Loving Paws

by Preston Walker

  I smiled and reached for his hand. “I’m glad it’s with you.”

  “Now please, be honest. You’re sure you’re not angry with me, Luce?” he asked.

  “Are you kidding? Of course not. And listen…” I took a risk and reached for his hand. “I know we didn’t exactly reconnect under the best of circumstances, but I really want to make things work between us. Even if that test comes back negative, I really want this--us--to work out.”

  A dreamy look came over his face. “Do you really mean that, Luce?”

  “Yes. I absolutely mean it, Caleb.”

  He leaned in and kissed my lips briefly. “I want this to work, too. I want you. More than anything, I want to be with you.”

  I tried to kiss him back, but before the passion could take hold again, Caleb stood up. “I-I think it might be time to check,” he stammered.

  He disappeared down the hall and into the bathroom. I trailed after him, standing in the doorway while he checked the test.

  His eyes got big.

  “Well… What does it say?”

  He showed me the result. A little pink plus sign. “It’s positive,” he whispered.

  My breathing hitched. I struggled to find the right words, but I didn’t need to. Caleb pulled me close into a tight embrace and nuzzled his face into my neck. “We’re gonna have a baby.”

  “We’re gonna be a family,” I replied before I kissed the top of his head.

  It was true. I had dreamed of this day for longer than I cared to remember, and at last, it was happening. Not only that, but it was happening with Caleb, the love of my life.

  “You know, Caleb, this calls for a celebration of some sort,” I said.

  “Oh? What do you have in mind?” he asked.

  “Something like this.” I slipped my hands beneath his shirt, feeling the goosebumps form along his skin. It took everything I had not to have him there in the hallway. I probably would have dragged Caleb to my bed if he hadn’t been as raring to go as I was.

  When we were finally in my room, I found that I was no longer overcome with any desire to dominate him. What I wanted now was to make love to him, sweet, gentle love. As I watched him undress, a deep sense of happiness came over me, as though I couldn’t believe how lucky I was to have someone so beautiful to share this life with.

  I pulled off my clothes and joined him on my bed. “Before we begin,” I said, tracing my finger down his bare back. “I just need to tell you how lovely you are.”

  He shivered slightly at my touch. Goosebumps formed along the surface of his perfect skin. The smile he gave me was not full of animal lust, but of tenderness. “You should see yourself. You’re so damn gorgeous I can hardly stand it, Luce.”

  I couldn’t get enough of him. All I wanted was for this moment to last forever, to be able to touch and caress the father of my future child. I put my hand to his chest and slowly trailed down to his stomach, keeping my hand there for a while until I went even lower, until I touched the soft hair around his cock.

  Caleb surprised me by pulling me close, giving me a quick peck on the lips first, then kissing me passionately, his tongue meeting mine. I embraced him back, and soon the two of us were moaning, panting for breath.

  We stopped for a moment, allowing ourselves to think. But almost immediately, Caleb made it clear he wanted more—and I could not deny him. He got into position, showing me his ass.

  In a hurry, I looked through the pocket of my jeans which I had thrown on the floor. I had been hoping to make love with him again. Still, I hesitated. Was there any chance I could hurt him—or the baby? “Are you sure?” I asked.

  “Please,” he moaned. “Please.”

  If we did this, we would need to be gentle now. I mounted him, filling him with my length. Caleb gasped and held his breath as I entered him, but then gave a sigh of relief. I moved slowly, making sure he was enjoying every moment, that this was all pleasure and no pain. He got down onto his stomach as I rutted into his ass, and every few moments I paused so I could lower myself onto him and nuzzle him. I was so full of love that I wanted to express in every way that I could.

  “Lucien,” he sighed my name.

  Making love took longer than just having sex. It was a careful act, one that required each second to be a perfect expression of love. Once again, I found myself knotting inside him, tying us together, not just physically, but emotionally, too.

  Caleb breathed heavily. I brought my hand beneath him and stroked him off. We came together, and moaned in sync. My world shattered into a feeling of pure ecstasy, not just at coming, but at the thought of being with him, of being able to enjoy something like this again and again in the future.

  The house was silent around us as I got off of him a few moments later. Sleepily, Caleb turned over and held me at my side. “I could look all over the world, Luce, and never find anyone half as good as you.”

  I shushed him and kissed him one last time before we fell into a deep sleep together.

  9

  Caleb

  The past few days had been quite nice. Lucien and I shared a peaceful weekend at home together spent largely in bed, the two of us reminiscing over the simpler times we had shared when we were younger. Of course, I had never forgotten how funny and tender Lucien could be when he wanted--traits that had become even more attractive now that I was back.

  The joy of my getaway was spoiled by a nagging feeling that I was neglecting my work--that, and a few frantic calls from Sarein wondering when I was coming back. I think he just didn’t want to campaign for this bill alone. That was a smart move on his part. Who would trust a lone shifter working against his own kind?

  While Lucien got ready for work that morning, I sat in my car for some privacy to handle work emails when Sarein called again.

