"Unusual Attractions" by Emily Faerber

Unusual Attractions

By Emily Faerber

            When he first explained it to me, I didn’t know the effect that it would have on me. He said that when his emotions ran deep and passion took over his soul, he was unable to maintain his form. His nose would lengthen, covered in fur as his back arched and his panting deepened. But he wouldn’t change all of the way. He told me that he was able to maintain most of his human shape.

            I didn’t know what he was the first time I met him. My heart was already pounding uncontrollably over him when I found out. I didn’t know what to expect when he looked at me with those serious eyes, and a lump froze in my throat as he began to speak. He was reluctant to say the words, and I trembled at what he did say. He asked me if I loved him. He asked it right out, and I wondered what happened to the games that we were supposed to play. I wondered what happened to the hinting and uncertainty, the fear of having said too much and yet not enough. Yet, I was relieved. His simple question deserved a simple answer, and I said yes.

            Then, he told me.

            He was afraid of how I would react, but I wasn’t frightened by the revelation. I was excited. Our relationship began that night.

            I loved the way it felt. Our hearts would beat together as his wolf form took over, and I would stroke my fingers along his side then pull him down against me. I loved the sensation of his fur along every inch of my body, the softness of his belly against mine. I preferred it over the skin of normal humans. I’ve wondered countless times what it meant, if I was somehow sexually attracted to animals.