A Pebble for Lewis (Alaskan Pebble Gifters Book 1) Read online

  I hold out my hand. For the first time, we can walk hand in hand outside.

  He smiles and laces his fingers through mine.

  I nod at his father.

  It takes him longer than normal, but he nods back.

  17

  Lewis

  There are many different versions of Todd that I like to stare at. Sleeping Todd—often combined with naked Todd—is one of my favorites. Or cooking Todd. Sometimes naked, when I’m lucky. But Todd in a tuxedo? I’ve never seen this version before, and like his pebble, I can’t stop looking at him.

  We’re walking down the street, hand in hand. We’re in his car, also hand in hand. I’m floating on cloud nine, completely taken in by him and the pebble in my box. So when we park, it takes me a second to realize we aren’t at his apartment. Why aren’t we at his apartment?

  “Where are we?” I ask.

  He leans over and gives me a quick kiss on the lips. “Hotel Captain Cook.”

  “What? Why?”

  He opens his door. “A penguin shifter would bring you to his hotel room during Pebble Gifting Season, would he not?”

  “But you live in Anchorage.”

  “Are you trying to tell me the penguin shifters who live in Anchorage bring their potential mates back to their homes instead of a hotel room?”

  He’s right, but I still didn’t expect Todd to book a room for us. I didn’t expect that beautiful pebble either. I figured a disappointing pebble was the price I had to pay to be with him.

  Honestly, I thought everything about my Pebble Gifting Season would be disappointing. Todd is surprising me at every turn.

  He gets out of the car and skips around to open my door. It’s very… chivalrous of him. We don’t usually do this. But in this moment, it feels strangely appropriate. Like he’s trying to make tonight special.

  I step out of the car and give him a gentle kiss. “You didn’t have to do all of this. I still would have said yes, you know.”

  His face tenses. “Did you not want this?”

  “Of course I want it. I’m just trying to say thank you. This means a lot to me.”

  He smiles and holds out his hand again. I don’t know if I’ll get used to the wonder of walking around in public while holding hands with him. As we make our way across the parking lot to the elevator, I can’t help but glance around to check if anyone is watching us.

  The elevator is a sleek, silver thing with plush cream carpet.

  “This is fancy. It didn’t cost too much, did it?”

  He shrugs and pushes the button for the ninth floor. The door slides closed.

  “And the pebble… you had to buy that, didn’t you?” The way it reflected the light probably means it’s a precious stone. How much did he spend on it?

  Todd squeezes my hand. “You’re worth it.”

  “But you didn’t have to—”

  “Stop. I’m going to romance the hell out of you tonight. And if you think you don’t deserve that, you’re wrong.” He leans over and kisses my forehead.

  He couldn’t possibly be more perfect.

  The elevator opens to a wide hallway lit with chandeliers.

  “Don’t we need to check in?” I ask.

  Todd releases my hand and whips a keycard out of his pocket. “I already did.” He leads me to the third door on the left. As he pushes the card into a slot, green light flashes, and he opens the door.

  I was expecting a simple queen bed. Instead, I find a full suite with a sofa and plush lounge chairs behind the door. A large bucket full of ice holds a bottle of champagne. Next to the bucket are two Wii controllers. He hooked up his gaming system to the hotel TV, which makes me want to cry for some reason. It’s not the nice hotel, the romantic champagne, or his gorgeous pebble that make me lose it. It’s those damn controllers.

  “What’s wrong?” He settles his portfolio down on the coffee table and wraps his big arms around me.

  “It’s just that you’re so wonderful.” I can’t even manage to get the words out without a huge sob.

  He chuckles. “Oh, love. This is just the beginning.”

  I remember when he said those words two years ago after getting me off for the first time. Everything has changed since then, and yet, everything is the same. Todd is still the most important person in my life.

