The rest of my family all started talking over each other, asking her name, what kind of shifter she was and why she didn't come along to meet them.
"Her name is Hazel, and… she's actually not a shifter at all. She's a human." Lupa scratched the back of her head sheepishly. "That's why I didn't bring her. All of this is so new to her, I didn't want to scare her by introducing her to a million shifters at once."
There weren't a million of us. Including my uncles, cousins, nieces and nephews, there were only thirty of us. Lupa was always doing that—exaggerating.
I dug my claws into the earth, trying to calm down. I didn't know why I was suddenly worked up, but I didn't want to be. I wanted to be happy for my sister. Yet, I couldn't stop the weight of discomfort pushing against my chest.
After navigating all the questions, Lupa caught my eye. She weaved out of the crowd and ran towards me. Nobody else followed. I was glad for that. I felt overwhelmed, and being swarmed by too many bodies would've pushed me too far.
I stayed in my hare form as a kind of self-soothing. Not wanting to be removed, Lupa shifted as well. She tilted her head, her wolf ears perking up.
"Hey, Lev! Did you hear?" she asked.
I nodded.
"Gods, I can't wait for you to meet Hazel. You'll like her. She's kind of quiet like you, except chubbier and with longer hair, and a girl, obviously. But she loves reading and knows lots of facts about animals. Isn't that cool?"
I nodded again. Sometimes I didn't want to talk.
"Still, I can't believe my fated mate is a human. That's wild. I always expected my mate to be a crazy shifter, like an alligator, or an okapi—I learned what those are from your books, you know—or even…" She paused for dramatic effect. "An amaranth snake. Get it?"
I knew she referenced a book from our childhood, but I didn't have any particularly strong feelings about it. Not right now.
"Now that I found my girl, and Starry's not interested in romance, I guess that takes care of all of us, huh?"
I looked at Lupa sharply. "What?"
A beat of silence passed. The two of us stared at each other until I couldn't take it anymore and I looked away. Then I noticed Starry coming towards us. She must've heard Lupa say her name.
"Is everything okay?"Starry signed.
Lupa shifted to human form to match Starry, leaving me as the only one remaining an animal.
My sister shrugged. "Yeah, I was just saying to Lev that we’re all paired off now. Or not paired off, in your case, Starry, since you're not into that sort of thing. Hey, did you know humans have a term for that? Hazel taught me. It's apparently called being 'aromantic.’ They have words for everything."
Starry blinked like she was deep in thought. She turned to me. "Leveret, I thought you don't want a mate either?"
My fur bristled. I had the urge to thump my foot, but I stopped myself.
"I never said that," I said quietly.
The women exchanged a glance.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to assume," Starry signed with a sympathetic frown.
"Yeah, I had no clue either," Lupa said.
I was confused. Why did they both think that? Did the rest of my family believe that, too? And if so, why?
After that baffling exchange with my sister and cousin, I was left with an uncomfortable feeling in my stomach. I didn't like being misunderstood, and I didn't like when people made assumptions about me. I'd never once said I didn't want a mate. It came out of nowhere.
When the kids were all tired out and everybody was heading home, I stayed behind. I wasn't ready to go to the cabin where my cousins and I all used to stay. Many of them had moved out when they found their fated mates and had children. It was nearly empty. I liked quiet, but it was too much.
I approached Len and grudgingly shifted to human form so he knew I was serious.
"Leveret," he said with his usual warm smile. "Did you have fun today?"
I did, but I veered away from small talk. I wouldn't be distracted.