Chapter 12

CHAPTER 12

P aige was brushing her teeth—and fuming—when her phone rang. One glance at the screen knocked all thoughts of a certain red-haired, smirking shifter out of her head.

“Oh, crap!” Hastily spitting out the last of her toothpaste, she lunged for her phone. “Mom? Are you okay? Is something wrong?”

“That’s my line,” said her mom’s warm, wry voice in her ear. “I haven’t heard from you since you left for camp. I just wanted to check in and make sure everything’s okay.”

Guilt stabbed through her. “I’m sorry. I completely forgot to call. There’s been… a lot going on.”

Her mom’s deep sigh crackled in her ear. “What’s Archie done now?”

“Nothing!” Honesty compelled Paige to add, “Well, nothing much.”

Her mom made a skeptical sound. “I hope he’s behaving himself. How’s he settling into camp?”

“Okay, I think. I haven’t really seen him around much, what with counselor training and everything. It’s been pretty busy, getting everything ready for opening day.” Paige checked the time. “Sorry, Mom, but I can’t talk too long. The campers will be arriving any minute.”

“That’s why I called so early. I wanted to wish you good luck on your first day as a counselor.” A tiny pause. “And how are you settling in, Paige? It must be difficult, being the only… normal person on the staff.”

Paige didn’t try to correct the unfortunate choice of words. Her mom always avoided using the term ‘shifter.’ Even ‘non-shifter’ made her uncomfortable. It was understandable, given how thoroughly their world had been shattered by the revelation of Archie’s true nature.

“It’s okay. I’m fine.” Even to her own ears, it sounded unconvincing. She scrabbled for something genuine she could say. “It’s really beautiful here. You wouldn’t believe how good the air smells, or how far you can see. It’s like a little corner of Eden. And the head counselor is really nice. Her name’s Leonie. She’s been going out of her way to try to help me. Some of the other senior staff have been very supportive as well.”

“I’m glad you’re making friends. What about your co-counselor? Is he nice too?”

“‘Nice’ isn’t exactly the word I’d use,” she muttered. “I wish I was working with someone else. I don’t think he’s got any experience with kids, and he’s definitely not here because he cares about the campers. But I’m kind of stuck with him.”

“I’m sure the camp is careful about who they hire. Maybe he’ll surprise you.”

Paige bit back an ironic laugh. “Oh, he’s already done that.”

“Paige.” Her mother’s voice shifted into a distinctly parental register. “Is something going on?”

“No! Really, it’s fine. It’s only one summer. I’ll cope.” Desperate to change the subject, she asked, “How are things back home?”

“Oh, I’m fine,” her mom said, in exactly the same bright, cheerful tone that Paige had used herself. “Nothing to report here. No need to worry.”

Paige immediately began to worry. “Is everything all right? Are you eating well?”

“No,” her mother confessed. “I’m eating terribly. Without anyone around to feed nutritious home-cooked meals, I’m living like a college frat boy. Last night, I had cereal and ice cream for dinner.”

At least that meant she was eating. Some of Paige’s fear ebbed. “Well, you are supposed to be enjoying a break. Just make sure you take care of yourself, okay? I worry about you, back home all on your own.”

Her mom’s voice turned more somber. “I wish you didn’t. I’m your mother. I’m supposed to be the one who worries about you.”

“Since when have I ever given you cause to worry?”

“Never. Sometimes I think that’s the problem.”

“You’re worrying that I don’t give you enough reasons to worry? Doesn’t Archie give you enough gray hairs already?”

“I have an infinite supply of worry. It comes with being a mom. Speaking of which, is Archie around? I’d like to say hi.”

“No, he’s in his cabin.” At least, Paige hoped he was. “I couldn’t pass you over, anyway. We aren’t supposed to let campers call their parents except in a real emergency.”

“Well, give him my love.” Her mom sighed again. “It’s very quiet here, with both of you away.”

“We’ll be back soon enough.” Paige tried to make a joke of it. “So don’t get too used to not having me around. I don’t want to come back and find a sewing table where my bed used to be.”

