Page 9 of You Otter Know
River had been working hard to make sure Bohdi didn’t panic and run on him. The guy had freaked out after they had had sex, and he guessed he really couldn’t blame Bohdi. If they were both otter shifters, as he suspected, then Bohdi could get pregnant, and while River thought that was an exceptional thing because he felt like Bohdi was his mate, he knew Bohdi would need time to come around to the idea.
So instead of being all alpha-y and weird, he’d gotten Bohdi up, grabbed him by the hand, and led him outside to the stream.
He hadn’t shifted, but even in his human form, he had a bit of protection against the cold. He thought Bohdi did too because they splashed around in the stream naked and neither one of them got frostbite on anything important.
After, he’d gotten dressed while Bohdi napped again, because Bohdi seemed totally exhausted, and trudged up to the main desk.
There was still no clerk, but there was, on the sideboard, a pile of cookies and also a bunch of little Christmas trees with clear plastic bins of decorations. So what the hell, he was going to go ahead, grab one of those and some cookies, and head back to the cabin so they could decorate.
He waited for Bohdi to wake up, and they had another little feast from their basket while they trimmed the tree, and he sang Christmas carols. Bohdi warbled along with him, but honestly, the guy had a terrible voice.
Now they were sitting on the couch with a little fire going in the gas log, a Hallmark Christmas movie on the TV, which was back on. It was nearing midnight on Christmas Eve, and River felt as if there was nowhere else he’d rather be. It was so odd because he was grateful to whoever had screwed up their reservation.
Bohdi leaned against his shoulder, and the man sighed. “This is really nice, isn’t it? Am I weird for thinking that?”
“Not weird at all. I was just thinking the same thing.” River kissed Bohdi’s temple, squeezing him a little bit. “It’s warm. We have blankets, movies, and snacks. And someone to share the Christmas holiday with who’s not going to ask us about having babies.”
Now Bohdi looked more down than anything. “I keep trying to get my mom to understand that’s just not in the cards for me.”
River frowned. “Why not? You’re healthy, you’re young, you’re in perfectly working order sort of omega-y wise. Why wouldn’t you have babies?”
When Bohdi pulled back to look at him, he was flushed a bright red. “So you figured out that I’m not human, huh?”
“You don’t smell like a human; you smell like one of me. I’m a giant otter, and my dad’s people are from Brazil.”
“I’m a river otter by birth, but…” Bohdi shrugged one shoulder. “It doesn’t matter,” he said. “It’s not like you’re going to have babies with me or anything.”
“Bohdi, what are you not telling me?” River stroked his hair, wanting Bohdi to open up. He was right there, and they were mates, even if Bohdi wasn’t going to admit it yet. So he wanted to know.
Bohdi chewed his lip, his cheeks still incredibly pink. His eyes haunted. Finally, he just burst out with it. “I can’t shift. I never have been able to. We know I’m an otter; it’s not a thing. I’m not a human, but I’ve never been able to turn into my otter self. Why would I want to pass that on to a baby?”
Huh. River had never heard of that before, but that didn’t mean it didn’t happen. Genetic variants or accidents of birth occurred all the time. But really, just because Bohdi couldn’t shift didn’t mean his children wouldn’t be able to. “Has there ever been anyone in your family that couldn’t do it before you?”
“Not that I know of, but who would admit that? They would just leave, right? The only reason I haven’t is because my parents stood up for me and made sure that everybody in our community knew that they wouldn’t put up with anybody being mean to me. But that still makes me want to run away sometimes.”
Bodhi just looked devastated. And River got it. If he couldn’t shift and swim, he would just lose it. Water in his otter form was his great joy in life. But that was not what Bodhi needed to hear from him, and it wasn’t the energy Bodhi needed either. So River sat with the feelings for a minute and didn’t say anything until he knew he could come out with something soothing and positive.
“Well, I still don’t see how that keeps you from having kids. Genetic variations don’t necessarily travel to the children, and so what if they do? Maybe it’s a new step in the evolutionary chain.” A cookie to munch on to give himself a little bit of sugar to prop up his brain.
Bohdi scoffed now, the sound ironic as hell. “Come on, who are you kidding? Who wants a shifter who can’t shift? Why take a chance on passing that down to your kids? It’s important to be able to camouflage yourself as a natural creature, and you know it. Humans are weak, and it sucks to be stuck in this form.”
“Do you know why you can’t shift? Has anybody ever looked into it for you?” River asked.
“No, what am I supposed to do? Go to a doctor? There’s no such thing as shifter doctors.”
River tilted his head. “That’s not exactly true. Maybe there’s not where you’re from, but I know in some of the big cities there are. It would be worth going and talking to somebody.” He felt really bad because obviously Bodhi was angry and sad and God knew what else about this situation, and River couldn’t blame him. It had to be devastating.
“Can we just drop it? I mean, I’ve been having a great time with you, and I would love to ride out my vacation right here in this cabin having sex. But it’s not like we’re going to profess our undying love to each other.” Bohdi wrapped his arms around himself, his shoulders hunching, his cheeks red.
“Sure, no, I get it. No problem.” He didn’t have the heart to tell Bohdi that while he wasn’t ready to profess his undying love, he was pretty sure they were meant to be mates. River didn’t question his instincts, and there was something about Bohdi’s scent that well, it did things to him that nothing else ever had.
That could come later, when it was time for them to leave the cabin to go back to their lives.
“Thanks.” Bohdi’s half-grinned at him. “This is weird and awkward enough, even though you’re amazing. I don’t really want to have to think about my failings.”
Oh, now it was time to tease a little bit and lighten the mood. “Who says it’s your failing?” River winked. “Maybe it was your parents’ failing. Maybe they ate too much weird shellfish. Like maybe they ate fresh river clams and they shouldn’t have. Maybe everything was weird and polluted.”
“You mean like in the Simpsons when there’s the fish with all the eyeballs because of the pollution in the river?” That had Bohdi laughing for sure, which relieved him.
