by Celine Yorke
"Oh yes, wouldn't it be fantastic if we could see some more of the wild animals?"
They got their fishing rods out in the water and sat waiting for something to bite. "Serena, look at the big moose in there," Tom whispered.
She looked and saw a big moose walk into the water. It munched on the vegetation peacefully. "WOW, he is so big! What a great set of antlers he has," Serena whispers back.
Their fishing rods twitched. "Quick, hurry up and pull the line in. Look, we both caught a pike," Tom said. He took the fish off the hook with a smooth motion.
"Great! We have dinner for tonight. But maybe we need a couple more. Let's try to see if we can get them while we eat our sandwiches."
Serena unwrapped the sandwiches and handed one to Tom, along with a bottle of fruit juice. It was a perfect day, he thought as he looked at her. She toasted him with her bottle. "Cheers. I hope we have many more days like this together."
"Cheers, darling. So do I," Tom smiled as he lifted his bottle up.
CHAPTER SIX
Philippe's yacht was tied up to the jetty. He'd already called his father for help. Now he was sitting on the deck, waiting for the military submarine to arrive with his father and his friends from the French Foreign Legion. They were on their way to help Philippe catch the pirates that had tried to kidnap him. When he spotted the submarine emerging out in the bay, he got the motor started and headed out to meet them. He sailed up close to the submarine. His dad was waiting for him on the deck,
"Hi, Dad, am I glad to see you!"
"Oh yes, I'm so glad you got yourself out of that mess." Joshua grabbed the rope Philippe threw him and tied it around a rod. Maxi and a few of his friends jumped on board the yacht. Maxi checked the connection to the tracking device placed on the pirate's ship to make sure it was working. They helped Philippe to set up sail.
"You did well, Philippe. Everything works, now let's go and get those pirates," Maxi said. They jumped back onto the submarine.
Philippe was alone on his yacht, way out at sea trying to track down the pirates who kidnapped him. The military submarine was right under him. He kept in close radio contact with Maxi, but couldn't relax. The tension made every muscle hum. The sea was getting rough too, the yacht rolled up and down. But just then, Philippe spotted the pirate ship.
"Maxi, I see the ship. It's coming full speed towards me."
"Try to maneuver your yacht towards them."
They sailed right up next to the yacht. Philippe hid in a hole under the benches and waited as the pirates boarded him. They found no-one on the apparently empty yacht.
"Where the fuck are you, fucking scumbag?" one of the pirates yelled. The submarine came up on the other side of the pirate's ship. When the pirates jumped back onto their ship, Maxi and his team and the military surrounded them.
"Throw all your guns on the deck away from you," Maxi ordered. "You, pick them up and put them in the bag," he said to one of the soldiers, who acted right away. They rounded the surprised pirates up on the deck at gunpoint and cuffed them. The pirates looked furious, but resigned. Maxi interrogated them one by one, starting with the leader. He found out where they came from. Next he did a third-degree cross-examination of all of them. Their list of convictions shocked even him.
"You're all in big trouble. You might as well tell us where the bag with the three million dollars is Philippe's father gave you, because we'll just search your ship until we find the money. We are not going anywhere before we have the money, so you can sit here tied up all night and day, or you can tell us where it is so we can get going."
"You will find the bag on the bench down in my cabin," the dejected leader said.
Joshua and Maxi went down and found the bag with the money on a bench in one of the cabins. Joshua took it gratefully and stowed it safely in the submarine.
"We better go and check on Philippe." Maxi and a couple of his team jumped onto the yacht and went down the stairs and opened the bench.
"You can come out now, Philippe," called Maxi.
Philippe came out smiling with relief. "Good work, guys, thank you for your help."
Maxi and a few of his team sailed the pirate ship back to France, where they dropped the anchor and tied it up in the harbor.
They contacted the police. They were on the scene when they came back to the harbor. They sailed their patrol boat out to pick up the prisoners and brought them into shore, where a big van waited to take them all to jail.
Philippe sailed his yacht back to the marina where he usually had it anchored. He sat on his yacht, thinking about all he had been through. His thoughts went to Serena. He really cared about her. He would have to tell her the whole story of what happened to him. He couldn't keep it a secret from her any longer, he had to tell her he was a shifter. If their relationship was going anywhere, she deserved to know the truth.
After spending some wonderful days with Tom, Serena was again back in France working at Jock Lassalle's. She was excited about the thought of Tom coming to stay with her. He just had to sort out a few things first.
At Jock Lassalle's, they kept busy for the coming winter season. Many new designs were created, and Serena loved the frantic atmosphere in the workroom. It inspired her to be creative. She was pretty tired when she got home from work, but she didn't mind, she loved what she was doing.
"You know, Philippe tried to call you," said Violet. "I told him you were on vacation back in Sweden."
"Sure, sure," said Serena. The phone rang, interrupting her, it was Philippe.
"Oh, Philippe, you're back. I have been worried about you. Are you okay? How is your hand?" Serena was happy to hear from him. She didn't want to drop him without at least an explanation.
"Yes I'm okay. It wasn't my fingers they sent. They were from a dead pirate. That was just a scare tactic."
