Bearly Sweet(14)
Author: Loni Ree

 

I push the sliding glass door open so hard, I’m pretty sure it dented the track. Ignoring the damage to my home, I frantically search the backyard looking for Mabel.

 

Fuck. My heart shudders to a stop as fear cuts through my soul when I find her standing next to the pool, trapped between a pissed-off mother bear and a scared cub.

 

Knowing I wouldn’t survive losing my mate, my inner bear overrides my human emotions and takes charge. Without giving me time to strip, he tears through my skin, forcing my shift. My sweatpants disintegrate in the process and fall into a heap of material at my feet.

 

The incensed bear lifts her head and watches me with her teeth bared but doesn’t move any closer to Mabel. Needing to diffuse the situation quickly, I carefully make my way over to my mate and position myself between her and the grizzly bear.

 

Once she’s out of the line of fire, I breathe a sigh of relief, knowing this bear is no match for me, but it will hurt like a motherfucker if the animal decides to fight. While watching my opponent for any signs of an attack, I herd the tiny cub in the direction of its mother.

 

When the cub gets close enough, the mother roars again and turns to run with her baby right on her tail. Fuck me. That was goddamn close.

 

As I shift back to human, I’m not sure if I want to spank Mabel for daring to put herself in harm’s way or kiss her until we both pass out.

 

In the end, I decide to do both. I kiss her soft lips until she’s sighing my name, and then I drag her little ass upstairs and spend the rest of the day reassuring myself that she’s okay.

 

“You aren’t ever allowed to be out of my sight again.” I hug my mate close as we stare up at the ceiling.

 

“How was I to know I might run into a real bear in our backyard?” Mabel places her chin on my chest and stares into my eyes. “I had no idea they come up that close to the house.”

 

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you that. It honestly never crossed my mind that it might be a problem.” I gently rub Mabel’s back and explain, “I’ve seen the bear family several times, but they usually don’t leave the edge of the forest. I guess the little guy got lost.”

 

“Can we do anything to make sure it doesn’t happen again?” I’m proud of the way my brave little mate handled the encounter. Her calm, cool demeanor during the entire incident proved that the universe chose well for me.

 

“My bear has already taken care of that,” I reassure her. “He talked to the bear telepathically and let her know they aren’t welcome up close to the house.”

 

“Will that work?” Mabel sits up next to me. “I mean, can you trust them to listen?”

 

“I trust them to listen, but I still plan to add a large fence all the way around the house that gives them a little shock if they get too close.” I might be going overboard, but there’s no way I’m going to take a chance with my family.

 

“It won’t hurt them, will it?” my soft-hearted mate asks, and her worry cuts through my soul. My bear whines at the thought of her being unhappy and insists I soothe her fears. The fucker is even more of a pushover than I am.

 

“Not at all. But it will remind them that we’re in charge.” I also plan to get cameras installed all around the property so I can make sure my family is always safe.

 

When I wake up the next morning, my nose picks up a new scent in the room. The sweet fragrance is a mix of my mate’s delicate fragrance and evergreen. My bear thumps me on the head mentally, and I suddenly realize what it means.

 

I’m going to be a Papa Bear. Now, I only hope this isn’t too soon for Mabel.

 

I pull my mate close and whisper in her ear, “Wake up, little Momma Bear.” Visions of her growing round with my cub fill my mind.

 

Mabel stiffens in my arms, and I start to worry that she’s upset until she turns in my arms and stares up at me with a cautiously hopeful expression. “You think I’m pregnant?”

 

My bear senses her worry and jumps into action to soothe her. I pull her close and place a soft kiss on her lips. “I know you are. I can smell it.”

 

“Eww.” My mate wrinkles her nose. “I hope I don’t stink.”

 

“You’re the sweetest thing I’ve ever smelled,” I promise her and run my nose along the little bruise at the base of her throat. When I nibble on the tiny spot, my mate shivers and presses closer to my body. “And you’re mine for eternity.”

 

“I like the sound of that.”

 

 

 

 

 

Epilogue One

 

 

 

 

 

Mabel

 

 

 

 

 

Thorne makes good on two promises at once. “I can’t believe you got tickets to the Pushing Daisies concert in Las Vegas.” I cuddle up as close as the first-class seat allows. Luckily, this is only a two-hour flight because I freaking hate airplane bathrooms and this pregnancy has me rushing to the bathroom almost hourly.

 

We had to wait three months before taking our belated honeymoon to give me time to get over the morning sickness from hell. My poor Bossy Bear almost lost his mind with me puking several times a day.

 

“I promised you I’d replace your Pushing Daisies t-shirt and give you a human wedding.” My mate lifts my hand to his warm lips and places a soft kiss across my knuckles. And I always keep my promises. No matter how much it pains me to sit through three hours of the hard rock band howling on stage.

 

Thorne’s unspoken grumble flashes through my mind, and I smack his shoulder. “They do not howl. They sing loudly,” I defend my favorite band.

 

“I still can’t get used to you knowing my thoughts.” A couple of weeks ago, we discovered another neat side effect of pregnancy hormones—the ability for us to speak to each other telepathically.

 

“Does it bother you?” I hope my mate doesn’t feel that I’m intruding on his thoughts.

 

“Not at all. I love sharing everything with you. Everything,” Thorne reassures me. “Well, almost everything. Papa Bear taught me how to shield my mind in order to keep special surprises from you.” That will be a handy trick at Christmas time.

 

Once I started sensing his thoughts, Thorne explained to me that most bear shifters can communicate nonverbally with their bear shifter mates, but he had no idea if it would also be true with our shifter-human mating.

 

“And another thing. That band howls louder than a cat on a liver truck.” Bossy Bear gives a fake shudder to demonstrate his point.