Chapter 2
TWO
KODA
Koda couldn’t figure out who was more surprised, them or the adorable little omega staring up at them.
Despite the fact that it was Valentine’s Day, Koda had wanted to go to their favorite bar, order some beer-battered fish and chips, and watch the game.
They loved being around people, even if they didn’t always socialize with them, so they figured the added holiday crowd would be fine.
That is, until they walked in and found the place abuzz with shifters in pink t-shirts, running around clutching red drink tickets and calling out orders to the frazzled-looking bartenders.
The energy of the bar had seemed upbeat and lively, but something made Koda feel restless.
They’d considered turning around and going home but they were already here, so they’d dodged around a couple making out by the seldom-used host stand and another couple arguing loudly behind them.
Koda tried to brush off the feeling of unease as they got in the long line for the bar, hoping maybe it was just hunger after a long day spent toiling away at work.
The line moved slowly, as it seemed two of the bartenders had been specifically reserved for whatever event was happening.
That left only one other bartender fielding orders from the throng of couples and the handful of single folk like Koda.
As they stood in line, that restless feeling grew, itching across their scalp and tickling down the back of their neck.
Koda had felt something similar before they’d come out.
For years, it felt like they were wearing someone else’s skin, and it was somehow both too tight and too loose on them, never looking or feeling the way they wanted it to.
This wasn’t quite like that, but it still felt like something was trying to make itself known, almost like little pulses of awareness every time the air around them shifted.
Their alpha Kodiak bear didn’t seem to notice anything amiss.
They kept on snoozing, as they did for most of the winter months, so Koda figured it couldn’t be that they were in danger or under threat.
The few times that had happened in their life, Koda’s bear had roared to life in their defense.
One particular time, when they were a teen, they’d come across a rabid wolf in the woods and their bear had forced a shift, scaring off the wolf but also shaving several years off Koda’s life.
Their bear had been furious Koda hadn’t spotted the danger before they had, and Koda had been upset with them for taking over.
It had taken a fair amount of therapy for them to reconcile, but nowadays Koda trusted their bear without question.
That was why, when a small body collided with them, and their bear snuffled awake for the first time that evening, Koda turned to face the shifter instead of waving off his apology and stepping forward to order.
Koda’s first impression was that the shifter was an omega man, about a quarter the size of Koda and probably one-tenth the size of Koda’s bear.
It was easy for Koda’s bear to tell primary and secondary gender, even amongst genderqueer folk.
Koda’s alpha father had been able to tell the exact day Koda and their bear came to terms with being agender, claiming their energy had changed.
Koda had no idea how that worked, but it wasn’t something they questioned, trusting in the forces of nature and fate.
Speaking of fate, as Koda inspected the stranger, they couldn’t help but find the cute little crop top rather funny.
Koda didn’t think fate ever got things wrong, but humans were innately fallible and sometimes managed to ruin even a predestined bond like fate.
Koda’s parents were happily mated fated mates, but they’d seen members of their extended family fumble fate matches.
Maybe the shirts should say “fuck clueless shifters” or something, but that would be much less catchy.
That was the exact thought they were having, musing about creative bar crawl slogans, when their eyes met the omega’s and their entire world shifted. Their bear stood up on its hind legs and roared, and the skin on Koda’s face pulled taut as heat flashed from their forehead down to their toes.
Was this…
“Fuck—”
“Fate,” Koda whispered, and their bear sank onto its haunches and shook out its massive head.
“I…” the omega said, his eyes wide and cheeks slowly turning pink as he looked Koda up and down.
A tiny, tender, mostly healed part of Koda squirmed at the appraisal.
It had taken them over a decade and a half to suss out what their gender identity meant for them.
It then took almost as long to establish how they wanted to express that identity with their pronouns, their name, the clothes they wore, and how they maintained their facial and body hair.
In their small northern town, the only genderqueer shifters were out and proud trans men or women, who expressed even more gender than a lot of cis folks Koda knew.
