“Uh… she’s… over there?”
Buck sighed. “No, I mean, can you tell what kind of shifter she is? I thought your kind were able to detect that kind of thing. From past experience, your dad could scan this room and give me an alphabetized list of everything in it, down to the individual subspecies of every spider under the floorboards.”
“Oh.” Beth looked crestfallen. “But my father’s special, sir. I don’t have anything like his power. Even Uncle Conleth can’t do what he can. I mean, I can tell people apart from their psychic aura, but it’s like looking at someone’s signature. All I get are a few hints about their personality. I’m sorry, sir.”
“Never mind, kid. It was just a thought.” Curiosity prompted him to ask, “So, whatcanyou tell me about Honey?”
“Um…” Beth furrowed her brow. “Well, her aura’s very bright, sir. Unusually so. It’s a lot like yours, in fact.”
“Well, duh.” Estelle rolled her eyes. “She’s an alpha. Any shifter could tell you that.”
“Huh.” Remembering how Honey’s anger had rocked him back on his heels, Buck could well believe it. “So she must be something powerful, like a dragon or some other mythic shifter?”
Beth shook her head. “It doesn’t work like that, sir. Being an alpha isn’t anything to do with size or strength. It’s more… just beingyourself, through and through, so no one can push you around. You can even get alphas who aren’t shifters, though my dad says that’s rare. If you don’t mind me saying, sir,you’vealways come across as very alpha. Even before you were bitten.”
“Yeah, well, that’s just Buck, isn’t it?” Estelle said. “He was never really human.”
“Beg to differ,” Buck growled. “Anything else to share with the class, Beth?”
The girl looked from Honey to himself, then back again. Her frown deepened.
“That’s strange,” Beth said slowly. “Her aura really does look like yours, sir. Only… the opposite way round, if that makes sense. Like if you overlapped them, her brightest parts would fill up the shadowy bits in yours—”
Thankfully, Leonie interrupted the horrific prospect of a pre-teen girl scrutinizing his shadowy bits. The head counselor jumped onto a table at the far end of the room, clapping her hands to draw everyone’s attention.
“Good afternoon, counselors!” Leonie announced as the crowd quieted, every eye turning in her direction. She swept the room with a warm smile. “For those of you who are returning to Camp Thunderbird, welcome back. And for those of you who are here for the first time, I hope you’ve had a chance to settle in and make yourself at home. Now that we’ve all caught up with old friends and started to make new ones, it’s time to prepare ourselves for the summer ahead.”
“Got to go to work, kids,” Buck said to Estelle and Beth. Draining his water, he set the empty glass down on the hatch that led through to the kitchen. “You two had best skedaddle. If this is anything like hotshot crew prep, the next few hours are going to be butt-numbing. Can’t imagine you want to sit through a health and safety briefing.”
Beth looked like she wanted nothing more than to sit through a health and safety briefing—and take copious notes—but Estelle didn’t give her the chance. Seizing Beth’s arm, she dragged her away.
“I know working as a counselor can be a challenge,” Leonie was saying as Buck joined the crowd gathered around her. “But I promise, there’s nothing more rewarding than helping your campers grow and thrive. And it’s not only the kids who discover their true selves and find new friends here at camp. Many of you may be strangers to each other now, but by the end of the summer, I guarantee you’ll have forged deep, unshakeable connections that will last a lifetime.”
“I damn well hope not,” Buck muttered.
He’d forgotten shifter senses. Half the room turned to look at him with varying degrees of disapproval or amusement, though Honey didn’t. She didn’t so much as twitch, apparently totally engrossed in Leonie’s lecture.
Buck glared at the gawkers until they collectively decided to mind their own business. This did not take long. He tried to return his attention to Leonie, which was damn near impossible with the back of Honey’s head only fifteen feet away. Shemusthave been able to feel his stare lancing through her skull. How long was the infuriating woman going to ignore him?
“And your closest bond,” Leonie continued, “will be with your co-counselor. Throughout the whole summer, the two of you will support and encourage each other as much as the kids. So let’s start as we mean to go on. If you aren’t already, please stand next to your co-counselor now.”
Oh, shit.
The crowd broke apart into scattered pairs, leaving him alone and exposed at the back of the hall. Honey turned, eyes locking on to him at last. The impact nailed his feet to the floor. She headed his way like a wrecking ball, and there wasn’t a damn thing he could do to get out of the way.
Honey planted herself right in front of him, so they were practically toe to toe. She was so close to his own height, she only had to lift her chin a little to look him straight in the eye. She gave him a bright, gleaming smile, like unsheathing a sword.
“I have decided that we will start again,” she announced. She thrust out a hand. “Hello, I’m Honey Bunch. It seems we’ll be working together as co-counselors. And I intend to make sure our campers have agreatsummer.”
It was definitely not a peace offering. More of a challenge. And damn it all, he had never backed down from a challenge in his entire cursed life.
“Buck Frazer.” He was acutely aware of Honey’s fragrance; not perfume, but the warm, sweet scent of her skin. The scar on his arm felt like a fresh brand. “Likewise.”
Bracing himself, he folded his fingers around hers. It was like grabbing hold of a live power line. Electricity surged through his whole body, paralyzing every muscle. He couldn’t have let go if she’d been about to drag him over a cliff.
Honey obviously had no such problem. She gave him a single firm, brisk handshake before releasing him again. And just like that, she returned her attention to the front of the room, as if she hadn’t just rattled every cell in his body.
How could you notfeelthat?he wanted to ask, but Leonie was speaking again.