"I'm so happy to hear that. It's good to hear your voice again. I have been so worried about what those men were going to do to you! They didn't hurt you, did they?"
"Why don't I come and pick you up a little later and we can go somewhere for dinner so I can tell you all about it?"
"That's a good idea. Seven?"
They arranged to have dinner. Serena put down the phone, and a wave of panic crashed over her as she realized he'd assume they were on a date.
"How are you going to manage this, Serena? One moment, there are no men in your life, and now there are two of them again. I don't want to see you hurt."
"I know. It is not going to be easy to work out. So I'll take one thing at the time. I plan to tell Philippe my old boyfriend, whom I thought was dead, is back now. I want to tell him to his face because I do still care about him, but I want to be with Tom. Philippe has been so kind to me, I think I owe him that much. He too has been through quite an ordeal, and I have been worried about him." But she was twisting her finger in her hair unhappily, she had to let him know how she felt about Tom, but she was not looking forward to it.
A little while later, the doorbell rang. Philippe stood there, smiling and as handsome as ever. They hugged, Serena was happy to see he was alright and safe home.
"Oh my God, this might not be as easy as I thought it would be," Serena thought to herself.
Philippe took Serena to a restaurant she had never been to before. They got a table in front of a round settee in a quiet corner away from everyone else. The little lamp placed in the middle of the table added to the cozy atmosphere in their little corner of the restaurant. The rest of the place seemed a bit dark, almost mysterious, Serena thought.
Serena fiddled with her blond hair and smoothed her white lace blouse, tucking her blue jacket and skirt back into place.
Philippe ignored her fidgeting. "We have a lot to talk about, but let me first tell you that I already know Tom, your old boyfriend is back. I saw him on television and I assumed you have been in touch with him since you took a trip to Sweden?"
"Yes, that is true. I went back to see him. But please, tell me about what happen with the pi
rates before we get into that."
"Okay, but I warn you, I haven't been completely honest with you, and you might not like what I'm about to tell you. It might upset you. But I need to tell you something about myself. I don't want to keep it a secret from you any longer. It is important I tell you this for you to understand what happened on board the pirate ship."
Serena looked at him, wondering what this secret could be. She nodded. "Alright, I'm listening, and I'll try not to be upset."
"Have you ever heard of shape-shifters?"
"Tom told me he had been living with some in the jungle. They could turn themselves into jaguars. They were half human and half jaguar. But that was the first time I ever heard about it. I don't know what to think of it."
"Well, you are about to meet another one. I'm a shape-shifter. I can shift into a jaguar, too. That is how I was able to save myself when two of the pirates came down into the little dark cabin they put me in on their ship. One of the pirates carried an ax, ready to chop my fingers off. I was very angry. The beast in me changed shape to a jaguar, and I went for their throats. I ripped them open and they bled to death."
Philippe looked up at Serena. He could see the color draining from her face. She was white, and looked as if she was going to faint. She fell down on the settee and lay there, totally still. Philippe panicked and ran over to the bar.
"Can I have some cold water and a towel please? My girlfriend fainted." The bartender brought them over to the table and helped Philippe to care for Serena. She laid there for about half an hour before she came to. Philippe was glad there weren't many people in the restaurant. He hadn't expected her to react this way. He didn't want other people to see her in that condition.
Serena opened her eyes and saw that Philippe was holding her hand. What happened to her? She started to remember what Philippe had told her. She pulled her hand away from Philippe as if she had been burned.
"Hon, I don't expect you to understand everything just like that. You must think I'm crazy, but I had to tell you the truth. I'm so sorry."
Serena started to sit up and Philippe helped her. She gave Philippe a long pained look. "How could you lead me on like this? I was beginning to fall in love with you. You were playing with my heart." She broke their eye contact.
"I'm so sorry. I do really care for you, but I didn't think I was able to go this far without you discovering my secret."
Serena was clutching her stomach and shaking her head. All sorts of thoughts raced through her mind. This was an unbelievable story. How could she ever accept this? She wanted to go home and talk to Violet.
"Could you please take me home? I need time to think about this. You can tell me the rest of the story of what happened out there on the pirate ship another time," Serena was not feeling well at all.
"Oh, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you like this," Philippe was both disappointed and sad. He had hoped he could have shown her the shape-shifter den downstairs. But maybe he could another time, when she was ready.
Philippe drove Serena home. He felt very sad the evening ended like it did, but as the gentleman he was, he tried to make the best of the situation. He looked at Serena and saw tears running down her face. He reached his hand out and touched her arm.
"I'm so sorry, Serena." Before she got out of the car, he said to her, "Will you promise to contact me again? So we can continue our conversation and I can explain everything to you?"
"Yes, I promise you. I just need some time to think about what you have told me so far."
CHAPTER SEVEN
Serena ran up the stairs to her apartment. As soon as she was inside the door, she called out, "Violet are you home? I need to talk to you!"
Violet came out from her bedroom, "You are home early. I didn't expect you home for at least another couple of hours. What is wrong? You look upset."
