Shaman
I was so preoccupied with Amber and this app that I’d burned our burgers for lunch and forgotten to turn off the sprinklers in the greenhouse.
I was beside myself. This app was a menace.
It showed us all kinds of possibilities for a mate, but the one I wanted, the one we both wanted, well, she didn’t reply.
It was time to talk about it either way.
“Her profile says she works, Juven. She has a job. Maybe she works a late shift and she’s not in a position to check her phone.” He offered the excuses, hoping to calm me down. Through our bond of brotherhood and friendship, I could feel his unicorn vibrating with anxiety.
I truly believed Amber was our mate. Not a chosen one either. Our fated mate.
“I know you’re right but I can’t stop checking the app.”
“Let’s distract ourselves. How about we go over to Tucker’s place? He needs his fences mended. His sheep got out again last night.”
He braced his hands on the counter of the island and nodded. “Yeah. That’s what I need.”
We got dressed for outdoor work and walked down the mountain a bit to our friend Tucker’s home.
He raised most of the animals in our community with the exception of rabbits.
Rabbits were raised by Elizabeth. We worked together to make sure everyone had everything they needed.
We lived in peace and harmony. Everyone was included, and we celebrated and mourned together.
All shifters should live like we did, in my humble opinion.
Humans as well. But there were fragile egos and nonsensical laws that caused division and pitted people against one another.
Which was why we made our home here, in the mountains, under the shroud of fog and the peace that came with it.
“We should’ve thought this out more,” I said before we opened Tucker’s gate. From here, I could see where his sheep had breached the fence. Not a big deal to mend but more than one person could handle.
“Thought what out more? He needs help, right?”
I chuckled. “I meant about the app. About Amber. We should’ve talked about it.”
“We did talk about it, Juven. I talked about it to you last night and then this morning. What’s there to talk about anyway? She’s there. A match on the app and my unicorn…”
“He wants to mate. Period.”
“That’s not it and you know it. He’s never called out mate before. Not before her. And there’s a reason you and I are best friends. Why we chose to live together instead of on our own. Can’t you see?”
I did, but it was hard to admit. Especially when not hearing from her was having such a big impact on me.
Him and me. It was taking a toll on my thoughts. I obsessed about being ready for that sound from my phone that might never come.
“There are other matches,” he answered as we walked up to Tucker’s cottage. He would never ask for help, but we did what we could for others.
“There are no other matches, Shaman. There’s Amber and…I’m not explaining this again.” It was rare when Juven took a tone with anyone but especially not me.
“Then let’s keep busy and wait. We’ve waited this long for a mate, we can wait a few more hours.”
Couldn’t we?
We made quick work of Tucker’s fence and then helped him get all his sheep back inside. We were rewarded with cheese and some of his mate’s strawberry cobbler. We never expected payment or anything in trade for our help, but we had the best neighbors around.
That night, Juven went to his room early, muttering something about leftovers for dinner so I didn’t have to cook. Probably so I didn’t burn our supper, wrapped up in my thoughts about Amber and the what-ifs, which were many.
Against my better judgment, I got on the app and checked our message. Just in case. The message had been read but she didn’t reply. I thought up a thousand excuses, trying to think positively, but the proof was in the pudding. She wasn’t responding and we had no idea why.
Her failure to respond probably had nothing to do with us at all.
She had a life. A book club. A job. Friends and family, probably. Maybe she’d gotten on the app and then lost hope as I had. Then again, I didn’t have a lot of faith in it in the first place.
I sighed, looking at her pictures. She was the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen. And there were a lot of women on this app.
A lot.
For myself and for Juven, I took a chance and sent her another message. A second message. Desperate? Maybe. Persistent? Yes.
I looked out the window and saw Juven change into his unicorn and take off into the night. He was frustrated and upset, and running was the best way to relieve some of that.
If Amber was our mate, and Juven was sure she was, she would answer. Otherwise, this was it for us. No mate. No children. Our line would end here.