  He guides me toward the bed. Another ice bucket rests on the nightstand, this one with fish inside. On the bed is a traditional fish-sharing tray, often passed down from generation to generation in penguin shifter families. I never told him about this part. Because my father would never see it, I figured it didn’t matter. He must have researched it on his own. All of this effort makes me break down into tears again.

  As is traditional, Todd slowly removes each article of his clothing, one by one. He even folds them neatly on the side of the bed in the order alphas are supposed to. When he’s completely naked, he nods to me and climbs onto the bed, waiting for me to do the same.

  My father made me practice over and over again the past few weeks, which is why I remove each part of my tux in the right order without needing to think about it. I fold each piece of clothing on top of his, exactly the way my father taught me, and climb on the other side of the fish-sharing tray.

  Normally, at this point we’d shift. It’s an important part of the process. During the summer months, families often fish together in their penguin forms, and much of the egg warming is also done as penguins. But we don’t usually show our penguin forms to outsiders, and certainly never to a polar bear shifter. What will Todd think of me? I’m so much smaller as a penguin. Will he worry about hurting me again? Or will some innate need to have a polar bear mate surface when he’s in his animal form?

  “I’m kind of big as a bear,” he says.

  I smile. “You’re always big.”

  He leans across the tray and gives me a kiss. Then he begins to shift. His arms expand into the white furry trunks that freed my father from his bond necklace. His body and legs thicken next, and finally his snout grows as his head shrinks. I thought human Todd was big, but the majestic white creature in front of me is truly like a mountain.

  He tilts his head, which makes me giggle. The gesture is so much like a puppy, I want to pat him on the head. I reach over and sink my fingers into his thick coat of fur. He’s fluffy and incredibly warm. He pushes his head into my hand and lets out a little grunt.

  He may be huge, but he’s also kind of cute. That makes me less nervous for some reason.

  Maybe because people think penguins are cute too.

  Todd grew during his shift. I shrink during mine. It’s always an unpleasant feeling, like trying to squeeze my body into a spot I’m too big for. I hold my breath and close my eyes. First, my legs shrink into nothing but little stumps. My arms flatten and darken. The beak is always the worst. The hardening of my lips starts out feeling like they’re horribly chapped, and then I can’t feel anything at all.

  I’ve never been particularly confident in my penguin form. Even for a penguin shifter, I’m small and awkward. But this is Todd, right? He loves me. I try to waddle toward him. Unfortunately, the mattress is too squishy. I tilt to one side and have to stretch my wings to keep my balance. He stands up and reaches one of his huge paws across the tray to rest right next to me. That paw is half the size of my entire body. He nuzzles my chest and licks a long stripe along my body.

  If penguins could smile, I’d smile at him. This side of Todd is wonderfully simple. We can’t talk, and we certainly can’t have sex. All we really can do is cuddle, and there’s never a time when I don’t want to cuddle with Todd.

  He picks me up with his paws and sits down on the bed. An alarming thumping sound indicates something bad happened to the bed, but we don’t sink or anything, so maybe it’s fine. He brings me into his chest. We’re supposed to eat fish together, but this seems more important. Somehow, we’ve been dating for two years and never showed each other our animal forms. I snuggle close to him.

  The w
ait is finally over. I never have to say goodbye to him at night again. We don’t have to pretend we’re not lovers anymore. As of tomorrow, I’ll have Todd’s pebble around my neck for the rest of my life.

  Todd grabs a fish with his enormous paw and hands it to me. My wings are a lot less functional than his paws, so I accidentally drop it onto the bed.

  I’m sure the cleaning crew just loves Pebble Gifting Season.

  He picks it up again and brings it to my beak. Honestly, I’ve never been a fan of raw fish, even in my penguin form. I take a bite anyway. He slides the rest of the fish into his mouth and swallows it whole. He doesn’t even chew.

  I bury my beak into his fur and outstretch my wings to give him the closest thing to a hug I can. He licks the top of my head and wraps his furry arms around me. I honestly might suffocate. He’s strong, and his fur is thick. Somehow, I don’t care.

