14. Maeyve

When I woke up, the first thing I did was check on Anevae. My dreams contained tidbits of my time with her the day before, so she was the only thing on my mind when I woke. Stripping myself of my clothing, I sprinted to the back door and went on my way.

As I crept up, she was walking out the door to her car. I was standing on the edge of the driveway when our eyes met. Damn it. I need to start being more careful. Once again, she reached for her phone to take a picture of me, and I took off in the other direction, returning to my cabin.

Once I returned to my cabin, I ate breakfast and got ready to drive into Fawnhaven. I needed to grab as many groceries as I could afford, and I wanted to check on Arturo.

His general store was situated on Fawnhaven"s eastern edge near the woods, surrounded by smaller shops specializing in various goods. Many people visited the store because it had a wide variety of items ranging from trinkets and souvenirs to basic groceries like milk and deli meat.

Above the store was an apartment that Arturo and his family occupied. I"d only met his wife, Bernadette, and their son, Koda, a few times. Bernadette, also a bear shifter, was a sweet woman who loved her family with everything she had. She was fiercely protective of them and fought tooth and nail to be by Arturo"s side.

Back in Caellaias, the couple"s families were enemies, so when Bernadette and Arturo fell in love, their families threatened to separate them. To avoid that, they mated and fled to Earth. After successfully hiding themselves away, they settled into the general store and began trying to expand their family. It took them several decades to conceive Koda, but when they did, Bernadette was ecstatic. Koda was an adorable little boy—a perfect mix of his parents.

As I pulled up to Arturo"s general store, I was startled to find that the windows and door were boarded up. My heart sank as I feared the worst had happened to them. Climbing out of my vehicle, I approached the shop to look around. When I looked through a gap in the boarded-up window, I saw the shop was empty of all goods; all that was left were the barren shelves. My stomach sank even further. Arturo would have never left his store like this unless something had happened to him or his family.

Moving to the door, I attempted to pull it open, and to my surprise, it was unlocked. I slipped inside, looking around to ensure no one saw me. Closing the door lightly behind me, I searched for clues about where Arturo and his family could have gone. I tried to look around but couldn"t see much besides the empty shelves as it was too dark, so I turned to my other senses.

I closed my eyes and listened to everything around me. Above, I heard creaking in the floorboards. Was someone up there, or was the building just settling? My heart rate increased, adrenaline pumping. I hadn"t brought any weapons—no means of protection. Fuck. This is just great. If it"s anything at all, I really hope it"s Arturo or Bernadette up there.

Taking a few steps toward the stairs at the back of the store, I sorted through the scents in the space. While I could detect many different kinds of food and drinks likely spilled on the floor, I could also smell the distinct scent of a bear shifter—a mixture of fish and pines. The smell intensified the closer I got to the stairs.

Maybe it is still them upstairs. But why? Are they hiding from someone? Shit… Did one of their family members finally find them? The possibility of finding the family dead plagued me, and a wave of nausea rolled through me.

Climbing the stairs slowly, I ran one hand along the old wooden railing and the other along the bumpy textured wall. The steep steps under me creaked harshly as I went. I tried to walk as tenderly as possible to avoid drawing additional attention, but one step creaked loudly when I was about three-quarters of the way up. Ahead of me, behind the closed door, a roar erupted. Then, loud footsteps came barreling toward me.

Sprinting up the rest of the stairs, I shoved open the door and came eye to eye with a large brown bear growling directly in my face. I threw my hands up and looked directly into its eyes. The bear"s round, chocolate-brown eyes bore into me. My heart was pounding from the proximity of the bear and the angry look on its face. I willed my heart to slow along with my breathing. A glimpse of recognition flashed in the bear"s eyes, and it relaxed. Slowly, it backed away and began shrinking, shifting back into the form of a human.

Before me stood a tall, naked, brawny woman, looking both frightened and relieved—Bernadette. She collapsed onto the floor and began sobbing. I rushed across the room and hugged her in a feeble attempt to console her.

"It"s okay Bernadette. I just came to check on you guys. Where"s Arturo? And Koda?" I asked, concern lacing my voice.

Between sobs, Bernadette responded, "Koda is in the back, sleeping. Artie left about a month ago but was supposed to be back in two weeks at most. He said we"ve been here too long, so it"s time for us to move on."

Sadness came over me as she continued wailing and grasping me tightly. I hoped Arturo was okay for her sake. I stroked her long, brown hair to calm her. "He"ll be back; I"m sure of it. Maybe it"s been harder to find a place for you to go than he thought."

Bernadette nodded and took a deep breath. "I"m just scared, and we"re getting kind of low on food. Koda eats a lot, and I"m with child again." Releasing me from her clutches, she leaned back. I hadn"t noticed the small bump protruding from her lower abdomen when I first saw her.

"I"m so sorry, Bernadette. How far along are you, if you don"t mind me asking?"

A small, sad smile spread across her face. "I"m about thirty-eight weeks, but you know how long shifter pregnancies tend to last."

Shifter pregnancies were the longest of the beings in Caellaias. They lasted at least twice as long as a human"s pregnancy but also depended on the type of shifter. Bear shifters were large, and their pregnancies could last up to three times as long as a human"s.

Just then, the store"s front door slammed shut. Bernadette began growling and shifting back into her bear form as I moved aside. Before I could think to shift alongside her, there were steps fast approaching on the steps behind me. I turned to find a familiar figure rushing into the apartment. Arturo, a burly man of almost six and a half feet tall, looked frantically at his wife and then at me. Bernadette shifted back into her human form and hurried into Arturo"s open arms as he started crying.

