The overcast day did nothing to diminish the beauty of the ferry ride from the mainland port out towards the San Juan Islands. Rain was a constant companion in Washington state. During her first few days in Seattle, Maddox had learned the lesson quickly that if you waited for the sun to be active, you’d never get to see or do anything. Despite the day’s light drizzle, she marveled at the scenery that passed by and delighted in the appeal of beautiful isolation.

From the dark water the ferry cut through to the lush greens and browns of the island forests, she longed to escape deep inside. Alone, no one would point out how tall she was or look at her as if she didn’t belong with the rest of the crowd. Alone, she could exist in silent peace, away from her demons that chased her wherever she went.

Her phone buzzed in her pocket. Checking the screen, she saw the text from Trista. Her newlywed perfectly gorgeous younger sister always did have perfect timing.

“I’m still mad that you left the reception early and took off like that. But I wanted to see if you’re doing okay. Mom and Dad said you flew all the way out to Washington State!! You ok?”

Maddox’s fingers hovered over the screen, waiting for the right words to come. How could she tell her sister that having an entire country’s worth of space between them allowed a small sliver of relief into her life? She chose to deflect with humor.

“Shouldn’t you be boinking your new husband instead of bugging me?”

“And making pretty babies,” she added under her breath, resentment dripping from her quiet tone.

“Taking a break from our marathon boinking to check on my big sis.”

Before the wedding, everyone had given her the dreaded pity looks. Pity for being the older sister with no boyfriend in sight. Pity for towering over the best man, her supposed escort. Pity for not looking anything like the rest of her family—the curse of the adopted child. Maddox had enough pity to fill an ocean.

“I’m good. My team’s trainer and mentor from my college program set me up with his friend in Seattle. He works with the pro hockey team. I got to see part of practice. It was cool.”

Those last three little words did nothing to describe the adrenaline of watching Griff Berenger skate on the ice. Or how her heart had stopped for the few seconds he’d looked right at her. Right before he’d pounded the other player into the side of the rink.

“Cool. You gonna try to get a job with a basketball team since that was your sport?”

Was. What a cruel word. If Maddox had been a male, she might have had a shot at going pro out of college. If she’d been full shifter, maybe her knee injury wouldn’t have killed any dreams of getting on a women’s pro team.

Instead, her biological status of being part-bear always found a way to screw up her life again and again. Maddox composed a couple of real responses to her sister, telling her to mind her own business or to go live out her idyllic life. She deleted each one, guilt and regret churning in her gut.

“IDK. Go enjoy your honeymoon, Tris.”

“Love you, Mad Max.”

“Love you 2.”

Maddox shoved her phone back in her pocket right before a little boy ran into her, chasing a small toy car that had slid between her feet. Without any thought, he reached between her legs under the seat. His scent filled her nose with one whiff. Animal underneath the surface. Not bear like her, but something with fur. Since she hadn’t grown up in a shifter community, her natural skills had never had a chance to fully develop.

“Justin. Get out from under there. I’m so sorry.” His mother ran to her rescue, grabbing the back of her son’s pants and dragging him from under Maddox.

For a second, the woman’s nostrils flared. With wary eyes and a polite nod, the mom smiled. “Would you mind?” Her eyes flicked to her son.

“Let me help you both out,” Maddox interrupted, standing up to let them search for the errant toy.

As she moved, the boy whipped his head in her direction. “Mama, she’s like us.” A goofy grin spread across his face.

His mom clapped a quick hand over his mouth. “Right. Not quite, but you’re not completely wrong. Remember what we’ve talked about, not saying those kinds of things out loud. Now, get your toy and let’s find Daddy.”

Maddox didn’t stick around to see if they succeeded in getting the car out from under the seat. She didn’t need to watch the mother observing her and protecting her child all at the same time. An instinct to posture and hold her ground flooded her stomach, but it ebbed just as quickly when she stood up. Her animal side never showed up for very long if at all. She moved to another window and attempted to soothe the old wounds of her past by marveling at the scenery spread out in front of her.

An announcement crackled over the speakers, and people made the first movements towards their cars. In the stairwell, Maddox scented more animals, surprised at the variety and strength. Living in the city back East, she never came across so many all together. What brought all of these shifters here? Her insides twisted, not knowing what to do with the information. Confusion and inaction remained her constant companions in life. Without pushing people out of the way, she made it to her rental SUV and shut everything out.

The ferry slowed down and angled to line up with the dock. Plugging in her phone, Maddox double-checked the directions from Dr. Harris, who she’d refused to call Bill or Doc despite his insistence. His message instructed her to ditch the GPS function of her phone. The printed directions eventually resorted to landmarks rather than road names to look out for.

She inched behind the slow line of cars disembarking from the ferry. Tall trees bordered the road. Maddox appreciated her surroundings more and more as she drove towards the central part of the island. Road signs beckoned her to stray from the path to find the various parks and lakes they advertised. Enticements were scattered all over the tiny island, and Maddox questioned her sanity for planning a quick day trip before heading back on a later ferry.

The directions took her to the edge of Morris State Park. She silently thanked Dr. Harris for the tip about turning right at a very conspicuous mailbox structure. Nobody could miss the hulking natural stone structure that housed the box and held up a bunch of weathered painted signs. When she turned right down the dirt and gravel road, her headlights flashed onto names in faded paint on each plank of wood.

The final directions from Dr. Harris confused her. “You’ll know the house when you see it.”

The small structure in front of her seemed like any ordinary two-story home with a carport. Nothing extraordinary about the place, but Maddox guessed it must be the place since the road diverged, the gravel leading directly into the driveway and away from a long dirt road winding further into the wild woods.

