The Baby Shift- Michigan

by Becca Fanning

“Electric scanners for products are very common now. It’s not magic. It’s science. Also, you might want to call your bank to see how much money you have on that account,” she told him. They left the parking lot and got back onto the road. She felt his intense stare on her once again. “Yes?”

  “How much work does a human child require?” he asked. Her tired brain cried out for coffee or some kind of energy drink. She held back a sigh and hoped Nana Edna had kept aspirin somewhere in the house.

  “Round the clock attention,” she said as they drove along. “Except maybe when they’re sleeping, but babies rarely sleep well. How is it for Shifter children?” She was imagining loud screams late into the night or possible howling at the moon.

  “They sleep and eat more,” he said. “I think. We only have the occasional exchange with humans throughout our life. Part of the spiritual quest is to go out into the human world, to experience life among the ordinary.”

  She snorted. “The ordinary? You’re a bit cocky, aren’t you?”

  She could see his handsome smirk from the corner of his eye. “I’m only aware of what I am.”

  “Which is?” Goosebumps covered her skin suddenly. A surge of electrical excitement rushed through her. She pulled into the driveway.

  “A wolf Shifter,” he said. Falon gave a happy clap from the backseat. She smiled. Although this situation wasn’t exactly what she’d expected, the whirlwind of the day was funny.

  “You’re a dad now,” she told him. “A wolf dad, but a dad nonetheless.”

  And it was true.

  Edward

  There were many things Edward had done in his life that had been a testament to his strength, his bravery, and his work ethic. Falon’s grating cry ran out. And yet…fatherhood was going to be the death of him. He let out a soft groan as he eased himself out of bed. Gabriella’s parents had kindly dropped off an old crib on the first day. His sore muscles, courtesy of a hard workout he’d done while Falon napped yesterday, ached. He picked up the baby in his arms, immediately earning a quieted response.

  He smiled down at Falon. While the baby was the most frustrating alarm clock he’d ever had, Edward enjoyed the infant’s curious eyes as he took in the world around them. Edward bounced Falon and brought him over to the changing station, taking care of his soiled diaper. Next, would be his breakfast. Edward glanced at the clock. 7:00 AM. He wondered if Gabriella, his favorite human woman (only the only one he knew), was up yet. Usually, she cooked breakfast and helped with Falon’s formula.

  To his surprise, he found her at the breakfast table. She was wrapped up in her funny towel jacket, a robe she told him, and drinking coffee while she looked over a newspaper. She glanced up at him and smiled. “Early morning?” she asked.

  “Yes, thanks to my favorite spirit quest,” he muttered as he padded through the room. She clucked her tongue as she watched him walk over to the sink, where a formula bottle was waiting.

  “You should put a shirt on in the common areas,” she said. “I told you before.”

  He smirked as he tested the formula on his inner forearm, as Gabriella had shown him, ensuring that it had cooled down enough before he fed it to Falon. “It’s just us. Does it bother you?” He turned to her, bouncing his powerful muscles, and earned a giggle from Falon from the movement.

  She blushed, her cheeks warming. He could feel the heat coming off of her pretty face in waves. Sometimes, he thought he smelled her arousal towards him, some kind of attraction, but she was quick to shut it down. He wasn’t sure if he was disappointed or okay with it… In the last week, the young woman had grown on him. He found himself finding her when she was home to see what she was doing.

  When he called his father later that day for their weekly check-in, he reported his unusual affection for the human woman. His father had let out a bellowing laugh.

  “Oh, you’re in trouble,” his father informed him but would offer no other explanations. Surely, Shifters had become oddly fond of humans or connected with them before Edward. He frowned after the call, considering his connection to Gabriella. Perhaps it was mimicking the fatherhood role that had caused him to grow close to her since she was playing part-time mother as well.

  “I’m quitting my job,” she announced to him at dinner. He stared.

  “You have a job?”

  She laughed. “Where do you think I go most days? I have an office job. I’ll be around more often after next week. I’m trying to fix up this place a bit more before high-season starts.”

