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The Skunk, The Tibetan Fox, and Their Wolf Omega

Copyright 2023 by Lorelei M. Hart and Wendy Rathbone
Digital ISBN: 978-1-68361-775-4
Print ISBN: 978-1-68361-776-1

All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work, in
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Table of Contents

The Omegas of Animals Series

Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Epilogue
The Dragon and Dolphin’s Bear Omega
A Peek at The Dragon, the Lion, and Their Unicorn Omega
About the Authors
 The Omegas of Animals Series

Papa Bear for Darius

A Mate for Hudson
A Family for Cooper
Wood You be Mine
A Hoard for Flame
A Den for Finley
A Guy for Rye

Omegas of Animals SD
with Wendy Rathbone
The Wolf and Bear’s Dragon Omega
The Red Panda and His Mates
The Dragon, the Lion, and Their Unicorn Omega
The Otter, the Tiger, and their Wolf Omega
The Chef, the Wolf, and their Platypus Omega
The Dragon and Dolphin’s Bear Omega

Christmas Valley Shifters

Their Omega Partridge in a Pear Tree
The Skunk, the Tibetan Fox, and Their Wolf Omega

by
Lorelei M. Hart
and
Wendy Rathbone
Edric is hoping to find someone who accepts him for who he is…he ends up meeting the two.

Alpha skunk shifter Edric had his life planned out for him since birth. Edric would mate the alpha’s
omega son and become next in line for the position. It’s not what he longs to do, but it is his destiny,
or so he thinks.

Everything falls apart when his scent doesn’t appear on his twenty-fifth birthday. Rejected by his
surfeit for being broken and unfit, he has no choice but to leave and begin a new life.

Alpha Tibetan fox shifter Dakota loves to travel and, when he sees a vlogger who traveled across the
county and up to Alaska, it sounds like the best idea ever. And maybe it would’ve been if some jerk
didn’t run his bike off the road, destroying it and giving him a foot injury even his beast can’t repair.

Omega Wolf shifter Leif transfers to Animals SD after he begins dreaming of the ocean. He has no
idea why he’s called there, but it feels right. One night at the beach, he scents the reason why. If only
his fated mates were as excited to meet him as he is about them.

The Skunk, the Tibetan Fox, and Their Wolf Omega is a standalone sweet with knotty heat M/M/M
shifter mpreg romance set in the world of Omegas of Animals SD. It features an alpha skunk
rejected by his surfeit, a Tibetan wolf broken beyond repair, an omega wolf who sees them both as
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friends from Animals and Animals SD, and a guaranteed HEA. If you love your alphas hawt and
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 Chapter One
Edric

The ceremony was scheduled for eight p.m. at the home of Sur Lawrence DePolo. The name
sounded like something for a knight, with “sir” spelled wrong, but he wasn’t a knight. He was the
alpha leader of our surfeit with the term “sur” meaning “over and above.”
A surfeit is a group of skunk shifters. We were a community, only tighter knit, with customs and
rituals we kept to ourselves.
Our surfeit pretty much ran the town of Chosenville, a little place up in the mountains of Southern
California where most of our revenue was brought in by tourism.
A few hours before the ceremony, my alpha father, Lex, called me on his cell, which was rare.
He usually liked to keep his distance with texts only.
“Edric. Are you ready for tonight?”
“No. I mean, yes, I am. But I’m not feeling it.”
“I know you aren’t overly fond of Sur DePolo’s omega son, but he’s from a wealthy family. Issa
can give you strong, healthy kits. This marriage will forge a good bond between our families, and the
surfeit will benefit.”
Issa was an okay guy. But I wasn’t attracted to him. I barely knew him. And my skunk couldn’t
properly scent him at the times we were in the same vicinity. Everyone assured me when he went into
heat, I’d have no troubles. Everything would be fine, and we’d bond and settle down together to raise
a family.
But I was a romantic. I wanted more than an arranged marriage and pre-planned family.
“Did you learn your dance?” Lex asked.
“Yeah.”
“You don’t sound very excited about it. How do you feel? Do you feel like you’re ready? Do
your scent glands show any swelling? Do you notice a change in scent?”
“Dad! That’s so personal! Why are you asking me these things?” I was twenty-five. The scent and
marriage ritual was bad enough, but I’d agreed to those. But prying into my personal space was
mortifying. I’d been dreading this since I was old enough to learn I’d be married off on my twenty-
fifth birthday.
“We all have the glands. It’s not anything to be embarrassed about. Where do you get your weird
notions, Son?”
“I’m not embarrassed. I just don’t like prying busybodies.”
Skunks were solitary. Mostly. And I was one of those who liked to keep to myself. But we did
socialize within the surfeit, and, within that, we formed dens. As skunk shifters, we liked to hole up in
family groups during the winter even in human form. We were prone to lethargy during those months,
and families had nap gatherings where we’d plan big meals and sleepovers that lasted up to weeks at
a time.
“I’m your father, not a busybody. And I just want my son to be happy and healthy. So?”
I pouted at the phone. “I’m fine. Everything’s fine.” It was only a half-truth though. I didn’t feel
any different. My scent glands, which were located in the rectum in both human and skunk form, didn’t
feel any different to me when I touched them. There was no change. No swelling. No urge to spray
even when startled.
I’d told no one, though I knew it was odd.
“All right, then. Is your tuxedo pressed and ready?”
“Yes.”
“You’ve got your gift for Issa?”
“Yes.”
“Your papa and I will see you at Sur DePolo’s, then.”
“Yeah. Right. I’ll see you there. Bye.”
The phone went silent. I stared at it then set it on my coffee table and burrowed into the pillows
on my couch. I didn’t want this. Everything felt so wrong about it. Plus, after I completed the dance,
which was, along with the special tea I was to drink, supposed to set off my gland, I was then
required to marry someone I hadn’t even spent more than five minutes with.
I knew the ritual. I understood how everything worked. But, inside, I didn’t feel a single thing.
I wanted to forget about Issa and my scent glands. I wanted to be left alone.

***

I stood before the surfeit in the DePolo’s huge fancy ballroom in their big, ostentatious mansion.
We had ninety-two active members in our surfeit, and at least forty more outliers who wished to be
left alone and never came to any surfeit events.
My fathers sat in the front row of pristine white chairs set up for the ceremonial dance, the
emerge of my scent, and the marriage. They were all dressed up, Lex in a white tux, and my omega
dad, Ati, all in black with a white scarf around his shoulders. Lex had a dark mustache and looked far
younger than his fifty-five years. Ati was always beautiful, his hair graying perfectly with a white
stripe straight through the center which he kept neatly short-spiked.
I had been the only one of my fathers’ litter. Most skunk shifters had litters of twins or triplets.
Usually, scent ceremonies had all the siblings participate. But, tonight, it was only me. In the
spotlight.
I had practiced my dance well and knew it by heart, but when I went onto the makeshift stage
before all the rows of seats, I felt nothing but a strange shyness. When the music began, I drank the
ritual tea from a clear crystal cup. It went down hot and spicy, and I waited to see if it made me feel a
little drunk. Nothing changed.
I started the dance slowly, formal and correct. I did everything right. The graceful moves, the
proper motions of my arms over my head. I had a lean, tall body, so I could only hope it looked all
right and I wasn’t making a total fool of myself.
After it was over, applause came. I bowed. When I looked up, Lex was motioning to me to smile.
I turned away, pretending I hadn’t seen him. I didn’t feel like smiling.
For the next part of the ritual, I was grateful for privacy. It wasn’t like the surfeit expected me to
disrobe, shift, show them my butthole, and spray. Which was a great relief. Some in the larger shifter
communities gossiped about skunk habits and called us kinky for our rituals, but they didn’t know.
Everything was handled with decorum and a somewhat-formal prissiness.
I was allowed to go into a private scent room where everything was set up for me to shift and
prove my scent. The room had a white tile floor and one window, curtains closed. A white bench
lined a wall. Facing the bench, along another wall, was a six-by-four cotton sheet on a frame, like a
blank canvas waiting to be painted. The frame touched the floor. Everything was so white.
I was to disrobe, shift, and spray that sheet then present it to Sur DePolo in a special velvet bag
as proof of my full maturity. As alpha of the surfeit, he would file it away in the scent archives as my
adult identity.
I was careful with the tux as I draped it on the bench. It was a wool blend with satin lapels of the
finest brand.
When I was naked, I shifted and turned toward the sheet. The dance in the ballroom had been a
ritual, yes, but it was also meant to get the blood warm and flowing, the adrenaline pumping. Still, I
felt nothing.
In skunk form, I began the dance again. I raised my tail, wiggling it all the way to the tip and
pressed down as I’d been taught. Nothing.
I tried again. Nothing. I simply didn’t feel it. It was as if I had no glands at all. Their little
nipples didn’t itch or move or open or anything.
Frustrated, I tried again. No result. As I tried a few more times to spray, I realized something was
wrong, and I should have been paying more attention to my body and its lack of scent gland maturity
pre-symptoms.
 I shifted back to human and sat on the bench with my hands on my thighs, head bowed, defeated.
Now what?
I didn’t want to face the crowd. Nor Issa. I sat for a long time, unsure what to do. Finally, a soft
knock came at the door.
I quickly pulled on my pants and went to open it.
Lex stood in the doorway. “Edric?”
I glanced away and let him come in. He glanced around, taking in the unmarked sheet then turning
to me. “What’s wrong, Son?”
“I can’t.”
“Can’t what?”
“I tried. There’s no activity. Nothing. No scent. No spray. No response from my scent glands to
the dance.”
“Did you do the dance while shifted in front of the sheet?”
“Yes. I did.”
He scratched his head. He matched the scent room perfectly, all dressed up in his white tux. He
was the perfect alpha, and I knew right then and there I could never be like him.
He put his arm around me and led me back to the bench. “Get dressed. I’ll handle things.” He
leaned down and gave me a quick kiss to the side of my head.
My eyes blurred. I didn’t want Issa, so I wasn’t sad over him. It was more about letting down my
fathers and the surfeit. About being broken, a failure.
Lex left, closing the door quietly. I took my time getting dressed. When I emerged from the room,
I heard only silence. Slowly, I made my way back to the ballroom.
The chairs were all still there, but the room was empty, except for Sur DePolo and my fathers.
They all looked up as I entered. My fathers came up, one on either side of me.
Sur DePolo, who stood at least six three and was as wide as two of me put together, said, “Edric.
I’m sorry for this outcome. Truly. Do you understand what comes next?”
I shook my head. I hadn’t ever really looked to the future, as romantic as I was. I had never
thought about leaving the surfeit or my job at the ski resort.
“We can have him see the healer first before any firm decisions are made,” Ati suggested. He
reached down and clutched my hand in his. I was grateful for the support but remained numb.
“It’s usually not something that is fixable,” DePolo said. “If a skunk doesn’t get his scent by age
twenty-five, that’s it. It’s not going to magically grow in. Not past that age.” DePolo faced me. “Issa is
going to be matched to another alpha. There will be no argument.”
I nodded, blinking away more blurry warmth from my eyes.
 “Do you understand you cannot bond to an omega skunk without your scent?” he asked me.
Lex gave a little gasp.
“Yes.” I gulped. “Does this mean I have to leave?”
“Of course not.” DePolo smiled, but it was patronizing, even pitying.
Something inside me churned, and bile formed in the back of my throat. “But I’ll never marry if I
stay here.”
“Not to another skunk, no.”
Ati’s hand clutched mine tighter.
“Okay.” I didn’t know what else to say. In my mind, everything had frozen. I couldn’t think. I
could barely breathe.
DePolo showed us all out. My fathers had come in their own car. Mine sat parked next to theirs.
“Come home with us for the night,” Ati said, leaning in to hug me. When he pulled away, he had
tears in his eyes.
“No. I’ll be all right.”
Lex hugged me and said, “Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
When I drove home, a nearly full moon hung over the forest and the hills. I drove past the resort.
No snow. It wasn’t quite fall yet. As I looked at the chalet-style lodges, the restaurant that was open
twenty-four seven, the ticket building, the chair lift going all the way up to the top of the mountain, I
realized I wasn’t married to this place. I didn’t have to stay. I had options.
I’d never wanted Issa. Maybe this was not a failure on my part but an opportunity.
That was the moment I knew my mind had already been made up. I wasn’t going to stay in
Chosenville. There was a whole other world out there, and I was going to experience it.
 Chapter Two
Dakota

