Chapter 2
Leonie took a deep, deliberate breath, reminding herself that as the head counselor, she had to set a good example for the rest of the staff. Therefore, she could not beat the camp director over the head with her clipboard.
Much as she might like to.
“Zephyr,” she said in her best calm, professional, definitely-not-restraining-a-scream voice. “The ghost is just a silly campfire story. It doesn’t exist.”
Zephyr spread his hands, taking care not to disturb his infant daughter, fast asleep in the baby sling strapped to his chest. “I’m not saying it was actually a ghost. But the kids insist they saw something.”
“Well, whatever it was, it certainly wasn’t the Soul-Sucking Ghost of Thunder Mountain!”
Leonie knew that for a fact. Every camp needed a scary local legend, after all.
Back in the camp’s very first season, she’d invented a suitably terrifying tale about a demonic entity that haunted Thunder Mountain, hungry to devour the inner animal of any shifter unlucky enough to cross its path.
By now, the story had taken on a life of its own, gleefully passed down by the older kids to each wide-eyed batch of new campers.
Leonie was beginning to think she might have been a little too inventive.
“The camp site can seem eerie at dusk, especially when none of the other campers are here yet,” she continued. “The kids just let their imaginations run away with them.”
“If they were any other children, I’d agree with you,” Zephyr replied. “But we’re talking about Finley and Beth. They’re hardly prone to wild flights of fancy.”
“And Beth hates appearing childish,” Conleth put in from his desk on the other side of the office. As usual, he was on his laptop, tapping away at one of his endless spreadsheets. “She wouldn’t come to us with a seemingly ridiculous story like this without very good reason.”
“Then some of the other local kids are playing a joke on them. Archie, or Estelle. Or both, most likely.”
Zephyr shook his head. “That was my first thought, too. But I’ve already spoken with them, and they swear they didn’t prank Beth and Finley.
I don’t deny it’s the sort of thing they’d find hilarious, but I’m certain they’d come clean once they realized the joke had gone too far.
They wouldn’t want to genuinely frighten their friends. ”
That was true, she had to admit. “None of the kids have said anything to me about seeing something lurking near the camp. Not even Rufus.”
“Perhaps they were concerned you wouldn’t take them seriously.
” Zephyr’s daughter made a small, sleepy noise.
He patted her back, settling her. “In any event, Shifter Affairs did request that we report anything unusual in the area, in light of the sporadic strange sightings recorded by the local sheriff. I thought there was no harm in passing the details on to them, just in case.”
“I can’t believe Shifter Affairs took this seriously,” Leonie muttered. “They’re supposed to handle actual threats to shifter safety. They should have laughed in your face.”
“To be honest, I’m somewhat surprised too,” Zephyr said. “I wasn’t expecting them to immediately send an agent to investigate.”
“I suspect you can thank Lord Golden for that,” Conleth said, eyes on his screen. “He’s been blowing up my inbox for days, demanding to know what we’re doing to ensure camp security. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s been putting pressure on Shifter Affairs as well.”
“Lord Golden?” Leonie wrinkled her nose at the mention of the camp’s most significant—and least loved—financial backer. “How on earth did he hear about this nonsense?”
“There’s this marvelous new technology,” Conleth said dryly, still typing. “I believe it’s called ‘a phone.’ So simple, even a child can use one.”
“Thank you, I do know the local kids keep in touch with their friends from camp throughout the rest of the year,” Leonie retorted.
“Of course they’d tell Ignatius about this so-called ghost, if they really believe they saw something.
I’m just surprised he’d mention it to his uncle.
Or that Golden would act on it. The man’s a massive drama queen, but calling Shifter Affairs over some second-hand childish gossip sounds extreme even for him. ”
Zephyr shrugged as best he could without waking the baby. “Lord Golden is hugely protective of Ignatius. I doubt he believes there’s an actual ghost, but I can understand him being concerned about the kids seeing someone lurking near the camp.”
“For once, I’m in agreement with Lord Golden,” Conleth said. “Which are not words I ever thought I’d say. Any potential threat to the camp warrants investigation.”
“Yes, but not by a secret agent!” Was she the only person in the room who possessed a thimbleful of common sense? “I wish you’d consulted me about this earlier, Zephyr.”
