When the room was prepared, and everyone was gathered, the captain entered from the hallway. He wasn’t alone. Lieutenant Liam Kincaid came in with him and took a seat at the table. Silence reigned while they waited for the captain to start his briefing.

  “We’re on high alert,” Hal began, “and the reason is because at least one, possibly more, sharks have been sighted just offshore.”

  A few of the men around the table looked confused, but only one voiced his dismay. “Sharks? We went into lockdown because of some sharks?”

  “Liam?” Hal motioned to the Navy man to speak.

  “We don’t think they’re just sharks,” Liam said. The confusion around the table only increased.

  “Think, men,” Hal barked. “We’re on an island full of shifters. Shifters of all kinds.”

  “You mean to say…” The man who had questioned raising the alarm for sharks before spoke again, then shook his head. “No way. Shark shifters? Is there really such a thing?”

  Liam nodded. “There is, and history has shown that they’re not usually on the right side of things. A lot of them hire out as muscle for criminal organizations along both coasts.”

  Lynn noticed that the confusion and disbelief on faces around the room had now turned to a sort of grim determination. Good. At least they were listening now.

  “The thing is, they’re as good in the water as our Navy Special Forces SEALs. Actually—and don’t let any of them know I said this—the sharks are better. After all, in the wild, sharks eat seals,” Liam told them.

  “Wait a minute,” the same man spoke up again. “Are Navy SEALs actually seal shifters?”

  Liam nodded. “Many are. Selkies, we call them, after the old Irish legends. But there are also many big cats and a few Others among the SEAL Teams. The important part to know is that you can expect that kind of skill in the water and on land. We’ve only seen one shark at a time, but there could be quite a few of them out there in the depths. An assault team, perhaps. They can swim right up to shore, shift, and be here in minutes. If they’ve been planning this—and I believe the one we’ve seen was doing recon, so I think it’s a reasonable assumption—then they’ll have gear stashed just offshore that they can access once they’re in human form.”

  “What we need to do is come up with a plan to counteract that kind of assault,” Hal interjected before anyone else could speak.

  “My father is calling Admiral Morrow,” Liam put in. “He has a special affinity for water and water shifters. He might have some ideas that the rest of us don’t. In the meantime, I’m here as your liaison. Our people have stepped up patrols, and we’ll watch the outside as long as you need us. Your best bet is to do what you’ve already done. Stay inside, locked down. You’re much safer within these walls, for now.”

  “Agreed,” Hal said, “but it’s not in our nature to hide and let other people defend us. And we can’t stay inside this building forever. We need to make plans to cover as many situations as we can dream up.”

  “What you need,” Lynn said, unsure she was even going to speak until she heard the words come out of her mouth, “is a way to draw out the sharks and end the threat.”

  All eyes turned to her, most expressions holding a bit of surprise.

  “With all due respect, Doctor—” Liam began, but Hal held up a hand, forestalling the rest of his words.

  “What do you propose, ma’am?” Hal asked. He looked skeptical but seemed willing to listen.

  “You need the right bait to catch a shark,” she told them. “Force the confrontation, on your terms. Take them by surprise.”

  “That all sounds good,” Hal said, one corner of his lips lifting in a small smile, “but who or what is going to be the bait?”

  “I could do it,” she replied immediately. “I’ve already told you I want to go fishing. What if I went out there and did my thing while you all lie in wait? When the sharks bite, you can take them out.”

  “I don’t like it,” Rick said with a bit of vehemence in his tone that she hadn’t expected.

  Hal looked like he was considering her plan. “It could work,” he said finally. “But it would be dangerous. Better one of us acts as the bait.”

  “I respectfully disagree,” she countered. “If the sharks are as dangerous as I’ve always been led to believe, then all of your men will be needed to counterstrike. Some of the shifters, too, if they’re willing.” She looked at Liam, who nodded. “If I play bait, more of the fighters can be ready to spring. They won’t expect me to be any sort of challenge to them. Who knows? They might let down their guard a little, simply because they don’t think I can fight back effectively. And I will be armed.”