It was a funny dream. Voices all around me. A feeling like my leg was on fire. And a mouthful of
dirt.
I coughed then choked. Hands gripped my shoulders.
“You’ll be okay, son,” said a male voice.
I tried to open my eyes, but all I could see was a sort of gray light. My eyelids would not raise
all the way.
I opened my mouth to speak. “Is this Alaska?”
I heard my words come out strangely garbled and remembered I had followed a semi-famous
vlogger who took a road trip to Alaska. I’d become obsessed with having an adventure myself and
had decided to follow in his footsteps. After saying goodbye to my parents, I took my bike and headed
north. Had I arrived already? Why couldn’t I remember anything?
“Don’t try to talk,” said the voice. “We’ve got you.”
I realized I wasn’t dreaming when I felt my body lifted onto a soft surface. Then I was in a van,
the wheels screeching, a siren blaring as we moved.
I entered a blurry state where reality came at me through a fog and voices echoed. I heard
someone ask me my name.
“Dakota.” But my tongue felt too thick to make the word sound right.
Things flashed all around me from what little I could see. The first time I saw color, it was neon
green. I realized my head was turned to the side and I was looking at a monitor with readouts with
green zigzags and slashes. I smelled disinfectant and nearly panicked when I got it through my dazed
brain that I was in a hospital.
Was I going to die?
I blinked harder and moved my head. “Dakota?” said a voice. Female this time. “You’re awake.
Good for you. You’re in George Cane Medical Center. You took a fall on your bike. Do you
remember?”
I tried to shake my head, but it hurt.
“We’re shifter friendly here, very discreet, so no worries, okay?” she said. “You are a fox,
right?”
“Tibetan fox,” I corrected. This time, my tongue worked better.
“Okay. That’s good. You have some injuries we want to treat in your human form, but we’ll also
want you to shift so we can help you heal your animal, too. Does that sound good?”
 “Am I going to be okay?”
“Of course, sweetie. You just need time to heal now.”
A hand touched mine. She finally came into view. She was a small woman wearing pink scrubs
and had her dark hair pulled back tight into a ponytail. I immediately pegged her as a pony shifter,
though I’d never met one in person.
“You had some contacts on your phone,” she said. “We got hold of your parents and told them you
were okay and where you were, so you don’t have to be concerned about that.”
I winced. I didn’t want my parents to come. My alpha dad had been against my road trip from the
beginning. “Going to Alaska is foolish,” he had said. “You need to settle down, get a regular job.”
I’d been working odd jobs to save up for the trip. I wasn’t going to let him spoil my fun, and
we’d parted on less than positive terms.
Tears warmed my eyes. Now I wasn’t going to have this trip at all.
Slowly, over the next few hours, I learned what all my injuries were. When I’d been run off the
road by a reckless driver, I had taken the brunt of my fall on my right side. I’d badly scraped my back
and right leg. My right ankle and foot were broken in five different places. I’d also scraped and
bruised my face, which was why I couldn’t open my eyes all the way. I had a sprained wrist, and my
entire right side was black and blue.
Although I responded to human medical treatments just like anyone, shifters had certain abilities
doctors needed to utilize. I was glad whoever found me recognized that and brought me to a hospital
with special shifter facilities.
While they were setting up my treatment room, I dozed as various medications and liquid ran into
my veins. When I was ready to be moved, everything was disconnected. I was put in a wheelchair and
taken down a long hall.
When the door to my new room opened, I saw a small area had been made up to resemble, as
much as possible, a fox den. There was a cozy hollow at the base of a little fake rock wall. Inside
was a nice soft bed, not dirt, and I was grateful. We might be animals when shifted, but we could still
appreciate a cushy pillow and pad.
The walls of the den rose close and secure to a short ceiling, just as I liked, and there were clean
water and food bowls right at the edge of the bed. I itched to shift as soon as I saw the setup.
“We’ll have you stay in fox form for at least a week,” the doctor told me. “I’ll splint your wrist
and ankle in that form. Is that agreeable to you?”
I nodded.
He left the room as the nurse helped me undress. I couldn’t stand, so she helped me slide out of
the chair and sit on the floor. As she took the wheelchair away, I shifted.
 It seemed to take me longer than normal to feel my fox fur around me. When I finally felt whole, I
tried to stand and heard myself let out a whimper. My right foot gave out and sharp shooting pains ran
up my leg.
The nurse was back immediately, assisting me until I was on the bed and comfortable in the fake
fox den. Tibetan foxes are on the small side, so it was nothing for her to support my weight as she got
me settled.
I yawned from the exertion it had taken me to shift and fell fast asleep.

***

My memories of being in the hospital in my fox form were intermittent. My fathers visited
several times, talking to me, reassuring me, even though I couldn’t talk to them. I couldn’t shift back to
human until my doctors okayed it.
I had a cast on my foot, which ached fiercely despite the pain meds given to me. My front paw
was splinted. And I had small IVs running into me for five days.
Mostly, I slept.
When the week was up, most of my injuries had healed due to my shifter metabolism. But my
ankle and foot would not hold weight, even with the cast.
The doctor took the cast off and examined me in my fox form. I let out a little bark at the pain.
“This should be healed by now.” He manipulated my foot, and I squirmed out of his grasp,
panting.
“Well.” He stood, hands on his hips. “We’ll have to treat this final problem in your human form.
It will take longer to heal. This means you’ll have crutches for a while. So, whenever you’re ready.”
I immediately shifted, coming into my human self in a crouch. Everything felt fine except for my
foot. I couldn’t put any weight on it without severe pain. After the nurse helped me into a robe and I
was settled into my wheelchair, the doctor sat facing me.
“We want to keep you one more night for observation, just to see that all is well in this form now.
We’ll fit your ankle and foot with a boot. You’ll have to keep off it for six weeks.”
The next day, my fathers came to take me home. It was the last place I’d wanted to go. My dream
of Alaska with its forested mountains and frosted blue lakes and lots of open space for shifting and
running had faded for now. Plus, my bike was destroyed. Insurance paid only half of what it would
cost me to replace it. I could have gotten a lawyer, but I had no energy left in me to fight, so I took the
settlement and decided that when I got better, I’d use it to help me relocate.
Six weeks passed in relative peace. My fathers took turns caring for me. They housed me, fed
me, and watched TV with me while I healed.
The pain started to get better but never went completely away. When it came time for the boot to
come off for good, I still had trouble walking. My doctor prescribed rehab, which helped, but after
ten more weeks, I was told I would never get full function from my foot again. I would always limp.
The bones had healed, but spurs developed on the ankle joint. Spurs hurt! There were surgical options
given to me with no guarantees they’d correct the problem.
I had to face facts. I would have a limp for the rest of my life in both human and fox form.
As any alpha, I had prided myself perhaps a little too much on my strength. A disability like this
took some getting used to. It brought back insecurities I hadn’t faced since childhood.
After four and a half months back home and tired of feeling like a burden, I made a plan. I went to
my fathers and told them I would be moving out.
“What? But we love having you here.” My omega father came and put his arm around my
shoulders.
“What will you do for work?” My alpha father, always practical, stared at my foot as if it was
some great barrier to me having any semblance of a normal life.
“I already got a job. I applied online, and they accepted me. It’s in San Diego. I’m leaving the
day after tomorrow.”
“What kind of job can you do?” he asked.
“I’ll be running a kiosk on the beach where they rent things like tandem bikes and surfboards to
tourists. And the boss has a tiny studio cottage I can stay in for cheap. He needs me to come right
away.”
“Your boss? Have you even met? Do you even know this person?”
I sighed. My fathers meant well. As fox shifters, they were very protective of their kits. Their
kids. My brother and sister litter mates, who’d left the den way before me, were required to email
every day, even if they had nothing to say.
“He’s a shifter,” I explained. “It’s part of the reason why he’s being so nice. I promise to email
every day.”
Two days later, I found myself standing on a boardwalk in San Diego, watching the sky turn pink
as the sun set over the blue waves of the Pacific.
“Welcome to your new life,” I said aloud to the air. I was more than ready.
 Chapter Three
Leif

I’d never seen anything so beautiful. The Pacific Ocean spread out before me, rippling with
whitecaps under a deep-blue sky. It hadn’t been easy to get the transfer here because Animals SD had
no trouble staffing. It seemed every shifter for a hundred miles around wanted to work at the premier
shifter nightclub in the state of California.
Arizona, the original club, and Crossroads in New Orleans had the same lack of employment
problems. Who wouldn’t want to work for Warren and Karma and their management team? They paid
fairly, offered great benefits, and tolerated no drama either among the staff or the customers. The only
person I’d ever seen Karma fire was a little jerk of a chipmunk who was pitting one alpha against
another and using their wiles to fuel drama. I’d happened to be walking past the offices when the
dismissal took place, and nobody could have doubted what the boss’s opinion was of those who
behaved in such a way.
But there was always going to be a fly in the ointment somewhere, and the fact there were so few
spoke well for the company I’d gotten my first and only job with right out of school. I wasn’t even old
enough to work while the club was open back then, and I’d done maintenance during the day just for
the honor of being part of Animals.
Funny, that, though. While I loved the night shift at this place, the day had a special magic that
sometimes I missed. All of us were young, except for our supervisor who was a bear somehow
related to Warren—he seemed to come from an infinite pool of relations. And we dreamed of the day
we were old enough to work with all the lights and music and wild goings on we heard some other
employees talk about. And that we got peeks of when we were supposed to be in our dorm back in the
cliffs.
It was a fairyland. Literally, since there were fae in there, along with shifters and vampires and
witches and just about any other paranormal types, along with garden-variety humans. Of which
Karma was supposedly one—not that I believed it. She had too much charisma and natural magic
about her to be garden-variety anything.
But while I was on day crew, we had a lot of one-on-one time with the big bosses who treated us
like their own family. We had a hot breakfast and a well-prepared lunch, at no cost, same benefits as
the night people, and a lot of wisdom imparted to help us get a good start in life.
Made me a little emotional just to remember.
And then the day came when I was officially allowed to level up to nighttime staff. Still
maintenance, but I didn’t mind. I always thought I’d end up doing something like bartending, but being
there made it worthwhile. About a year ago, I had an opportunity to fill in for one of the DJs, and
since then, I’d made myself available for every vacation or personal day one of them took. I wasn’t
technically in that position, but I was doing it a few times a month at least and loved it. Hoping one
day to step up into the job full-time, I sought to prove myself and looked forward to a happy future.
The desert provided a great place to shift and run, my coworkers were my friends, the bosses were
pretty awesome mentors, and I never wanted to work anywhere else.
A recurring dream of the ocean had invaded my sleep recently, but when I woke up, I couldn’t
remember much about it beyond a sense of peace and well-being. Maybe one day I’d go to the beach
on vacation and see if it held up to the dreams.
Then, one late afternoon while I was relaxing before reporting for duty, everything changed. The
employees online group, where we chatted with one another across the various clubs and where jobs
were posted, listed an opening in San Diego. And suddenly, from never wanting to leave, I wanted
nothing else. Reading the posting, Wanted: Experienced DJ for Animals SD. I had to go. Clicking
through, I found pictures of the club and the ocean views afforded there. And the images I saw brought
the dreams flooding into focus.
The posting instructed me to fill out a form online explaining why I was the best person for the
job. It was long, and I needed to get over to the club, so I bookmarked the application and shut down
my tablet. It would be soon enough to do when I got home in the morning.
After a long night of sweeping and mopping and making sure the areas I was assigned stayed
immaculate, not an easy thing when shifters partied as hard as they did at Animals, I curled up in bed
and clicked on the bookmark, ready to fill out the multiple pages and convince the decision-maker in
San Diego that my minimal substitute DJing made me an experienced person and perfect for their
needs.
On this particular night, the patrons had been beyond the usual amount of messy, and we’d had
another employee in maintenance call in, which had me running solid from the moment I arrived until
my shift ended. I didn’t even take a break, although if my supervisor learned about that, I’d have been
lectured. But I was home now and ready to apply for the best job ever. By the ocean.
Since the dreams began my desire to visit—no, to live near the ocean had been a growing ache
deep inside me. But why would I ever leave this place? Animals SD offered the perfect way to fulfill
both my dreams to DJ full-time and my completely incomprehensible need to be near the ocean.
For a desert kid, that would be quite a twist. A sudden yen to live near the shore. But that would
be fine. My wolf even seemed excited at the idea. Focusing on the screen, I noticed the bookmark was
gone. The link just took me back to the main page. What the…I tried again, but nothing changed and I
was starting to worry. Also, to wish I’d copied down more information so I maybe could have
emailed the person responsible directly. Animals didn’t have a real centralized personnel resources
department, but I probably could make some calls to San Diego later and ask. It had to be a glitch, and
it was too early in the morning to expect any office people to be around.
Before going to sleep, I decided to click one more time just in case, but instead of going to the
main page, it brought up a stomach clenching Position has been filled.
“Well, that was fast.” Regretting that I hadn’t taken the time before work, I tried to convince
myself that I probably hadn’t stood a chance anyway, with so many more qualified people likely to be
applying. But that ache that wanted to be near the ocean would not abate, and when I finally did drift
off to sleep, it was to yet another ocean dream, this one standing looking out from the overlook at the
club.
Where I stood now.
And how that came about was almost miraculous, or maybe it was just how things went at
Animals. I woke up after only a few hours and drifted into the club kitchens, hoping for a snack. I did
have a kitchenette in my place but there were often treats to be had, as well I remembered from my
day shift days.
Karma found me in the kitchen with a glass of milk and a pile of peanut butter bars on a plate in
front of me.
“Leif, exactly who I was hoping to find.”
I chewed to clear my mouth before replying. While we were informal here, spraying the boss
with bits of food would be frowned on anywhere. “Hi, Karma. Did you need something? Maybe a DJ
for tonight?”
“No.” She swiped a bar from my plate and took a bite. “These are so good, don’t you think?”
“Yes.” The mountain of them I’d helped myself to probably gave me away, even if I didn’t admit
it. “So, what’s up?”
“Oh, I—” She beelined across the kitchen and scooped up a handful of cookies. “Warren will
love these.” She took a step toward the door but I called her back.
“Karma, you were looking for me?” Surely not just to steal one of my cookies, which were
actually her cookies.
“Silly me. I blame low blood sugar. I’d better eat a few of these myself.” She plopped down in
the seat across from me. “We have an opening in San Diego. For a DJ. So I guess I kind of did look
for you needing one. When I heard, I thought of you right away. You do such a nice job, and just
getting to sit in the booth once in a while is a waste of your talent.”
I stifled a sigh. Why didn’t this happen yesterday? I didn’t realize she even noticed my skills or
lack thereof in the booth. She’d never said anything. “That’s so kind of you to say, but I saw the
posting and it’s been removed. Apparently it was filled.”
Karma’s eyes danced with mischief. “By you. Unless you don’t want the job?”
I choked on a bit of cookie, and only my hand planted over my lips prevented a crumb spray this
time.
“Are you all right?”
I nodded through my coughs, while she waited, head cocked. “I’m fine. You…you are offering me
the DJ job? In San Diego? By the ocean?”
“Unless you’d rather not. We’re not trying to get rid of you or anything.”
“No, I didn’t—that is, I would love to. When do I leave?”
I could still hear her laughter as I stood on the overlook at Animals SD, ready to start my first
day. With no idea why I’d wanted to move here so badly, I only knew that it felt right.
 Chapter Four
Edric

