60. Zephyr
Zephyr
Four Months Later
“I can’t believe we didn’t think about this before.” Phoenix puts his helmet on the tank of his bike.
His new sports bike matches mine, both matching the SUV paint that Mom ordered us. Despite having the faster bikes, Lazarus and Honey beat us out here.
He’s right, and now my curiosity is piqued. I pull my helmet off before throwing my leg over my bike.
“Think about what?” Honey asks as she comes out of the woods carrying a bundle of sticks.
She’s gorgeous as always, wearing a gray skirt that goes down to her knees and an omega-sized T-shirt that says Westergaard’s Garage.
“You’ve never shifted,” Phoenix answers as he walks toward her.
“I never could.” Honey shakes her head, getting closer to the fire ring and to us.
I want to hug her again. It’s only been an hour since I did it last, but it feels like forever.
“But you haven’t tried since surgery, have you?” I pull off my leather and fire protectant riding jacket, draping it over the seat of my bike.
“I guess not.” Honey sets the twigs down in the fire ring, and Phoenix scoops her up into the hug I wanted.
When he sets her down, he starts pulling off his gear too. It gives me time to approach her and wrap my arms around her. I kiss the top of her head a bunch of times until she’s giggling and laughing.
“Come on, let’s try together. I bet you’re something adorable and little.” Phoenix encourages her, taking off his riding gloves.
“Should we wait for Laz?” I let Honey go only to catch a look of nervousness in her eyes and furrowed brow.
“Yes.” She draws a deep breath. “But if I don’t shift into something, you don’t get to be disappointed.”
“We won’t be disappointed. And you’ll totally be something cute that we’ll want to carry around. I bet you’re something sweet like a deer or maybe a bunny.” There are tons of possibilities for omegas that give off the same vibes as Honey, beautiful and quiet but also underestimated.
“Mmmm.” Phoenix ponders, circling Honey. When he’s behind her again, he pulls her close and snuggles her tight before guessing. “I bet she’s a badger or maybe a lynx.”
Lazarus comes back from the woods carrying some of the stacked lumber from the storage in the trees. He’s watching us, as he always does. It’s been a few months, and he’s getting better about being openly affectionate, but it’s slow going.
“What do you think, Laz? What’s Honey’s shift shape?” I walk quickly over to help him bring the logs over.
“I wouldn’t have a guess.” He doesn’t entertain the bet, but he does accept my help.
“How did her appointment go?” I ask quietly, afraid of the bad news.
Lazarus smiles. “Perfectly healthy, no signs of regrowth. She did decide not to go through estrus this time. Which Grisham supported. Giving her body some time to rest and adjust to pack life for now.”
“Uh, guys. Watch this.” Phoenix calls.
Lazarus and I snap our attention toward Phoenix and Honey.
She’s mid shift, going through it slowly, her body contorting. It’s clear, though, we were both wrong. Honey is not something small and cute.
She shifts into a white bear. Small, nowhere near the size of Revenant’s grizzly. But if a black bear were white, that is exactly what Honey is.
Honey brushes up against Phoenix and pushes him to the ground. He laughs as she gently mauls him. His shadow pulls together, and he shifts into his maned wolf.
Soon they’re wrestling each other in the slightly overgrown grass.
“Unexpected.” Lazarus smiles. “She’s always totally unexpected.”