“But it would make such a lovely craft room!” her mom teased. “And isn’t it about time you had a place of your own?”

That was a little too close to the bone. It took an effort to laugh. “In this economy? Sorry, Mom. You’re not getting rid of me that easily. No craft room for you.”

A whistle blew outside, making her start. Peering out the small window, Paige saw Leonie, her ever-present clipboard tucked under one arm.

“Five minutes!” the head counselor called. “All counselors, report to your muster stations! Five minute warning!”

“I’ve got to go, Mom,” Paige said into the phone. “The kids will be here any minute.”

“I hope you get a nice, well-behaved group. Are you nervous?”

“A bit,” Paige admitted. “It’s a big responsibility. And the more time I spend with shifters, the more I realize how little I know about them. I don’t know if I’m the right person for this job.”

“You’ve got this. They’re kids first, no matter what else they turn into. And you’ve always been so good with Archie.” Her mother’s voice softened. “They’re lucky to have you, Paige. So am I.”

Paige’s throat tightened. “Thanks, Mom. I love you.”

“Love you too,” her mom replied. “Now scoot. Go find your co-counselor.”

That was the last thing Paige wanted to do, but she didn’t have much choice. Ending the call, she tucked her phone away in a desk drawer. With a last glance in the mirror to check she hadn’t dropped toothpaste down her camp t-shirt, she hurried out of her cabin.

“Leonie!” she called. She dashed after the head counselor. “Have you got a second?”

“Only literally.” Leonie checked her watch, looking a rather more harassed than usual. “The buses will be turning up any minute, and I still need to get everyone to their assigned stations.”

“I don’t want to bug you, but I just wondered if you had my room assignment yet. I mean, my real room assignment.” Paige waved a hand at the cozy private dwelling where she’d slept. “I know these individual cabins are meant to be reserved for senior staff. You said you’d tell me which bunkhouse I should be actually be in.”

“Oh, gosh.” Leonie’s tawny eyes widened, a little too much. “Do you know, with all these last-minute changes, it must have slipped my mind.”

Paige doubted anything slipped Leonie’s mind. She’d seen the head counselor’s clipboard. If Leonie ever got bored with working at a summer camp, she could have a fine career as Secretary of the United Nations.

She played along anyway. “Well, can you at least tell me which cabin my campers will be in? I can move my own stuff while I’m getting them settled.”

“I really am kind of busy right now.” Leonie flashed her a bright, guileless smile, but Paige noticed her pull her clipboard closer against her chest, like a poker player with a winning hand. “Can we talk about it later?”

Paige bit back a sigh. The real motivation for Leonie’s evasiveness—and uncharacteristic forgetfulness—was all too obvious.

“Look,” she said, as patiently as she could manage. “I realize the older kids don’t really need their counselors close at hand in the same way that the younger ones do, but I’d really prefer to have a room in my campers’ cabin, if possible. Just so I can, uh, be there for them, day or night.”

And not have Archie constantly sneaking out of his own cabin to check I’m sleeping alone, she didn’t say. The last thing she needed was to be tripping over a guard bear every morning.

“I’ll get you all the details of your cabin assignment as soon as I can.” Leonie put her whistle to her lips, letting out an ear-splitting blast. “Two minutes, counselors! If you aren’t already at your muster point, get there now!”

Leonie strode off, not giving Paige any opportunity to argue further. She grimaced at the head counselor’s retreating back. Apparently, Leonie’s anger with Conleth for disrupting her schedule had been all too short-lived.

Not that it made any difference. Conleth might have somehow managed to get Leonie back on board this ‘fated mate’ business, but Paige wasn’t about to let herself be swayed so easily. If he was envisioning long, heated nights in the privacy of a senior staff cabin, he could think again.

Though now she was thinking about it.

Damn it.

Fortunately, she would soon have a whole pack of distractions to occupy her mind. Straightening her shirt, Paige headed for the center of camp.

She was pretty much the last counselor to arrive. By the time she got there, a little out of breath from the brisk walk, most of the other pairs of co-counselors were already arrayed around the central square, waiting at their assigned muster points.