  “Armed?” Liam spoke up, a question in his tone.

  “I bow fish with sharp-bladed hunting points on my arrows. They’re sharp and deadly, and I’m an excellent shot,” she said quietly. “I don’t mention it often, but you need to know. I almost made the Olympic team, but I was sick during most of that year of college and didn’t bother trying again, the next time. The illness wasn’t anything normal. It was caused by some dark magic being cooked up in the chemistry department. Gram had to call in a few favors to get the campus cleaned up, and a few of the tenured professors disappeared mysteriously, but I felt better after that. Gram was never very forthcoming about what they had been doing, but it had to have been pretty bad for her to get involved—and for it to affect me so strongly. I’m not all that magical, usually. Just a bit sensitive to certain things, apparently.”

  “This is what I saw,” Jeeves said from the far side of the table, drawing all eyes. “Both Rose and I saw you on the beach with your bow, and there was a sense of imminent danger, but neither of us could figure out exactly what the danger was. I think we were seeing what you’re describing now. You, acting as bait. And, if our visions hold correct, you’ll have good reason to use those sharp arrows. Captain,” he turned his attention to Hal, “this is something that’s going to happen. Best we make it happen on our terms.”

  Hal shook his head. “I can’t say that I like this, at all. But Jeeves is right. If we’re going to do this, we have to do it very deliberately. With a solid plan.” Hal’s gaze met Lynn’s. “You’re going to have to follow my orders to the letter, Doctor. Do you understand?”

  Lynn nodded. “I hear you, Captain. And I can follow orders. You’ve never met my grandmother, but she’s a lot like a military commander when she’s on a mission. I’ve acted on her behalf, and her orders, many times before. I don’t always understand why she wants me to do certain things, but I do them, and I’ll do the same for you.” She looked around the room, nodding. “It’s clear to me that you’re a good leader, otherwise these men wouldn’t have followed your command for so long, or so successfully.”

  Hal looked just a little bit uncomfortable with her assessment but forged ahead. They spent the next hour devising a plan that accounted for many different contingencies. The plan had alternates for almost any situation they might encounter. Lynn was impressed. She had never been privy to this sort of strategy session, and she found it fascinating.

  Liam Kincaid spoke for his father’s command, promising backup forces in strategic places. He also indicated, at one point, that he had a large box in the back of his Jeep with Lynn’s name on it. Her gear—packed by her grandmother—had arrived. She couldn’t wait to see what Gram had included in the box. Lynn had no doubt that her fishing gear would be there, but what other little goodies Gram might have thought she would need were yet to be seen.

  Lynn was confident enough from past experience to know that her grandmother would have given her as many tools as she could to deal with whatever Lynn would be facing. Gram always knew, somehow, what Lynn would need in any given situation.

  As the meeting adjourned, Lynn walked with Liam to the main doorway. There were guards there, now. They opened the door for Liam, but he motioned for Lynn to stay inside.

  “I’ll get the box and bring it in,” he said on his way out the door.

  CHAPTER TEN

  True to his word, Liam reappeared in minutes, hefting a very large wooden box in his arms, as if it weighed nothing at all. He carried it through into the living room area and placed it on the large table in one corner.

  “I figured you might want to open this up down here,” he told her. “It’s kind of bulky and probably too heavy for you to carry.”

  “Thanks. This is perfect,” she replied, eager to open the mysterious package. It was even larger than she had expected.

  Rick appeared at her side with a small pry bar. “You might need this to open it,” he suggested. “Want me to do the honors?”

  “Thanks, I’d appreciate that,” she told him, watching as he carefully pried up the lid on the box that had been nailed shut.

  “Your grandmother did that?” Liam, to her surprise, hadn’t left. He stood beside her, watching as Rick took off the lid.

  “I have no doubt she packed the box,” Lynn replied. “But nailing it shut? That was probably done by one of her students.”

