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“Where are we going?” she asked, glancing toward the stairs where Charlie slept soundly.

“What I have to show you is best...outside,” he said in a hushed whisper. “For reasons that will come clear.”

She nodded and followed him out into the backyard, moonlight bathing everything in silver. Alfie could tell she was fighting an internal battle, but thankfully, the part that trusted him won.

“Alfie,” she began, and her voice trailed off, uncertainty creeping back in.

“It’s okay,” he assured her, hoping his words would prove true. “I just need you to trust me a little while longer.”

Marion nodded, her eyes never leaving his. “I do.”

And that meant more to him than she could possibly know. He raised her hand to his lips and kissed the back of it, inhaling her scent, then let it go and stepped away.

He turned to look at her, smiling reassuringly, before he took a deep breath and let go of the world. The air around him popped and cracked with static electricity, and then he was gone.

A split second later, his bear stood in his place, in front of their mate.

He waited for her reaction, his bear gripped with fear that she might reject him, but also hope that she might understand. That she might accept all of him.

Marion stepped back in shock. With a sharp gasp, she covered her mouth with her hand. But the bear stood steadfast and true, watching her with Alfie’s same gentle eyes.

It was as if she was frozen in place for what felt like an eternity. Then, slowly, she took a tentative step forward, and then another. She dropped her hand to her sides and reached out to him, fingers trembling in the moonlight.

Alfie’s bear leaned forward, reaching for her, eager for the first touch of their mate. When her fingers finally made contact with his fur, a jolt of recognition passed between them. A connection as ancient as the mountains surrounding Bear Creek.

“This is better than bugs,” Marion whispered as she threaded her fingers through his thick fur, a breathless laugh escaping her.

Alfie’s bear nuzzled her hand, rumbling with pleasure at the contact, feeling the connection between fated mates solidify and strengthen. Marion stroked him, her touch growing more confident as she explored his face, his massive shoulders, and the powerful muscles beneath his fur.

“This is amazing,” she whispered, wonder replacing fear in her eyes. “You’re amazing.”

Alfie’s bear was ecstatic, preening under her admiration.It is amazing,he said, wishing he could tell her how long he’d waited for this moment.

Marion ran her hands through his fur, scratching behind his ears in a way that made his bear practically purr with contentment. She talked to him softly, asking questions he could not answer, marveling at the impossibility of what she was witnessing.

“I can see now,” Marion said finally, her hand resting on his massive head. “The bear and the man are one and the same, aren’t they?”

The bear nodded, his intelligent eyes holding hers.

“But what does it mean?” she asked, her voice barely above a whisper. “For us?”

Alfie’s bear stepped away, looking at her for one last lingering moment before he let go of the world. The air crackled and popped once more as the bear disappeared and then Alfie returned in his human form, standing before her.

“It means,” he said hoarsely, reaching for her hands, “that I’ve been waiting my entire life for you.”

Was that too dramatic?Alfie asked his bear.

How can it be when it’s the truth?his bear answered.

But would Marion see it as the truth, know it as the truth…

“Your whole life?” Marion repeated, her voice barely audible in the moonlit garden.

Alfie nodded, his eyes never leaving hers. “Yes. You are my fated mate, Marion. The one person in the world meant for me.”

Her lips parted in surprise, and he watched as emotions flickered across her face, wonder, disbelief, and then something that looked painfully like sorrow.

“Then fate has played a cruel trick on you,” she whispered, her eyes misting with tears.