11. Bambi

CHAPTER 11

BAMBI

The school caverns are abuzz with Sasquatches this evening for parent-teacher conference night.

I'm totally prepared. I have some fabulous students and I can't wait to gush to moms and dads about how well they're doing in my class. When my classroom door creaks open, my face breaks out in a welcoming smile. It falters when I see who it is.

Braith.

Well, great.

"Good evening, Braith," I manage, my voice only slightly higher than usual. "Please, have a seat."

She settles into the chair across from me, and I launch into my well-rehearsed spiel about her boys' progress. "Osian is excelling in math, and Elis has shown a real aptitude for?—"

"Bambi," Braith interrupts gently, "I appreciate the update, but I'm not really worried about my kids. I know they're thriving this year. I'm more concerned about my brother."

I blink. "I... what?"

Her voice holds not a hint of blame when she states, "He's not doing well."

Ouch.

I stare at her, speechless. My brain's spinning like a hamster on a wheel, trying to come up with an appropriate response. Sorry I broke your brother's heart? Oops, my bad?

I hate that Olwydd is hurting, but really, I don't think I'm ready to discuss this.

Braith continues, oblivious to my internal meltdown. "He's not exactly sure what he did wrong. He told me he researched you, and you're upset about it."

Guilt washes over me. I've been ghosting Olwydd for the past 24 hours, and now his sister's here giving me the "you hurt my brother" speech. Great. Just great.

"Don't get me wrong, I'm not defending the doofus. I told him he shouldn't have gone behind your back. You should not have had to find out he was looking you up like that," Braith adds.

I nod, still struggling to find words. My throat feels tighter than skinny jeans after Thanksgiving dinner.

Braith leans forward, her expression serious. "Look, I know you think I'm trying to insert myself in your business, but I'm not. Not really. Well, maybe just a tiny bit." She holds up a thumb and forefinger.

"The thing is, I know men have a tendency to not say what needs to be said when it needs to be said, so I'm not sure how much you know about Squatches. I have a feeling there are some very important things my brother neglected to tell you—some other important things."

Oh boy. Here we go.

"First," she begins, "there's the matter of soulstones."

I resist the urge to roll my eyes. Here we go with the glowing penis thing again.

"Soulstones only light up for soulmates," Braith explains. "That means there's only one fated mate for Olwydd, and... well, she's you."

My jaw drops. "Wait, he was serious about that?" I blurt out before I can stop myself.

Braith nods solemnly. "Dead serious. But you might not understand exactly what that means. It means you can reject Olwydd and leave, but that won't change the fact that you're his one and only. Even if you're never around again, he won't ever be with another woman. It's not in our nature. If you leave him, he'll simply be destined to be alone."

I stare at her with my mouth agape. This is some heavy-duty revelation right here.

"There's something else," Braith adds, looking a bit hesitant.

Oh goody. More bombshells. Bring it on.

"It's about Squatch biology," she continues. "Like I said, a Squatch's soulstone only activates for their one true mate. If they never find their fated mate, they can still have intercourse, but the soulstone stays dark and quiet. Once activated, however, it not only ensures that during intercourse a small piece of the male's DNA is transferred, but it's like an on-switch for sperm activation, making them viable… And very potent." She stresses the last three words.

I listen intently, trying to process this information dump. Suddenly, it hits me like a ton of bricks.

"Wait a minute," I stammer, "you mean... you can't mean..."

Braith nods, confirming my suspicion. "Yes, if you and Olwydd have had intercourse, there's a good chance you may have a bun in the oven."

Holy crackers and cheese. My mind is a spinning like a tilt-a-whirl.

"I... he... why didn't he tell me?!" I sputter, feeling a mix of shock and indignation.

"Well, yeah. That's precisely why I'm inserting myself into your business like this." Braith holds up a placating hand. "But please, don't be too hard on my clueless brother. I doubt he was trying to hide it from you. It probably never dawned on him you didn't know since it's common knowledge among the Squatches. Even small children know how it works."

Great. So I'm potentially pregnant, and every Squatch kid in my class probably knew before I did. Fantastic.

"You all should have some kind of class for humans," I mutter, "to avoid communication gaps and cultural clashes in the future."

Braith nods in agreement. "That's not a bad idea."

She stands, ready to leave, then pauses. "Bambi, again, I don't want to pressure you here or anything, but I want you to know that Olwydd loves you with his whole heart, his whole being. I'm not sure humans have the equivalent of fated mates, but I can assure you that Squatches do. And if you reject him and leave, go back to the human world, he will pine for you for the next hundred and fifty years."

I can't help but laugh at that. "A hundred and fifty years? Come on."

But Braith's expression remains dead serious. She leans in and whispers, "We have long life spans."

As I watch Braith leave, I sit there amid a jumble of thoughts and emotions.

One thing is startlingly clear though. I need to go to Olwydd. Like, pronto.