“I didn’t want to bother you if it turned out to be nothing.” Zephyr frowned a little. “And I have to admit, I didn’t think you’d have any objections.”
“What exactly is your objection, Leonie?” Conleth asked. “If Shifter Affairs is happy to send an agent to spend a few days poking around the camp to ensure all is well, I don’t see how it can hurt. It’s not like we’re paying for it, after all.”
The issue seemed perfectly obvious to her.
Then again, she spent a lot more time interacting with the campers than either Zephyr or Conleth.
Leonie respected them both—at least, when she wasn’t fantasizing about burying them in compost up to their necks—but their roles meant they focused more on the big picture than the smaller day-to-day issues that came with looking after a large group of kids. That was her job.
“The rest of the campers get here in just a few days,” she said patiently.
“And nobody can spread gossip like a bunch of kids. You can bet rumors about this so-called ghost sighting will be flying around the cabins before the end of the first day. If they discover a Shifter Affairs agent came to camp to investigate, they’ll take it as proof that there really is a ghost in the woods. ”
From the way Zephyr’s forehead furrowed, he hadn’t thought of that. “I’m sure the agent will come to the conclusion that there’s no need for concern. I could make a camp-wide announcement to that effect.”
“That won’t help in the slightest. The more we insist there isn’t a ghost, the more the kids will believe in it. We’ll have half the campers jumping at every shadow, and the other half trying to sneak out at night with butterfly nets and home-made ghost detectors. It’ll be utter pandemonium.”
Conleth had stopped typing, which at least showed he was taking the problem seriously enough to give it his full attention. “We could insist the agent finishes the investigation before the campers arrive.”
“But most of the counselors are already here. If a stranger turns up and starts asking a lot of odd questions, they’re going to talk about it. Sooner or later, it’ll get back to the campers. If anyone outside this room learns about all this, we’ll be fighting wild rumors all summer.”
“Then we’ll have to ensure the agent’s true identity and purpose here stay secret,” Zephyr said with a note of finality.
He put a protective hand across his daughter’s back.
“I appreciate your concerns, Leonie. But we have to put the safety of the children above every other consideration. No matter how slight the risk may seem, we can’t take any chances. ”
Conleth nodded, expression unusually somber. “Especially not this year.”
He must be thinking of his own unborn child, still no more than a slight swell in his mate’s belly. Which explained why they were both taking this nonsense so seriously. Shifter men had powerful protective instincts about their mates. Throw in a baby, and they tended to become entirely unhinged.
She really was the only person in the room with a fully functional brain at the moment. Leonie sighed, giving up. At least they weren’t digging a moat around the camp with their bare hands.
“Let’s hope this special agent can be discreet,” she said in resignation. “Did Shifter Affairs say who they’re sending?”
The two men exchanged somewhat furtive glances.
Zephyr cleared his throat. “Ah…I believe they’ve assigned the case to the same agent who was here a few weeks ago. Special Agent Shan Zhao.”
“That guy?” She’d only met the man briefly, but he was hard to forget. “Please tell me you’re joking.”
“He’s an experienced operative,” Zephyr said mildly. “I’m sure he’ll be able to blend in.”
“Zephyr, in one form, he’s a fifteen-foot-long flying tiger, and in the other, he has biceps bigger than my thigh.”
“You were looking at his biceps?” Conleth murmured.
“They were hard to miss,” Leonie snapped. “Zephyr, that man would not blend in if I smeared him with camouflage paint. Can you call Shifter Affairs and ask them to send someone else? Anyone else?”
“Not at this point, I’m afraid. He’s due to arrive this morning.
” Zephyr glanced at the wall clock. “In fact, he should be here any minute. Leonie, I’m sorry to dump this on you without warning, but Conleth and I are fully booked today.
You’re right, we need to keep this between ourselves as much as possible.
Could you meet Agent Zhao when he arrives and help him with his investigation? ”
Leonie looked down at her clipboard. She still had to finish running the new hires through basic orientation, meet up with Moira for waterfront safety checks, finalize the pack activity rosters for the first week of camp, and personally inspect the cabins.
Not to mention update the cooks on the campers with special dietary requirements this year, come up with fun new icebreaker games for the staff mixer party, and sort out six complaints from counselors about cabin assignments. And that only took her up to lunch.
