Chapter 8
They spent the rest of the afternoon touring the site on foot and, where possible, in the Jeep.
Mark introduced Shelly to various members of his Clan who were busy clearing space in a very deliberate way so as to keep the canopy of leaves above them intact while making it possible to move freely below and have room to build.
This would be a unique project in that Shelly would have to consider the coverage from above and work much more with existing trees and landscape than usual.
She liked the challenge, and ideas blossomed in her mind as she saw each new part of the cleared area.
Perhaps there was a way to incorporate some of the larger trees right into the buildings.
She’d have to look into how that might work long-term, but she would definitely like to try that in a few places.
The first of the buildings to go up would be a sort of community center they referred to as the Clan home or Clan hall. Not only would it be a place for communal gatherings, but there would be a sort of hotel component with individual suites of rooms for Clan members in need of temporary housing.
“We’ll eventually have several communal buildings, each devoted to different purposes.
I envision a school for the children, a training center for martial arts for young and old alike, places where different interest groups could gather to teach and learn various crafts, and each building would have a natural component, incorporating the beauty of our natural surroundings so that Clan members could participate in either of their forms.” Mark was waxing eloquent on his ideas and plans for the space.
Shelly just listened, taking it all in, beginning to understand his vision for each area they surveyed.
Shelly was taking meticulous measurements and making lots of notes.
Mark had big plans. There was no doubt left in her mind about that. But this was a place of epic beauty and ominous beginnings. She’d never been asked to work in the caldera of a dormant volcano before. She doubted she would ever get this kind of chance again.
She felt almost as if she was building some super villain’s secret lair.
It was like something out of a movie—or a comic book.
It was so over the top, it was almost funny, but at the same time, she could feel the texture of the earth beneath her feet.
She could see the intense life in the greenery all around her.
She could even detect the glimmer of obsidian in the few exposed rock faces.
Volcanic glass. Black as Mark’s fur and said to have magical properties.
This was a special place. She could feel it in her bones. That instinct she’d never been able to put the proper name to tingled. It told her that this was the right place. A good place. A place where Mark and his people could prosper…if she designed the right home for them.
All her efforts would go toward finding just the right balance between functional design and the natural world around them.
She would put all her energy into making this the best set of structures she had ever dreamed into reality.
They would stand the test of time and help Mark rebuild his culture, his Clan and their way of life.
It was a noble cause, even if nobody on the outside would ever know what she had done here.
She would know. The jaguars would know. It was enough.
She could see it now in her mind’s eye. As Mark continued to speak of his dreams for the location, Shelly’s imagination was sparking into a flame of images that she would put on paper to show him. She couldn’t wait to get sketching. In fact…
Shelly opened the travel case she’d brought with her and started to let the images out onto the paper.
These weren’t the detailed drawings she would do later, but rough pencil sketches of what she saw while Mark spoke.
It was almost as if she was drawing the images from his words.
A collaboration between his dreams and her talent for architecture were coming together on the pad she held in one hand while the other wielded a pencil like a magic wand, flying over the page.
Something unexpected. The outside of the community center had the image of the jaguar climbing down one side. Roof to ground was the back of the jaguar’s spine, his paws extending along the ground to shelter a playground for the smallest children.
“Sweet Mother of All.” The whisper of Mark’s voice came to her over one shoulder. He sounded astonished. “I love this idea.” His arm draped over her shoulder to trace the spine of the jaguar on the paper with something close to awe. “You have captured us.”
She wasn’t sure how exactly to take that last sentence. Did he mean she’d captured the essence of their aesthetic style? If so, great. But he could also have meant that she’d captured his attention in a more intimate way. If so…also great, but kind of scary too.
It was certain Mark Pepard had captivated her in every way, even on such short acquaintance.
He was, by far, the most magical man she knew.
The most magical she would ever know, she was sure.
He’d introduced her to concepts she hadn’t even known were possible.
Shapeshifters. Magic. Hidden lairs for an amazing people.
Her life had taken a huge turn the moment she’d decided to share a taxi with a stranger. If not for that tenuous connection with the man who had tried to assassinate Mark, she might never have gotten close enough to meet him. And if they’d never met…
She didn’t like to think about that. He’d altered her perceptions of reality so greatly in just a couple of days.
The world was so much bigger now. She hated to think about going back to a time when she wasn’t aware of the magic all around her.
It was as if she’d been incomplete until now.
Mark, and the discovery of his dual nature and the existence of shifters, had changed her forever.
Making her…more than she had ever been before.
And it truly felt like they were only just beginning.
Her instinct said there was more coming.
More magic. More revelations. More changes.
Just…more. She didn’t know whether to be eager or afraid, but some small voice inside her spoke reassurance to her soul.
Like this was the way things were always supposed to have been.
Like she should trust the universe to put her where she was supposed to be, when she was supposed to be there. Right here, right now.
The way they were standing, she was almost in his arms. In fact, if she leaned back just the tiniest bit, she would feel his warm chest against her back. It took a lot of willpower to resist the temptation.
“You think it’s okay? Not too obvious?” she asked, hearing the breathless note in her own voice.
“It’s perfect. They’re going to love it.” He moved away, taking his warmth with him. A little pang of regret went through her before she made herself focus on his words.
“They? Are you putting my work up for approval before a board or something?” The question came out somewhat inelegantly, but he didn’t seem to mind.
“I may be the Alpha, but the whole Clan is going to have to live here. I’ve got a council of sorts that will have veto power over most things, but I doubt any of them could find any fault with your artistic ideas if that’s the direction you’re going in.
” He gestured to the sketch pad, still in her hands.
“They’re more interested in functionality and things a human architect—no offense intended—might not factor in for our beast halves.
” He looked a bit sheepish but never lost that air of command that came so naturally to him. It was incredibly sexy.
“That makes sense,” she allowed. “I’ve certainly never designed anything with big cats in mind before, so I could definitely use some help there to make sure my ideas are workable.”
At that moment, Mark’s phone rang. He lifted the device from his belt and looked at the number, then looked at her. “I have to take this. Don’t wander too far. I’ll be right back.”
He stepped away, already answering the phone as he walked away.
She supposed it was either business or Clan related, and she tried not to take offense that he obviously didn’t want her to hear his side of the conversation.
He turned to look at her when he was far enough away that she couldn’t hear anything.
His eyes followed her as she moved around the site, taking measurements and making notes.
She had enough to begin with—at least for the community center.
He’d given her a detailed description and walked out the boundaries of where he wanted it to be.
He was thinking on a grand scale, which made her job much more interesting.
She didn’t often get to design large multi-use structures like this.
It would be a challenge and a lot of fun at the same time.
Shelly sat on a stack of lumber that had a camouflage tarp over the top of it and set to work.
She let her pencil fly once more, referencing the landscape and drawing out the view from the ground at this angle with the building she envisioned center stage.
She repeated the process from another vantage point across the way.
Whoever Mark was talking to, the conversation was in-depth. Or perhaps, he had made multiple calls in the time it took her to sketch out her ideas. She wasn’t really sure. She sort of lost track of time when she was in the zone, like this.
She was just finishing up her last drawing, sitting on yet another tarp-covered stack of building supplies, when she became aware of the sound of tiny paws on plastic.
If she wasn’t much mistaken, Kensi, or another child about the same size as the little jaguar cub she had met this morning, was trying—not too successfully—to sneak up on Shelly.