  “Students?” Liam sounded intrigued.

  “It’s no secret. Gram has always had the occasional student of magical arts. She’s incredibly selective, but those who make the cut always go on to be forces for good, if they survive the evil that always seems to be gunning for the good guys these days. Many are priestesses or shamans.” Lynn was justifiably proud of her grandmother, and her family’s magical heritage, even though she didn’t share directly in it.

  The lid came off completely, and Lynn didn’t wait to hear if Liam had some sort of reply to her statement. Instead, she went straight for the large molded hard case that held her bow. Lifting it out of the larger wooden box, she set it on the table in front of her. Flipping the catches, she opened the case to reveal her beloved competition bow.

  It was a compact fiberglass construction. A compound bow with pulleys on either end that created and multiplied the force behind her arrows. She checked it over with an expert eye, glad to see it had suffered no ill effects from its journey. Putting it aside, she reached into the wooden box and found her quiver, packed neatly inside another case with two dozen arrows. The hunting points—with their sharp blades—were in another case, ready to be attached to the arrows, as needed.

  Gram must have packed up every last arrow and point Lynn owned. She wondered what that meant for what was coming. Had Lynn been a fool to volunteer as bait? Probably, she decided. But she saw no easier or better way to draw out the sharks and neutralize the danger.

  Rick whistled through his teeth when he got a look at the hunting points in their little case. The sound drew her out of her reverie.

  “You aren’t messing around with those,” he commented.

  Lynn nodded. “These are for hunting, and yes, they’re deadly. I don’t hunt game these days, but I do still like the challenge of fishing with them. The water adds a whole new dimension and makes aim a lot trickier.”

  She looked inside the wooden box again, and pulled out another smaller box. This one was something she had never seen before. No doubt, it was something Gram had added.

  “I wonder what this is?” she said contemplatively as she took it out of the larger box.

  Gently, Lynn unwrapped it and took off the lid. Inside, wrapped in fabric, she found two small glass jars that were labeled in her grandmother’s handwriting. There was also a small drawstring bag that contained a necklace. The pendant was a creation of wire and semiprecious stone that tingled with magic as Lynn held it in her hand.

  “An amulet of some kind,” Liam said, nodding. “I can feel its power from here.”

  “Gram is good at weaving spells into wire and stone arrangements,” Lynn replied. She opened the catch and put the necklace on, feeling the love woven into the design and the protective magic her grandmother had gifted her with. This might just help protect her a little bit more from what she was about to do.

  “What’s in the jars?” Rick asked.

  “Poison and antidote,” she said matter-of-factly. “I’ll be coating a few of my arrowheads with the poison, in case I need to shoot at any of the bad guys.” Lynn had understood the purpose of those two little jars the moment she saw them. Gram had given her a little extra something in case the sharks got too close for comfort. “Shifters don’t go down from just being shot unless you get extraordinarily lucky,” she clarified for Rick. “This will ensure my hits make an impression.”

  As Lynn caressed the bow and Rick got to see the gear she used, he was impressed, all over again. The good doctor had hidden facets that he found incredibly appealing. To see her dealing with the lethal items—including poison she seemed to take almost for granted—was an odd sort of turn-on he hadn’t expected.

  That she was an intelligent, beautiful and gusty woman, he already knew. But seeing this competent, lethal killer side of her was unexpectedly potent. Damn. He had it bad, and the more he got to know about this fascinating woman, the worse it became.

  The rest of the items in the large box grandmother had sent looked like clothing and other personal things. Liam took his leave, a bit of a stunned look on his face that probably matched Rick’s own expression. Lynn’s gear and attitude was certainly an eye-opener.

  Rick was just glad to see the other man take off. He didn’t like the competition, not that Lynn had given the lion shifter any encouragement. Still, Rick knew the shifters held a certain appeal for many of the single women around them. Hell, most of the single men in his unit were lusting after the few shifter females they’d seen around base. Those shifters had to have some of the best genetics around. They were all svelte, with chiseled features, and they moved like the animals that shared their spirits. Graceful. Somewhat predatory. They didn’t run, they loped. They didn’t sneak around on maneuvers, they stalked.

