He huffed, shooting a nervous glance at the men. "That doesn't mean I have to like it. Hearing them talk about you like that scared me. What if they turn you into a coat?"
Despite the wretched situation, I had to admit that being close to River without steel bars separating us was a silver lining. Now I could reach out and touch him properly. I put my paw on his arm soothingly.
"I'm not going to turn into a coat," I reassured him. "We'll get through this."
"But how do youknowthat?"
"Life experience."
River wasn't convinced. "What does that have to do with anything? Besides, you're not that much older than me." He paused. Then, apparently realizing his blunder, he blushed. "Wait. Are you?"
I smiled. "If I'm gauging your age correctly and you're in your early twenties, I'm almost twice your age."
River's blush deepened, the color in his cheeks matching his scales. "Oh. I-I'm sorry, I had no idea since you're always in your beaver form..."
"It's all right."
River cleared his throat and tucked a strand of crimson hair behind his ears. He suddenly seemed very interested in staring out the side of the cage. "So you're about forty?"
"That's right."
"Cool."
His reaction was adorable and amusing. Honestly, even though a fated mate's love conquered all, I was a little worried about my age when it came to finding my partner. What if he was much younger than me and preferred a partner around his age? But I was happy to find out River liked it.
That also reminded me of his reaction to my stern voice last night. When he'd started to panic, I wanted to calm him down, but my soft and sweet words weren't working. As soon as I changed gears, his demeanor changed. River turned obedient and pliant under my caring control.
The boat suddenly skimmed the side of a rock, making the whole thing lurch sideways.
It wasn't enough to dislodge the bungee cords, and the poachers simply swore and kept going, but the momentum threw me on top of River.
"Sorry," I said.
"It's okay, it's not your fault. It's our dumbass chauffeurs."
We awkwardly disentangled ourselves. There was barely enough space in the cage for both of us. The cramped space was forcing me to remain in beaver form, too. Gods, how I longed to shift and wrap my arms around River. I realized he hadn't even seen me in my human form yet. I wondered sadly if that was part of the reason he didn't feel the pull of fate towards me yet. After all, aside from our own kind, I doubted any shifter dreamed of being destined to fall in love with a beaver.
"Is everything okay?" River asked, shooting me a concerned look.
I smiled and waved every trace of negativity off my face. I didn't want him to worry about me, especially when I was thinking about something so silly while we were in real danger.
"Yes, I apologize," I said.
River cleared his throat and glanced over to the poachers. I couldn't tell if he was feeling uncomfortable by the sudden proximity to me, or if there was something else on his mind.
"Where do you think they're taking us?" he asked quietly.
"I don't know," I admitted. "This is my first time dealing with humans up close. What I do know is they've obviously abducted us out of greed."
River’s mouth curled into a concerned pout. He mumbled, "Greed isn't exclusive to humans." His gaze fell. His long dark lashes fanned over his eyes. "I've met shifters who were greedy too."
His comment didn't sound like a general observation. It sounded personal.
Anger stirred inside me. Somebody had definitely hurt River in the past. I hated knowing my fated mate was treated that way.
"At least the shifter didn't throw you in a cage," I said mildly.
River still didn't look at me. "He might as well have..."
