Chapter 10
I bowed out of the Navy gracefully. I turned down what would have been my third set of sign-on papers. I held firm to the decision in the face of my commanding officer’s attempts to lure me back in with astronomical bonuses. And I requested all of my unused vacation days to be rolled over into terminal leave.
Within twelve hours, I was walking off base with a sea bag slung over one shoulder and with no one to answer to but myself. For the first time in recent memory, I was entirely at loose ends.
Yes, I was at loose ends...but I wasn’t without avenues to explore. After all, I’d been carrying a certain shifter’s business card around in my pocket for the better part of the last week, fingering the rounded corners like a good-luck charm. As a backup plan, Stormwinder’s proposed