  He glanced at her. “There will be more people?”

  “Of course, there are three other rooms open for people to rent.”

  “Interesting,” he muttered. Somehow, the idea of more people around agitated him. Was this part of his quest? He frowned at his cup of coffee after setting up Falon in his high-chair. Gabriella reached over to start spooning baby food into his mouth, laughing as Falon ate it up greedily.

  “He eats like a bear cub,” she said with delight.

  “Wolf pup.”

  “Right, right.”

  At first, he’d found her scent off-putting. The vanilla and flowery fragrance that she brought around, especially fresh from her showers, sent the beast inside him in overdrive. It was like claws scratching at his chest sometimes, but it had gotten better as the week went on.

  “He seems to be growing fast,” Gabriella commented as she wiped Falon’s face with a napkin. He smiled at her happily. “And besides his morning cry, he’s really not that bad.”

  “For you, maybe,” Edward shot back. “I’m still not sure why this was my quest…” He’d gotten into the habit of dropping personal thoughts around her, something he used to do among his friends within the clan. But, he was alone here, and she seemed to like to listen.

  “Maybe they thought that your lack of empathy could be improved,” she said with a snarky look. He glared at her, but it was hard to get mad at her feisty smirk.

  Her brown eyes didn’t hold the same color that he was used to seeing in Shifters, the tell-tale sign of gold. But, her eyes were warm.

  “I like your eyes,” he said suddenly. She nearly dropped the spoon of baby food. Her cheeks flushed with pink again. His lips quirked upwards. It was fun to watch her reactions. She stood up and brushed some imaginary dust off her robe.

  “I’ll leave you to clean up Falon,” she said. “I’m going to be late for work.” He heard the first-floor bathroom shut, connected to her own bedroom suite. He smirked at Falon, who smiled back, blissfully ignorant to anything that his adoptive father was doing.

  He wasn’t used to hunting humans…but perhaps he’d make an exception for the gorgeous Gabriella.

  Gabriella

  “The muscles on him!”

  Gabriella covered her burning red face with her hands. “Mom, not so loud! He can hear you. He has like super-sonic hearing or something.” But, her mother wasn’t listening. She was too busy peeking through the blinds to admire Edward doing his workout, shirtless, in the backyard.

  “Just don’t tell your father!”

  “MOM.”

  “I’m old, not dead,” her mother said with a laugh. Falon babbled happily in her mother’s arm, cradled against her chest. She’d come over to generously help with the baby, which Gabriella appreciated. The comments about Edward’s brawny physique? Not so much. “You know, if anything was happening between you—”

  “Mom,” Gabriella said with a long sigh. “For the last time, he’s not my secret boyfriend.”

  Her mom sniffed as if offended. “It would be nice is all.”

  “He’s a Shifter with an attitude problem.”

  Her mother glanced out the window. “He certainly doesn’t have any problems with exercise!”

  Gabriella rolled her eyes and strolled out of the living room back to the kitchen. She put on some tea to boil and got out the cookies that her mom brought over. They were supposed to have an afternoon snack together. She washed the teacups, humming to herself. From down the hall, s
he could hear her mother speaking to someone.

  As she finally turned back into the real world and set the cups on the table, she heard her mother exclaim, “Perfect! It’s settled then.” Gabriella turned to see her mother gliding in, Falon in her arms, beside Edward, still shirtless but at least with a towel thrown over his shoulders now.

  “What’s settled?”

  Her mother blinked innocently. “Well, I told Edward that it would be a fantastic idea for you guys to get out of the house.”

  Gabriella arched a brow. “Oh, you did?”

  Her mother cleared her throat and batted her eyelashes. “Yes, and you know, I just came up with the perfect idea that you would show him around Ann Arbor. Edward said that sounded great.”

  Gabriella stared at her mother, always meddling, but perfectly serene looking with baby Falon. Of course, she managed to connive a date between them.

  “I’d like to see other humans,” Edward announced. Her mother grinned.

  “See?” she said.

