Sarah Bennett paced the floor of her office, the lush carpet swishing beneath her sensible heels with every step.

Outside the massive floor-to-ceiling windows, the skyscrapers of Glacier City sparkled in the late morning sun.

Baby Orson snuggled himself against her chest, a lock of her hair curled in his chubby fist. He loved being carried in his sling.

Sarah loved it too. She made it a point to never put him down for an instant on the evenings, weekends, and work-from-home Wednesdays they spent together.

And she had Linda, the best nanny in Glacier City for the other four weekdays.

At least she used to have the best nanny…

Orson had his first episode a week ago in the middle of the night. He’d been suffering with his first real cold and Sarah had barely slept in days.

He cried in the night for about the hundredth time.

Sarah launched herself out of bed to go get him. In the process, she smashed her shin on the dresser and yelped in pain and surprise.

Orson’s scream turned into a growl.

Half-blind with sleep, she’d hurried to his crib and lifted him out to hold him close.

Orson snuffled loudly and made a strange, piteous sound.

When she looked down she swore she saw a fur-covered thing in her arms instead of her baby.

“Orson?” she whispered.

Before her blinking eyes, he transformed back into her boy. The fur disappeared, the snout melted back into a button nose, all in an instant.

Shaken, she carried him over to the window, into the moonlight so she could see him better.

But he was her baby, nothing more - no fur, no strange sounds.

He sniffled again and whimpered a little.

She chalked it up to the dim lighting and lack of sleep.

Sarah curled up in the rocker and snuggled him back to sleep.

The next day, she called out of work and the nanny came to be with Orson for a few hours while Sarah slept. She pledged to take better care of herself from then on. After all, she had Orson to think of.

Sarah had never really thought of herself as a single mother in the classic sense. She had enough money to ensure that taking care of Orson was not a hardship. Between herself and her nanny, Orson had never wanted for a moment’s attention.

Until today.

She could still feel the panic from Linda’s call.

“You have to come home now,” Linda had yelled, her usually warm, motherly voice gone cold and frightened.

Sarah had run the four city blocks, too scared to wait for a car, cursing the elevator for taking too long to get up to the modified loft she and Orson called home.

When she reached her, Linda was shaking outside the door to Orson’s nursery.

“I didn’t leave,” she said. “I stayed until you got here.”

---

“What happened?” Sarah asked, her hand already turning the handle of the door.

Linda just shook her head, eyes wide with terror, and ran out the door of the loft.

“Orson?” Sarah whispered, entering the darkened room.

He had pulled himself up to standing in his crib. So he wasn’t hurt.

But something in her head told her that wasn’t right. Pulling to standing was a milestone for much older babies, wasn’t it? Orson wasn’t quite four months old.

But she could see him there - the small glow from underneath the room’s light-blocking curtain threw his tiny form into silhouette.

Orson cried out hoarsely.

He must have been so frightened if Linda had run away. His nanny was like a second mother to him.

“It’s okay, my love,” Sarah crooned. “Mama’s here.”

Some part of her must have known before she wrapped her hands around him and lifted him out, because when she felt the glossy fur under her fingertips she didn’t even hesitate, just brought him close, snuggled him in.

He made a contented sound and she felt that little snout rooting at her silk blouse.

She padded over to the lamp and turned it on.

Orson blinked his small black eyes and waved a fuzzy paw in front of his snout as if he were trying to swat the light away.

Sarah looked into the sweet furry face of her boy.

He was a bear cub. A glossy brown bear cub wearing an organic cotton onesie with a teddy bear embroidered on the chest. He smelled like baby shampoo.

I’ve had a full night’s sleep. I’m eating healthy and taking care of myself. I’m a happy, well-adjusted person.

She grabbed her phone to take a picture in case he changed back, but decided against it before she opened the camera app.

Orson was… different.

She didn’t necessarily want a paper trail on that.

He made a small grunting noise and she looked down at him again.

He was all peaches and cream now - no hair but his normal, wheat-colored fluff atop his head, no snout, no claws,

But he had been a bear. And this time there was a witness.

Sarah went into emergency mode - there was no time to panic.

She calmly gathered up everything Orson needed for the day, calling Linda as she packed.

The nanny didn’t pick up, but her voicemail did.

“Linda, it’s Sarah,” she said. “I know you had a hard morning. You’ve been so good to Orson and me that I’d like to offer you some time off. Let’s say a year with pay, and a generous bonus we can hammer out together if you’re willing to sign a non-disclosure agreement. I’ll have my attorney send you the details. No deal without the NDA though.”

That ought to keep the rumor mill quiet. Even Glacier City’s best nanny had a price. Everyone did. It was just a matter of finding out what it was.

After the call, she’d brought Orson into the office with her - there was no other option. All she had to do was keep him calm until she could reach the head of the company to have him sign off on a leave of absence for her. She’d hoped they would be in and out in half an hour and then she could go…

Where?

A children’s hospital?

A Halloween store?

What was happening to her son?

There was a knock on the door and she startled, banging her hip on the desk.

“Come in,” she barked.

Kurt Engle, one of the company accountants, stepped inside.

“Hey, Sarah,” he said. “I know I’m early for our meeting, but West wanted me to…”

He was staring at Orson.

“Sorry, my nanny was under the weather,” Sarah said, glancing down at the baby.

But he was a bear again. She must have startled him.

His slender brown muzzle peeked out of the sling inquisitively.

Without thinking about it, Sarah stroked his furry jaw.

Under her finger, the fur gave way to a soft chubby cheek. Orson gave her a gummy grin, a tiny dimple appearing above his right cheek.

Kurt was silent.

Sarah looked up at him, wondering if there was any chance he might think he was seeing things.

“You need to talk to Derek Harkness,” Kurt said kindly.

“What do you mean?” she asked.

“Your baby,” Kurt said. “Derek will know exactly what to do.”

“That’s ridiculous,” Sarah said. Derek Harkness was the billionaire CEO of the company. He would hardly know what to do about a baby, let alone one that kept turning into a bear.

But Kurt slipped out and was gone before she had time to ask what he was talking about.

When he left, she tucked Orson a bit further into the sling, so that if anyone else stopped in they’d be unlikely to see anything untoward. It wasn’t Orson’s fault he was different. And it wasn’t anyone else’s business.

Half an hour and a few phone calls later, there was another knock on the door.

“Come in,” she called out, after ascertaining that Orson was still himself inside the sling.

Derek Harkness stepped in, resplendent in his bespoke suit and tie. Sarah stared silently for a few seconds. She wasn’t the type to be easily intimidated by anyone, but something about Derek’s rugged good looks and the raw power he exuded had always left her a little off balance.

“I don’t know what Kurt told you,” she began, regaining her composure.

Derek didn’t respond. He closed the door behind him, put down his briefcase, then stepped toward her.

Sarah took a step back, instinctively.

Something about Derek was… different.

His piercing blue eyes flashed golden and he lunged forward, landing on all fours.

Except that by the time he hit the ground, he wasn’t Derek anymore.

An enormous bear stood in her office, on top of the shredded remains of a very expensive suit.