Fable was making a face that was hard to interpret. Confusion, probably. Like, where was I going with this? “Yeah?”
“Well, there are lots of different species of animal that we don’t know exist, even right under our noses.”
“What, like a spider or dust mite or something?”
I frowned. “Not… exactly.” Gnawing on my thumbnail, I decided I would just blurt it out. “I mean me, Fable. I’m not human.”
The silence stretched on for a long moment as I waited for him to reply, and just when it started to venture into awkward territory, he threw his head back and laughed. Not just a little laugh, either, but a full-on guffaw. The whole bed shook with his laughter, while my beaver and I watched on, stunned. Finally, he got his giggles under control, wiping away a couple tears fromthe corner of his eye. “Okay, I admit, you had me going there for a minute. Very funny, Guy.”
But then he looked at me—really looked at me, my posture slumped, eyes a little sad—and his smile dropped right off his face. “What, you’re serious?”
I nodded slowly. “Yes, I am serious.”
“Well, if you’re not human, what are you? Don’t tell me you’re an alien like in that romance series, with that guy with the horns and the-the…” he gestured to his crotch, “the bumps and ridges.”
Now it was my turn to laugh. “No, nothing quite so weird. I’m a shifter, which means I share my body with an animal. There are all kinds of shifters—wolf, bear, squirrel—but I’m a beaver. Our species has actually been around just as long as humans, but we live in secret because there aren’t as many of us, and humans tend to…” I grimaced with a shrug.
“Grab the torches and pitchforks?” he supplied.
“Exactly.” I raked my eyes over Fable to check for signs of stress, but beyond the initial delirium, he seemed to be taking it in stride. He didn’t look afraid or like he was about to pack his bags and leave. He was frowning a little, as if deep in thought. I couldn’t imagine it was an easy truth to swallow, so I decided there was really only one way to be sure he fully understood. “Would you like to meet my beaver?” I asked cautiously, wincing at how that sounded.
He snorted. “Obviously. What kind of question is that?”
I paused briefly, thumbs tucked into the waistband of my underwear. “Please don’t leave,” I whispered, before slipping off my boxers and allowing my beaver to come forward, eager to meet our mate at last.
My bones, muscles, ligaments, they all stretched and popped into their new position, and when the shift had finally finished, the floor was much closer than it had been a mere moment ago. My beaver was a significant beast, if I did say so myself. He hada large, round head, incisors like chisels, and deep-chocolate fur. Wanting to show off for our mate, he slapped his flat leathery tail on the floor, and Fable jumped, gasping.
“Oh, wow,” he wheezed, rolling out of the bed with the sheet wrapped around him. He dropped to the floor in front of my beaver with a muffled thud. “Just… wow.” He reached out but then hesitated, his hand hovering in the air over my beaver’s back. “May I?” he asked, and in response, my beast tipped up to meet his touch, his webbed feet pitter-pattering on the wood floor.
It was a strange sensation, being in the background for this meeting. I could feel Fable’s fingers combing through the waterproof fur, and my beast made these cute little chirping sounds, a beaver’s equivalent to a cat’s purr. I loved letting them bond, but I could already sense Fable’s excitement getting the best of him.
“I have so many questions,” he said, shaking his head, eyes full of absolute wonder. “Like, is everyone here a beaver? Do you age the same as a human, or are you, like, vampire old? Ohmygods, are vampires real?”
I was laughing when I shifted back into my skin, Fable’s hands warm on my body. “I turn into a beaver in front of you, and you want to know if vampires are real?”
He shrugged, smiling shyly. “Sorry, it’s just that this whole new world has been opened up to me, and I don’t know where it ends.”
“Neither do I, I’m afraid, but as far as I know, vampires are a myth.” I pulled Fable into my lap, right there on the floor, and he shuffled around until he was straddling my thighs.
“Okay, well, then I’ll ask you something easier. What’s your beaver’s name?” he asked, stroking my chest hair as if it were my beaver’s pelt.
Huh, I’d never heard that one before. “He doesn’t have a name. He’s a part of me.”
Fable frowned, leaning back to stare up at me, genuinely distressed. “By that logic, you’re also a part of him, but you have a name. So doesn’t he deserve one too?”
Oui! Je veux un nom!And of course, my beaver wanted a name now. I sighed. There was no way I was going to win this with the two of them ganging up on me. “Fair enough. Why don’t you name him?”
“Really? It would be an honor!” He held his hands over his heart as he thought about it for a moment. “How about… Maurice? Like Maurice Richard.”
“Like, the Canadian hockey player?” I asked, surprised that he knew the name.
His smile was part mischief, part embarrassment, and 100% love. “What, you thought I wasn’t going to try to show an interest in the things you like?” But then a look came over his face, skin pale, cheeks slackening, and then he shoved off my lap and ran for the bathroom.
The door slammed, and I heard retching on the other side.C’est moi?my beaver asked, distressed that he might’ve somehow caused our mate to be sick.
No, but it might’ve been me…I thought, hope burbling up inside me as I counted back the days to our first time together, remembering how sick and tired he’d looked on our video calls.
I waited outside the door until the toilet flushed, then water ran in the sink as I listened to Fable brush his teeth and gargle. When the door finally cracked open, Fable emerged smelling fresher but looking dejected, shoulders sagging as he stared at the floor, his hands placed protectively over his stomach. “I’m sorry, Guy. I didn’t mean for it to happen. I really did think we were in the clear. It shouldn’t have even been possible, thetiming was all wrong, but… I’m pregnant. Please don’t be mad, because… I am so, sohappy.” He looked up at me pleadingly.