They’d found a bit more success online, where they joined a small community of alt nonbinary and genderqueer folks.
They seemed to all like to present themselves a certain way, and for a while, Koda had tried to emulate that.
It was tough, though, when sexy fishnets made them feel like one of the salmon their dad used to catch, and wearing all black during the winter, when they had less than five hours of sunlight a day, only made them feel sad.
It also didn’t help that they were larger than most alpha Kodiak bears.
Their size didn’t bother them, but their size in relation to their gender had been tough during their teenage years and made unearthing their style seem like a herculean task.
Finally, when Koda was around twenty-five, they stumbled across a plus size, nonbinary fashion blogger.
Koda found that they loved bright, happy colors, and while they did like to dress sexy, for them that meant showing off their thick legs, soft belly, and hairy chest–accented with flowing fabrics, pretty makeup, and jewelry.
Not everyone had been kind to them on their journey, and that included their older brother and some of their uncles who, to this day, refused to speak to Koda.
They still carried the emotional scars of that rejection around with them, but over time, the folks who mattered, like their parents, sister, a few trusted coworkers, and best friend Ronan, helped them heal.
They never made Koda feel bad for the way they dressed, the way they looked, or the way they liked to live their life.
Koda trusted fate would pair them with someone who was kind and understanding like that.
But, as if to snub their faith in fate, the omega muttered, “I have to go.”
Koda’s bear barely had time to grunt in dismay before the stranger—their fated mate—scurried toward the back of the bar, ducking around a busboy and disappearing down a hallway with signs for the bathrooms.
For a moment, Koda was tempted to slump onto a bar stool in the same way their bear was slumped over, utterly at a loss for what to do.
They couldn’t very well do that, though. While they had never actively looked for a fated mate, now they had one, and their soul and alpha knew how it felt to find that missing piece of themselves. There was no way they could just walk away.
Someone in line cleared their throat, and Koda quickly ducked their head and did their best to hurry through the crowd toward the back of the bar.
All of the pink-shirted shifters were clustered on the other side of the room.
It seemed like most of them were finishing drinks and beginning to gather up their things.
Koda quickened their pace, not wanting their fated mate to get left behind because of them.
They turned the corner into the dimly lit hallway too quickly and bumped into a precariously stacked shelf of paper towels and cleaning supplies. They managed to steady it by throwing their arm out, but an employee, who was even smaller than their fated mate, looked up at them in alarm.
“So sorry,” Koda said, trying to pitch their voice as soft and nonthreatening as they could. “I’m just trying to find my friend before our group leaves.”
“Oh, are you part of the bar crawl?” she asked, forehead scrunching as she took in Koda’s red t-shirt under their overalls. “Did you not register in time for a shirt? We have some extra!”
Before Koda could protest, the woman pushed through a door marked “Employees Only” and scampered inside.
Koda’s bear huffed, conjuring up an image of first their fated mate and then this woman hurrying away from them.
Their bear mimed slapping its paws on the ground, trying to catch a scurrying mouse.
Koda shook their head and crossed their arms over their chest. Their bear shook their head right back and reminded them that they could always turn around.
They could walk right back to the bar and order their fish to go, and they could be home, snuggled up under their weighted blanket with the game on in less than twenty minutes—
“Here you go! All we have left are larges. Will that work?” the woman asked as she handed over a bright pink t-shirt. There was no chance a large would fit, but they clutched it to their chest anyway as they more carefully made their way down the rest of the tight hallway.
There were two bathrooms, both gender neutral, and only one of them was occupied. Koda took a deep breath, and then another. For good luck, they took a third, then knocked on the door.
“Someone’s in here!” a soft voice called back.
“Uhm… I know,” Koda called, and their bear covered their face with their paws.
There was silence for a moment, and then the omega’s voice sounded closer to the door when he said, “Are you the alpha from the bar?”
“Yeah,” they said, and, at a loss for what else to say they added, “My name’s Koda.”
“Koda? That’s a really pretty name.”