Navin
It’s been the singularly best day of my entire thirty-five years. Hands down. No comparison. I’m afraid to blink most of the time for fear I’ll open my eyes and find out it never happened. She’s not here with me.
My mate.
The bond is so much stronger than I anticipated. There’s no way to explain it to another living being. Everyone has to experience it for themselves to know.
I make a stew for dinner, and my mate devours it. She seems to love my cooking, which is convenient, since she’s stuck with me cooking for her for eternity. Obviously I will be removing broccoli from my diet entirely. Small price to pay.
While I clean up, she finally opens the coloring book and begins to shade in the tiny holes with her colored pencils. I’ve heard these adult coloring books can be cathartic. She seems content. She even hums and swings her feet while she works. Perhaps I should give it a try.
When I’m done in the kitchen, I join her, sitting at the table, leaning my cheek against my palm, and watching my mate work.
She giggles when she looks at me. “Are you going to stare at me forever?”
I nod and reach up to stroke her cheek. “Probably. You spend a lot of time staring at me, too.”
“You’re distracting. Don’t you own any shirts?”
I chuckle. “Did you want me to put a shirt on?”
She shakes her head, sending her braid flying. “No. I was just curious.”
“I do own shirts, yes, but my body temperature runs higher than yours. I’ve bumped up the heat so you’ll be comfortable. I’d be sweating if I put more clothes on.”
“Oh.” She looks around. “I love your cabin, by the way.”
I glance around as she does, seeing my cozy space through her eyes. These cabins had been here when we arrived three years ago. It had seemed like destiny for us to find this logging company for sale, and the surrounding cabins coming with the package.
We’ve done a lot of work to them, modernizing them in many ways, while keeping the rustic look. Each of the cabins is slightly different, but all of them are small dwellings, consisting of a single living space, a bedroom, a bathroom, and a small laundry room. They won’t be large enough once we all start families, but we’ll add on to them as needed.
We’ve updated the electrical grids, ensured the water pipes are safe, and even recently added a tower that allows us to have better internet and cell service.
The location is perfect for us. We don’t like to live directly among humans in towns. It’s too stifling. Though humans are aware of our existence, they get nervous when they’re aware of shifters living next door.
The truth is we’re harmless to most humans. We have no reason to attack them. We aren’t violent people. Even though we can and do often shift into giant lions, we don’t bother humans.
The greatest benefit of living slightly off the grid is that we can shift more frequently without sending society into a panic. It’s safer for us, too. Some humans get testy when they spot lions, bears, wolves, or any other shifter species. Fear sends them into a panic.
We must coexist with humans. It’s the only way our species can continue. We need human mates to birth our cubs.
“Daddy…”
I jerk my attention back to my girl. I guess I went into my head for a bit.
She’s smiling. “Where did you go?”
I reach for her small hand and lift it to kiss her knuckles. “I was just thinking about how lucky I am.” I push to standing. “I was also thinking that it’s late, and you need sleep. You’re not fully healed yet. I want you to get enough rest so your body can fight against infection.”
She tips her head back as I push her seat away from the table and take the pencil from her. “I feel fine, Daddy.”
“I know you’re getting stronger every hour, but trust me, you need rest.” I unfasten her buckle and lift her into my arms.
I love the way she wraps around me, hugging me tight. Maybe she’s just holding on out of fear I might drop her, but either way, it feels nice. I like it when she’s so close that I can nuzzle her.
After carrying her into the bathroom, I stand her on a stool in front of the sink so she can reach.
She looks down and giggles. “You just happened to have a stool for me?”
