Page 9 of A Bunny for the Bear (Beartastic Summer of Love)

Chapter Nine

Ross

Alpha Hutton carried me to his bedroom like the big, strong bear he was. I ran my hands over his muscles eagerly. They tightened at the touch, like they were responding in a way. Like his body was responding.

The heat haze—as he called it—made things feel blurry around the edges. I was still aware of what was happening. I still knew what I was doing. It was just all happening at half speed and with a cloudy view.

My amazing Alpha had called the doctor worried over me. If I could have gotten my words together, I’d have told him how amazing that made it. I’d have told him that all the little ways he showed me he cared worked.

The videos were a start. Once I was clearheaded again, I intended to have another discussion about it all.

Fate was an impatient being. This haze proved as much.

To have a built-in way that demanded the mates you chose wind up together is absolutely diabolical. Other than an outright rejection, the haze guaranteed a connection.

And we all knew rejections were rare.

“Focus, Omega. I need to know what makes you feel good.” Alpha Hutton growled as he stripped his clothes.

My eyes went wide at the expanse of skin he displayed. Slick rushed out of me, coating my clothes and the bed beneath us. Normally, I would have been embarrassed by such a thing. The way my Alpha’s eyes widened and he licked his lips alleviated me of such emotion.

He liked my slick.

Liked that I made it for him.

It was all for him.

Things got hazier from here. I know I replied at times with sounds and broken sentences. My body opened to his long, thick cock like we were long-lost lovers reuniting.

He was a perfect fit, just as I knew he’d be.

“Alpha,” I panted when he began driving his length into me. Each thrust shook the bed. It tore through me, breaking me apart and restoring me as his.

There was only before and after him. My Alpha. My heart. My future. My forever.

Before I knew it, that familiar tightening hit me. I was going to come. It was nearly time to complete the bond.

“Omega.” Alpha Hutton’s voice deepened even further as I tightened around him. “You’re going to take my knot, aren’t you? Going to milk it for all its worth.”

I nodded rapidly at his words. Yes! That’s exactly what I needed.

His knot. His love. His bite.

“You’ll get my bite soon enough, love.”

At his words, I released a cry of relief. Cum shot from my cock as he pushed even deeper into me.

“That’s it, Omega. Take this cock. Lock yourself on my knot. Let me fill you up. Breed you.”

His words fueled me. I did everything he said, taking him in and tightening around him until he was spent. It was at that moment a sharp sting hit my shoulder. The urge to bite him back had my mouth locking onto his opposite side. I broke the skin in one fluid motion.

The taste of blood registered with a suddenly clear head. I gasped and pulled back. Everything was normal again.

Or as normal as it could be with his knot still pulsing softly in my ass.

“Mate,” I said, my voice steady. “You’re my mate.”

Hutton smiled at me, though it was wary. “I am. How are you feeling? You seem to be more aware now. I didn’t hurt you, did I?”

“No, you didn’t. I feel… amazing. Whole.”

“That’s good. I worried it was going to be too much for you once you came back to yourself. The haze was so strong.”

I frowned. “Sorry you had to deal with me when I wasn’t at my best. The good news is that I could understand what was happening. I just couldn’t really reply in a way that made sense.”

“You don’t need to apologize to me, Omega. I was concerned, not angry.”

“Still, I feel bad that our first time was forced on you.”

His eyes widened. “Forced on me? Does this feel forced?”

The question was punctuated with a tiny thrust of his hips. Gasping, I shook my head. It felt far too good. If he kept that up, we’d be locked together even longer.

“I can feel your desire thrumming through our bond,” he murmured as he pressed a kiss to his bite mark. “Can you sense mine?”

Closing my eyes, I searched inside myself for that thread connecting us. The bond was a soft glow next to my bunny side. It pulsed with want powerful enough to have me clenching around my Alpha’s cock without thought.

He growled into my skin. “Careful, Omega.”

“You’re the one who wanted me to hunt down the bond. I was doing good before that.”

My sassing him back didn’t deter him in the slightest. His chest rumbled with a laugh that would have made my knees weak were I standing.

“Tell me more about the haze. I’ve never known anyone to go through it,” he said once he got control of his amusement.

I shrugged one shoulder. “Nothing much to say that I haven’t already. Everything made sense coming in. It was a little blurry in the way you might feel when really tired, if that makes sense.”

“It does.”

“Yeah, well, that’s the bulk of it. I felt more animalistic in that the only thing I wanted was you. It ached to resist you. Then when I got here, I needed you even more.”

“Hence the knotting.”