I had experience running my surfeit’s ski lodge from all angles: maintenance, safety, finance,
dining, housekeeping. My résumé looked good. Online, I started looking at resorts not too far away to
see my family on holidays and birthdays, but far enough that I wouldn’t run into anyone from my
surfeit. I wanted a clean break.
Not having a working scent gland was considered a tragedy for a skunk. Times were more
progressive nowadays, and no one would deliberately chide me for it, but I knew what they all
thought in private. Poor Edric. He’ll never have a mate. He’ll be alone his whole life.
Pity. That was something I couldn’t stand.
I needed to get away from Chosenville, and tomorrow would not be too soon.
On the shifter web, I ran across a fascinating resort for shifters in San Diego built around a real
castle. It was stunningly beautiful, like a theme park with a little town made up of gift shops and
delicious candy and pastry shops, several restaurants, a pond, a hundred acres of woodland, and a
little river running through it all. There were playgrounds for kids and private safe areas for taking
your fur or scale or skin and giving your animal exercise.
A tingle went down my spine, and my skunk did a little inner dance. I always paid attention to my
body’s responses, as well as my skunk, because my instincts were often strong enough to be called
premonitions. I looked at the castle and knew it was the spot for me and my skunk. It wasn’t just
because of the charm of the place, and how fun it might be to work there, but more than that.
Something powerful and unknown drew me. I needed to go.
The resort had various job openings but all at starter salaries. Fine. I was ready to start over. I’d
tucked my pride in already. I was set to face whatever came my way.
I submitted my résumé, confident I was completely qualified for any job they had open. I
included a note that said I could start at any time—the sooner the better. My only obstacle would be
lodging, but I’d figure it out.
The next morning, I was startled to find a reply.
Can you come for an interview Thursday, the day after tomorrow?
Details were given. Partial assurances. I was right for several different openings they had. They
had to meet me before they could make the final decision.
I was already half packed. My fathers understood this was a quick departure and promised to put
my furniture in storage. What would I have done without them?
A final trip to the bank to get a cashier’s check for my savings, and I was ready, my car filled to
the brim, to make the four-hour drive to San Diego.

***

Pictures did not do the Castle justice. I loved the place as soon as I drove in. It was lush, green,
cute, and busy with all sorts of tourists and visitors.
I made it to my appointment on time and could see the relief on the face of the interviewer that I
was competent, educated, and experienced.
“It says here you have experience in safety management. We really need someone like that. It is
part of the maintenance staff and a starting position, so the pay isn’t great, but in two months you will
have your first evaluation and possibility of a raise. Also, we do offer studio accommodations to
staff, when there are openings, at two hundred a month—a fraction of what you might pay for anything
like it in all of San Diego. We happen to have an opening right now. Only one. If you want it, the two
hundred will be deducted from your paycheck. Utilities are included.”
I didn’t hesitate at my luck. This was more than I could have hoped for. My skunk became
restless in a happy way. And that tingle in my spine had never left.
“I’ll take it.”
Slowly, I was creating a new life. No longer did I have the pressure of a surfeit to please but
only myself and my bosses. The stress of mating completely left me. I hadn’t realized what a huge
weight it had been all my young life.
Here at the resort, I could safely shift to keep my skunk happy as well. There was a lovely pond
and a chattering, bubbly little river. Though skunks could swim, most didn’t like it too much. But my
little guy did. And along breathtaking pathways in the forest, I found natural pools just big enough for
my skunk to enjoy.
I spent a lot of time outdoors with the groundskeepers. A lot of safety maintenance had to do with
keeping patrons safe at waterways, which mostly included fencing and signage and cleaning up fallen
debris from storms, etc. We had to keep drains cleared and maintain thinned areas for firebreaks, or
what the resort officials called “shaded fuel breaks.” The fire marshal in the area was very strict and
made surprise visits as often as every two weeks.
I scheduled all the cleanups and maintenance for the garden areas, the little town, the rental
cabins and hotel, and the castle itself, everything from smoke alarm checks to any report of wobbly
steps or loose handrails.
I was never not busy on my shifts and often received texts for my opinions even on my days off.
I’d never had a job on my own before. But my bosses were happy with my work ethic, and I
knew I’d get a good evaluation.
While I hadn’t yet had time to explore much of San Diego apart from a few drives by the harbor
and a visit to Seaport Village, I did take time every day to shift. Sometimes I didn’t get to the woods
until after dark, but my skunk didn’t mind. He had excellent night vision.

***

Tonight was a warm night. My skunk splashed around a river pool, having a good time
overturning rocks to see what might lie underneath. I loved swimming in human form, too, and as I
played under the stars, gratitude overcame me, so overwhelming I trembled all over.
I shifted back to human without warning and waded to shore where I’d left a towel and my
clothes. As I pulled on my pants, a couple in human form passed by, talking and laughing. I couldn’t
quite see them in the darkness, but one of them stopped.
“Hey, Edric, is that you?”
I immediately recognized Trinidad’s voice. He worked in the gardens, and we got along well.
“Yeah.”
“You’re out late.” He came over to me with his friend whom he introduced as Garret who
worked in food supply.
“Been swimming, I see,” Trin said. “I didn’t know skunks liked water.”
“Some do. I do.” I smiled.
“So, hey, if you like to swim, then you should come with us to the beach next weekend. There’s a
big group of staff going. A beach party. We’re going to get there really early, stake out a fire pit, and
cook hot dogs and marshmallows and swim and stuff.”
“I’ve never been to the beach.”
“What? That’s a crime. You’re in San Diego now! If you don’t beach-bum it at least once, you’re
doing it all wrong. If you like water, you’ll get addicted so fast you won’t know what hit you.”
“Thank you for inviting me,” I said. “I think I will come. Count me in.”
“Great.” He gave me a friendly tap on the shoulder then walked off into the night with Garret.
A rush went through me. My spine tingled. My skunk wanted to go to the beach right now. The
pull inside me came on really strong. The beach was where I needed to go. I had no idea why, but it
was important.
All the next day at work, people kept talking about the beach. Sure, the staff gossiped about the
upcoming party, but I kept overhearing tourists talking about how great the beach was. The wind and
the sun and the thrill of the tide. They just had to go walk on the beach. Swim in the water. Play in the
waves.
Maybe I was more attuned to the subject now, but everywhere I went I heard that word. Beach.
Ocean Beach. Mission Beach. Pacific Beach. La Jolla Shores.
If I believed in omens or signs, I’d think it was a message from the universe.
The sand. The waves. The glittering horizon. Blue water as far as the eye could see. Swimming
in such vastness with salt swells crashing over me.
I couldn’t wait for the weekend to come.
 Chapter Five
Dakota

San Diego was not Alaska.