Looking around, she spotted Conleth’s distinctive hair, gleaming in the morning sunlight like a polished copper penny. He was lounging outside the office, in the same spot where they’d first met. The only difference was that he now wore the ubiquitous camp t-shirt. If anything, it looked even better on him than the suit.

Paige made a determined effort to look at Conleth’s face rather than the way his biceps strained his t-shirt. Not that this was much help. Curse the man. Bad enough that nature tended to bless male shifters with the sort of physiques usually only found in superhero movies. Adding perfect cheekbones into the mix was, Paige felt, frankly unfair.

“Ah, there you are,” Conleth said, as casually as if they were meeting for up for coffee. He held a sticky label out to her. “Here. I made you a name tag. We’re supposed to wear them on the first day.”

Paige’s first impulse was to ignore his offering and write out her own damn name tag. This, however, would have been ridiculously petty. With poor grace, she peeled the label off the backing paper. At least he’d written her actual name, not MATE or MINE.

She stuck the label to her shirt. “Let’s get one thing straight. You’d better take this job seriously.”

His self-assured composure didn’t waver. “Believe me, I’m taking everything about this seriously.”

“I mean it, Conleth.” She jabbed a finger against his own name tag, trying not to notice the hard muscle underneath. “We’re about to meet a bunch of excited kids who’ve been looking forward to camp all year. We have to put our personal feelings aside and work together. It’s our responsibility to make sure our campers have a great summer.”

“I couldn’t agree more.” Conleth looked past her. “And on that topic… hello, Archie.”

Paige turned to find her little brother standing in her shadow, feet set and arms folded. The overall effect was of a very small bodyguard.

“Hi Archie,” she said, relieved that he was no longer avoiding her. “Are you excited for the first day of camp?”

Archie glowered at Conleth. “No.”

“Don’t be like that.” Paige put her back to Conleth, lowering her voice a little. “Look, I’m not happy about any of this either. We just have to make the best of it.”

Archie maintained aggressive eye contact with Conleth, as though he could make the man disappear through sheer willpower. “I don’t trust him.”

“Sensible,” Conleth put in, totally at ease. “I wouldn’t trust myself either. As a matter of fact, I frequently don’t.”

“Will you let me handle this?” Paige hissed at him. She turned back to Archie. “I promise, you don’t have anything to worry about. Nothing is going to happen. At least try to relax and have fun, okay?”

“Oh, Archie will enjoy himself this summer,” Conleth murmured behind her. “I have total confidence in that.”

Having just lectured the man on the importance of working together, she could hardly turn around and shake him by the ears. She was sorely tempted, though.

Archie scowled at Conleth. “You think you’re so smart, don’t you?”

“No,” he replied calmly. “I know I’m smart. And I think you’re smart, too. I believe I’m about to be proved right.”

Leonie’s whistle blew, cutting off any further conversation. “The buses are here! Counselors, brace for impact!”

“We’ve got to get to work, Archie,” Paige said as a clatter of approaching feet and excited voices came from the direction of the parking lot. “You’d better go find your own counselors.”

He didn’t move.

“Archie!” Paige hastily fixed a smile on her face as campers started to stream into the square. “This is not the time to make a scene! Get out of here, or so help me?—”

“Hi!” A beaming, solidly built girl with an overstuffed backpack bounced up to them. “I’m Nancy! You must be my counselors!”

Paige blinked at the girl, taken aback. She’d expected to be assigned a group of young teenagers, but Nancy couldn’t have been any older than Archie.

“I think you might have made a mistake,” she said. “Are you sure you have the right number?”

“The lady with the clipboard said I was in pack five.” Nancy pointed at the large ‘5’ sign tacked to the railing next to Conleth. “You’re the counselors for pack five, aren’t you?”

“Yes, but—” Paige looked at Conleth for support. “I thought we were meant to be assigned to the oldest group.”

Conleth, for his part, seemed totally unsurprised by their unexpectedly young camper. “It seems there was a last-minute change of plan. And anticipating your next accusation—no, this wasn’t my doing.”