  “You did say you were going campaigning in that area, didn’t you? That’s why I’ve set up a campaign in Lillington as that where I assumed you were,” said Sarein over my bluetooth headset. Even over the phone, I could tell he was tired.

  “You’ve already set one up? I never mentioned Lillington. How’d you figure out I was headed here of all places?” I asked. I thought I had been considerably vague with my plans, and Sarein had been so wasted that I’m surprised he even remembered a single word I said that night.

  “Come on, Haust! It’s your hometown! Just think of how bad a politician would look if he never got back to his roots when on a campaign? It shows that you still care about the little guy no matter how much of a hotshot you’ve become,” he explained. “People love it when someone from their neck of the woods succeeds at something. It makes them feel like they’re part of some winning team.”

  I scoffed. The way Sarein talked about these things, you’d think we were running for president. “You know, Sarein, being this close to home could also blow up in our faces.”

  “I know,” he said without skipping a beat. “I know about Thunderstone, Caleb. Weren’t some of them at that protest you and that reporter almost got messed up at?” I heard Sarein chuckle distantly. “I tell you, Caleb, if your pack is anything like mine was…”

  “They’re not that bad,” I said quickly--and a bit defensively. Then, I added, “Though it probably is a good idea to lay low if we can.”

  “We’re set up pretty deep into town. We’re not gonna be anywhere near the woods, so don’t worry about the pack.”

  “Sounds good,” I said as I turned my car on and drove onto the next road leading downtown. I didn’t doubt that Sarein had been careful when he planned this whole thing--but I did think he underestimated how small Lillington is, how tightly knit some of the communities were, and while most shifters made themselves scarce when it came to town politics, they weren’t ignorant about what went on outside of the pack grounds, either.

  Someone already knew about our little event. That much I was certain of. Hopefully, it wasn’t D’Marcus.

  I wasn’t thrilled about sneaking around, especially now that I was staying with him, but
I couldn’t just turn my back on my responsibilities and leave Sarein to handle everything.

  Sarein had indeed taken care of everything. As I drove around the town square, I could already spot about half a dozen news vans from outlying towns. A sizeable crowd had already gathered around to listen to our latest pitches and slogans. To my amazement, I was certain I had even seen the town mayor, who I recognized from my research standing somewhere up front.

  I parked and hurried towards the scene, my stomach in knots with anxiety and morning sickness. Luckily, security saw me coming and led me to where I needed to go. Shortly after that, Sarein found me.

  “Caleb! You’re looking good. In fact, you’re positively glowing. That weekend off sure did you a lot of good,” he remarked, smiling brightly at me. “Glad to see you.”

  “Thank you, Sarein. It’s good to see you, too. How have you been holding up?” I asked.

  Though the past couple of days had brought Sarein back his usual perky demeanor, there was still a haggard look to him. When he smiled, I could make out countless fine lines at the corners of his eyes.

  “Me? Oh, I’m doing fantastic. Why do you ask?”

  I didn’t have time to come up with a suitable answer. We needed to get ready. Just as I had suspected, the idea of campaigning in my hometown seemed even more daunting than presenting the bill at the capitol, and I wasn’t so sure I was looking forward to it.

  For the most part, it was much of the usual, shaking hands, posing for pictures, giving canned and repetitive answers to the reporters that ambushed us on the way to the podium. However, the monotony of the day had almost calmed me--until an unwelcome sight changed everything.

  I had no idea if anyone else saw it but me. By the time I thought to bring them to security’s attention, they had already vanished into the crowd. A small group of men--it couldn’t have been more than four of them--all stood smirking at me, each of them clad in t-shirts depicting wolfman caricatures that were no doubt supposed to be me and Sarein chasing small human children. My body tensed up. No matter how much time went by, no matter how many sympathetic humans I met, hateful people still terrified me like nothing else could.

  I took in a deep, deep breath. No, I wasn’t going to let these people intimidate me today. If there were any real problems, security would deal with it.

  And besides, what were four of them compared to this crowd of enthusiastic supporters? These people loved me and Sarein. They wanted to hear what we had to say. So, I wasn’t going to disappoint them.

  “Ready?” Sarein asked, ushering me towards the small stage.

  I grinned. “I don’t look fat, do I?” I joked. I knew I wasn’t showing yet, but it wouldn’t hurt to test the waters with him yet, did it?

  Mayor Albright came up alongside us. He wasn’t a tall man. In fact, he just barely came up to my chin, but he was stout and broad-shouldered with a thunderous voice that made it difficult not to be impressed with him when he worked an audience. Though he wore a fine, expertly-tailored suit, he maintained a rugged air about him that made him easily relatable to the working people of Lillington. As he introduced us, I knew what Sarein was thinking. We were damned lucky to have this man on our side.

  “Good afternoon, Lillington! It’s a pleasure to be here with all you fine people. This is a very exciting stop for our campaign. You see, this fine town is the birthplace of our very own Caleb Haust,” said Sarein to a round of polite applause as I waved to the crowd. “Out of all the places we have visited, none have been as important to us personally as Lillington. After all, this is where our hearts are, and our dedication to protecting communities like this have been at the forefront of our campaign since before our prospective bill was even drafted.”

