No, I couldn't let them take me out of my element. The second I was out of the water, it was over.
Throwing all my weight into it, I lurched sideways. The men cried out, tightening their hands and grunting with effort. The boat rocked, but didn't tip. The second they got leverage, they pulled me backwards.
Agonizingly, my chest came out of the water, and my hips, then my tail. It was done.
My back hit the bottom of the boat. They let go of me, but my scalp still stung. I felt awkward in the boat, my limbs splayed in every direction.
One man threw himself down on top of my tail, and the other grabbed my hair. I cried out in pain and fear.
They had captured me. They hollered in triumph.
I zoned out. All I could think of was whatever cruel fate awaited me—because right across from me, sitting latched down at the end of the boat, was a cage.
4
Castor
Draggingan entire birch tree back home is hard enough, but it's even harder when you're a sixty-pound rodent.
I got it halfway into the water before I stopped to take a break. I needed to catch my breath. At forty years old in human years, I wasn't exactly as young as I used to be. What was I thinking, trying to carry an entire tree without cutting it up into more manageable pieces?
I was thinking about my fated mate, that's what.
Right. That's why I was going through all this effort. It was tough work, sure, but I would do anything for my fated mate.
Wherever he was.
And why are you so certain your eventual mate will love this birch tree?A voice in the back of my head asked.
I wasn't certain. In fact, I had no idea. Maybe all of this was for nothing, but what else could I do? Sitting around feeling sorry for myself wasn't going to help me find my one true love.
I glanced up at the sky. It was such a big world out there, and I was so small. Where could my alpha mate be? How were we ever supposed to find each other?
It's going to happen, I told myself. No,promisedmyself.
A sudden cold shiver prickled my fur. It was that weird sensation again, the same one I'd felt when the mysterious voice spoke to me. I looked over my shoulder and saw nothing.
Okay, Castor, you're losing it…
Hauling the wood was a welcome distraction from that odd feeling. As a beaver shifter, I didn't often get cold in my animal form due to my thick layer of fat and dense, waterproof fur. But this was a different kind of chill, more of an ethereal feeling than a physical one. Like somebody was watching me.
Just in case, I turned around again and narrowed my eyes. Everything was still and quiet. Nobody was there.
I was being silly. All this hard work was fatiguing me to the point of paranoia.
A sharp wail pierced the silence. The cry was terrified, there was also something beautiful about it.
It sounded… familiar.
Soon a different sound smothered the voice, a metallic roar followed by the sound of chopping water. It was the sound of a boat engine. Underneath I barely picked out two other voices. They were deep and rough men's voices—but these had none of the musical quality that the first voice possessed.
A knot formed in my chest, but I didn't understand why. Why was I suddenly filled with so much dread?
Over the years a few humans had ridden their boats in, either ignoring or oblivious to the fact that this was a wildlife preserve and that hunting and fishing weren't allowed. Though I liked to give people the benefit of the doubt, human or shifter, I had a bad feeling about this. The discomfort stewing in the pit of my stomach wouldn't go away.
The sound began to move. It got louder, and the voices did too. I heard triumphant yelling, which only worried me more. Did the humans catch something they weren't supposed to?
Just loud enough to be heard over the roar of the boat, a derisive scoff sounded behind me. But again, nobody was there. Was I hearing things? Or was there some invisible entity behind me?
