Page 19 of Beary Mated Christmas

It was fun doing this together. My bear loved hunting, but it had always been a solo activity for us. The two of us working in tandem was amazing.

After we’d had our fill, it was my turn to lead. I found a small brook. There were no fish, which was a shame, because rabbit followed by fish would have been my bear’s perfect day. Once upon a time, Abel and I used to hike together, and I suppose this was similar to that, only in our fur. Maybe we enjoyed it so much back then because a part of us knew this was going to be our future.

All the years lost. I tried not to focus on that because that decade apart made us who we were today. And who Abel was, was exactly the omega I wanted to be with.

We slowed, moving side by side. If any humans had been in the woods, they would’ve first freaked out that there was a polar bear here, and then wondered why a wolf and a bear were justchilling together. It amused me, but it also made me think I’d like to have a picture of us like this. Maybe next Christmas, I’d do a photo shoot of us in the woods.

And look at me, already looking forward to next Christmas, a holiday I used to hate and dread.

The last time we’d shifted together on Christmas Eve had been so very different. That night, my heart broke into a thousand pieces. Now, my heart was so full of love, it was about to burst.

Abel stopped short and shifted, not caring that he was in the middle of the woods and it was cold. I did the same.

“Everything okay?” I asked.

He took my hand and pulled me down beside him. “Better than okay. Look up.”

In the tree above us, someone had hung mistletoe. It wasn’t naturally growing mistletoe like I’d assumed. The owners had clearly hung it there, but I didn’t care.

It gave me an excuse to kiss my mate.

“Can’t disobey the mistletoe,” I murmured, brushing my lips against his.

“Nope. It’s like Christmas law.”

He kissed me back, this time deeper and longer, and if the cold breeze hadn’t cut through our skin, we’d probably have stayed there longer.

“This is a much better shift than our first one,” he said, nipping my bottom lip. “But it’s time to run because I am cold.”

He took three steps back and shifted, bolting toward the cabin. I took my fur and followed him. This time, it was a race. I might be larger and my strides longer, but my mate was fast, and he reached the steps moments before I did.

“I won!” he called.

“And what does the winner get?” I asked.

“You’ll see.” He took my hand and led me inside. “You’ll see.”

He tugged me inside and straight to the bedroom where we spent the next few hours enjoying each other’s bodies, talking about our future.

It was already the best Christmas ever and we hadn’t even gotten to the big day. Tonight, we would probably hit up the sing-along at the main lodge and toast some s’mores over the fire. We had skipped pretty much every activity they’d had, our focus on each other. But singing and toasted marshmallows sounded like the perfect way to welcome in Christmas.

Our first Christmas of our forever. I could hardly wait.

Chapter Fourteen

Abel

I woke to the sight of snow piled up outside the cabin and more flurries coming down by the second. Patting the bed beside me, I groaned. It was warm but empty.

“Where are you?” I asked in a normal tone, knowing his shifter hearing could pick it up throughout the cabin.

“I’m here. Making my lovely omega a Christmas breakfast.”

Lovely. If only he could see my hair sticking up in a hundred different directions. I could feel it.

My eyes flew open, and I realized it was Christmas.

It was Christmas with my mate. Our first one. And here I was, sleeping the day away.