Page 17 of Bearly in Love

“There’s no other option,” Hudson said firmly. “If you try to kiss someone else while you’re mated, your bear will take over. Right, Eric?” He looked at one of the shifters I barely recognized.

“Right,” Eric said with a grimace.

Something told me he’d learned from experience.

Hudson had driven with us while Reed, his best friend, had picked up two other guys I’d met a handful of times.

“Am I allowed to ask how you figured that out?” Emily checked. “Because that’s kind of sketchy.”

“No.” Eric flashed her a glare.

“His mate ditched his ass after the clan paid her for letting him knock her up. He tried to take another woman home to ease the pain. Ended up shifting. Barely stopped himself from tearing the other chick apart. Which is why we’re here,” Eric’s friend Austin explained, gesturing to the backup Hudson had arranged.

“We’re married now,” Eric growled. “I won her over.”

“Your mate?” Emily checked.

“Obviously.”

“Easy.” Reed elbowed Eric. “We don’t need to start a fight with the kitsune.”

Eric grunted in agreement, and everyone looked at me again.

“No,” I said flatly. “It’s not happening.”

Kissing someone other than Madison sounded so fucking unappealing, I didn’t have words to describe it. It was just wrong.

“Here.” Hudson got up and crossed the room, leaning against the bar while he talked to the woman behind it. Rose, maybe? I vaguely recognized her. She was at least a year or two younger than me.

She laughed at something Hudson said, and nodded. He came back to the booth and gestured toward her. “Rosie already heard about the situation. She’s friends with Madison, and dating Greg.”

I had no idea who Greg was.

“One of the kitsunes,” he explained.

I didn’t see why that mattered.

“She agreed to a friendly, meaningless kiss, with the rest of us hovering behind you just in case your bear attacks her to get back at you for trying to betray your mate,” Hudson finished.

“I said no.”

“Look, man.” Reed leaned over the table, his forearms resting on the scratched surface. “If you really claimed Madison, she’s it for you. Even if she mates with the fox. She’ll be making the vow to him, so you won’t be able to have her. Even if you both want that.”

I snarled at the thought, fighting to stop myself from shifting.

“If they go through with the ceremony and the vows don’t actually work, the alpha is going to lose his mind and kill someone. Probably her,” Artie said bluntly.

“Just the thought of kissing someone else makes me want to kill something,” I snapped.

“Here’s a thought.” Hudson held up a finger, catching everyone’s attention. “If we don’t know how valid your claim is, the alpha won’t either.”

My eyes were narrow as I waited for him to get to his point.

“Would Madison have told him about the bite?” Emily checked.

“No.” Artie and I spoke at the same time.

Our eyes met briefly.

I knew her better than he did after my week with her, but we’d both grown up with her. There wasn’t a chance in hell she was disclosing something like that to the bastard unless she was forced to.

She’d ask forgiveness later, if she had to. And she was probably still trying to figure out a way out of the mate bond, hoping that she could make another escape and avoiding admitting the bite existed at all.

“That makes it easier,” Hudson said. “We can show up there tonight. We’ll bring enough guys to break through their security in case they don’t just let us in, and tell the alpha she’s already yours.”

“You’re not getting through their security tonight,” Artie said.

“They have all hands on deck right now. I’m sure they’re expecting you to go after Madison.

Grizzlies aren’t known for being laid-back about their territory, and they took her right out of yours.

Even if you weren’t interested in her romantically, you’d feel obligated to try to help her. ”

“So?” I growled.

“So we’re better off striking tomorrow morning,” Hudson stated. “How accurate is your intel about the time of the ceremony? And what are the odds they seal the bond before, just to make sure things go smoothly?”

“Striking? No one’s going to get hurt, right?” Emily checked.

Everyone looked at her.

Then each other.

Artie cleared his throat. “They’ll try not to hurt anyone, but a fox who puts themselves in the path of a pissed-off grizzly knows what he’s getting himself into.”

“We probably won’t kill them,” Reed said. “That’s good enough.”

“Is it, though?” Emily asked.

“They stole their alpha’s unwilling bride right out of his house.” Hudson gestured toward me. I clenched my jaw to stop myself from roaring again. I was losing my fucking mind. “What else do you want us to do in this situation? Start a dance-off?”

Emily grimaced. “That does sound more peaceful, but I get it. They were assholes, now they deal with the consequences. Which potentially includes physical injuries.”

“Or mental ones,” Reed said.

He grunted. I was pretty sure Hudson had kicked him beneath the table.

Artie changed the subject. “My intel is accurate. I’m the bride’s brother. I was invited to the ceremony. It won’t happen early—the alpha is too prideful. He’ll get more of a kick out of watching her give up her freedom in front of a crowd, too.”

“You told me that fucker would take care of her.” I couldn’t suppress another snarl. “For years, Artie. Fucking years .”

“He would take care of her. Just not in the way you apparently would,” Artie growled back.

“I don’t want to fucking mate with her.”

“Sounds like you already did,” Reed said. “Did you use a condom?”

I blinked.

The blood drained from my face.

“She may not be mated to you, but there’s a damn good chance you’re mated to her. Which means she could be pregnant. Right now.”

“Not right now . Pregnancy isn’t instantaneous,” Emily corrected.

“Well he can’t get the jizz out of her. It could very well be working its magic as we speak,” Eric tossed out.

Emily’s whole face wrinkled with disgust. “Gross. Don’t say that.”

“Regardless of how you put it, you mated her the way any other grizzly would,” Hudson said.

“If you’re not going to kiss someone else to see if it’s real, and you’re going to tell the alpha it is, you’re going to have to consider it real.

Which means she’s your mate. For better or worse.