Her heart beat hard in her chest after she rang the doorbell. She adopted a professional air to help her ignore her nerves. With intention, she attempted to calm herself—deep breath in for four, hold for seven seconds, blow out for eight.

The door swung open, and a smaller woman smiled up at her. Her dark eyes almost matched the black of her hair. Although they observed her, they didn’t hold any wariness nor threat.

“May I help you?”

Maddox fumbled her response. “Yes, I’m Griffin Berenger. I mean, I’m Maddox Price, not that I am Griffin Berenger. That would be weird, right? Yes, it would. No, I mean, uh, I’m Maddox Price, and I’ve been sent here for Griffin Berenger. Not sent in a bad way, like I’m out to kidnap him or anything. But…geez, I’m a basket case.”

The woman brushed her hand on Maddox’s arm. “Take a second and center yourself. Tell that animal inside of you to stop dancing around. You’re safe here.” She winked.

Maddox’s nerves settled in an instant as if her body knew the woman meant no harm. She pictured her bear inside her laying down, calm and submissive. Well, that was new.

“How did you know?” She clamped her mouth shut after the question, forcing it not to gape wide open in surprise.

“I know many things. But that’s beside the point. You say you’re looking for my second son, Griffin?”

Maddox marveled at the small stature of the woman. Griffin’s mother. How could someone so tiny give birth to a behemoth of a pro hockey player?

She nodded. “Yeah. I mean, yes, ma’am, I am. I’m here on behalf of Bill Harris to check up on him.” She clung to her professionalism, wrapping it around her like a safety blanket. “To assess his progress.”

“His progress? That’s…curiously serious. It sounds like my son has been keeping things from me. But where are my manners? You’re getting wet out here. Please come inside. I can make us some hot tea while we wait.”

Before she could protest, the friendly woman vacated the doorway. Hot tea sounded like heaven, and it would give Maddox a chance to find her center again and get back on track. She wiped her feet on the welcome doormat that featured a scene of trees and bear silhouettes.

“Thank you, Mrs. Berenger.”

“Maya. I may be turning fifty, but that doesn’t mean I’m old yet.” She gestured to a chair at the table in the kitchen. “Have you eaten?”

How could Maddox eat when her stomach had been turning the whole trip here? At the mention of food, her animal perked up. She covered her belly, embarrassed by the loud gurgles it suddenly emitted.

Maya smiled. “Never mind. Never ask one of one of us if we’re hungry. Better to make the assumption that we always are.” In a short time, different options filled the table.

“I’m sorry, Mrs. Berenger,” started Maddox.

“Maya.”

“Right. Maya. But what do you mean by one of us? And how did you do what you did out there on the steps?” Maddox attempted to hide her confusion by fixing herself a sandwich.

Maya chuckled. “Surely you could sense your own kind here.”

Maddox stopped chewing, unable to swallow. She shook her head.

“But that’s a part of your instincts. You learned that from your mother, right? Or was it your father?”

That old familiar pang she’d felt on the ferry texting with her sister returned. “Neither.” With a sip of tea, she forced the bite down. “I’m adopted.

Maya’s brow furrowed. “So you grew up alone?”

Not only the bear inside bristled at those words. “Not alone. I had a very loving mom and dad. Have. I love them.”

Then why did you run away from them and leave them behind on the other side of the country? Maddox pushed the question away from her mind. One problem at a time.

“My apologies. I didn’t mean to offend.”

“You didn’t,” Maddox lied, then remembered that Maya could probably tell she was lying. “That’s not true. But reconciling my…biological side with my adopted side has always been…hard.”

Maya reached a hand out across the table. She gave a motherly squeeze and let her go.

Again, the touch soothed Maddox. Shaking off the momentary peace, she pulled out her phone and checked the time. She needed to get back to Seattle to find a new place to stay since she didn’t want to rely on Dr. Harris’s hospitality any longer. If she wanted to be on the last ferry, she needed to connect with Griffin in the next hour.

With a warm smile, Maya didn’t push the subject any further. “Well, I need to do some baking if I’m gonna feed my boys. Care to help me while you wait? I find that keeping busy is the best medicine to still my mind and nerves.”

Maddox lost herself in the active work of baking assistance. Before long, flour coated the borrowed apron covered in bears wearing pink bows. Maya made it effortless to be with her, and Maddox appreciated the pretense that the woman needed any help in the kitchen.

A door slammed open, and loud shouting interrupted the temporary utopia. Male voices argued back and forth, too noisy and full of guttural grunts to be deciphered.

“Boys, mind your manners.” Maya rushed to the kitchen doorway. “We have a guest. If you don’t quiet down, you won’t get any of the muffins that we made.”

Maddox’s heart leaped into her throat. How had she gotten herself into this mess? Where had the time gone? And where would be a good place to hide?

“What kind of muffins?” One of the boys kissed his mom on the cheek and pushed past her, ignoring Maddox and focusing on the baked goods on the cooling racks.

“Blueberry. And chocolate chip. But don’t you dare eat any of them. They’re for breakfast tomorrow.” Maya mouthed an apology to Maddox.

In a split second, the woman lost her footing as a massive figure picked her up from behind. “Good. Both my favorites, so that means none for Parker or Vaughn. You hear that? Everything in here’s all for me.”

Time and space stopped. A vortex of conflicting emotions swirled around Maddox and threatened to take her under. Griffin Berenger stood in the middle of the kitchen, glaring at her with dark eyes like his mother’s.

His nostrils flared. A low, rumbling sound built in the back of his throat. After an awkward moment, he pointed his finger right at her. “What the hell is she doing here? And why is she wearing your apron?”

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