Saving Grace

As Game Warden, Jack Chambers is responsible for the wildlife in and around Grizzly Cove, but he never expected to find a badly injured mermaid washed up on the shore near his house. He takes her in and helps her back to health, only to learn of the much greater danger held at bay, just off shore, and how it’s affecting the ocean-going shifter population.

Jack’s immediate problem is the pull the leviathan still has over the woman he is fast coming to believe is his mate. He has to save her, but they also need to work through the problems of a land shifter and a mermaid getting together. Can they make the relationship work? Or is he going to end up broken hearted when she returns to her watery home?

And who even knew there were mer people off shore? This is something the residents of Grizzly Cove are going to have to figure out, especially with the leviathan out there too, still posing a great threat to all creatures of the Light.

Just a few more minutes and he’d be able to go home and clean up in time to head over to his brother’s place. Family dinners were sort of mandatory now that Brody had claimed a mate. Jack didn’t begrudge him that. He really liked his new sister-in-law. But Jack and Brody had never really been as close as some of the other siblings in their group. They’d been born a generation apart, and Jack was more of a loner, preferring to spend time in the woods—either in his fur or out of it—more than with other people.
Which was probably why they’d given him the job of Game Warden when they were passing out titles and duties. Their Alpha, John, knew each of the men too well to give them a job for which they weren’t suited. Settling in Grizzly Cove was supposed to be a reward, not a punishment, so John was sure to give each of the guys a choice if they wanted to work in a job or not. Most were content to serve the community they were all trying to build, in one way or another.
Jack was happiest on his own, and observing nature—and potential threats from humans, shifters, or Others—was his specialty. So his job was a near-perfect fit.
Stepping over a rise in the dunes, well away from the danger that might possibly be lurking in the water, Jack looked out over the expanse of rocky sand toward the shoreline. His night vision was excellent, but he had to squint to be sure he was seeing what he thought he was seeing.
Sure enough, there was a crumpled shape lying on the sand not far from the receding waterline. The tide was going out, and it looked like something—or someone—had washed up on the beach. Was it alive? Was it a trap to get him closer to the water?
Only one way to find out.
Jack approached cautiously, but with some speed. If it was a trap, he didn’t want to give the enemy time to plan every move. It was better to rush the scene, Jack thought, though others might’ve disagreed with his tactics. Of course, Jack had always been a bit unconventional. For a bear, he was a bit of a lone wolf at times.
As he drew closer, he could see pale skin that had an almost luminous glow. And the red of blood. The coppery scent hit him as the breeze shifted, and he knew that whatever it was on the beach was gravely injured. Maybe even dead.
But no. He saw the faint rise and fall of breathing as he got closer. It was alive. For now.
And…female, he saw, as he got closer. But she was like no female he’d ever seen before. That glow was the fading of what could only be described as scales. And as he watched, her lower body dried and became two legs instead of a single, thick tail.
Holy shit.
He’d found himself a mermaid.