  This is what I need. Not another penguin shifter, but the feel of Todd all around me. I’ve never been more sure than I am in this moment. When I was younger, I often wondered how I’d know which mate to choose during my Pebble Gifting Season. I was worried about choosing the wrong one, the way my father did.

  Maybe Pebble Gifting Season isn’t about choosing a mate. It’s about recognizing your mate when he shows up. I’ve loved Todd for a long time now, but my penguin can see him for what he is: my fate.

  I guess a part of me always knew. Perhaps that’s why we couldn’t stay away from each other all of this time. Tonight feels different.

  Tonight feels like coming home.

  18

  Lewis

  After the fish-sharing, Todd and I shift back to our human forms. We lie on the bed together, completely naked. Todd traces circles over my chest with his fingers.

  “We’re fated,” he whispers—almost hesitantly. As if he’s worried that I’m going to disagree.

  “Yeah. We are.”

  He takes my hand and brings it up to his cheek, kissing the center of my palm. “Polar bear shifters aren’t supposed to have a fated mate.”

  “You’re a rebel.”

  He chuckles. “Yeah.”

  “It’s more than fate, Todd.” It’s important that he understand this. “I choose you. Your heart. Your body. Your soul. I want to wear your pebble around my neck.”

  He gives me a playful smile. “You haven’t even read my portfolio yet.”

  The portfolio. That’s right. I’m curious what my father read in Todd’s portfolio that made him willing to allow me to go tonight.

  “Are you going to let me read it?” I flash a playful smile in return.

  He gets up and almost trips over the fish-sharing tray on his way to get the binder. I could watch him walk while naked all day. Even after sharing his bed for a year, seeing his pale ass or the muscles in his legs flex gives me a semi. He returns with a bottle of champagne in one arm and his Pebble Gifting Portfolio in the other.

  “You up for some bubbly?” he asks.

  I hold out my hand for the portfolio. “Yeah. Sure.”

  He hands it over and untwists the metal cap of the champagne.

  The portfolio is black with white letters on the front: “Todd Platten.” Underneath his name is a white silhouette of a polar bear. Inside there’s more black paper with embossed white letters outlining the contents.

  “My omega mom did the design work and printed it for me.”

  His omega mom is a graphic designer and artist. Both of Todd’s moms are incredibly talented. I wonder if our children will be artistic like Todd or prefer math the way I do.

  “It’s stunning. Very unique.”

  He leans down and kisses my forehead. “Like you.”

  I don’t care how cheesy that sounds. It gives me all kinds of wonderful butterflies in my stomach.

  “Hold on a sec. I’m going to open the cork over the bathroom sink.”

  I wait for him. I know he’s been working on this portfolio for a long time because he started asking me questions about it over a year ago. I don’t want to read it without him here.

  There’s a loud pop, and Todd returns, drinking straight from the bottle. He hands it out to me, and I take it. This champagne tastes different, very sweet. I can’t taste the alcohol at all. I’m not sure I like it.

  “What did my dad read?” I give the bottle back to him.

  He sits down next to me. “The parenting section.”

  Really? Todd and I haven’t talked about kids much. I just barely finished my bachelor’s degree in accounting and got my first job outside my dad’s shop. I figured we’d save up some money before we had any children.

  I turn to page ninety-eight. Todd’s portfolio is long. He didn’t half-ass any part of tonight. Sliding his arm around me, he reads over my shoulder.

  “I don’t know what parenting strategies I’ll use. All I can promise you is this: I plan to save our money so we can take our children to art museums all over the world to show them what beauty is. I’ll stand with them at the top of the Grand Canyon so they can understand the vastness of the natural world. I’ll take them to Paris for a croissant so they can taste the results of a life committed to passion. Most of all, I will spend the rest of my life cherishing you, so they will know what love looks like.”

  Well, fuck. Who wouldn’t want to raise kids with an alpha like that? “I love you.”