"Oh Violet, you are not going to believe this. I'm not even sure I can believe it myself. Philippe is what you call a shape shifter. He can turn himself into a jaguar. That's how he saved himself from the pirates."
Violet took a few steps back. "What are you saying? Are you out of your mind girl?
"Yes, I'm thinking that myself, but it is true. He told me so himself. Tom also told me he had been living among a group of jaguars that could shifts their forms."
Violet was shaking her head, "I've never heard of such a thing before."
"Neither have I. I'm shocked, and not sure what to think of it."
"You know my friend Sophia, who is a nurse? She might be able to tell us some more about this sort of thing. She sees and hears about a lot of weird things in her profession. Maybe I should call her?"
"Yes, please do. I need to understand more about this mystifying, unexplainable thing." Violet got on the phone to her friend Sophia. She promised to come over and talk to them right away. She didn't live far from them. Half an hour later, the doorbell rang and Violet let her in.
"Meet my friend Sophia. This is Serena," she introduced the two women. Sophia, short and plump with a rather big bust, seemed like the motherly type.
They shook hands and both said hello.
"It was nice of you to come on so short notice," Serena said.
"Oh, think nothing of it. It will give me a chance to catch up with Violet."
The three of them sat down with a cup of coffee. Serena told Sophia about the situation.
"I feel so betrayed. I mean, he lied to me," Serena felt so humiliated.
Sophia looked concerned. "I have heard about cases like this. It is more common than the ordinary person realizes. I haven't come across anyone in the hospital. But I talked with some of the other nurses about shape-shifters. One of them told us she had seen a werewolf turning into a perfect human being in front of her eyes. She said it was scary, but he didn't hurt her, and was very kind and loving toward her."
"It doesn't mean he is bad," Sophia continued, "It only means he is different. You said he wanted to take you downstairs in the restaurant to their den? Why don't you ask him to show it to you? That way you can get proof for what he has told you and maybe get a better understanding of the situation."
"I could do that. He was very sad I wanted to go home. But I fainted when he told me, and I didn't feel well." Serena let out a nervous chuckle. Violet and Sophia laughed too. "Oh, I feel such a fool now." Serena buried her face in her hands and then wiped the tears away from her eyes. Her emotions had gotten the better of her, and she didn't know whether to cry or laugh.
"I think it is a natural reaction for someone who is not used to dealing with other people's issues. Then, to be faced with an extraordinary situation like that, would be enough to throw anyone out of balance," Sophia said.
Now that it was all out in the open, Serena began to feel a little more relaxed about the whole thing. The conversation turned around to Tom and Serena's trip to Sweden.
"Maybe when Tom comes for a visit he will be able to throw some more light on it all," Violet commented.
"Yes, I hear your old boyfriend is back home again. That must have been a pleasant surprise for you," Sophia mentioned.
"Oh yes, it was so good to see him again. I hope he will want to stay here in France so I can keep my job," Serena said. Her eyes lit up.
Violet and Serena made some toasted cheese sandwiches and a pot of tea for the three of them to share. It turned out to be a very nice evening. It was late when they got to bed, but Serena was happy she had been able to talk to her two friends about her predicament.
The next day, Serena called Philippe and apologized for her behavior the night before. "Could we give it another try? I'll be willing to listen to what you have to tell me."
She realized they had to talk and she needed to tell him about Tom. Philippe came to pick her up in the evening. They went to the same restaurant and even got to sit at the same table as they had the night before. But this time, Serena was more prepared to listen to what Philippe had to tell her about his encounter with the pirates. Philippe ordered drinks
and dinner for them both. Serena, who looked lovely in the same outfit as the night before, was doing her best to smile and let the evening be as enjoyable as possible. Philippe told her everything what happened on the pirate ship and how his dad and his friends had later helped catching the pirates. Serena was amazed to hear the whole story. She began to get used to the fact Philippe was a shape-shifter and it no longer scared her.
Then it was Serena's turn to tell her story about Tom. She had told Philippe very little about him in the past because she wanted to put it all behind her and make a new life for herself. But now Tom was back in her life, and she couldn't help it. She still loved him and wanted to be with him, and he wanted to be with her.
"I'm sorry Philippe, but Tom coming back into my life again and you telling me you are a shape-shifter have changed everything for me. I want you to know I do still care for you, though. We did have some very enjoyable times together, and it was just very unfortunate what happened with the pirates. I hope we can still be friends." Philippe slid over on the settee and sat next to Serena. He put his arm around her and gave her a squeeze.
"I'm sorry too. I expected that once you found out about my secret you would have second thoughts about dating me. I should have told you a long time ago, but I enjoyed being with you so much. Don't be sorry. I will be happy if we can remain friends. I would like to meet Tom and hear about his experiences in the jungle with the jaguars."
Serena was relieved he took it so well. She did like him a lot. He was so handsome, and a gentleman. Now that they had gotten all the things they needed to talk about out of the way, the atmosphere between them seemed much lighter. The waiter brought their meals over, along with a bottle of red wine. The food was delicious. They both seemed to be in a much better mood, and enjoyed a light-hearted conversation. When they finished their meals, the waiter came and took their plates away.