  Sarein always did this. Whenever we spoke at these kinds of events, he would use my story as his own. Very little was publicly known about Sarein’s pack. Even I could only point to where in the country his family lived, somewhere northwest.

  Next, it was my turn to speak. I cleared my throat and presented my case for the citizens of my hometown. I was happy to see that many of them appeared to have been genuinely delighted by my words. Today, I was careful to add a new edge to my argument in support of the register: keeping shifters safe. Everyone had already heard countless stories of unruly shifters attacking humans who ventured too close to remote pack lands; what many hadn’t heard was how many shifters go missing after going into town for necessary supplies. Usually, when something bad happened to our kind, the younger ones in particular, it was very difficult to get help from authorities. If someone on the register could not be located, it would allow police to take action more promptly.

  Humans did care about shifters. Most of them wanted to coexist peacefully with us, and even those who did not want to be around us did not wish us any harm.

  The bulk of the speech went swimmingly, and by the end, I was feeling far better than I had when I arrived. Sarein and I answered a few questions from the audience, posed for more pictures, and left a little after the majority of the audience had dispersed. The four men with the wolfman shirts were nowhere to be seen.

  It had been a good day, but I was eager to go back home and into Lucien’s arms.

  “Gentlemen, you both did a fine job today. It’s truly an honor to be working with you on this campaign. My team and I are all quite certain you’re both going to go far in your careers,” said Mayer Albright as he came up to us as we were leaving. “Please, won’t you join me for a drink? I know a local bar with the best damn German ale you’ll ever have in your life.”

  “We’d love to,” said Sarein.

  I hesitated. I shouldn’t be drinking now that I’m pregnant. “I’m afraid I’ll have to pass, sir. I have a prior engagement that I cannot miss.”

  Sarein frowned, but the mayor seemed to understand. “Some other time, then,” he offered.

  “Yes, of course.” I leaned in to shake his hand. “Thank you so much for your support today, Mayor Albright.”

  His shake was just as firm as I expected. “Anything to keep Lillington safe, Mr. Haust.”

  I rode the day’s high all the way home. There was so much to look forward to in my life with this pregnancy and the advancement of my career. Thoughts of the possible future me and Lucien could build together with our child kept me on cloud nine long into the lengthy drive back to Thunderstone. The life I left the pack for was finally starting, and best of all, I still got to spend it with him.

  I pictured us living a long and happy life together, our time divided between the serenity of the woods and the fast-paced culture of the country’s major cities. We could give our child the best of both worlds, and once the child was grown and on his own, Lucien and I could make up for lost time in the comfort of each other’s embrace. What a joy it would be to wake up each morning beside him and feel the comfortable weight of his muscular body against my own as he spooned me. The soft scruff of his beard against my neck. The intense passion he had for me when we made love.

  How had I done it? How had I managed to stay away from him for so long? The life I had out here without him--could I really even call that living?

  I was so enthralled by my own fantasies that the road back to Thunderstone seemed to take no time at all. Before I knew it, I was already driving past The Snared Hare and other of the pack land’s main buildings. The last time I passed through this part of the land, there were only a few men hanging around here and there. Today, however, it looked like the whole pack had gathered together--and some others I unfortunately recognized from the protest in the city a few weeks back. I wondered if they recognized me from the times I’ve been on the news.

  They had. They were eyeing my car, eyeing me. A few teenage shifters made vulgar gestures at me. There was rage and disgust in their eyes and snarls on their faces. Frightened, I gripped the steering wheel and tried to speed up--but they were not about to let me go that easily.

  “Hey, Haust!”

  Someone I didn’t see threw a pl
astic bottle full of dirty swamp water at my car. Thankfully, I managed to roll the window closed just in time.

  “You’ve got some nerve coming back here, Caleb!”

  “You think you can just waltz back in here after turning your back on us?”

  “Sell-out!”

  “Traitor!”

  “Get out of that car and face us, you coward!”

  There were so many of them, so many voices and so much anger coming from all sides I couldn’t tell who was threatening me. A few times some of them even shoved at my car, causing it to shake violently. Fists pounded at my windows. Stones and trash smashed against my windshield. I was certain I heard a back window crack, but I could not bring myself to turn around and check.

  They were not just angry. They were out for my blood.

  I was so scared I could barely think. Hands shaking, I tried to steady my grip on the steering wheel again, so I could take off the instant I had an opening. But it seemed they weren’t going to calm down anytime soon.

  When one of them came at me with a bat, I had no choice but to floor it and hope I didn’t hit anyone. Tears flooded my eyes as I sped towards Lucien’s house. Even when I had put some considerable distance between myself and the mob, it still felt like they were right behind me, their claws and teeth ready to tear me apart. I parked haphazardly and ran out of the car, calling desperately for Lucien.

  The front door was locked. Lucien was nowhere to be seen. He hadn’t given me a key yet.

  It was then that I heard the mob, approaching fast on trucks and bikes. Helplessly, I kept twisting on the doorknob, hoping by some miracle it would come open and let me safely inside.