  “That’s not… what your father read. Keep going.”

  I turn to the next page. It has something I didn’t really think about: medical information about what children from a bi-species couple are like. Some can shift into both species. Some can only shift into one. Depending on the child, they may shift into a fusion of the two animals.

  “I always thought children from bi-species relationship took the form of the alpha,” I say.

  “Yeah. So did I. We could have penguin babies.”

  I smile at him, and turn the page. This section is about polar bear shifter conception. I knew polar bear shifter omegas went into a sort of mini-heat every month. And I knew that even though most polar bear shifters don’t mate for life, they’re fiercely protective of their mates. But there are a lot of things I didn’t know. Like that polar bear shifters stay in their bear form for the first two years of their life—twice as long as penguin shifters. And I didn’t know that an alpha can smell when his omega is pregnant, almost from the moment of conception.

  “So when we have kids, you’ll be able to tell when I’m pregnant?”

  Todd nods, his expression more serious now.

  I flip to the last page. It has only five words.

  “You’re pregnant with my baby now.”

  I cover my mouth with my hand. This is what my father read.

  “You don’t have to choose me. I’ll help you raise the kid either way, if you decide to keep the kid. I know it’s up to you. I’ll support you either—”

  I put the portfolio next to the bucket on the nightstand and climb on to his lap, straddling him.

  “Stop. Just stop. You gave me champagne? That’s bad for the baby.”

  He holds up the bottle. I assumed it was champagne, but it’s only sparkling cider. Non-alcoholic.

  “But the raw fish? Isn’t there a rule—”

  “I double-checked, and as long as you’re in your penguin form when you eat raw fish, you should be fine.”

  I’m pregnant. Todd knew I was pregnant, and he still did all of this. He could have told me from the very beginning, but he didn’t. He let me have a traditional Pebble Gifting Season.

  He watches me closely, clearly worried about how I’m going to react.

  “Do you want me to keep the baby?”

  He cups my jaw with his hand. “Yes. Very much. But I… I know this is unexpected. If it isn’t what you want, I understand.”

  Is it what I want? When I think about having a baby with Todd right now, I feel… hopeful. People might assume we bonded because of this. I don’t think I care. I bring my hand to my stomach.

  “Will it be an egg?
” I ask.

  He shrugs. “I talked to a doctor earlier this week when I smelled the baby for the first time, and she said we won’t know for a few more weeks. She wants to closely monitor you. She doesn’t think there will be any problems, but the risks are higher.”

  I cuddle up to his chest and wrap my arms around him. “I can’t believe it. We’re going to be dads. Isn’t that wild?”

  “So that means you want to keep it?” he asks.

  I nod. I’m a little shocked, and I don’t know what we’re going to do about childcare. But we’ll figure it out. We figured out all of this, didn’t we?

  At least my father won’t fight our relationship anymore. I guess in some ways this makes everything easier.

  “Can we play Smash Bros?” After all the craziness of tonight, I need a degree of normalcy, and nothing feels more normal than playing video games with Todd.

  “Yeah. That sounds nice.”

  He stands and lifts me up with him, like he did before we made love for the first time. I giggle and hook my ankles together behind him.

  “I may be pregnant, but I’m still going to kick your ass,” I say.

  He laughs. He doesn’t bother to argue with me because he knows I’m right. He deposits me in front of the controllers and returns to the bed to get blankets. We’ve played video games before in nothing but blankets, wrapped up in each other’s naked bodies.

  It’s funny. Four years ago, when I played with him for the first time, I never imagined this.

  Todd lays out a blanket and sits down next to me on the floor.

  “Come here, love,” he says with open arms.

  I climb into his lap. He covers us both with another blanket.

  “Does this mean you accept my pebble?”

  I look up at him. Did he ever doubt I would? How could he be worried about that?

  “Of course I do. I accepted your pebble before I even saw it.”

  He squeezes me tight in his arms.

  “Will you let me make you a necklace tomorrow?”