Nancy, meanwhile, had turned her attention away from the boring adults to the much more interesting Archie. “Oh, hey there! Are you in pack five, too?”

“No, he’s not,” Paige said. “He’s just?—”

“Yes,” Archie interrupted, still glaring at Conleth. “I am.”

“Archie!” Noticing that Nancy was watching, Paige did her best to smile, as though this was all some sort of joke. “Enough. Go find your counselors right now.”

“He has.” Conleth looked across at a slight, nervous-looking girl who had sidled up to their small group. “Hello, there. Are you looking for pack five?”

Finding herself the center of attention, the girl froze. She gulped, then nodded.

“That’s us.” Conleth gave her a warm, reassuring smile, all effortless charm. “I’m Conleth, one of the counselors here. What’s your name?”

The girl’s eyes swiveled from side to side as though in search of escape. In the tiniest of voices, she mumbled, “Hetta.”

“Hello, Hetta.” Conleth waved a hand around the group. “Allow me to introduce you to everyone. The beautiful woman currently looking somewhat confused is Paige, my…co-counselor. We’re still waiting for all our campers to show up, but so far we have Nancy here, and of course Archie. I’m sure you’ll all soon be firm friends.”

“No, they won’t!” Paige yelped. “This can’t be right. There’s been some kind of mistake!”

Nancy eyed her dubiously. “Uh, not to be rude, lady, but are you sure you’re in the right place?”

“Hang on a second.” Paige seized Conleth’s arm, dragging him a little way from the kids. “Conleth, you’ve gone too far this time. You can’t put Archie in our pack!”

“I didn’t,” he replied calmly. “He came up with this all on his own. I’m impressed, actually. I’d expected to have to drop some subtle hints that he should go to Leonie and ask her to rearrange the pack assignments.”

“You wanted him to do this?”

“Of course.” He raised his eyebrows, as though this should have been obvious. “I told you I had a plan. If Archie is in our pack, he won’t have to worry about what we might be doing together while he’s busy with camp activities. He can keep an eye on me all summer.”

There was a certain logic to that, she had to concede. “But what about his shifting? He’s supposed to learn from his counselors. I certainly can’t teach him. And he’s not going to listen to you.”

“The camp offers plenty of opportunities to learn from subject experts as well as pack counselors. I already have a mentor in mind for him.” He opened his hands, palm-up. “I’ve thought this through, Paige. I admit it’s not a perfect solution, at least from my perspective. But it’s a solution.”

Damn it, she didn’t want to admit he was right. “You could have told me all this before.”

“I really couldn’t. If Archie had thought we were working together, he would have been even more suspicious. He would never have put himself in our pack. He had to believe you were furious with me.”

She folded her arms. “I am furious with you.”

“That’s why this plan wasn’t ideal,” Conleth said dryly. “But it was the best I could do under the circumstances. At least I have some time to change your opinion of me. And Archie’s, as well.”

Paige wasn’t sure which of those was less likely. “You realize he’s going to torment you, right?”

The corner of his mouth twitched up. “You said you wanted him to have a good summer.”

“If you knew my brother at all, you’d be running for the hills right now.”

“I can handle whatever Archie can throw at me,” he said, with what Paige felt was far too much confidence. “I’m just relieved he was able to persuade Leonie to rearrange the pack assignments. I’d hoped she would view it as a fitting and hilarious punishment for my previous interference, but I wasn’t sure. She’s watching us right now, by the way. No doubt hoping to enjoy my reaction.”

Turning, Paige found that Leonie was staring across the square at them. Conleth raised a hand, giving her a little wave. The head counselor didn’t respond. Paige had the impression of a cat waiting patiently by a mouse hole—or perhaps a lion lurking in long grass, tail twitching in anticipation.

“Sorry to interrupt,” Nancy popped up between them, looking a little worried. “But more kids are joining us, right? Because this feels like a really small group compared to all the other packs. And also, uh, kind of tense.”

Paige looked around. All the other counselors were now surrounded by campers, handing out name tags and fielding questions. Only a few stragglers were still making their way to their groups.