  They were all pretty darn amazing, and very attractive. But Rick didn’t want Lynn’s head turned by one of their handsome faces. No. He wanted her all to himself.

  “Can I help you get this stuff up to your room?” Rick asked as she removed several bags filled with what looked like clothing out of the bottom of the wooden crate.

  “I’d appreciate it,” she replied. “Can you take the bow case? I want to do a little maintenance and inspection before I have to rely on it on the beach.”

  He hefted the large case and grabbed a couple of the clothing bags for his other hand. What was left looked light enough for her to handle, including the little jars she repackaged into their protective casing.

  “A wise warrior always cares for his weapons before a mission,” he intoned, sending her a smile as they began walking.

  “Is it okay to leave the crate there?” Lynn looked back over her shoulder then up at him.

  “It’ll be fine,” he assured her. “I’ll stow it for you. I’ve got a watch later tonight, so I’ll swing by on my way.”

  “Thanks.” They began mounting the stairs, moving carefully with their hands full of her stuff. “You know, you guys might want to put a bit of the poison on some of your bullets or blades. I wasn’t kidding when I said that shifters aren’t really phased by much. There are stories of them being shot multiple times by conventional ammunition and still able to fight effectively.”

  “We don’t usually utilize poisons,” Rick told her, feeling uncomfortable with the idea. “Too much chance of it affecting the wrong target or contaminating the area.”

  “Oh, you don’t have to worry about that with this stuff. It’s a magical poison. A potion, if you will. It’s designed to be contained and isn’t all that dangerous unless it gets into an open wound. Plus, it’s easily reversed with the antidote.” She shrugged as they reached the landing. “The main ingredient is colloidal silver. Silver is dangerous for shifters. That’s why people used to hunt werewolves with silver bullets.”

  “That’s real?” Rick asked, surprised.

  Lynn nodded. “There can sometimes be more than a grain of truth in old legends. Silver can be deadly to shifters in strong concentrations, and it can drive bloodletters completely around the bend. It doesn’t really play will with their kinds of magic, though Gram doesn’t have a problem with it.” Lynn shrugged as they headed for her door. “She had to have known I’d be up against powerful shifters. That’s the only reason she would have sent that particular potion to me. You see, the silver combined with the other ingredients and sealed with Gram’s magic will stop a shifter from changing shape. So, if I hit a shark shifter when he’s in human form, he won’t be able to go back to shark form and escape.”

  “That’s handy.” They arrived at her door, and Lynn opened it, walking in first. Rick followed, placing her items where she directed.

  “It could also be lethal if the antidote is not administered within a few hours.” Her brows furrowed. “I’m not fond of causing anybody the kind of pain they could endure while the poison is in their system, but it’ll stop them from killing people on our side. I hope.”

  “Just remember…” Rick said as they paused, facing each other. He looked deep into her eyes as he put his hands on her shoulders. “If someone is gunning for you, do whatever you have to. Stop them in any way you can. You’ve got a non-lethal alternative which sounds good. Don’t hesitate to use it.”

  She nodded up at him. “I won’t.”

  “Promise me, Lynn. I don’t want to lose you.” Maybe, he was saying too much, too soon, but he couldn’t help himself.

  “I promise. But…why?” She looked so adorably confused and just a bit…hopeful?

  “I don’t really know,” he admitted, knowing deep in his heart that honesty was the only possible route with this woman. “I’ve never felt this strongly about anyone in such a short time, but you’ve become…important to me, Lynn. I want to spend more time with you. A lot more time. And I want to see where this attraction leads us.” He felt as if he’d just stepped out on a very shaky limb high up off the ground. Would she be there to catch him if he fell? “Please tell me you’re feeling this, too.”