Arturo clung to his wife tightly. She was safe in his arms, and that gave him comfort. After a few minutes, he pulled back to look into her eyes. "I"m so sorry it"s taken me so long to get back. I"m sure you"ve been worried sick, but I"m okay. How are you? The baby? Koda?" Moving one hand, he placed it onto Bernadette"s swollen belly.

Bernadette smiled back at her husband. "We"re all fine. We"ve just been worried about you. I"m so glad to have you back."

"I"m home now." After kissing his wife softly, Arturo"s sad eyes drifted to me. "What are you doing here, Maeyve? When I saw your car outside and didn"t recognize it, I started panicking because I knew it was just Bernie and Koda up here."

"I came into town to get groceries, so while I was here, I wanted to check on you guys. I was concerned when I saw the shop boarded up, but I pulled on the door, which just opened. Then, I heard movement up here and came to check it out."

Arturo looked back over to Bernadette and stroked her cheek. Sighing, he explained, "We have been in the area for too long now. I was out scouting and found a place with more shifters where we can blend in better. My family won"t have to hide there; they are the most important thing to me, especially since we"re growing again. I want to try this new place out and see how things go. If we decide to return, I"ll still own this building."

"I"m just glad you guys are alright. I"ll get going. Good luck to you all, and congratulations on the pregnancy," I responded sadly.

As I turned to leave, Arturo grabbed my arm, stopping me in my tracks. "I appreciate you coming to check on us. I know we weren"t very close, but you"ve been great to work with over the years." Reaching into his pocket, he handed me a wad of cash. "I won"t need all of this where we"re headed. There"s a whole community, and I have much more tucked away if needed. I won"t be able to help you anymore, so I"d like to give this to you. Good luck, and take care of yourself out there."

Taking the money from Arturo, I whispered a teary thank you and rushed out of the building. As I got in the car, I stuffed the cash in my pocket and then headed further into town. There were grocery stores spread throughout the city, but I wanted to get in and out as quickly as possible. The first store I stopped at was too crowded, so I decided to skip that one and head for the next.

The parking lot of the next grocery store had fewer cars than the one prior. While it often meant the prices were higher, I didn"t want to interact with more people than I already had to. Soon, that would have to change since I couldn"t rely on Arturo for money or groceries anymore. About thirty minutes later, I left the store with my cart piled high, full of everything I"d need for the next few months.

Once I arrived home, I debated checking on Anevae again. I wasn"t sure if she was home yet, but with the time I was away, it was hard to believe she wouldn"t be. I hurried to put away my groceries, undressed in my bedroom, tossed my clothes into the hamper, and walked out onto my back porch. The sun was visible just above the treetops, slowly sinking behind them. The sky was just beginning to turn from beautiful baby blue to streaks of oranges and darker shades of blue.

Returning my gaze to the woods ahead of me, I shifted and sprinted toward Anevae"s property. As I traveled up the tree line near her driveway, I saw a second vehicle next to hers. I assumed it was her sister"s, but I"d never seen it, so I wasn"t sure. Strolling on, I stayed behind the tree line, lurking in case they were outside.

Rounding the corner of the house, I spotted Anevae"s bright red hair through the greenhouse windows. She reached for the door, and I paused as she exited with another woman in tow. I sucked in a sharp breath, finally able to compare them side by side.

I knew without question that the woman following Anevae was her sister. Her sister"s hair and eyes were silver, like a shiny coin, drastically different from Anevae"s, but their facial features were identical. They both had an upturned almond shape to their eyes, upturned button noses, high cheekbones, and full, lush lips. The most significant difference was that Anevae was a little shorter and had curves in all the right places, whereas her sister was taller and lanky.

I stayed just inside the cover of the woods, watching them stroll around. Anevae explained her plans for the property with her sister in great detail, which seemed odd. From my discussions with her, I"d gathered that her sister didn"t seem to understand or be interested in her work or endeavors. Listening to their conversation, I noticed that her sister appeared eager to learn about her work and the property.

As they approached the cabin again, Anevae turned to stare directly at me. When she recognized my fox form, she quickly got her sister"s attention and pointed me out. Then, her sister started reaching for her back pocket. Without another thought, I darted further into the woods the opposite way.

After running for about half a mile, I glanced back to make sure they hadn"t followed me. When I didn"t spot any movement, I took a moment to catch my breath. It was getting dark anyway. I was hopeful that Anevae and her sister had returned to the comfort and safety of Anevae"s cabin.

As much as I wanted to check on Anevae, I didn"t want to risk running into them again, so I wandered to the lake near my home for a quick swim. When I arrived, the sun had fully set, and the sky above was filled with millions of bright, twinkling stars. I admired the view for a while, searching for any constellations I could remember. I didn"t know many, but I still enjoyed hunting for them.

When I had my fill of gazing at the stars, I searched for the moon. It was hanging low, just above the tops of the tall pines. Full and luminous, it reflected off the water before me. As I hopped into the cool water, the image became distorted.

I swam until my muscles ached and then climbed out into the brisk air, shaking off as much water as I could. On the trek back, I wandered through the meadow Anevae, and I had visited on our first day out, exploring the area together. It allowed time for my coat to dry a bit.

As I approached the meadow, I admired the gorgeous flowers that were just beginning to bloom. I"d always loved the flowers on Earth, but nothing compared to some of the varieties in Caellaias. One of my favorites was the orletaylaer. It looked like a teal rose but smelled like a sweet combination of vanilla and berries. Occasionally, I would wander near the portal to find some that managed to grow on Earth.

After admiring the meadow for a few minutes, I continued back to my cabin. As I walked up, I shifted back into my human form and went straight to the shower to wash off the lake water. Once I was done, I grabbed some pajamas and climbed into bed, falling asleep the second I closed my eyes.