"Please stay," I murmured. I was terrified he wouldn't come back if he left but I didn't want to admit it after I'd made such a fuss about him going home for his own safety.
Castor looked me in the eyes and put his paw firmly on top of my hand. Although it was smaller, it exerted a calming effect on me.
"They can't know I'm here," Castor said. "It's better if I stay hidden. I'll come back as soon as they're gone."
My breathing got faster and faster. His explanation made sense but in my heightened emotional state, logic was smothered underneath feelings. I was too panicked to hear the sense in his words.
"You're not going to come back," I mumbled. Even though I knew I was being petulant, I couldn't stop myself. The childish words tumbled out of me like water.
Castor's fingers gripped me harder. "Listen to me, River," he said sternly. The commanding tone in his voice made me lock eyes with him. "We don't know each other very well yet, so let me tell you this now. When beaver shifters make a promise—no, whenImake a promise—I intend to keep it to my last breath. So when I tell you I'm not abandoning you, and that I'll return, it's the sworn truth. Do you understand me?"
I stared at him with wide eyes. In the short time we’d known each other, the only image I had of Castor was of a gentle soul. This side of him was different. He stood taller, his voice was deeper and more commanding, yet caring and nurturing all the same. Though he was being firm, I still felt his love for me.
Instantly my panic subsided. I nodded slowly.
"Good," he said, gruff yet gentle. "Now be good and stay here. I'll be back before you know it."
"Okay," I murmured.
Dazed, I watched him go hide in the thicket.
The poachers stomped closer to the cage, but to my surprise, I wasn't as scared as before. It was like Castor put a spell on me, lighting a force field that would protect me from the humans. When the men stood in front of the cage and glared down at me, I raised my chin to look at them, unafraid.
"What the—where did that tarp go?" one muttered.
The other scowled. "Look, it's holding it. Must have pulled it through the bars."
Their breath smelled sour. No doubt they had been drinking.
"Should I grab it?"
"Whatever, just leave it. As long as it's still caged, nothing can happen. Nobody's out here but us."
They waved me off, too drunk to care that the tarp was inside the cage instead of on top of it, then sluggishly wandered back to camp.
I wrinkled my nose at the sour stink they left behind. I found myself missing Castor’s scent.
Castor…!
I sat up, eagerly scanning the darkness. A small part of me wondered if he had disappeared after all, but his earlier promise rang in my ears. Instead of panicking, I waited.
Then after an eternity seemed to pass, a round dark shape waddled out of the trees. I let out a sigh of relief as Castor approached the cage.
He sat up on his hind legs and put his paw on my hand again. "See? I told you I would come back."
I was so relieved and happy I could have cried. A soft keening sound left me. I nodded, too emotional to talk.
"Are you all right?" he asked gently.
I wiped my eyes. Gods, I wished I wasn't so overly sensitive. "Yeah. Just overwhelmed."
Castor scratched the back of his head. "I'm sorry I got firm with you earlier. I don't know what came over me."
"No! I mean, I... I liked it. Please don't feel bad."
He raised a brow, then chuckled. "You liked it? Good to know." He looked serious again. "The poachers didn't do anything to you, did they? It was hard to see from the trees."
"No," I said. "They just mumbled about me and left."
