He hauled the bear cub back to the surface. It spluttered and coughed, flailing at him. Pain raked across his chest.
“Easy. Easy, kid.” Treading water, Buck untangled the bear’s claws from his shredded shirt. “Calm down. I’ve got you.”
The problem of how to get a panicked bear back onto dry land turned out to be easier to solve than he’d expected. The lake abruptly swelled underneath him, water pushing him up. Buck didn’t have time to do more than thinkWhat the actual fuck?before the wave deposited him back on the dock.
“All of you, back to land! Right now!”
It actually took him a moment to recognize Moira’s voice. She’d always had a smooth veneer of calm, even when she clearly wanted to throttle someone (usually Ragvald).
Now she looked utterly furious. She stormed toward the kids—literallystormed. Churning waves rose in her wake, hissing white over the boards of the dock.
“You donotpush people into the water!” Scratchy, inhuman harmonics edged her words, her sea dragon accent thickening. “Not under any provocation!”
“Ah,” Ragvald said, casting a nervous look at the agitated lake. “Princess?”
Moira ignored him, still intent on chewing out the cringing campers. “Do you think I set the rules on a whim? Because I’m no fun? Even the strongest swimmer can drown if they fall in unexpectedly! Just one lungful of water, that’s all it can take!”
“Princess,” Ragvald said again, more urgently. Waves sloshed across the dock, ankle deep already, and rising fast. “Princess.”
Moira blinked, apparently only just realizing that now they wereallin imminent danger of a watery grave. She took a deep breath; held it a moment, and let it go. The lake subsided as she exhaled, smoothing back out into mirror smoothness.
“Swimming privileges revoked for one week,” she said to Ignatius, in more her usual calm tones. “Honey, Buck, I’ll leave any wider consequences to your discretion.”
“Oh, you had better believe there will be consequences,” Honey growled. “Pack, follow me. We are going to have a talk.”
CHAPTER20
Later in the afternoon—after a lengthy, mostly one-sided conversation with the rest of the pack, in which Honey had let them know in no uncertain terms what she thought of their behavior—Honey slipped into the boys’ dorm. She hesitated outside Ignatius’s door, then knocked.
“Ignatius?” she called. “It’s Honey. May I come in?”
No answer.
Well, that wasn’t a ‘no.’ Deciding that was all the invitation she was likely to get, Honey went in.
She hadn’t seen Ignatius’s room before. In general layout, it was almost identical to her own—which made sense, since itwasintended to be a counselor’s room. Unlike her, he hadn’t decorated, unless you counted scattered piles of musty clothes as ‘decorated.’ Campers were supposed to keep their living space neat, but Ignatius was clearly used to having other people tidy up after him.
Ignatius himself sat on his bed, knees drawn up to his chin. As she walked in, he thrust something under the bedsheets. She got the briefest glimpse of worn red fur and a button eye before the stuffed toy disappeared. The boy scowled at her, as though daring her to comment.
“If you’re here to tell me you’re very disappointed in me, you can save your breath,” he muttered. “Believe me, I’ve heard it all before.”
“That’s not why I’m here.” Leaving the door open behind her, Honey perched on the end of the bed. “I thought you might need to talk.”
Ignatius drew his feet further away from her. “What good would that do?”
“I don’t know. Maybe nothing. Butnottalking isn’t working, is it? You tried to keep a big secret, and it came out anyway.”
Ignatius picked at his sheet, not looking at her.
“You don’t have to talk to me if you don’t want to. But I think you should talk to someone.”
No answer.
The room wasn’tquitedevoid of personal possessions. There was a single framed picture on the nightstand; a blonde woman, her arms wrapped tight around a boy. Honey almost didn’t recognize Ignatius, even though it had to be a recent picture. She’d never seen him smile.
“Is that your mom?” she asked. She’d never heard Ignatius mention anyone other than his uncle. “You look very happy together.”
One-shouldered shrug.
