Page 38 of Shaped to Be Yours

Most humans didn’t ask it quite that bluntly, but I didn’t mind. “I am. I’ve known since I was really young. Me and my boyfriend being boyfriends is new though. We used to just be friends. He confessed he liked me as more than that after I found out he was a monster.”

Kai’s eyes widened and he leapt onto his knees where he’d been sitting in the grass beside me, putting the stand for the workstation together like making IKEA furniture. “You are dating a monster?”

“Uh, yeah. Only—”

“Did you meet on the Monster Match app? Oh, no. Not if you didn’t know he was a monster when you were friends. But have you used the app at all?”

“I… a little, yeah.” Why Kai was so excited suddenly clicked. “You’vebeen using it, haven’t you?”

If a teal-colored kappa could blush, Kai did, turning a darker shade of indigo beneath the magenta stripes down his cheekbones. “I have been lonely since moving here. I miss my friends, but I also hope for a romantic connection. I have had boyfriends of my species, and girlfriends, and… partners? Some of our species are both.”

“Intersex?” I asked.

“If that is your word for it, yes. I have never made a truly deep connection with any of my kind but humans… enamor me. I believe I am most partial to boyfriends, so I listed myself as gay and that I am looking for love. If I seem distracted today, forgive me, it is because I made a connection last night.”

“That’s awesome! Someone in town?”

“Yes. He is very handsome. But he has not yet responded to our match or the message I sent him.” Kai’s frilled ears drooped like a puppy’s and his excitement sank.

“That doesn’t mean he’s not interested! Maybe he’s busy. Or, if it was late last night, maybe he hasn’t checked his app notifications. It’s still new having monsters and the app available in this town. I can tell you’re wonderful, Kai, and we’ve only known each other for half an hour. Anyone would be lucky to match with you.”

Kai’s ears perked up again. “You think so?”

“Definitely.”

“Thank you.” He settled back into the grass, and we returned to work.

“What else did you put on your profile?” I asked.

“Well—”

“Quiet!” the ogre hissed in our direction.

We looked. She had pulled out her, well, not gun, more like a taser, and aimed it at the trees. We all went quiet, and there was indeed the sound of rustling and movement, lower to the ground than a person.

Then something bounded up into the air out of the brush, landing inside the danger zone.

A gray and white housecat.

The cat froze as it noticed us and the strange equipment littering the clearing. Kudos to Ms. Ogre for not firing on instinct, but as she huffed in frustration, snorting more mist from her snout, she stomped toward the perimeter, shouting, “Get!”

“Wait!” I leapt up as the cat made to dart forward, but since Zinnia and Beck were in the way, it turned tail and ran nearer to where it had come from, straight down the path toward Jason’s house. “We have to catch it! It’s too dangerous out here if there’s some creature in the woods or if the portal activates!”

“That is classified—” the ogre snarled.

“I’m going after the cat!” I was closest to the path and broke into a run, shouting behind me, “If Jason’s still home, he can take it to the shelter!”

I was so focused on watching the cat, I didn’t hear Kai repeat, “Jason?”

The cat sprinted ahead but generally stayed within sight. It had tabby stripes and a white underbelly. I hadn’t noticed a collar, but it looked small, like not fully grown or deeply malnourished. It might have come from anywhere, but I couldn’t stomach the thought of it winding up in the monster realm by accident.

We were nearing the house, close enough that I could see a peek of it through the small opening into the backyard. I could also see Jason, sitting on the back porch with his computer in his lap. Since I hadn’t needed the truck today, Sandy told him to take an hour for job applications before joining her at the school.

“Jason!” I cried.

The cat was exiting the path with me a ways behind, but Jason heard me, eyes darting immediately to the furball barreling toward the house. He nearly dropped his laptop in his haste to leap off the porch like an actual springing wolf—right in front of the cat.

It yowled, all of its fur on end with its back arched, and when Jason tried to snatch it from the ground, it bit him and darted under the porch.

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