But it was surprisingly easy to fall in love with.
I’d never considered myself a fan of the beach, never dreamed of living near the ocean, but while
my other plans had been so drastically derailed, and I wouldn’t be in the Last Frontier anytime soon, I
had started saving for a visit there someday. If my leg didn’t improve, and nobody seemed to think it
would at this point, I wouldn’t be able to have the kind of adventure I’d envisioned anyway. But there
were many ways to experience the largest state, and I would tailor my future experience to my
abilities.
The empty five-gallon water jug, for now, stood in the corner in the beach-adjacent cottage I
rented from my boss. It was not directly on the sand, of course. Even if he’d owned something like
that, I’d have had to sell a kidney to an organ trafficker to stay there a month. But one block away was
still pretty spectacular real estate. The glorified studio was not nearly as tiny as he had suggested and
even had a small eat-in kitchen area. It provided plenty of space for my needs, and even with my
limited knowledge of such things, I knew he was giving it to me at a greatly reduced rate.
I could walk to work, too. Without too much discomfort. I had full responsibility for the kiosk
and the items we rented out to tourists and locals alike. Tandem bikes were a really popular item, as
were the electric scooters and even roller skates. Transportation items. We also had umbrellas and
sand chairs and Boogie Boards as well as an assortment of things like sunglasses and energy bars and
cold drinks in a cooler. Like the cottage, it was big for what it was and stayed busy from the moment I
opened at nine until I closed just before sunset.
Most of the customers wanted to chat with me, expecting me to be local and have lots of
information. At first, I wasn’t sure whether to fake it for the sake of business, but I’ve never been
good at lying—it always comes back to bite me in the tail—so I admitted to my limited knowledge
and found that most people then were excited to share the newness of the place with me.
It helped. A lot. Isolation closed in after I shut down every night. Despite my desire for
independence and my failed attempt at a solo adventure, I’d grown up in a close family, our den warm
and loving. The skulk we belonged to was the kind of community I imagined everyone wanted. My
quirky independent streak puzzled just about the entire fox population. Especially after my injury, it
was assumed I’d stay close to home where they could all help me. That help, the over-the-top
kindness that I’d always found wonderful when directed toward others, did not feel as good when it
was pointed at me.
 I didn’t want to be a burden, someone who always had to be thought of. Don’t forget to invite
Dakota to the gathering. Make sure Dakota doesn’t get left behind—he can’t move as fast as he
used to. Poor Dakota; he showed such promise.
I’d overheard the comments, and while nobody said a single thing meant to be anything but nice,
it made me want to scream and tear out my fur. No. I was not some aged grandfather who needed to be
“included” or waited for. I couldn’t stay and be the object of pity.
But while the memories of these things clung to me when I was alone, during the day, in the bright
sunshine, with all the people who were spending their vacation on the sandy beach, that cloud
dissipated.
“Dakota, when did you last take a swim?”
I startled from my mental fog at my boss’s question. “Uh, why?”
“Because it’s a beautiful day and you’re sitting in front of a display of Boogie Boards.”
“I’m on duty, boss, and there’s only one left.” I shrugged. “Can’t neglect the kiosk for fun.”
He gave my work ensemble—a T-shirt and trunks—a nod. “I’ll bet you can’t even share your
personal experiences with the equipment with the customers.”
“No…I don’t suppose I can.” The sand glowed warm, ready to toast toes, and the waves
beckoned. “But I don’t want to shut down the stand. We’re too busy.” Not that I’d had a customer in
the few minutes we were talking, but that was a fluke.
“Son, do you think I’m too old to manage that computer whosamajigee thing?” The older man, a
red fox shifter, shook his head at me after using such a technical term. “Go for a swim. Take a Boogie
Board and don’t come back for at least an hour.”
“I didn’t bring a towel.” I don’t know why I was still arguing, maybe just to be cantankerous. I
really didn’t like being told what to do. Work things, yes, but he didn’t really think I needed to be able
to describe my personal wave riding to rent a Boogie Board.
“Take this.” He yanked a rolled-up towel out of a section to the left of the Boogie Board display.
“But that’s not a rental, it’s a—”
“Son?” The boss, Arvin, although I always thought of him as the boss, had clearly reached the
end of his patience with me. As he probably should have. “If you aren’t out on those waves having a
great time in two minutes, you’re fired.”
I gaped at him. He couldn’t be serious, but nothing about his furrowed brow and tight lips
indicated it was a joke. “Y-yes, sir.” I snatched the towel from his hands and the turquoise Boogie
Board with a dangling leash and darted as fast as my bum leg allowed, out of the kiosk and across the
sand, his laughter following me. Maybe he had been joking, but I couldn’t take the chance. I dropped
my towel and launched into the water, gasping as a wavelet splashed salty water into my open mouth.
 He never even asked if I could swim.
Fortunately, I could.
The cool Pacific rose to my shoulder as I hop-stepped out, copying those around me and holding
my board over the breakers. I’d never swum in the ocean before, only lakes and rivers, but it felt
natural, the salty liquid seeming to support my weight in a way I’d never experienced before. My
stride was bouncy, and I moved without the lingering ache that always seemed to accompany me. I’d
grown used to it and rarely gave it a thought, but I noticed when it was gone.
As the water rose over my chest, I climbed halfway onto the board and paddled out to where I
could see all the others turn and face the shore. It seemed very far away, and I wasn’t sure how deep
the water was here.
Were there sharks?
My heart rate climbed at movement nearby and what looked like a fin. Oh hell. My first time in
the Pacific would be my last as I became a snack for a Great White. Nobody else reacted in any way I
could see, so I cried out a warning. “Look out, over there!”
Instead of leaving, or alarm, a cheer rose. “Dolphins!” someone yelled. “Oh, this is great. I never
get to see them.”
And then, there wasn’t one fin, but many, and the water churned around me and the other boarders
as dolphins, dozens at least, decided to make this particular spot their playground. The fear that had
accompanied my mistaken shark sighting changed to clinging to the board while the most amazing and
beautiful scene played out around me. They dove and splashed and sprayed. One moved close to me
and seemed to hesitate, its shiny silvery-gray skin gleaming in the sunlight. Any remaining panic or
even worry disappeared. I reached out a hand and accepted the gift the dolphin offered. I touched his
skin, feeling the smooth, rubbery texture. Nothing like a fish, although some intelligent part of me
reminded me they were mammals.
“Ohhh.” Nobody else was talking at this point, all of them watching me, envy and wonder in their
eyes. “He’s so…ohhh.”
I would never forget this moment, not even when a wink from the creature let me know he was
not just a regular dolphin and had chosen me, a shifter, on purpose for this honor. But animal or
person, it was a huge honor.
“Thank you, friend,” I murmured. “I am grateful and so glad to meet you. Will I see you again?”
He bobbed his head and squeed which probably meant, “I am here all the time. Where have you
been?”
And then, before I could process anything else, a wave came from nowhere and lifted me high
into the sky and higher and higher, then I teetered on the foamy edge and plummeted toward the beach.
 My lack of experience came into play when I lost my grip and the board was swept away from
me while I tumbled head over heels, and every panic I’d ever experienced paled in comparison to the
knowledge I’d soon break my neck and drown. The only question was which one would kill me first.
 Chapter Six
Leif

My first days at work had been busy but fantastic. I did have some experience, but apparently
Karma had been honest with the manager at Animals SD about just how much, and he’d arranged for
me to shadow their main DJ and learn what their clientele expected and enjoyed. Also, how to use the
equipment because this new club had all the latest and greatest, and there was much to take in.
The club itself was amazing, and I’d been lucky enough to get digs in one of the lower-level staff
apartments. My place didn’t have an ocean view but the open common area at the front of the building
did, and I found myself spending a lot of my downtime there. Some of my desire to get to the ocean
had eased with the view, but on my first day off, I decided to visit the object of my dreams and maybe
dip a toe into the ocean. I packed a towel, a water bottle, and a snack in my backpack, and drove
down the hill, headed for the beach. “The” beach was a relative term in a place like San Diego where
there were numerous stretches of white sand to spread my towel out on while sunbathing. Not
knowing a lot about what made one better than another, I drove toward the coast then followed signs
to beach parking and then directions to pay at the self-serve device.
We’d had a few days with some early fog, but today was all sunshine all the time, and I
congratulated myself on my choice of days to visit. All right, it was my day off, but since I worked
nights, I could finagle a little sun time almost anytime. And if this was what I could expect to find, that
was going to happen.
Maybe next time I could see if any of my coworkers would like to come along. While I hadn’t
gotten to know anyone too well yet, everyone was friendly enough, and it would be nice to have
someone to talk to.
About to walk out onto the sand, I spotted a kiosk that offered rentals of all things beach. A
picture of a Boogie Board on the front reminded me that I’d wanted to try one for a long time, and I
veered toward the stand with that in mind. An old guy, some kind of fox, from what my wolf said,
faced away from me, arranging sunglasses on a display.
“Hello? I’d like to rent a Boogie Board?”
The man turned around still holding a pair of sunglasses. “You and everyone else.” He waved at
an open section of the stand. “Just sent my employee out to test drive our last one.”
Not odd at all. I suppressed my irritation. “Why? Was it acting up?”
“A Boogie Board?” He smirked. “Not much that can go wrong with those unless you forget to use
the leash. If you want, I can start a wait list, and you can check back in a little bit? Dakota should be
back soon. You could rent some skates while you wait?”
 “Uh, no on the skates but yes on the list. Why not?” I almost suggested giving him my number to
text but he didn’t look too high tech, and I didn’t mind checking back. It was my day off to relax.
“Thanks very much.”
“If you haven’t been here before,” the man called after me, “just head straight down to the water.
It’s the best part of the whole beach.”
“Okay.” It all looked about the same to me, but what did I know? “Thanks for the advice.” It was
a fair walk down to the water’s edge, but I didn’t mind at all. The breakers rolled up on the sand,
white foam hissing as they retreated to rejoin the ocean. I still wasn’t sure why I’d had this great
desire to be at the ocean in particular, but I loved it already. The air held a particularly heady quality,
and the sun warmed my skin even through my shirt.
I laid out my towel and dropped my backpack and T-shirt on top of it. For a moment, I hesitated
leaving my things alone, even if it wasn’t a whole lot, but a young omega sitting on a blanket nearby
with a pair of adorable toddlers flashed me a smile. “Go swim. I won’t let anyone take your stuff.
We’ll just be sitting right here building castles.” He turned his gaze on the cuties. “They hate the
water. Considering their dad is an Olympic swimmer, I hope they get past it.”
“They will,” I promised, having no idea how such things worked but impressed and hoping for a
glimpse of the athlete. “Is your mate swimming now?”
“Boogie Boarding out there.” He waved. “With our older daughter who is as much of a fish as he
is.”
“Thanks for watching my stuff.” I picked up my backpack and moved it over to where they sat.
“Here. So you don’t have to divide your attention for my water bottle and granola bars.”
“All right. Go. Have fun!”
I was looking forward to getting hold of a board myself, but for now, I would take a dip and
maybe body surf a little. The board made it a whole lot easier, but I was here to play, not win an
Olympic medal for wave riding.
But before I could run out into the water more like a waterlogged sea lion than a Bay Watch
lifeguard, a wave built high and fast and crashed right in front of me. Staggering, trying to remain
upright as the foam swirled around my feet, I heard a shout. A man standing near me went down,
tangled in a lead from a turquoise board. The wave’s retreat dragged the board, and the man with it,
and without waiting to see if someone else would help, I threw myself after him and landed atop him.
My wolf howled and my breath whooshed out of me, but I hung on and dug my knees into the wet
sand while gripping the board and trying to keep it from taking both of us into the ocean. Then hands
were on my ankles and people were pulling us back from the freak giant wave and a possible salty
death.
 “What the hell, dude?” one of our rescuers shouted while I tried to untangle the leash from the
other guy’s ankle. “Never heard of using the leash? That board came flying out of nowhere. Did you
see what almost happened?”
“I’m so sorry.” Another man staggered out of the water, limping, and flung himself down beside
us. “It’s totally my fault. My first time trying out a board and I somehow forgot the leash. And there’s
no excuse for it at all, since I rent the things. My boss is going to kill me.”
“Dakota?” I couldn’t help it. Knowing his name made it so much more logical than what my wolf
was telling me was true. About him and about the man I had just managed to extricate from the curly
leash.
“How do you know my name?” He reached for the other man’s leg then let his hands drop. “Who
are you?”
“Your boss told me your name when I went on the wait list for this board.”
“We don’t have a wait list.” He frowned. “I don’t think. I wonder if I was supposed to be doing
one.”
“And,” I plowed on, “I’m your mate. Both of you.”
Silence surrounded us, including those who had helped us. A very built man and his cute preteen
daughter grinned at us. Must be the Olympian.
Finally, the guy who’d almost been dragged out to sea spoke up, “I don’t think we’re all mates.
It’s just the heat of the moment. But thanks for saving me.”
“Me, either, but can you forgive me? Do you want to see a doctor?” Dakota asked. “I feel
terrible.”
“I’m more worried about you. What happened to your leg?”
My wolf was whuffing up a storm deep inside me. He knew, as I did, that we were mates, and the
two who were so concerned about each other? They’d figure it out when the adrenaline from the near
disaster faded.
Of course they would!
All my dreams of the ocean made perfect sense now. Fate was directing me to this time and place
and the future.
 Chapter Seven
Edric

