The Last Shifter’s Baby

After a brief tour of the sanctuary’s habitats, Luke pulled the ATV to a stop in front of a quaint, white brick building. “This is where you’ll be staying while you work here with us. It’s fully furnished, and I believe our cleaner put some basic groceries in the kitchen for you.” He helped her out, not letting go of her hand until they were at the door of her temporary home. He slid the key into her hand. “I’d give you the tour inside but it’s not that big.” A slow smile spread over his face. “And it would be pretty presumptuous of me to invite myself in.”

She couldn’t stop the blush before it spread across her cheeks, cursing herself for getting flustered so easily. “It’s okay, I mean I wasn’t thinking about- “

He laughed. “It’s a joke, sorry, I spend most of my time with the animals, I forget I’m not actually that funny. I should let you settle in and get to work. You’ll find an ATV of your own around the side, keys on the kitchen counter.” He gripped her shoulder. “I’ll check on you later today, find me if you have any questions, Maggie usually knows where I’m at.” She thanked him and unlocked the door to her new home. She couldn’t help sneaking a peak through the kitchen window to watch as Luke rode away, disappearing into the forest.

She shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts as she ran back to her jeep. It was thankfully near to her accommodation, so she grabbed her duffel bag and headed back inside. She tried to calm down as she quickly unpacked her things, excited to get back out and start properly exploring the habitats. I need to stop staring at Luke, she thought, it doesn’t matter if he’s handsome, poor guy probably thinks I’m a creep. Resolved to stop fussing like a middle schooler after their first crush, Rebecca finished unpacking and grabbed the keys to her ATV, driving back out to the wolf habitat. Once she parked her transportation somewhere she was fairly certain she’d remember where it was later, she grabbed her satchel and started surveying the land.

The sanctuary was definitely strategically placed, the forested hills provided the perfect natural habitat for many of the animals under the sanctuary’s care. There was even a natural river that flowed through the land. She knelt at the banks of the river, mud gushing around the knees of her good jeans as she bent to collect a water sample. She sighed, right, and this is why I don’t wear nice clothes. Bottling the sample and tucking it away in her satchel, she started to rise to her feet, freezing when she heard sticks snapping and foliage rustling from across the riverbed. Whatever it was, was loud and Rebecca thought back to what animals Luke said this habitat contained. Elk? She thought, then shook her head as she heard a deep growl, followed by the sound of something snuffling in the dirt. Okay, not an elk. She watched with wide eyes as a tall, young black bear lumbered out from the trees, the muscles in its legs and back rippling with each step it took towards the river. Yeah, so he didn’t bother to mention the bears, nice, she thought. She paused then frowned as she watched the bear lower its head to drink from the water. Wait, it’s early November, that bear should have been in hibernation a month ago. Before she could slink away, the bear raised its head, looking right at her with warm, light brown eyes. She watched, her heartbeat slightly elevated as it snorted and ambled back the way it came.

She couldn’t help but feel angry as she tried to conclude her brief land survey. Luke could have mentioned they had bears, specifically bears out of hibernation that could be volatile. As she continued to survey the wolf’s habitat, her anger slowly turned into confusion. She may have seen a bear by the river, but the rest of the land showed no signs of them. No tracks, food sources, dens, she couldn’t even find any droppings, there were no signs that any bears lived in this habitat. Once she concluded her survey, she drove the ATV back to her accommodations, pleased to see Luke already waiting for her.

He smiled, lifting up a hand as she pulled up next to him. “I’m glad you made it back okay. Our last visiting zoologist kept getting lost.”

Rebecca smiled tightly at him. “Would you like to come in? I have a few questions.” Luke followed her into the building, taking a seat at her little kitchen table. She made herself a quick cup of tea, feeling only a little guilty that she didn’t offer him any. She sat across from him, warming her hands against the cup. “You didn’t mention the bear.”

Luke frowned, “We don’t have any bears.”

“I saw a black bear by the river, about a mile from the wolves den?”

“Oh, that bear.” He paused and as his hand darted up to rub along the back of his neck, she found herself watching how the muscles in his arms and shoulders flexed and released. “That bear climbs in the sanctuary sometimes from a grouping of close trees by one of the fences.” He explained.

“And that’s-that’s just, okay? Look, I’m sorry, but I’m having a hard time understanding how things run here. By all means, this shouldn’t work. It just shouldn’t work.” She repeated. “How do you keep track of the animals?”

Luke shifted in his chair, his gaze not quite meeting hers. “The animals have their routine; they know where they should be.”

She took in a calming breath, that doesn’t even answer my question, she thought. “How do you keep them from fighting between species or over-killing the prey?”

“Listen,” he reached across the table, covering one of her hands with his own. “The animals, they have their ways. I understand you have a lot of questions, you’re new, you don’t know our way of doing things yet. Why don’t we go out to eat tonight? We can celebrate your first day on the job and I’ll answer whatever questions you want me to, I promise.”

“That sounds wonderful, actually, I’d love to.” She said.

“Great,” the smile that spread across his face was wide and infectious. “I have a few things to finish up, but I can come here to pick you up at seven?”

She nodded, “I have a few things I need to finish too.”

He pushed himself up, his hand sliding off of hers. “I’ll see you in a few hours then.” After he let himself out, Rebecca sat at the table until she could no longer hear his ATV. Springing up, she darted to the dresser she unpacked her duffel in, digging through the work and old, casual clothes she brought. Maybe I could have packed a bit more choices.