  “Fine, Mom. You take care of that baby,” Gabriella said as she poured the tea. “Who wants a cookie?” She needed about a dozen herself.

  --

  At five, they decided to take off into the city. With Gabriella’s mom waving Falon’s hand along playfully from the doorway, they headed out.

  “Your mother is nice,” Edward said with a wry grin. She rolled her eyes and sighed.

  “Annoying is another word for it. But, she means well.” And she did, underneath all her meddling. Deep, deep underneath all the meddling.

  “Where are we going?” he asked. For the first time, she noticed his nice clothes, obviously rarely used outside of his workout and everyday gear. Perhaps her mother had helped him pick out an outfit. He was wearing a sharp button-up shirt with fitted slacks, which showed off his muscled body. She’d chosen a cute dress, not too flirty, but still with enough shape to please her mother’s nagging.

  “Downtown. I’ll give you a little tour, and then we can have dinner.”

  “Dinner outside of the house?” he said with a face.

  “Yes, at a restaurant. It’s a popular pastime among humans,” she said with a little smile. Sometimes it was cute the way that he had no clue about human activities, how he smiled at Falon during breakfast, how he took his coffee, how he stretched his powerful muscles after a long workout…She nearly slammed on brakes upon reaching a red light and cleared her throat nervously. He was oblivious, fidgeting with the radio and playing around with the stations.

  Her cheeks warmed, as she considered how close they’d been getting over the past two weeks. A whole year with this hunk? What would happen? She gripped the steering wheel hard as they drove towards downtown.

  “Do you like Thai food?” she asked.

  “I’ve never had it,” he said with a shrug. “Does it have meat?”

  She laughed. “Yes, and noodles. It can be spicy though.” They parked in one of the parking lots near the restaurant, and she showed him around the neighborhood, filled with swanky restaurants and interesting boutiques. He had a lot of questions about the families milling about.

  “Why do they strap their children into those rolling contraptions?” he asked as they walked along. They’d just grabbed two coffees from a local shop. He’d bravely opted for a vanilla frozen coffee and complained of brain freezes as they walked.

  “It’s easier to take your kids around like that when they can’t walk,” she explained, sipping her own caramel iced coffee.

  “Can we bring Falon around in one?” he asked. She smiled.

  “Yes, if you want,” she said. When they’d finished their coffees after a walk around the nearby park, they headed to the restaurant. She was impressed by his good behavior. Their pretty blonde server was transfixed by his handsome face.

  “The server is flirting with you,” she remarked with a smirk after the woman had brought their cocktails. “She thinks you’re handsome.”

  “I could smell it on her,” he said nonchalantly. She raised an eyebrow.

  “You can smell desire?” she asked and took a swig from her fruity drink. She was going to need it now to get through their dinner. Her mind went through all of their interactions together, trying to figure out if she’d ever given off a vibe of desire. Maybe her mother, she thought with a bit of laughter.

  “Of course,” he said as he drank his whiskey. His handsome eyes were lined with mischief as he leaned his face against his hand. “Sometimes on you.”

  She blushed but refused to look away from him. “Liar.”

  “Oh, I’m a liar?” he asked. She wanted to wipe that smirk off his face. Or kiss it off. She wasn’t sure which one would be better.

  “Appetizers are coming,” she said, thankfully spying the flirty server. “And it looks like she’s pulled her shirt down to show off more cleavage.”

  He smirked, but she had a feeling that he wasn’t going to let her off that easily.

  Edward

  The server was the least of Edward’s thoughts. The human food was excellent, more than passable, although he should’ve ordered three steaks. The server nearly doubled over when he ordered two, but he didn’t mind. Gabriella was giggling behind her hands, eagerly drinking from her cocktail. After their entrees, she looked at him with a sneaky smile.

  “Do you want to go to a bar after this?” she asked.

  “Is that where you humans drink more?” he asked. The server came by with their dessert. He’d settled on something called a chocolate lava cake, while Gabriella had taken a slice of something called tarte de pomme. She glanced at his plate with a jealous look. “We can share,” he promised.