Bright sunlight peeked through my open window, warming my bed. I turned over onto my back
and grabbed my phone from my nightstand. Nine twenty-two.
It was my day off, and I luxuriated in the fact I could finally sleep in.
Today was the day of the beach party, and I was excited. Three staff members had agreed to stake
out a fire pit at Mission Beach at dawn. The party would last all day, and we could come and go as
we pleased. They said they’d stocked up on plenty of hot dogs and marshmallows, but we were
instructed to bring our own coolers and drinks.
I’d been ready to go since dinnertime last night, excited for my first-ever beach party. And the
other nifty thing was our meeting area was near Belmont Park. I’d never heard of it before, but they
all told me there was a huge roller coaster, plus other rides, games, a huge indoor pool called the
Plunge, and a restaurant all situated right up to the boardwalk.
I felt like a little kid again, jumping up and rummaging through my clothes for shorts, T-shirt, and
trunks.
In my adjoining kitchen, I quickly packed my small cooler with sodas and water. I looked around,
making sure I had it all then headed for the door.
My skunk was practically purring in anticipation. He loved the river, so the beach had to be ten
times better, right?
Just as I opened my door, I remembered. “Towels! I forgot towels!” I clapped my palm to my
forehead, ran to my tiny bathroom, and grabbed two fairly clean ones then loaded them into my
backpack and headed out.
I got to the beach around ten thirty, and already, I could see parking might be a problem. I drove
around a big lot about six times, slowly, before I finally hit the jackpot. Someone was pulling out.
I parked, got out, and paid at the kiosk. I looked all around. The sky was the sort of blue that
made me think of drifting contentment. San Diego was often overcast, but the sun had burned that all
off early, leaving the purity of deep, pale azure all the way to the horizon.
The sand glistened off-white and looked enticingly soft. At the shore, it darkened to silty brown
ridges where the sea itself began. Or ended. Whichever it was, the Pacific was a dark, shadowy blue
with glints of aquamarine in the falling waves.
People walked up and down a wide sidewalk sporting a low seawall. The boardwalk. When I
looked south, I saw the roller coaster sticking up from a mess of low buildings. Awesome.
People were everywhere strolling, running, cycling. Overhead, gulls screeched in their eerie
voices. A faint salt scent prickled the air.
So. This was the beach.
“We’re finally here,” I said to myself and my skunk.
Immediately, we both fell in love with it all.
It didn’t take long for me to find my party. A dozen people were gathered around a fire pit. I
recognized over half of them.
Some people had brought folding chairs or lounges and were sitting in the sun wearing their suits
and sunglasses and hats. Others were on towels. A bunch of beach toys were strewn about from
Boogie Boards to cheap rafts and beach balls.
Trin, who had invited me, closed his hand around my forearm and dragged me to the pit. He
introduced me to everybody so fast, I didn’t have time to process all the new names.
There were kids nearby digging in the sand, and I realized they were part of the group as several
adults kept eyes on them and called out their names every few seconds.
“Conner, don’t throw sand!”
“Molly, stop pulling your brother’s hair.”
I worried I was a little out of place at first, but Trin made me feel instantly welcome, as did
everyone else. He invited me to place my towels next to his and Garret’s, which was when I learned
that Trin and he were an item. I had suspected it at the river but wasn’t sure until now.
“I’ve never been to the beach before,” I confessed.
“Yeah. You said as much at the river. Which is why I have taken it upon myself to be your Boogie
Board teacher for the day. You swim, don’t you?”
“I do.”
“Good. Nothing beats catching a wave on a Boogie Board.”
Garret laughed. “Trin is the best. He’s not just bragging.”
I had left my surfeit to have new experiences. The whole point was to go out into the world and
create my own life, away from the expectations of my family and community.
“There’s no time like right now,” Trin added. “Are you up for it?”
“Yeah, but I don’t have a board.”
“That’s okay. I brought an extra.”
Of course he did. He handed me a short, lightweight board decorated with a sort of tie-dye
pattern of varying shades of blue. His was orange and pink and Garret’s was yellow. I stripped down
to my trunks and left everything on my towel.
Soon, I was jogging toward the water, my bare feet sinking into soft, warm sand. I couldn’t stop
my grin.
 I followed Trin and Garret into the shallows. The water was cold but felt good on the hot day.
The two of them moved quickly forward. Soon, we were deeper and waves of foam rushed around us.
It was exhilarating.
Trin taught me about leashing the board. I could use my wrist, bicep, or ankle. My choice. To
start out, I leashed it to my ankle. He showed me how to balance perfectly. It wasn’t hard—I’d been a
fairly decent skier—and soon I was out deep, catching waves as they broke. I had my first ride all the
way into the shoreline on my third attempt. My hair was slapping my face. My mouth was full of the
salty taste of the sea. My trunks were full of sand. And I couldn’t have been happier.
I played in the water for a long time, feeling like a kid again.
When we were exhausted, Trin and Garret took all the boards back up to our area by the pit. I
stayed in the shallows to rinse off my body and get the sand out of my hair. When I was about thigh
deep, I knelt down and bent my head back to rinse my hair. I guess I forgot to look first because a huge
freak wave chose that moment to crash right over me. Something was in the wave as well, and it hit
me hard on the chest. Then I felt a snake-like grip around my ankle, and it was as if something was
dragging me off under the water at a rapid pace.
My mind instantly pictured the Kraken from Pirates of the Caribbean and I let out a loud,
gurgling shout. I probably thrashed a bit, too. Not pretty at all.
Soon, I felt arms come around me, dragging me to shore. Another wave came and the guy toppled
on top of me. People on the beach were yelling. A third guy waded up, all shining and wet, his dark
hair hanging in his eyes, and sheepishly apologized.
So much was going on so fast, I didn’t know what to think. My skunk was jumping around in
alarm. I was afraid I’d shift uncontrollably right then and there, but I got a handle on him, calming him
in my mind so he wouldn’t force his fur.
And then it happened. My skunk started squealing in my mind. Mate! Mate!
Seemingly out of the blue, the guy on top of me was exclaiming the same thing. “I’m your mate.
Both of you.”
I realized he meant me and the guy who’d waded over to us. The one who I realized, as my
senses regained themselves, owned the board that hit me and tangled me up in its leash.
That couldn’t be right. My skunk had said the same. But we were both still in shock. That was
all. Besides, I was an outcast, newly shamed. My rescuer didn’t know that. In my culture, I’d been
taught through and through. Without a working scent gland, I wasn’t good enough for a mate.
I sat up, coughed, then heard myself say, “I don’t think we’re all mates. It’s just the heat of the
moment. But thanks for saving me.”
I had to admit, though, the guy who rescued me was pretty cute. Like some beach boy hero. That
was all that was going on here.
The guy who owned the escaped Boogie Board seemed to agree that we couldn’t all be mates.
Which gave me more resolve that my skunk had just had a scare, and I was still in the process of
regaining my senses.
The boogie boarder, who my rescuer called Dakota, offered to get me a doctor. It was very kind
of him since I’d noticed he was limping.
“I’m more worried about you. What happened to your leg?” I asked.
“Oh that. Old injury.”
“Oh. Sorry, but I’m fine. No doctor is necessary. Help me up?”
Dakota held out his hand.
“It’s my first time boogie boarding,” I said.
“Mine, too.”
We smiled at each other.
The guy who’d landed on top of me stepped away, grinning at the two of us. He seemed
completely unfazed that we’d disagreed with his mate statement.
Beside me, Dakota, who’d finally rescued his escaping board, nodded at me then at my rescuer,
and said, “I gotta go back to work. Sorry about everything.”
He moved up the beach toward the boardwalk, sand flying out from one heel while he limped on
the other, dragging a trail through the soft shoreline.
My rescuer turned to me and said, “You don’t feel it?”
“Feel what?” As I spoke, my skunk began jumping up and down again. Mate! Mate!
“Him,” he said. “You. Me. We’re mates. For sure. You didn’t hit your head, did you?”
 Chapter Eight
Dakota

I closed my eyes, trying to center myself and to figure out what to do next. My head was spinning
and the sounds around me were muffled. This couldn’t be happening to me. It. Could. Not.
My entire life I’d waited to find my mate, and Fate decided to show them to me when I was no
longer worthy to be anyone’s mate. And on top of that, they decide to do so with not one but two
others? What kind of sick sense of humor did they have?
Mates.
Mates.
Mates.
I shook my head, trying to get my beast to stop. It was difficult enough having to figure out my
own thoughts without having my beast giving me shit.
“I gotta go.” I didn’t even look at them or wait for their response. I just hightailed it out of there,
barely stopping to grab my things.
“You dropped your shoe,” a woman called to me as I passed by and sure enough, I had.
I turned to get it and nearly lost my lunch when I saw the mark from where my leg had been
dragging. I couldn’t even walk in the sand without leaving a mark of my brokenness. Scooping up the
shoe as quickly as I could, I hurried away before my mates decided to follow me.
Mates. I shouldn’t be calling them that. Not when I couldn’t be their mate. Not the one they
deserved.
I raced back to work to find my boss chatting it up with a tourist and giving them the entire
history of the place. I really needed to sit down and learn it all, too, but not today. Today, I needed to
get home and hide.
I stood there as patiently as I could for my boss to see me standing there and when he did, he
pretty much rushed the other people away. I felt bad but not bad enough to do anything but stand there
and stare. Things were starting to settle in and I couldn’t move.
“Dakota, what happened?” He spoke low. “Was someone cruel?”
I shook my head.
“Hold on a second.” He closed the kiosk and put up the Back in Half an Hour sign. “Let’s get
you home.”
I wanted to argue that I didn’t need his help, that everything was fine, but both of those would be
a lie. Instead, I let him walk me home. It wasn’t until we arrived that I realized why he was so
worried.
Another random document with
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halljatok csudát, a kis palánta egyszeribe ég felé fordította levélkéit s
egy picike kis virág bimbózott ki rajta.
Oh, de boldog volt most az öreg király! Hogy megkönnyebbült a
szíve! Még csak most győződött meg arról igazán, hogy ebből a
palántából épp olyan csudafa lesz, mint amilyent Tündérországban
látott. Avagy történhetik-e ez mással, mint csudafával, hogy már
palánta korában, az elültetés pillanatában bimbó fakadjon rajta?
Csuda nagy bizalom szállotta meg a szívét s mennydörgő hangján
belekiáltott az éjszakába, a rengeteg erdő felé, ahol Bűbájos lakott:
– Hát gyere Bűbájos, gyere, most rabold el a leányomat!
Bűbájos pedig ezalatt szűntelen a rengeteget bújta, bolyongott
jobbra-balra, helyét nem találta. Mind azon tünődött, mind azon törte
a fejét, hogy s mint jusson a palotába, hogyan rabolja el a
királykisasszonyt.
Azon az éjszakán, amikor Mirkó király elültette a csudafa
palántáját, Bűbájos is feltekintett az égre, hadd lássa, hogy a hold
fénye miért homályosult el oly hirtelen. S ime, megpillantotta a
tündérkirálynőt, az ő legnagyobb ellenségét s most már tudta, a hold
fénye miért homályosult el. Mindjárt eszébe jutott a Nagy Bűbájos
mondása: megérezte, hogy a tündérkirálynő miért járt erre felé.
Magánkívül rohant vissza a házikójába, ott nagy hirtelen felhőbe
burkolózott és repülve-repült a királyi palota felé. Nem akart hinni a
szemének, amikor látta, hogy tárva-nyitva a királykisasszony ablaka,
egyetlen egy őrt sem látott sehol, egyetlen egy ajtó előtt sem,
egyetlen ablakból sem világított ki mécses világa, sűrű sötétség
borult a királyi palotára, mintha eleven lélek nem lakott volna benne.
A királykisasszony ablakáról még az arany rácsok is le voltak szedve
s a fehér selyemfüggönyöket vígan lebegtette ki- és befelé a lágy
éjjeli szellő.
Bűbájos leszállott az ablak párkányára, kibontakozott a fekete
felhőből s betoppant a királykisasszony szobájába. A hold élesen
megvilágította a hófehér ágyat, amely bontatlanul állott, nem feküdt
benne senki, s köröskörül a szekrények tárva-nyitva, s üresen
bámultak feléje. Mindössze egy icike-picike hófehér szoknyácska,
nyilván a királykisasszony gyermekkori szoknyácskája kandikált ki az
egyik szekrényből, ezt Bűbájos szép gyengén megfogta, ajkához
szorította, aztán szeméből megeredt a könnyzápor, sírt szegény
Bűbájos sokáig, sokáig.
– Hát elvittek, elrejtettek előlem, szépséges királykisasszony, –
zokogott szegény Bűbájos. Mi haszna, főztem varázsitalt, én már
téged fel nem talállak soha. Rútak-rútjaként kell eltöltenem bús
életemet, nem váltasz meg a varázslat alól engem, boldogtalant!
Feltámolygott az ablak párkányára, beburkolódzott a fekete
felhőbe s lassan, csendesen suhant el a palota felett. Amikor
hazaért, a két arany tégelyből a varázsitalt kiöntötte a pislákoló
tűzbe, a lángok sziszegve, kékes lobogással csapódtak fel, aztán
egyszerre kialudt a tűz, sötétségbe borult Bűbájos háza. Sötétségbe
borult a lelke is. A baglyok ott ültek a ház tetején s kimeredt
szemüket a fekete felhő felé fordítva, kérdezték:
– Hallod-e, felhő, mi történt a gazdánkkal? Olyan a szeme,
mintha sírt volna. S a varázsitalt is beleöntötte a tűzbe.
A felhő jó sokáig szótlanul gomolygott a ház felett, aztán így
felelt:
– Elvitték a szép királykisasszonyt, s most aztán csakugyan
bűbájos legyen a gazdánk, mert ha jól sejdítem, a tündérkirálynő
rejtegeti.
– Uhu, huhu, – huhogott az egyik bagoly ijedten, – a
tündérkirálynő! Hiszen, neki egymagának nagyobb a tudománya,
mint valamennyi bűbájosnak együtt!
– Uhu, huhu, – huhogta a másik, – bizony, akkor nem csudálom,
ha ilyen szomorú a gazdánk, mig a világ föl nem leli a
királykisasszonyt.
Ebben a pillanatban a teli hold lecsúszott a hegyek mögé.
Hajnalkisasszony piros ruhája kivillant az ég alján, a bölcs baglyok
nyugalomra tértek a jegenyefa odvába, csak Bűbájos nem tért
nyugalomra: ott ült az asztal mellett, tenyerébe hajtott fejjel,
szomorúan, végtelen szomorúan.
 Szikra.

