Moose and the Narwhal: FUC Academy

By Renee Hewett

A moose with no memory and a narwhal stuck on land...

 

Not only is Kailee Watkins a narwhal without a horn, but she's a sea creature working in cyber intelligence for the Furry United Coalition Newbie Academy—a primarily land-based institution!

 

Despite being grounded, she's dedicated herself to protecting shifters and the shifter secret from the non-cryptozoian world. Everything would be great, if she could forget about the one agent who changed everything for her.

 

On the year anniversary of Kingsley Oakman's death, Kailee re-visits the last place she saw the moose, only to find him alive and well! Minus a memory or two...

Now they must work together to find out who's kidnapped Kailee's cousin and a few bumbling humans, all while Kingsley tries to overcome his amnesia.

 

Can they keep their flippers and hooves off each other until it's all resolved? Or will past secrets cause them to come to blows?

 

Note: This book is a standalone, but if you want to read all about Dedra and Andrés adventure, as well as the events that led up to Kingsley's disappearance, check out Goose and the Ocelot by Renee Hewett!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Jessica Ripley
• Release date: Feb 11, 2021
• ISBN: 9781393337461

Book preview

1

A whole year had passed.

Twelve months. Fifty-two weeks.

Three hundred and sixty-five days.

In that time, Kailee had enrolled in the Furry United Coalition Newbie Academy, finished her training, as well as apprenticeships, and proven her mettle as a gifted cyber-intelligence agent. A completely different person than who she’d been a year ago.

But despite her achievements, the raw pain from the memory of Kingsley dying before her eyes hadn’t lessened. The guilt from being responsible for the loss of one of FUC’s bright young agents, a man with unlimited potential… She carried it with her each and every day, and especially on each of her FUC missions.

She wouldn’t have it any other way. She’d continue to bring Kingsley’s memory with her, dedicating all her work to him. Kingsley wasn’t there anymore, so she would spend her years picking up where he left off, saving and protecting shifter kind in his stead. She wasn’t a ground agent like he’d been, but she’d use her cyber talents to help those who were.

Not today, though. No FUC missions, just a personal one. A trip to the beach—to the spot where it had all happened—and a chance to pay her respects to the man who’d lost his life protecting her.

She breathed in the salty ocean air, letting the bright sun warm her face while the cool ocean waves covered her feet and splashed against her ankles. The beach had been a favorite place her whole life, but she’d avoided all open water since Kingsley’s death.

Her inner narwhal now whistled with glee. She’d stayed away too long. This was where she belonged.

It had taken a lot of work to get to the point where she could stand there. At first, she couldn’t even think of his name without becoming overwhelmed. Several times at the Academy, she’d experienced uncontrolled panic attacks until she began working with Dr. Edith Daya and learned to manage them. With Edith, Kailee processed the memories and learned to let them live with her, a presence in her everyday life that wouldn’t overtake her.

It had taken longer to build up the courage to visit the spot where it had all gone so horribly wrong, but she’d known all along that she’d want to be there on the year anniversary. Edith had helped her prepare, running through mentally imagining what it would be like, what it would look like, and how Kailee might feel while being there. Kailee had even used satellite imagery to observe the exact location, which was how she learned that they’d rebuilt the house where she and Kingsley had been attacked.

So it was with a steady mind that she could walk the beach and bend to place the biodegradable wreath she’d carefully assembled for the occasion—lotus pods, orchids, palm berries, and seed pods bound together with sticks, twigs, and leaf matter. All items that could become one with the sea.

As she placed the wreath on the wet sand, she spoke. I’m so sorry you’re gone, she started, then choked up on the words. Taking a deep breath, she continued. While, personally, I know I will forever feel guilt and sorrow for your loss, I recognize that you died for what you believe in. That you knew the risks of the job and giving your life to protect others was part of it. I…

Her voice wavered, and her eyes teared up, and she took a moment to steady herself again. I need to stop saying sorry, and I need to start saying thank you. Thank you for protecting me. The fact that they’d kidnapped her after they took him out didn’t matter. He’d died trying, anyway.

I want you to know that I enrolled in the academy after you passed. I wanted to become an agent, so I could protect others in your place. It’s the least I could do, and I will continue to do it as long as I can.

The waves came in and lapped up the bundle of orange, red, and green. She followed the colors as they made their way out…

Just as Kingsley had.

The words she couldn’t say, those that she couldn’t even admit to Edith, she left unsaid. Her guilt and sorrow weren’t just from the fact that someone had died protecting her. There was more to it. Kingsley wasn’t just an agent. He was the man she’d fallen for

And the night they were attacked, they’d been together. She’d told no one because she wanted Kingsley’s reputation to remain intact. Agents weren’t supposed to get involved with their clients. It was against FUC policy, and though, personally, she knew that agents became involved with their missions—like Miranda and Chase or Viktor and Renee—that didn’t matter. Kingsley had regretted their sex instantly, and Kailee had to live with the burden of knowing he died protecting her but also regretting what happened between them.

She took a deep breath. She was ready to step into her second year of FUC.

As she began to walk back up the beach, a voice stopped her in her tracks. Hey, I know you.

Kailee stiffened as her heart raced, her breath caught, and an icy chill traveled down her spine. Was she hearing ghosts? Because that voice, with its rich timbre and soothing tone, sounded exactly like Kingsley. But that was impossible. He was dead…

She squeezed her eyes shut. You’re hearing things. Maybe she wasn’t handling the beach trip as well as she’d thought. But then it came again.

Kailee?

She took a deep breath and slowly turned, looking around for a possible source of the voice. There were people farther away and walking along the boardwalk but only one haggard man close enough to be speaking to her.

Do I know you? she asked, taking in the sight of his disheveled clothes, long wild hair, and thick beard.

I don’t know, do you? The man spoke, clearly the source of the Kingsley voice, though he frowned, and his tone sounded uncertain.

Kailee squinted, trying to look past the man’s outwardly bedraggled appearance. She locked eyes with his bright blue orbs, which sparked hopefully in the same way Kingsley’s had, sending a rush of memories back to her.

Not the bad ones, but the good ones. The laughter, the flirting, the bonding that they’d experienced together.

Kailee gasped. Is it really you?

He didn’t have any idea why he’d been compelled to go to the beach on that day, but there he was.

John Doe. Mystery man with no memory. At a beach that felt familiar, yet he had no recollection of.

As he walked down the stairs onto the sand, he knew he’d been there before, and he hoped some memory would surface, but none did.

Then he spotted the blonde woman walking away from the water. Hey, I know you, he called out, though he didn’t