The Last Shifter’s Baby

Today she wanted to check the habitats of the exotic animals so she guided her ATV down the rough track that led to the other habitats. During her tour with Luke the day before, she had been impressed by the level of thoughtfulness displayed by the habitats. They were obviously lovingly designed, and she had never seen habitats that allowed the animals so much extra room to roam. Pulling up in front of the lion habitat, Rebecca could see the male lion pacing, agitated in front of the gate. He was big, the sheer size of him indicating his good health, and his golden mane thick and long. She dug in her satchel for the charts that Maggie had forwarded her in an email. She scanned through the information quickly, the lion habitat was one of the smaller ones in the sanctuary. It included one male and two female lions and – she paused – a hippo? She double checked the chart. No, it definitely says there’s a hippo in there with them. She flipped through the chart to get to the maps of the habitats, noting that there was a small, man-made lagoon inside the lion exhibit. This is crazy, lions have been known to hunt hippos and rhinos. She thought. I know these three were breed in captivity but that doesn’t erase their hunting instinct. I need to get in there and make sure they haven’t already killed it. She shoved the chart back into her satchel, her mind already filling with images of the hippo sickly and forced to spend every hour in the water to avoid the lions.

She watched the lion pacing in front of the gate and knew what she was about to do was extremely dangerous. These animals didn’t know her yet and this one was already extremely agitated. Her only hope was to sneak through the back gate and check on the hippo before this one realized she was inside his habitat. So as calmly as she could, she got back onto the ATV and drove around to the back gate. She got out, grabbing the ring of keys and letting herself in through the back gate.

According to the map, the lagoon was in the back left corner, meaning that if she just followed the fence, she should run right into it. She kept her footsteps light and her breath controlled, trying to survey the habitat as best she could as she walked briskly towards the lagoon. This was one of the few roofed habitats, probably due to the snow that the sanctuary got in the winter. She could hear the soft buzz of the ventilation shafts pumping warm air into the habitat. She’d have to talk to someone about walling in the front of the habitat, it didn’t make any sense to have the front open for all the warm air to escape. She might suggest they get some heat lamps installed so the lions can simulate sunning themselves. As she walked along she grew more impressed by the quality of the habitat, they did a good job thinning the trees so the animals wouldn’t feel to enclosed and she even saw big patches of African tall grass that someone had planted in the soft, upturned dirt.

She saw the lagoon long before she reached it, her strides quickening to reach the beautiful, man made body of water. The ground dipped and was filled with a massive pool of endless dark water, tall reeds rising from the banks. The hippo was standing ankle-deep in the shallow water by the banks, crunching a mouthful of reeds in its massive jaw. It doesn’t look hurt or stressed, she thought and frown when she spotted one of the two female lions. Her long, lithe body was stretched out along a rock, maybe four feet from the lagoon. It was directly under one of the vents. Her tail was flicking from side to side as she regarded Rebecca. She made no move to get up, however, her posture remained relaxed as she soaked up heat from the vent.

Still, Rebecca slowly moved closer to the wall. Her hand brushing across the yellow-green bark of an African fever tree that stretched its long, low branches across the dark water of the lagoon. As she turned to make the quick trip back to the gate, the black tip of a soft tail slipped from the branch above her and grazed her cheek. Gazing up, she meets a pair of amber colored eyes. The leopard’s tail flicked again, brushing across her lips, and she took a startled step back. Except, she forgot how close she was to the gentle slope of the lagoon, and she squeaked as her boot slid back in the mud. Her arms flailed as she felt her body wobbling back and forth towards the water, her eyes closing as she prepared for the rush of water to surround her. Before her body could fall back into the dark water, she felt something snag Luke’s flannel, yanking her forward. Her eyes snapped open at the change in momentum and she nearly shrieked when she saw the claws retracting from the front of Luke’s flannel. The leopard stared at her, seemingly uninterested, as he brought his paw back to lick lazily as his tail flicked between them.

She stumbled away from him and towards the back gate, hardly noticing how badly her hands were trembling. All the animals have gone crazy today. She thought as she made a hasty retreat. Nothing behaves the way it should in this place. She tried to get her breath under control, fiddling with her hair to try to stop the shaking of her hands. In her four years working with exotic animals, this was the first time that Rebecca had ever been truly afraid. When she finally reached the gate, her mood turned again. Great, this is exactly what I needed to finish my morning off. The male lion that had been pacing in the front of the habitat must have heard all the noise she had made back at the lagoon because he was now standing in between her and the gate.

She made sure her posture remained casual. It wouldn’t do for the agitated animal to see her tensing. She stayed still as the restless creature watched her. She knew that just remaining calm and still was the best thing she could do right now. Hopefully, he wouldn’t deem her as a threat and lose interest. The longer she stayed where she was the more restless, he seemed to get and she lifted her foot to take a small, slow step back. Hopefully, he would let her retreat to the front gate. The lion zeroed in on her sudden movement, a deep, rumbling growl echoing from his chest. She could see his muscles tensing, preparing to charge or pounce. Her heart picked up like a hummingbird’s and she had the sudden realization that she could die here. A hand grabbed the back of her flannel, yanking her back, and she vaguely recognized that Luke had just taken her place in front of the lion. His clothes were rumpled, looking hastily thrown on, and his black curls were wild around his head.

“Hey!” He shouted firmly, his posture tall and aggressive. “You get back.” Now Rebecca knew they were going to die, except, to her amazement the lion snarled once and as Luke held his ground it seemed to deflate, slinking off towards the lagoon. As soon as it was out of sight, Luke spun around, his large, warm hands cupping her face. “Are you alright?”