the group of campers from the safety of that far shore.
She was a strong swimmer in both her human and beast shapes, and knew that she could make it there without much difficulty.
But she wouldn't be able to live with herself if she left the others behind and something bad happened to them. She had to stay until she knew that everyone was safe.
Over the next hour, she and the other adults huddled on the shores of the lake, trying to keep the kids from panicking as the fire advanced and closed in around them.
In the years since leaving home, she'd almost forgotten the deafening roar of a forest fire as it swept through trees and brush.
With the relentless wind pushing the fire up the valley, it was only a matter of time now before the forest on this side of the lake was completely engulfed in flames. In the space of an hour, the beautiful scenery had turned into a hellscape as the fire raced through the forest canopy.
"We need to get to the other side of the lake," she told her three adult companions, shouting to make herself heard over the din of the fire.
"Too far!" Camper Bob yelled in reply. "And the water's way too cold. The kids won't be able to swim that far—and I don't think we'll make it either."
He was right. Hypothermia was a real danger, since the lake was deep, and only the thin surface layer had warmed up in the summer sun. The depths were still the temperature of pure snowmelt. Yesterday, Maggie had gone for a short dip in her human shape, and the penetrating cold had made her bones ache.
But I could do it in my beast shape, Maggie thought. Her jaguar fur was dense and water-resistant, and her broad paws superbly adapted for swimming and hunting in the water.
All her life, she had kept her shifter nature a secret in a world filled with Ordinary humans. It was the first thing she'd been taught while growing up. Sure, Bearpaw Ridge was a community filled with shifters, but even there, her family had had to be extremely cautious about revealing their true nature to Ordinaries.
Now, Maggie faced a terrible dilemma.
I want to save them, she thought. But even if they don't freak out, can I trust thirteen Ordinaries to keep my secret?
Chapter 2
Exposure
A fierce debate raging in her head, Maggie looked around.
Susan and Kathy were still trying to get a cell signal, walking back and forth along the rocky shore, their phones raised high.
Bob was sitting on a nearby boulder, his son on his knee, and the two of them were filming a goodbye message on his phone. "…wanted you to know that you made me the happiest guy in the world on our wedding day. I'm gonna do everything I can to protect Jayden, but if the worst happens, I hope you'll get this message. I love you, honey."
"Love you, Mommy," Jayden said, one small hand knotted in his dad's t-shirt.
He looked like he was about to burst into tears at any moment. So did Bob.
Maggie made the only decision that she could live with. She waved over Kathy, Susan, and Bob, then rounded up the kids.
"I can help get you guys to the other side of the lake!" she shouted. "But you have to promise me that you won't freak out at what I do, and you've got to keep it a secret!"
"What are you gonna do?" Kathy asked. She was a lean, deeply tanned woman with shoulder-length bleached-blonde hair and a perpetually worried expression. The crisis had only deepened the pair of vertical lines carved into her forehead between her narrow brows.
Maggie drew a deep breath. "I'm a shapeshifter. If I shift into my other form now, I can carry or tow you guys across the lake."
The three adults' eyes widened, and their expressions said it all. They all thought she was nuts.
Maggie clenched her jaw and kept going. "If we survive this, the reporters are going to be all over you guys. Please, just tell everyone that you swam across as a group, helping each other."
Bob, Kathy, and Susan all looked at each other. Susan's gaze rose to the fire advancing steadily upon them, then returned to Maggie.
"Okay," she said simply. "Please, help us. Whatever you have to do."
The other two looked uncertain, but nodded.
"Okay, great," Maggie said, relief flooding through her. "Kids first, then grown-ups." She didn't voice her fear that she might not have