If not now, then definitely after we get her away from him. ”

My heart beat harder.

Faster, too.

She’s your mate.

For better or worse.

Holy fuck.

I’d wanted her as long as I could remember… but I hadn’t wanted her as my mate. I hadn’t wanted to do that to anyone. Let alone Madison.

What if she was pregnant?

What if she didn’t accept me?

There were too many questions. Too fucking many. And no answers.

“How are we going to stop that bastard from going after her tonight?” Eric gestured toward me.

I growled at him.

Couldn’t stop myself.

“That’s a good question.” Hudson eyed me.

“He’s just going to have to suck it up and wait. Anything else will erase whatever chance we have at getting his mate out,” Reed said.

My mate.

Holy fucking fuck.

What was I thinking?

Madison was going to fucking kill me.

“I’ll make sure he stays put,” Artie said.

None of the grizzlies looked convinced.

“No offense, but I think a bear could get past you pretty easily. Even in your fox form,” Emily whispered to him.

“He can sleep on my couch,” Reed said. “My mate won’t care, and our oldest son will get a kick out of it.”

“If his mate is in her fiancé’s house, he’s not going to be sleeping,” Eric said.

He was right.

Everyone ordered drinks, and they all discussed the possible plans for tomorrow.

I didn’t discuss anything.

It took all of my energy just to keep myself from shifting and going after Madison on my own.

When we finally left the bar, I reluctantly got in the truck with Reed and the guys he’d picked up. They all talked about their mates, kids, and lives.

I stared out the window, wondering what I was going to say to Madi when I saw her tomorrow.

At her fucking wedding.

When I stopped it. Hopefully.

Or murdered her fucking fiancé and started a war between the bear shifters and the kitsunes.

We’d win, of course. But they’d put up a fierce fight. One none of us wanted.

So I should probably try not to kill him. No matter how badly I wanted to.

Reed dropped off the other two guys, and turned up the music for the drive to his place. When we got there, his wife and two little boys were already asleep, so he just tossed a pillow and blanket on the couch for me.

I grunted what I hoped sounded like a thank you. It probably didn’t.

I still wanted to shift and chase Madison down.

When morning came around, I was still staring at the ceiling.

Wrestling the bear in my chest, too.

I should’ve been exhausted, but every fucking part of me was on edge. Waiting. Worrying.

I itched to at least text or call Madi. Anything to make sure the alpha hadn’t hurt her or forced her to mate with him earlier than planned. But her phone was gone thanks to the car fire, and mine was back at my cabin.

A loud whisper caught my attention as the sun rose. I’d heard movement and quiet voices for five or ten minutes already.

“Why can’t I go in there? He’s not asleep. I can hear him breathing weird.”

I bit back a snort.

That must’ve been Reed’s oldest son. He was five or six. I couldn’t remember the kid’s name, though.

“He’s worried about his mate and probably wants privacy,” his mom murmured back. Her name was something bird-like. Raven. Or Robin, maybe.

“He doesn’t care,” Reed called from the bedroom. “He probably needs a distraction, anyway.”

“Like Legos?” the kid asked.

“Sure,” Reed agreed.

Fast footsteps followed as the kid ran into his bedroom. The sound of a bunch of tiny pieces crashing into each other echoed as he ran back down the hallway a minute later.

I looked at my torso when he set the bucket down on my abs.

Then looked at him.

His curly brown hair was a mess, and his pajamas had rocket ships on them. His skin was tan like Reed’s, and his eyes were the same gold color as his dad’s too. The dirt I could smell on his skin told me he spent a hell of a lot of time outdoors. Just like any happy shifter kid would.

He'd probably dug a little cave under the snow to reach the dirt. I’d done that a couple times when I was young, though I’d done it out of necessity rather than fun.

“We’re building a drone,” the kid said. His voice was cheerful.

“What kind of drone?” I asked.

He shrugged. “A good kind.”

I grunted.

How was I supposed to build a good kind of drone with Legos? What was that supposed to look like? What kinds of drones had the little punk even seen?

Sitting up, I set the tub of pieces on the couch next to me and dragged a hand through my hair.

“You stink,” the kid told me, his forehead creased as he focused on his drone.

I still didn’t know what it was supposed to look like, but I grabbed a couple of pieces anyway. Just to make it look like I knew what I was doing.

“I smell like my mate,” I said.

“Mom said she doesn’t know she’s your mate.”

I blinked, my fingers pausing with the two tiny pieces held awkwardly between them.

“I heard her talking to dad this morning. She thinks you’re crazy,” the kid added.

“She’s right.” I finally put two Legos together, side-eyeing his creation so I could try to mimic it. “What’s your name?”

“Parker.”

He didn’t ask my name, but I didn’t think he knew it.

He probably just didn’t care. I could respect that.

“What can these drones do, Parker?” I asked.

He shrugged. “Whatever we want. Shoot stuff. Fire things. Break walls. Do magic.”

My lips twitched. Just slightly. “Cool.”

“Yeah.” He looked at mine, and snorted. “Oh, you need way more pieces. Here.”

He started picking out the ones he thought would go well on my drone, explaining his reasoning for every one and chattering on about what powers the drones could have.

I was still fucking worried about my mate…

But Reed was right.

I’d needed something to occupy my mind for the last few hours before we went after Madison, and the kid was basically a walking and talking distraction.

I wasn’t going to let myself consider the fact that my mate might be growing a mini version of us herself at that moment.

That was too intense. I wasn’t ready. There were a ton of other problems to deal with first.

Namely, telling her she was mine and getting her back.

Or rather, getting her away . I would’ve had to have actually had her to get her back.

There was a good chance I’d need to fight for her… and I looked forward to it.

To anything that would lead to having her in my arms again.