I might be wet and cold when I get out, but a dry hoodie might help.
The water wasn’t nearly as cold as the stream where she and Conner had taken a bath the previous day. While it was still chilly, she grew accustomed to it quickly and followed Vincent, who had already swum halfway to the circle. Instead of stopping there, he swam past it. She followed him to the waterfall, looking up at the rainbow that appeared as the afternoon sun cut through the mist.
Vincent took a deep breath before disappearing under the surface. Jillian followed his lead, opening her eyes. The water was crystal clear, allowing her to spot him swimming up behind the churning bubbles of the falls. When she came up on the other side of the waterfall, the roar of the rushing water made her want to cover her ears. Vincent climbed up onto the rocks, tying his hair up into a knot.
She swam closer, reaching for him. He bent down, closing his hand around her forearm and lifting her out, before gesturing for her to follow. The falls had obscured the small mouth of a cave. She slipped on the mossy rocks, and her arms flailed as she tried to stay balanced. Vincent put his hands on her waist, and her cheeks warmed at his touch. Taking her hand, he led her deeper toward the back of the cave. The stifling darkness brought back a memory of the face hovering over her bed. She hugged Vincent’s bicep, keeping a firm grip on his hand.
It was just a nightmare. Jillian reminded herself. Sometimes a dream is just your brain throwing away a bunch of useless information.
He placed a hand on the top of her head as he ducked down, navigating underneath some unseen obstacle. As soon as they were on the other side of it, the sound of the waterfall seemed much farther away.
“Almost there,” Vincent said, clicking the rubber button on the end of his miniature waterproof flashlight.
“I think I might be deaf now.” Jillian blinked, sticking a finger in her ear, trying to clear out the water. “Who knew a waterfall could be so loud.”
“This is what I wanted to show you.” Vincent’s voice echoed in the hollow chamber. He pointed his mini-torch, and Jillian’s eyes widened as light flooded up the wall.
“My God.” She breathed. “They’re beautiful.”
Brightly colored pictures adorned the stone, reaching ten or fifteen feet up into the darkness of the cave.
“As best I can figure, we’re the first ones to set foot in this place for a few hundred years.” He had seen these paintings dozens of times over the years. The pictures were a stunning sight to behold, but Vincent’s eyes were fixed on Jillian and her astonished expression as she gaped up at them.
“How big is this place?” She looked around at the dark cavern, only able to imagine its true magnitude. Beyond the reach of their light, the rocks muffled the roar of the water flowing overhead.
“About twenty feet high.” He pointed at the ceiling. “Hemlock river runs right over the top of us. And the width and depth of the chamber, I’d say it’s about fifty by a hundred feet.”
The pictures were crude but vivid, depicting human beings as well as a variety of different animals. One picture caught Jillian’s eye, a bear with an orange crest like Finn’s. Near it was a bigger bear and then a third bear that was even bigger.
“Did you paint these?” Jillian narrowed her eyes, leaning closer to inspect the orange smudge on the bear’s chest.
“No.” Vincent shook his head. “These were here long before I ever got here. There’s no doubt in my mind that this place is a beacon to our kind, much like you. Conner was drawn to you when you were in danger; all of us were.”
A glyph of a human being with long, yellow hair stood in a circle between the three bears.
Jillian took the light from him and moved over a few feet. As she followed the wall, she found dozens more bears and other animals that seemed to pour out of the circle they created.
“So, you’re like the alpha of this pack?” She turned to look at him.
“The preferred vernacular is tribe, though for now, we’re more of a den since there are only three of us.”
“It seems like you have your hands full with just Finn and Conner.” She gauged his reaction.
“Nah, they’re easy.” He swatted the air. “They bicker like children out of boredom, but both of them want to do the right thing when the chips are down. What’s going to get crazy is when other tribes roll in wanting to join with us.”
“Are you sure that will happen?” She looked closer at the rich pigment of the paint.
“Now that your oracle abilities are active, shifters will be drawn to you from all over. Not all of them are going to be good. There’ll be other alpha’s that want to challenge me. Different tribes have different customs. We’ll have to take it as it comes.”
“Since you’re the alpha, don’t you have the authority to tell the others to stay away from me if you wanted?” Jillian side-eyed him.
“You don’t have to be mated to me just because I’m the alpha.” He leaned against the wall. “Jealousy is more of a human trait.”
“What do you mean?”
“My father was an alpha; he had a mate and two companions. My aunt Grace had a mate and three companions. I wasn’t raised to see love as if it’s a cage. Love is wild; it’s hungry. I never understood why human society chooses to starve itself of love and gorge itself