  “And yes, humans drink more. We don’t have to though. I’ll grab a water there since we drove,” she told him. He nodded. Alcohol wasn’t exactly high on his priority list of things to indulge in on right now. This chocolate cake and the gorgeous woman in front of him on the other hand…Well, that was something he wanted.

  He considered that he was quite grateful for his clan’s generosity as he paid for their tab. Gabriella instructed him on leaving a tip on his receipt. He squinted at the scrawl written at the top of his customer copy receipt. “What’s this number?” She leaned forward and giggled.

  “The server left her phone number for you.”

  He left it in the black book as they left. He had no need for it. There were more pressing matters. Like how good Gabriella looked as she danced ahead of him as they rounded the corner.

  “I know a cute bar around here,” she said, throwing her hair back as she turned to glance at him. He inhaled her scent, rising and luscious, utterly enticing. She led him to a small spot on the corner, and they entered a dimly lit place filled with lush cushioned booths. They slid into one. She ordered a fresh juice for herself, and he grabbed a whiskey and water.

  “How does alcohol affect Shifters?” she asked suddenly, looking utterly adorable as she leaned forward with an relaxed smile. She’d had only two drinks, and yet, somehow her entire outside wall was softening. He’d heard that humans ingested alcohol to lower their nervousness, to increase bonding among people. He felt honored that she’d done so around him.

  “It takes a lot to affect us. We brew a special beer in my clan that’s much stronger and more bitter than this stuff,” he said and lifted his dark beer for evidence. “Human beer is nice though. Cute.”

  “Cute?” she repeated with a little cackle. “Oh, Edward, you must find everything about humans to be cute. We’re slower, weaker, dumber.”

  His grin blossomed wickedly on his face. “Not dumber, but I agree on the other two points.” She leaned her head against her hand, sipping her juice as she rolled her eyes at him. At first, he disliked when she did that. Now, it gave him a chance to watch her being playful. It was like how you were supposed to banter with your mate. The animal inside him latched onto that thought and sent dirty thoughts to the front of his mind. He bit his lip and watched as her eyes wandered around the small bar. Suddenly, a scowl f
ormed on her face.

  “Ugh, this guy,” she muttered and turned away, partially shielding her face. He turned to see a man approaching their table, his eyes locked onto Gabriella. A sudden rush of rage and defensiveness came bubbling up in Edward’s body. His beast was roaring inside him as the hairs on the back of his neck stood.

  “Gabby,” the shaggy blond said as he approached. He shot a look towards Edward but ignored him.

  “Jason, I don’t want to speak to you,” Gabriella said as she looked at her juice, refusing to meet his eyes.

  “I just want to talk.”

  Edward stood up at the table, easily towering a head over the unwelcome visitor. “She said that she didn’t want to talk,” he said in a low voice. Firm, but clear. The blond turned to him, his face scrunched upwards. Edward’s nostrils flared, and that’s when he smelled it. “You’re drunk,” he stated.

  “Shut up,” Blondie said with a snarl. Edward crossed his arms, unimpressed by such a weak display of aggression.

  “If you’re going to make threats, at least do it properly.”

  And now Blondie decided it was time to take a swing at Edward, but he was far too quick for a regular man. He ducked and easily missed the sloppy punch, then sprang upwards to pin the human man on a nearby brick column. A disturbed murmur sparked in the bar.

  “If a woman asks you to leave her alone, you do it,” he said. “You need to respect Gabriella’s wishes.” He dropped this Jason, and the man scurried away, rushing out the door. A bartender came running after him, screaming something about an open tab.

  Edward heard sniffling, and he turned, surprised to see Gabriella’s eyes welling up with tears. He sat beside her now in the booth and placed a comforting arm on her shoulder, something that he’d seen in the human dramas that he enjoyed watching while Falon napped.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Thank you,” she said. “I shouldn’t be crying. It’s just…that guy is a total creep. We went out on one date, and he was super aggressive. He forced himself on me last time. I haven’t seen him in months. I wasn’t expecting to see him here.”