“We should have more campers than this,” she said, frowning. “Leonie wouldn’t only give us three kids. Where’s the rest of our group?”

No sooner were the words out of her mouth when four kids barreled across the square, heading straight for them. Beth led the group, with Estelle hot on her heels. They were closely followed by two boys—one dark and lean, the other blonde and stocky. Paige hadn’t met either of them before, but she guessed they had to be Finley and Rufus. Archie had told her that the four kids were a close-knit gang, thanks to them all having parents on the same wildland firefighting crew.

“We’re here, ma’am!” Beth skidded to a halt, the other three kids nearly piling into her. “Sorry we’re late.”

Conleth’s smug smile vanished.

Archie narrowed his eyes at his former pack mates. “What are you doing here?”

“What are you doing here?” Beth glared right back at him. “Paige and Conleth are our counselors.”

“No.” Conleth had the expression of a man whose day was abruptly not going as planned. “No, we absolutely are not.”

“It’s all right, Uncle—” Beth stuttered, hastily correcting herself. “I mean, counselor Conleth. We cleared it with Leonie.”

Paige glanced across at Leonie. Now the head counselor waved back. She also appeared to be taking pictures on her phone.

“But Leonie said I could be in this pack!” Archie was starting to go red-faced, in the way that indicated his bear was close to the surface. “I called dibs first!”

“Wow.” Nancy looked between Conleth and Paige with newfound awe. “You two must be really popular counselors.”

Archie ignored this, squaring up to Beth. “I know what you’re doing. You’re here to help stupid Conleth! He put you up to this!”

“I really, really didn’t,” Conleth said fervently.

“All right everyone, calm down,” Paige said, trying to regain control over the situation. “This clearly isn’t going to work. I’ll go have a word with Leonie and get things sorted out.”

“Yeah.” Archie planted his feet. “Tell her I got here first, so Beth and the others have to go to a different pack.”

“What an excellent idea.” Conleth turned a winning, somewhat desperate smile on his niece and her friends. “Wouldn’t you four like to be in a different pack? I’m sure I could arrange for you to join Moira and Ragvald’s group.”

Estelle looked like the heavens had just parted to reveal Santa Claus, descending on a dozen reindeer to bring peace and goodwill to all humankind. “We could have Ragvald as a counselor?”

“Estelle!” Beth hissed. “We don’t want to change counselors, because Conleth’s amazing and we’re so excited to be in his pack. Aren’t we. ”

“Oh, yeah,” Estelle said, with marked lack of enthusiasm. “Conleth. Yay.”

“Wouldn’t you like to be in Ragvald’s pack, Archie?” Paige entreated her little brother, since Conleth’s plan had clearly failed in the first five minutes. “Doesn’t that sound like more fun than hanging around with me all summer?”

From the way his expression wavered, it did. Then Archie’s mouth firmed. With the air of someone making an enormous sacrifice, he shook his head.

“I’m not going anywhere,” he announced. “Tell Leonie to put Beth in a different pack.”

Beth had gone pale with anger, her red hair standing out starkly. “ You transfer to a different pack!”

Nancy raised a hand. “Can I go to a different pack?”

Before Paige could argue further, yet another camper joined them—this one a handsome boy with short gold hair and a faint air of superiority. Seeing them all gathered next to the sign, he rolled his eyes expressively.

“Oh, wonderful.” He heaved a long-suffering, theatrical sigh. “So I’m stuck with you idiots again.”

“Ig!” Estelle squealed, then seemed to check herself. She affected an indifferent shrug. “I mean, oh. You’re back.”

“It’s good to see you, Ignatius,” said Finley, smiling at the other boy with genuine pleasure. “We weren’t sure your uncle would let you come back to camp this year.”

“At this point, he’s willing to try anything that might help me finally shift.” Ig frowned at Conleth. “What’s the walking tax return doing here? Are we being audited?”

“Good news, Ig!” Beth announced loudly. She fixed the boy with a look that promised instant death if he didn’t get the hint and fall in line. “Conleth is one of our counselors this year!”