Amióta Mirkó király a leányát Tündérországba vitte, beköltözött

a szomorúság Méz király udvarába is. Bűbájos sem vette észre a
királykisasszony eltünését, ugyan hogyan vette volna észre a Méz
király. Sejtelme sem volt arról, hová, merre tünt el a királykisasszony,
hiába szállt mindennap az ő gyémántos hintócskáján, amelybe
tizenkét aranyszárnyú pillangó volt fogva, Mirkó király udvarába,
hiába röpködött a palota körül, kukkintott be minden ablakon, –
búsan kellett haza térnie: volt királykisasszony, nincs
királykisasszony.
Egyszer aztán megunta a hiábavaló járást-kelést, s azután csak
a pillangók meg a méhecskék hoztak hirt neki a palotából, de mindig
csak ezt az egy hirt hozták: volt királykisasszony, nincs
királykisasszony. Szomoruak voltak a méhecskék meg a
pillangócskák is, mert hiszen ők voltak a királykisasszony
legkedvesebb játszótársai. Méz király még mindig nem mondott le a
reményről: végre is megtudja, hogy hová, merre tünt el a
királykisasszony.
Mit gondolt, mit nem, felröppent palotájának a tornyába, ott
belefujt arany-sípjába, háromszor egymásután, s egyszerre csak
nagy sereg méh szállott mindenfelől a palota felé. Oly sűrűn
szállottak a levegőégben, hogy az ég elsötétedett belé, s messze
földre elhallatszott a méhek zümmögése, döngicsélése. Ám mikor
aztán a méhek leszállottak, ki fára, ki bokorra, ki virágra, ki a földre,
ahová csak szállhatott, csendet intett Méz király s mondá, amint
következik.
 – Kedves méhecskéim, ti sok országot-világot bejártok, sok
mindent hallotok, láttok, talán meg tudnátok mondani, hová, merre
vitte Mirkó király a leányát.
Nagy zümmögés, döngicsélés kerekedett a nagy csendességre,
össze-visszazümmögött, döngicsélt a millió meg millió méhecske,
ám ennek az össze-visszazümmögésnek, döngicsélésnek, csak az
lett a vége, hogy senki sem látta közülök a királykisasszonyt. Egy
sem tudja közülök, hová vitte a király a leányát.
– Mind itt vagytok? Senki sem hiányzik közületek? – kérdezte a
király.
Nagy csend támadt erre a kérdésre, aztán ismét elkezdtek
zümmögni, döngicsélni, s egyszerre csak előlépett egy öreg méh és
jelenté:
– Nem vagyunk itt mind, felséges királyom. Hiányzik közülünk a
sánta Bölcsek Bölcse.
Alig mondta ezt ki az öreg méh, egyszerre zümmögte valamennyi
méh:
– Züm, züm, züm, amott jön, amott jön!
Mind a sánta Bölcsek Bölcse felé integettek, biztatták, hogy
igyekezzék, jöjjön szaporán. Hiszen, jött is, ahogy jöhetett szegény
sánta Bölcsek Bölcse. Sántikálva, vergelődve, nagy nehezen a király
szine elé vánszorgott, mélyen meghajtotta magát:
– Itt vagyok, felséges királyom, mit parancsolsz?
– Nem parancsolok én most semmit neked, csak azt akarom
tudni, láttad-e a királykisasszonyt? Tudod-e, hogy hol rejtette el
Mirkó király?
– Hát az úgy volt, felséges királyom, – kezdte nagy lassan a
Bölcsek Bölcse, hogy éppen virágról-virágra szálltam, mézet
gyüjtögettem a feleségemnek s a gyermekeimnek…
 – Ördög vigye a feleségedet s a gyermekeidet! – lobbant szörnyű
haragra Méz király, – nem azt kérdeztem én tőled, hogy mit gyüjtöttél
a feleségednek s a fiaidnak, hanem azt, hogy láttad-e a
királykisasszonyt, tudod-e, hogy Mirkó király hova rejtette el?
– Hiszen, éppen hogy arról akarok beszélni, felséges királyom, –
folytatta még lassabban és rettentő nyugodtan a Bölcsek Bölcse a
beszédet. Elég az, hogy amint az Arany folyón túl a Tündérszigetre
repültem, ott egy gyönyörüséges szép vadrózsa bokrot találtam, de
olyan gyönyörüséges szépet, amilyent még emberi szem nem látott.
Hej, még csak most lobbant rettenetes haragra Méz király!
Toporzékolt eszeveszetten, rikácsolt, s intett az inasoknak:
– Huszonötöt verjetek rá, mert úgy látszik, csufolódik velem!
Az inasok már közre is fogták a Bölcsek Bölcsét, ám ebben a
pillanatban az udvarmester hirtelen Méz király füléhez hajolt s ijedten
súgta:
– Az Isten szerelmére, felséges királyom, a Bölcsek Bölcse
belehal, ha huszonötöt veretsz rá, akkor aztán sohasem tudod meg,
hogy hol rejtőzködik a királykisasszony.
– Az ám, – tért magához a király, aztán nyugodtságot erőltetett
magára, intett az inasoknak, hogy ne bántsák a Bölcsek Bölcsét.
Ismét hozzáfordult s rárivalt:
– Hallod-e, te Bölcsek Bölcse! Nyögd ki már, hogy hol rejtőzködik
a királykisasszony, mert bizony mondom, jaj neked, ha nyomban ki
nem nyögöd.
A Bölcsek Bölcse most megköszörülte a torkát és éppen olyan
nyugodtan, mint az előbb, folytatta, amint következik:
– Nos, felséges királyom, rászállok a vadrózsabokorra, hogy egy
kicsit kipihenjem magamat, s hát, Uram, Teremtőm, alig szállok rá,
rettenetes nagy kondulás-bondulás kerekedik a magas levegőégben,
zúgott-búgott, zengett ég, föld, azt hittem, vége a világnak, s már-
már vissza akartam repülni, bár oly fáradt voltam, hogy alig tudtam
megmozdítani a szárnyamat, amikor egyszerre csak valami emberi
hang ütötte meg a fülemet.
– Miféle emberi hang?! Nyögd ki már. Ki volt, mi volt? – kiabált
szörnyű izgatottan a király.
– Hiszen, éppen, hogy azt akarom elmondani, felséges királyom,
ha alázatos alattvalójának kegyelmesen meghallgatná a szavait.
Elég az, hogy megbujtam egy vadrózsának a kelyhében, a
vadrózsának a szirmai szépen összeborultak fölöttem, s gondoltam
magamban, jöhet most már égszakadás, földindulás, nem félek én
semmitől. Mert tanultam én ám az iskolában, hogy a vihar a
legerősebb fát is kidönti, de a gyenge bokrot nem bántja, elszáguld
felette.
– Mit bánom én, hogy te mit tanultál az iskolában! – toporzékolt a
király. Láttad, vagy nem láttad a király leányát?
– De hiszen éppen, hogy éppen arról beszélek, felséges
királyom, hogy amikor meglapultam a vadrózsabokorban, egyszerre
csak kristálycsengetyühöz hasonlatos hangot hallottam s érzem,
hogy valaki a vadrózsát leszakítja, aztán fájdalmasan felsikolt s a
rózsát messzire elhajítja.
– Ki sikoltott fel, te locsogó-fecsegő, te? – tépte most már a haját
Méz király.
– Hiszen, éppen, hogy éppen, azt akarom mondani, – folytatta
még nyugodtabban a Bölcsek Bölcse. Csak megkérem alázattal
felségedet, várjon türelemmel, mert azt is az iskolában tanultam,
hogy „a türelem rózsát terem“.
– Majd adok én neked türelmet! – ordított a király. – Azt nyögd ki
már, hogy ki sikoltott fel olyan fájdalmasan?
– Hiszen éppen, hogy éppen azt akarom elmondani, hogy az a
valaki, aki felsikoltott, ezt sikoltotta: „Retek! Retek!“ Kristálycsengésű
volt a hangja ennek a valakinek. Bizony valakinek, mert én csak a
hangját hallottam, látni nem láttam, de sejtettem, hogy itt kell
rejtőzködnie, ebben a vadrózsabokorban, itt szúrta meg kezét a
tövis. Aztán hallottam, amint valaki mondotta: Sebaj, édes
kisasszonykám, meggyógyul az ujjacskád, amíg eljön érted a királyfi.
De most már a királyfi szóra csupa szem és fül lett Méz király,
nem volt maradása az arany lócán, magánkivül ugrott fel, lerohant a
Bölcsek Bölcséhez, megrázta, akárcsak egy lisztes zsákot, s zengett
belé a palota, úgy ordított a fülébe:
– Mondod-e meg hát, hogy ki volt az a kisasszony, vagy mindjárt
agyon taposlak, te bolondok bolondja, te! Mert nem vagy Bölcsek
Bölcse, de Bolondok bolondja lesz ezután a neved.
– Hiszen éppen, hogy éppen azt akarom elmondani, ki volt az a
kisasszony, de te, felséges királyom, – méltatlankodott a Bölcsek
Bölcse – szüntelen megakasztasz a beszédemben. Látod, látod,
felséges királyom, ha szüntelen meg nem akasztgatsz, már rég
tudnád, hogy ki volt az a kisasszony, s hol rejtőzködik.
– Hát jó, többet nem türelmetlenkedem, várok csendesen, – adta
meg magát Méz király, – s a sok izgalomtól fáradtan, kimerülten
hanyatlott vissza az arany lócára.
– Elég az, hogy – folytatta beszédét a Bölcsek Bölcse, – amint a
sikoltást hallottam, széthajtottam a vadrózsa kelyhét, kikukucsgáltam
onnét, hadd lássam, kik társalkodnak ottan. Hát, Uram, Teremtőm,
amint kikukkintok, mit látnak szemeim! Mirkó király leányát, a
hétszerszép királykisasszonyt, akiben én olyan sokszor
gyönyörködtem! Akihez hasonló szépet kerek e földön nem láttam!
– Valóban?! Mirkó király leánya volt az, akit láttál? – ragyogott fel
arca, szeme Méz királynak.
– Felséges királyom, már én csak amondó vagyok, hogy, ami
igaz: igaz, ami nem igaz: hazugság, de bizony mondom, igazat
mondtam: a hétszer szép királykisasszony volt, akit én láttam, senki
más, csak azt nem tudtam elgondolni, hogy s mint került
Tündérországba? Miért rejtőzködik ottan? Aztán még csak amondó
vagyok, hogy az a Retek, akit a királykisasszony annak szólított,
micsoda egy figura volt. Bizony mondom, aki látta, kacagás nélkül
meg nem állta.
 – Törődöm is én azzal a Retekkel, – legyintett a király. – Lehet
tőlem sárgarépa, petrezselyem, mit bánom én! Azt akarom tudni, hol
van most a királykisasszony?
– Hiszen éppen, hogy éppen azt akarom én is elmondani, hogy
hol van. Amikor én Tündérországban jártam, akkor ott volt, s ha van
magához való esze, ott van most is, mert bejárhatja az egész
világot, olyan gyönyörűséges szép helyet nem talál sehol.
– Bizony, ha ott volt Tündérországban, amikor te eljöttél onnan,
indulunk is nyomban. Készülj, kedves öregem, te vezetsz oda
engem.
Bezzeg, hogy most kedves öregem volt a Bölcsek Bölcse, s nem
bolondok bolondja. De a „kedves öregem“ hamarosan lehütötte a
Méz király nagy kedvét, mondván:
– Csak lassan, lassan, felséges királyom, nem úgy van ám, hogy
hipp, hopp, ott vagyok, ahol akarok. Nem olyan könnyű ám eljutni
Tündérországba, mint ahogy te gondolod.
Szertelen dühbe gurult Méz király, s koronáját úgy földhöz
csapta, hogy dirib-darabba tört.
– Hát hallom, mit akarsz még mondani? Meddig hallgassam még
a mondókádat?
– Hát, felséges királyom, akár tetszik, akár nem, már csak
hallgassa végig a mondókámat. Amikor én a rózsalevélből
kikukkintottam, az a zörgős lábú, kerek pofájú, vigyorgó Retek,
hirtelen-váratlan lekapta fejéről pörge kalapját s úgy lecsapott rám,
hogy kárré ment két lábam, s olyant csapott a szárnyamra is, hogy
még most is alig-alig tudom megbillenteni. Belefogott a kalapjába s
mintha soha méhet nem látott volna, úgy csudálkozott rajtam. Aztán
odacsődültek mind a tündérkisasszonykák is, azok is mind engem
csudáltak, a kicsi tenyerükkel csattogtattak, a kalapot ujjongva
körültáncolták, de azt én nem is tudom elmondani, felséges
királyom, hogy mi mindent csináltak ezek a szépséges
tündérkisasszonyok. Csakúgy káprázott a szemem, amint néztem,
néztem őket, s bizony mondom, elnéztem volna világ végéig.
 – Mirkó király leányáról beszélj, te életem gyilkosa, te! – ordított a
király. – Róla, róla, ne a tündérkisasszonyokról!
– Hiszen, éppen, hogy éppen, most érkeztem oda, felséges
királyom, de szavamat csak össze nem keverhetem. A hétszer szép
királykisasszony fölém hajolt, vérző ujját szivogatta, fuvogatta, aztán,
egyszerre csak felkiáltott nagy örömmel:
– Oh, te drága méhecske, te, úgy-e, te az én apám országából
jöttél?
– Züm-züm-züm, – feleltem én – onnan jöttem, hétszer szép
királykisasszony.
Abban a pillanatban a királykisasszony meglebegtette fehér
selyem kendőjét, s egyszeribe vége szakadt a nagy égzengésnek s
olyan nagy csend lett, hogy még a légy döngést is meg lehetett
volna hallani.
– Ugyan, ugyan, mit beszélsz, – hitetlenkedett Méz király, –
hogyan csendesíthette le a királykisasszony az égiháborút?
– Hát azon én is eleget csudálkoztam, de a királykisasszony,
amikor észrevette a csudálkozásomat, édesen elmosolyodott, s
mondá:
– Ugy-e, megijedtél, édes kis méhecském? Égiháborúnak hitted
