to Mark as they passed.
Shelly felt her heartbeat accelerate. The cat was massive, and she had no doubts those sharp teeth could rip her to shreds.
She just had to remember there was a human mind in there, along with the cat’s.
It wouldn’t attack her without provocations, right?
“You maintain your intellect while you’re shifted, right?” she asked, realizing she should have clarified some of this before she had agreed to come to Mark’s private island.
He put his arm around her shoulders and tugged her close.
She went, enjoying the protective feel of his warmth.
“We do. None of my people will harm you, Shelly. You are our honored guest. And on this island, the only big cats you see will be my people. Nobody will hassle you, even if you’re out here alone. I promise.”
Reassured by his words, she was still a little leery when they came upon another spotted cat lazing in the shade around another bend in the path. This one was much smaller, and Mark stopped to bend down and gently stroke the youngster’s head with clear affection.
“Where’s your mama, huh, Kensi?” he asked the cub, who made a mewling sound and turned her head up the path toward the mansion. “I bet she’s looking for you,” Mark said, standing up with the furry little jaguar in his arms. “Why don’t we go back and see if Marie has any cookies for you?”
At mention of the treat, the little cat hugged Mark’s neck, settling into his embrace as naturally as a human baby might cuddle. Shelly couldn’t help but feel a tugging on her heart strings as she watched the big man carry the little cub the rest of the way to the house.
Mark was good with kids. The proof was in the way the little cub had curled so trustingly into his arms. This baby knew him and knew she could trust him. Children had an instinct for such things, in Shelly’s experience.
“This is Kensi, and she’s five years old,” Mark told Shelly as they continued the walk toward the mansion.
The path sloped upward at a gentle climb, but Shelly was feeling it in her calves.
She wasn’t in as good shape as she’d thought, but Mark handled the trek and the extra burden of the child with ease.
In addition to being beautiful in both human and animal form, jaguar shifters apparently had a lot more stamina than human architects.
“Kensi’s mom and dad are on paper as the housekeeper and head groundskeeper of the estate, but that’s just for the IRS. Kensi’s parents are both healers, and they look after the Clan when we need patching up. Ah, there’s Jim now.”
Kensi perked up and tried to launch herself out of Mark’s arms toward the man who was coming down the path toward them.
“You found her,” Jim said, taking his daughter into his arms. “She was pestering Judy to take her down to the airstrip to meet your plane, but then she disappeared, and I figured that’s where she’d gone. How far did she get?”
“Just about halfway,” Mark said and Shelly thought she detected a hint of pride in his tone. “She’s going to be a strong jaguar someday,” he went on to praise the child, who was clinging to her father but looking back at Mark with adoring eyes.
She really was impossibly cute. Shelly felt her heart fill with…something. Some pang of longing she’d never really experienced before. Kids had never affected her much. They were cute and all, but babies never seemed to fascinate her the way they did some of her friends.
Now, seeing Kensi, adorable in her spotted cat form, Shelly began to get an idea what that maternal instinct was all about. Somehow, this little cat-child was striking a potent chord in Shelly’s being.