Ig treated Conleth to an incredulous stare. “Did he lose a bet?”

“No.” Finley sighed as well. “He met his mate.”

Ig’s expression slid from disbelief to outright horror. “Our counselors are going to spend all summer making cow eyes at each other like braindead idiots again? ”

“No, they aren’t.” Beth bodily dragged the boy over to her side of the impromptu battle lines. “Because we’re going to help them. Just like we did Buck and Honey.”

Conleth buried his face in his hands, muttering something. Paige didn’t quite catch what he said, but it sounded an awful lot like, “Oh please God, no.”

“Hang on, hang on.” Nancy waved her hands for attention. “Our counselors are fated mates ? ”

“Yes, they are,” Beth said, simultaneous with Archie’s heated, “No, they aren’t!”

“Okay, I’m officially confused.” Nancy turned to Hetta. “Do you have any idea what’s going on here?”

Clearly, Hetta not only didn’t know what was going on, she didn’t want to know. She shook her head in mute consternation, edging away from everyone else.

“They are mates!” Beth clenched her fists, glaring daggers at Archie. “No matter how much you try to deny it, they’re destined for each other! Why can’t you just accept that?”

“Because he can’t take her away!” Archie yelled back. “He can’t—I can’t— GRAAAAAW! ”

Paige had been expecting Archie to turn into a bear.

Hetta, however, had not.

The girl, finding herself in unexpected proximity to a snarling grizzly, did what any sensible person would do. With a piercing shriek, she leaped away. Unfortunately, this meant she bashed into Ignatius, who stumbled into Nancy, who?—

Abruptly wasn’t there anymore.

“Nancy?” Paige called, wondering if the girl could have shifted into something tiny. Yet there was no sign of her clothes… “Where did she go?”

The rest of the group were also looking around in confusion… apart from Conleth and Beth. Both pegasus shifters were staring in exactly the same direction.

Up.

“Don’t worry!” Nancy’s face appeared over the edge of the office roof. “I’m okay!”

“Nancy?” Paige shaded her eyes. “How on earth did you get up there?”

“I jumped.” Nancy looked a little embarrassed. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to. My animal can be a little nervous, and its instinct is to try to get as high as possible when startled.”

Estelle’s mouth had dropped open. “What kind of shifter are you?”

“Estelle!” Beth kicked the side of her foot. “You can’t ask someone that!”

“No, it’s okay, I don’t mind.” Nancy drew herself up with clear pride. “My animal is the greatest of all time. ”

There was a pause.

“You know, the G-O-A-T?” Nancy surveyed all the blank faces. “Oh come on guys, I worked on that pun for weeks.”

“Oh!” Finley’s face cleared in sudden understanding. “You’re a goat?”

“A mountain goat!” Nancy said proudly. “Though we’re not really goats. But we are really great at climbing stuff! I can jump four times my height straight up, from a standing start!”

“You weren’t shifted, though,” Estelle pointed out.

“Yeah!” Nancy beamed down at her. “Since I’m taller in my human form, I can jump even higher! Neat, isn’t it?”

“Nancy, honey?” Paige called, trying to sound calm. “I don’t think it’s very safe for you to be on the roof. Could you come back down, please?”

“Ah.” Nancy’s grin faded. “About that. See, I’m really good at going up. Down… not so much.”

Leonie picked that moment to stroll over. The head counselor looked as smug as a cat that had not only got the cream, but rustled an entire dairy herd.

“Is there a problem here?” she asked sweetly.

“You’ve given me a camper who leaps fifteen feet into the air when startled,” Conleth said in perfectly level tones. “And also, one who unpredictably turns into a bear.”

Leonie surveyed the scene. “Why yes, Conleth. So I did. As you know, I carefully match the campers to the counselors. Believe me, I took great care with this particular group.”

Hetta, who’d taken cover behind Rufus, burst into tears.

“I hate camp!” she wailed. “I want to go hooooome!”

Leonie patted Conleth’s cheek. “I’m sure you’ll have a wonderful summer.”