azt a nagy zengést, zugást-bugást, kondulás-bondulást. Nézz csak
amoda, az Arany folyó partjára. Látod, úgy-e, azt a fát, hogyne
látnád, amelynek legfelső ága szinte az eget veri? A világhíres
csudafa ez, amelyen ezer virág virágzik, mind az ezer virág más-
más szinü. Ez az ezer virág egyszeribe összecsendül-bondul, azt
hinnéd, kitört az égiháború, valahányszor idegen lép Tündérország
földjére.
– Odanéztem, amerre a királykisasszony mutatott, de a
csudafához hasonlatos gyönyörű fát bizony nem láttam világon való
életemben. A szemem csakúgy káprázott a szertelen sok virágtól.
Minden virág oly nagy volt, hogy egyetlen egynek a méze elég lett
volna nekem nem egy, de tán tiz esztendeig is.
 – Bánom is én, hogy hány esztendeig mézelnél te egy virágból, –
ripakodott rá Méz király – azt mondd el, hogy mit beszéltél a
királykisasszonnyal?
– Hiszen éppen, hogy éppen azt akarom elmondani. Merthogy
akár hiszi, akár nem, felséged, üzenetet is hoztam tőle. Mégpediglen
felségednek, Méz királynak, senki másnak.
– Mit!? Te üzenetet hoztál a királykisasszonytól és csak most
nyögöd ki!? – ordított a király s szörnyű haragjában arany pálcájával
a Bölcsek Bölcse felé suhintott, ám ez, szerencsére, még idejében
félrekapta a fejét.
– No, no, csak lassan, lassan, felséges királyom. Itt van a
szárnyam alatt a királykisasszony levele, a haja szálával kötözte ide.
Hej, de még olyat a világ nem látott, mely nagy jókedvre fordult a
Méz király haragja! Magánkivül ugrott fel a lócáról, rohant a Bölcsek
Bölcséhez, s csudák csudája, hogy a levéllel együtt ki nem tépte a
szárnyát is a Bölcsek Bölcsének a szertelen nagy sietségben.
Csakúgy reszketett a keze, amint eloldotta az arany hajszálat,
szétbontogatta a virágsziromra írt levelet. Aztán nézte, nézte,
forgatta előre, forgatta hátra, de forgathatta, nem tudott kiokosodni a
levélből. Nem ám, mert Méz király őfelsége sem irni, sem olvasni
nem tudott. Azt hitte, gyermekkorában, hogy a királyoknak nincs
szükségük sem irásra, sem olvasásra. Irnak, olvasnak helyettük az
iródiákok.
– Áhán, – mondta magában a Bölcsek Bölcse, – most ki fog
sülni, amit én már különben régen tudok, hogy őfelsége nem tud
sem irni, sem olvasni. Hát csak szégyenkezzék, én szépen
csendesen elsompolygok innét.
El is indult sántikálva, de a király utána kiáltott:
– Ohó, Bölcsek Bölcse, fordulj csak vissza. Gyere csak ide,
olvasd el a levelet, mert nem találom az ókulárémat. Ugy látszik,
elveszett.
 – El ám, – gondolta magában Bölcsek Bölcse – elveszett, nem az
ókuláréd, hanem a tudományod, ami nem is volt soha.
De hát ezt csak így magában gondolta a Bölcsek Bölcse, hiszen
az kellett volna, hogy hangosan mondja, mert akkor a többi lábára is
megsántul. Szép lassan visszabicegett, átvette a levelet a királytól, s
olvasá, amint következik:
„Kedves Méz király, azt üzenem neked szép Tündérországból,
hogy méheidet, lepkéidet, de még a darazsaidat is küldd el minden
nap az édesapám kertjébe, ahol van egy növendék csudafa, mert
hallottam, hogy erősen megszükültek mézben, már pedig ez a fa úgy
nő nagyra, ha szüntelen mézet csurgatnak a tövére, s én csak akkor
jöhetek haza, amikor az a csudafa nagyra nő, máskülönben Bűbájos
elrabol engem.“
Hej, hogy örvendett Méz király ennek a levélnek! Bezzeg,
megbocsátotta a sánta Bölcsek Bölcsének szertelen nagy
örömében, hogy olyan lassan mondotta el a mondókáját. Egy hordó
mézet adott neki ajándékul, s két udvari doktort rendelt melléje, hogy
a sánta lábát meggyógyítsák, másnap pedig ő maga repült fel a
csudafa mellett álló vad körtefa legmagasabb ágára, onnan
csurgatta arany-korsajából a legtisztább akácmézet az odaszálló
méheknek, pillangóknak és darazsaknak, s ezek boldogan repültek a
csudafához, öntözték a tövét, hogy hamarább megláthassák a
hétszer szép királykisasszonyt.
Örvendett annak Mirkó király is, hogy nem kell több mézet
vásárolnia, mert már rengeteg aranyat s ezüstöt fizetett mézért s
már-már aranyért, ezüstért is alig lehetett mézet kapni, mert ami méz
gyült a hét országban, azt mind a csudafa tövére hordták. Egyszerre
csak volt méz, nincs méz, idegen országokból hordták a mézet, s ott
is már fogytán volt.
No, de volt Méz királynak méze rengeteg, ő maga is hordta a
mézet minden nap, aztán nézte, vizsgálta a csudafát, mint hajt
bimbót bimbó után, mint nyilnak, nyiladoznak a virágok. Mind
szélesebbre és szélesebbre terült az arca a nagy örömtől, látván,
hogy napról-napra mint sokasodnak a különféle virágok a csudafán.
Csak arra gondolt, hogy minden virággal közelebb jut ahhoz a szép
naphoz, amikor övé lesz a szép királykisasszony.
Mirkó király s a királyné is mindennap ellátogatott a fához,
letelepedtek s hosszan elgyönyörködtek a fa csudaszépségében, s
el-elbeszélgettek, rajzolgatták az eljövendő szép időket, amikor
hazajön egyetlen leányuk.
– Látod, látod, édes uram, – mondogatta a királyné –
szemlátomást nő minden nap a mi csudafánk.
– Látom, látom, – mondta Mirkó király – de azt is látom, hogyha
Méz király nem öntöztetné mindennap, bizony megakadna
növésében a csudafa, mert már rég elfogyott a méz mind a hét
országomban.
– Elfogyott bizony, – mormogta magában a Méz király, aki most
is, mint rendesen, ott röpködött a csudafa ágai között.
 – Hát azt hiszed-e, édes uram, – mondta a királyné – hogy Méz
király csak a leányunk hazajövetelére vár, s mindjárt megkéri a
kezét?
– Hiszem, hogyne hinném, s örvendenék is, – mondá Mirkó
király.
Igy tervezgettek, beszélgettek a növekedő fa tövében, Méz király
pedig boldogan hallgatta a fa ágai közt az öregek beszélgetését, s
dehogy is gondoltak arra, hogy fent a magas levegőégben, sötét
fellegbe burkolózva valaki nap-nap után lesi a csudafa növését, s
amint egy-egy virág kinyilik, ez a valaki még jobban beburkolózik a
sötét felhőbe s búsan suhan el a rengeteg erdőbe, száll le a
házikójába.
Ott, abban a házikóban s a házikó környékén minden úgy volt,
ahogy régen. A virágok nyiltak, nyiladoztak a kertben, a bölcs
baglyok ott ültek hol a jegenyefán, hol az ablak párkányán, a kuvikok
pedig minden órában elkuvikolták, hogy hány óra. Minden a régi volt,
csak Bűbájos nem az. Az ablak alatt elkorhadt a fekete kandur
fejfája, de senkinek sem jutott eszébe, hogy új fejfát állítson helyébe.
A virágok csordultig megteltek mézzel, de Bűbájos nem törődött
ezzel, tőle ugyan roskadozhattak a virágok a méz terhe alatt, s mert
ebben a kertben egy méh sem mert leszállani, a méz lecsurgott a
földre és a virágok még nagyobbak és még illatosabbak lettek a
lecsurgott méz nyomán.
A kemence padkáján nem álltak tégelyek és üvegek, a tűzön
nem forrott varázsital, s naphosszat haza sem tért Bűbájos, egész
nap az erdőt bujta, s mert nagy bánatában azt sem látta, hol, merre
jár, ruháját megszaggatták az ágak, rőt hajába beleakadtak a
tövisek, arcát véresre karmolták. De Bűbájos ezzel nem törődött,
mindebből semmit sem érzett, mert szüntelen csak a
királykisasszonyra gondolt, aki Tündérországban él, s aki sohasem
lesz az övé, mert a csudafa megvédi tőle…
Történt egy nap, hogy mikor fényes délben hazakerült a
bolyongásából, nagy méhzümmögés fogadta. Tele volt az egész kert
méhhel, valósággal megszállták kertjének minden virágát, csakúgy
nyüzsögtek, mohón szívták a mézet, mintha egyetlenegy nap mind
el akarták volna hordani azt a rengeteg mézet, ami Bűbájos
kertjében összegyült.
Magánkivül szaladgált Bűbájos, amikor ezt látta, zengett belé az
erdő, amint kiabálta:
– Hé, rablók, mit kerestek itt?
Szörnyű haraggal taposta össze a virágokat, űzte, hajtotta a
méheket, s a szegény méhek Bűbájos haragja elől a virágok
kelyhébe akartak bujni, ám a virágok mintha tudták volna, hogy ezzel
gazdájuknak kedve telik, bezárták a kelyhöket s a méhek nem
bujhattak el Bűbájos elől, reszketve néztek rá.
– Ugylátszik, Bűbájostól már senki sem fél, – ordított Bűbájos, s
varázsvesszejével keményen belesuhintott a levegőégbe.
– Uhu, huhu, – huhogott az öregebbik bagoly, aki álmosan
pislantott ki az odujából, – úgy látszik, a gazdánknak mégis csak
megjön az esze: az lesz ujra, aki volt.
– Uhu, uhu, – mondá a másik bagoly, – ideje, hogy észretérjen,
mert már hálni jár belé a lélek.
– Egy, kettő, – kiáltott a méhekre Bűbájos, – mindjárt, de mindjárt
megmondjátok, ki volt a vezetőtök? Ki vezetett ide az én kertembe?
Mert különben bűbájos szavamra mondom, hogy valamennyiteket
varasbékává varázsollak!
Rémült csend követte Bűbájos szavait, aztán egy piros rózsa
szirmai közül nagynehezen előbujt a sánta Bölcsek Bölcse, torkát
megköszörülte, s zümmögé, amint következik:
– Züm, züm, züm, felséges Bűbájos, oh, bocsásd meg a
merészségemet, én vezettem ide a népemet, mert a csudafa… – itt
elakadt a szava a sánta Bűbájosnak, mert Bűbájos közbeordított:
– Mit?! Hát ti a csudafának az én kertemben gyüjtitek a mézet?
Annak a fának, amely az én boldogságomnak a gyilkosa?!
Varázsvesszejét fenyegetően emelte fel, a méhek reszketve
röpködtek, s mintha a nagy félelem odaszegezte volna őket, el sem
tudtak repülni, nem ám, mert Bűbájos megvarázsolta őket.
Végre összeszedte magát a sánta Bölcsek Bölcse:
– Oh, felséges Bűbájos, irgalmazz minékünk. Merthogy kerek e
földön seholsem találtunk már mézet, ideparancsolt minket Méz
király, s halálnak halálával fenyegetett meg, ha a föld fenekéből is
nem kerítünk mézet neki. Jártam én itt már, felséges Bűbájos,
láttam, hogy a virágokból földre csurog a méz, senki velük nem
törődik, gondoltam, nem követek el bűnt, ha népemmel elhordom
innen a mézet.
– Úgy?! Hát a Méz király hordatja a mézet, – mosolygott
keserüen Bűbájos, – s éppen az én mézemet hordatja, azzal
öntözteti a csudafát. S mit gondolsz, te, – kérdezte a sánta Bölcsek
Bölcsét, – mért hogy éppen ő öntözteti a csudafát?
– Mit tagadjam, úgy is hiába tagadnám, – felelt a sánta Bölcsek
Bölcse. A Méz király azért gyüjteti velünk a mézet, hogy a csudafa
mentől hamarább nagyra nőjjön, s övé legyen a hétszer szép
királykisasszony.
Hej, hogy villámlott a Bűbájos szeme! Csakúgy szórta a szikrát,
egész erejével belevágott varázspálcájával a levegőbe s ég, föld
megzendült belé, úgy kiabálta:
– Huj, ti rablók, huj! Hát erre kell a méz a Méz királynak! Az én
királykisasszonyomra vetette a szemét, ez a potrohos féreg! Mert az
enyém a királykisasszony, királyi szavával adta nekem Mirkó király. S
enyim lesz, ha belehalok is. És most mehettek haza. Most az
egyszer szabadon eresztlek, de csak azért, hogy megmondjátok
üzenetemet Méz királynak. Mondjátok meg neki: öntözheti, növelheti
a csudafát, de messze járjon a királykisasszonytól, mert jaj neki, ha
közelében látom!
Legyintett a varázsvesszejével, a méhek könnyedén
felröppentek, vidám zümmögéssel hazaszálltak, Bűbájos pedig
bement a varázsló szobába, ott felszitotta a pislákoló tüzet, az
mindjárt fel is lobbant haragos, félelmetes lobogással, akkor aztán
Bűbájos a kemencepadkáról felvett egy tégelyt, varázsvesszejével
meglegyintette s a tégelyből a varázsitalt a tűzbe loccsintotta. A láng
elkékült, aztán hirtelen ellobbant, sűrű füst gomolygott a kémény
felé, aztán egyszerre csak a füstből kiugrott egy szikra, ez a szikra
forogni, peregni kezdett a padlón, Bűbájos meg elébe állt,
varázsvesszejével megsujtotta s mondta lassan, halkan, alig
hallhatóan:
 Szikra, szikra, peregj gyorsan,
Peregj, pattogj egyre jobban,
Míg a tüzed el nem lobban.
Szikra, szikra, állj két lábra!
Légy a Bűbájos szolgája,
Figyelj az ő parancsára.