“Exactly. How did it feel for you? Were you close to going into rut? I’ve read it’s possible.” In my old life, there were a few Alphas who went into rut. It was a terrible experience for everyone involved, especially the Omega.

As much as I feared the idea before, I didn’t get the sense my mate would be like those other Alphas. He’d be much gentler. Even attentive if I had to guess.

“No, I didn’t get all that close. I imagine I would have had your heat intensified more. My bear was a touch restless, though I assumed it was due to knowing I'd fucked it up.”

“It wasn’t the best first meeting,” I admitted.

His eyes closed tight. “If you only knew how much I wish I could change it. My bear hasn’t pushed out of me like that since puberty. The mate bond… it was more than he could take.”

I pressed a palm to his cheek. Bright brown eyes flashed open and locked on me. His bear was here.

Smiling, I stroked his beard. “Hi, there, Alpha.”

He practically purred at my words.

“I wanted to tell you it’s ok to let the past go now.

We might not have had a good first meeting, but ever since then you’ve shown me how good you will be to me.

I recorded those videos for Hutton and for you.

For both sides of my mate. I want us to be ok moving forward. Can you let the past go if I do too?”

It was a gamble as to whether he would respond or not. Our beasts weren’t always adept at communication with others.

But he was my mate. And I could tell he understood my words.

A few minutes of silence passed before he leaned forward and licked the side of my face. I squealed at the utter shock of it. I shouldn’t have been surprised though. He was basically an animal in human form.

In the next second, Hutton’s eyes were back to their normal color, and his jaw hung open. “Holy shit. I didn’t think he’d do that.”

Wiping the side of my face, I smiled at him. “Well, he definitely did. Do you agree with him and me to let the past go?”

“I do.” He paused. “What about your shifter side? Is it on board too?”

My entire body locked up at the question. I still hadn’t told him what I was. Part of me worried he’d reject us if he knew before the bond. And now with it done, I felt horrible to have trapped him with me.

What if he didn’t want me anymore? What if my bunny disgusted him?

Panic swelled so quickly I became dizzy with it. I couldn’t stop the waves of nausea or the way my body drooped. My defenses were gone, leaving only the most vulnerable parts of me.

Worst of all, my bunny had hidden deep inside of me. He didn’t want Hutton’s bear to go searching for us. Bonded pairs could sometimes feel their mate’s other half.

“Mate,” he said, voice urgent as his hands swept over me. “What’s wrong? I can feel the—fear? Are you scared of me? What have I done?”

The words became softer with each question. It was the change that brought me out of the crashing tides of my anxiety.

I took a few deep breaths until I was centered again. In a soft voice, I told him, “I’m terrified you’ll hate my shifter side. Is it ok for us to wait a bit longer to talk about it? I promise to tell you soon.”

“Anything you need, Omega. I’m happy to have you no matter what your animal side is. Even if you’re aquatic, and I have to move us closer to the water, I’d do it in a heartbeat if I got to have you.”

I snorted at the visual his words gave. “Not aquatic. Actually not a huge fan of water in general.”

He tilted his head, then smiled wide. “Good to know. I’m already learning so much about you.”

The conversation shifted from there. We spoke about the town and what it had been like for my mate growing up here. He shared some of the struggles as well as the good memories.

I told him about how I got the courage to come here and how his aunt had jumped to befriend me. “That was the first night I got to meet everyone,” I said when recounting things in the park.

“Are you serious?”

“Yep. I’d only known them all about an hour or so when you showed up.”

“Do you have any idea how big it speaks of you as a person that they all jumped in to protect you? I knew you were special, mate, but this only further confirms it,” he praised.

I blushed, burying my face against his chest. It was about that time his knot deflated enough to slip free. The wet sound of his cum gushing out of me had us both freezing.

“Well…” I started, only for him to interrupt with, “Fuck, I want to knot you all over again.”

With a laugh, I pushed off the bed and backed away from him. I could feel his seed dripping down my legs, but I refused to break eye contact with him.

“No more knotting yet, Alpha. We need to get clean and eat. I’m starved.”

His answering grin was laced with mischief. My mate prowled from the bed towards me. I stood frozen like the prey I was.

I didn’t feel any fear as he got closer. It was only lust rolling through me. Well, that and a need to eat to replenish my energy.

As if my body wanted to be sure I paid attention to that last part, my stomach rumbled between us. Hutton froze for a moment before bursting into laughter.

“Ok, so maybe the food is important after all. You go shower. I’ll make us something to eat.”

I frowned. “You don’t want to get cleaned up?”

“And lose the scent of your slick coating my cock? Absolutely not.” With a wink he left me standing with my jaw practically on the floor.