But they did need to keep the agent’s true purpose at camp a secret. She’d just have to figure out how to get everything done. Like always.
“Of course.” She gave Zephyr a reassuring smile, inwardly bidding a wistful farewell to the last of her limited free time. “Leave Agent Zhao to me. I’ll take care of him.”
As usual, the moment Leonie stepped out of the office, a couple of counselors hurried up with urgent issues requiring her personal attention.
No sooner had she dealt with one person than two more appeared, like wasps converging on an open beer bottle.
By the time she’d made it across the central square, she’d defused three arguments, her to-do list had acquired seven new items, and she was holding onto her calm by her fingernails.
“Don’t worry, I’ll sort it out,” she repeated for the third time in five minutes, in exactly the same warm, soothing tones. “Come to my cabin after dinner, and we’ll talk about this further, okay? My door is always open.”
The latest anxious staff member trotted off, looking much happier.
Finding herself briefly without a line of counselors waiting for her attention, Leonie ducked around a corner, taking refuge behind the storeroom.
Safely out of sight, she slumped against a dumpster, letting her sympathetic smile drop at last.
She loved Camp Thunderbird. She loved seeing people bloom here; not just the campers, but the counselors as well.
Many of them were college age, still uncertain of their path in life.
It was a privilege to help them gain confidence and discover their own talents, becoming true leaders and mentors for the kids in their care.
As far as Leonie was concerned, she had the best job in the world.
It was just that sometimes, there was so very much of it.
With a sigh, she tilted her head back, gazing up. Past the overhanging roof of the storeroom, the sky was a clean, crisp blue. Fluffy, flat-bottomed cumulus clouds drifted above the camp like mounds of marshmallow. A distant hawk turned in wide, lazy circles, balancing on the sun-warmed air.
It was a perfect day for flying.
Leonie repressed the wistful thought. Straightening, she took out her clipboard, flipping to a fresh page. There was too much work to be done to waste time in useless daydreams. Someone had to stay grounded.
“And deal with a secret agent, apparently,” she muttered, scribbling irritated notes to herself about all the tasks she’d have to somehow squeeze into her theoretical free time. “Wonderful. Just what I need.”
Yes, her inner animal said unexpectedly.
Leonie started, pencil skittering a jagged line across the paper. Like most big cats, her lioness spent the vast majority of the day asleep. It wasn’t like the lazy beast to offer an opinion unprompted.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” she said out loud.
Her lioness licked idly at one paw. You liked him.
“I don’t like him.” Wonderful, now even her own animal was teasing her. “I don’t have any feelings about him at all. I’ve only spent about ten seconds with the man. We didn’t even speak to each other.”
Her animal stretched in a feline shrug, amber eyes already drifting shut again. Maybe you should.
Leonie frowned, mentally picturing Special Agent Zhao. He’d certainly been imposing. Good-looking, too, even with those ridiculous mirrored sunglasses slicing across his face.
But she was an apex predator herself. Her lioness had never been impressed by mere strength. And Leonie couldn’t believe it would even notice whether or not a man was physically attractive, let alone comment on it. So why on earth had the agent caught her animal’s attention?
Maybe it was just his shift form. The only winged felines she’d met previously were all members of her own family. She’d never even heard of a winged tiger.
Perhaps he was a hybrid of some kind. There were plenty of mixed-animal shifter couples. Usually, any kids took after one side or the other, but you occasionally got some odd combinations. Then again, for all she knew, there were entire clans of flying tigers out there.
Sadly, her curiosity would have to go unsatisfied.
It would be unspeakably rude to question a stranger about his shift form.
And the agent wouldn’t be at camp long enough for anyone to get to know him.
Not if she could help it. Leonie intended to do everything in her power to ensure his visit was as brief as possible.
As if on cue, a shadow swept over her. A huge, predatory shape banked over the camp, orange wings spread wide.
Okay. Maybe it wasn’t such a mystery why her lioness had been impressed.
In the morning sunlight, the tiger’s striped flanks glowed like smoldering fire. Every motion he made was pure poetry; an endless leap through the sky.
Awe snatched her breath away, even as envy stabbed through her chest. She couldn’t tear her gaze away from the magnificent beast as he spiraled down.
He was beautiful. He was majestic. He was—
“Oh, no,” Leonie breathed, and broke into a run.