Hát, halljatok csudát, a szikra addig forgott, addig pergett,

pattogott, amíg piros szine hamuszinüvé lett, akkor Bűbájos még
egyszer feléje sujtott, s im, kialudt a szikra, eltünt nyomtalan, s állt a
helyén egy vérvörös ruhás, vidám arcú, kacagó szemű fickó, aki
nagyot ugrott örömében, amikor meglátta Bűbájost.
– Heje-haj, haja-haj, nincsen immár semmi baj, – kacagott
Szikra, – csakhogy világra hivtál már, édes jó Bűbájos. Nem is
hiszed, mennyire meguntam a szüntelen pergést, forgást, pattogást.
Egy szó, mint száz, itt vagyok, ragyogok, mint a fekete szurok,
várom a parancsodat!
Akár hiszitek, akár nem, kiült az öröm most a Bűbájos arcára is.
Mosolygott az arca, mosolygott a szeme, hosszan, sokáig
elgyönyörködött a vidám kedvü fickóban, az ő hűséges kis
inaskájában. Amikor aztán jól kiörvendezte magát, leült a kemence
padkájára, letette maga mellé varázsvesszejét, Szikra meg a
lábához kuporodott, úgy nézett rá boldogan s várta a Bűbájos
parancsát.
Végre megszólalt Bűbájos:
– Nyisd ki mind a két füledet, édes fiam, Szikra. Amit mostan
mondok, szedd jól a begyedbe.
– Végig fül vagyok, édes gazdám. Még az evést is elfelejtem,
pedig hát üres a gyomrom, üres ám.
Bűbájos elmosolyodott, fölkelt a kemencepadkáról, az asztalról
levett egy kosár málnát, szépen letette a fiú ölébe.
 – Ihol a málna, egyél elébb, egyél, mert különben mindig a
málnán jár a szemed, amíg én beszélek.
Hiszen nem kellett sok kinálás Szikrának, egy-kettőre felfalta a
sok málnát, s olyan veresre mázolódott az arca, hogy aki látta, meg
nem állta kacagás nélkül.
– No, most már beszélj, édes gazdám, hegyezem mind a két
fülemet.
– No, édes fiam, hát azzal kezdem, hogy tudod-e hol lakik a
Nagy Bűbájos?
– Hogyne tudnám, édes gazdám. Ott lakik a Sárga szikla tetején,
a barlangjában.
– Igazad van, ott lakik. Hát, hallgass ide. Én most elmegyek
innen Tündérországba. Hogy miért megyek, azt nem kötöm a te
orrodra sem.
Nagyot kacagott erre Szikra, de akkorát, hogy csengett a ház
belé, csengett a kert is. Mondá:
– Kötöd vagy nem kötöd az orromra, édes gazdám, mindegy
nekem. Nem azért vagyok én Szikra, hogy ne tudnám, mit keresel te
szép Tündérországban.
– Hát ha tudod, csak tudjad, nem bánom! Egy szó, mint száz,
amíg én távol leszek, te itt maradsz, te leszel a gazda, s ha sokáig
nem jönnék, akkor kezdődik a te dolgod.
– Halljam, édes gazdám, halljam, mi lesz az én dolgom?
– Az lesz a te dolgod: ha sokáig nem kerülnék haza, elmégy a
Nagy Bűbájoshoz, elmondod neki, hová, merre mentem, aztán a
Nagy Bűbájos vagy hazasegít, vagy nem, ez már az ő gondja
lészen.
– Oh, gazdám, gazdám, édes gazdám, – komolyodott el hirtelen
a kacagó szemű Szikra, – félek, hogy hiába beszélek, de én mégis
azt mondanám, hogy maradj itthon, ne menj szép Tündérországba.
Mióta a Föld szelleme a csudafával Tündérországot megajándékozá,
bűbájos onnét még élve nem került vissza.
– Ej, ne fecsegj, fickó. Tudom, amit tudok, még ma elindulok
Tündérországba s elhozom onnét a királykisasszonyt, ha belehalok
is.
Egy szót sem szólt többet Szikra, s mintha semmi sem történt
volna, csendesen kifordult a konyhába, onnan seprüt hozott be,
elkezdett sepergetni, mert vastagon állt a por a szoba padlóján,
asztalon, széken, lócán, mindenen. Látszott, hogy Bűbájos ritkán járt
haza, s hogy nem törődött nagy bánatában semmivel. Amikor a
szobát szépen kiseperte, kiment a kertbe, a virágokból a mézet
kikanalazta, összegyüjtötte, aztán utat vágott a kertben ujra az
elvadult bokrok között, új fejfát állított a fekete kandur sirja fölé, s
hipp, hopp, olyan rendet teremtett a kertben, hogy Bűbájos, amikor
kilépett a házból, azt hitte, hogy a házból egyenesen a
paradicsomkertbe lépett.
– No, most már csak te vagy hátra, édes gazdám, – kiáltott
Bűbájos felé nagy vígan Szikra.
Hamarosan langy meleg fürdőt készített a gazdájának, véresre
karcolt arcát jóféle irral bekente, tövissel megtüzdelt haját szép
gyengén megfésülte, aztán mint a gyermeket karjára vette a
legyengült Bűbájost, hófehér ágyba lefektette, s altató dalt dalolt,
mint egy kis gyermeknek. Addig dalolt, amíg mély álomba nem
dalolta Bűbájost, aztán maga is lefeküdt a földre, az ágy mellé, szép
csendesen ő is álomba szenderült.
Amint vilámodott, Bűbájosnak felpattant a szeme, hirtelen kiugrott
az ágyból, Szikra feladta rá bársonykék ruháját, zsebébe tette az
arany iskátulyát, a kerten átkisérte, a fekete felhő már ott gomolygott
felettük, s amint Bűbájos a kert kapuján kilépett, szép csendesen
leereszkedett. Bűbájos megcsókolta Szikrát, ez meg sirva borult
Bűbájos kezére, aztán a felhő lassan, méltóságosan felemelkedett,
majd hirtelen nekiiramodott, s Tündérország felé eltünt nyomtalan.