Page 22 of Beary Mated Christmas

I took out the salmon I’d grilled up yesterday and flaked it, turning it into a salmon salad and piled it with tomatoes and lettuce all served on the crusty bread we’d picked up from the local bakery. It was the kind of meal you’d expect a bear shifter to make, but my mate had taken to loving salmon lately.

He said maybe he was having a cub-bear. And maybe he was. But as long as they were happy and healthy, I didn’t care what our little one would be.

I grabbed a bag of chips, poured some onto both our plates, and sat at the table waiting for him to come out. Some days, he was super-fast with his showers, the warm water a little too much for him, and other days, he’d have it blasting full force and stay in there for half an hour.

Pregnancy was wild. So wild. And I was only watching it from the outside. I couldn’t imagine what it was like for him.

When he came out, he had his pajama pants slung low on his hips and no shirt. And, being his mate, I didn’t even try to hide the fact that I was enjoying the view, especially his adorable bump.

“Denali,” he said with a sleepy smile, “you’re wanting to skip dinner and go straight to dessert.”

If he hadn’t been pregnant, I would’ve lifted him up and carried him straight to bed—but he needed rest. They both did.

“Baby needs the vitamins.” I pointed to his sandwich, and he picked it up and took a huge bite.

“This is so good,” he said a few minutes later, his mouth full. “I’ve never had salmon salad. So much better than tuna.”

“It’s different than tuna,” I said. “I’m not sure I’d say it’s better, but it’s definitely good.”

He started yawning as he ate. When he was done, I cleaned up the dishes, grateful for the dishwasher we had installed, truly the best investment ever and then joined him on the couch.

He snuggled up beside me, letting out a long breath. “I want you,” he murmured. “But I’m too tired. Maybe we’ll take a quick nap first.”

I kissed the top of his head. “You need to get a good night’s sleep, love. Grow my sweet baby.”

“That’s not as fun,” he mumbled, but his eyes were already closed.

“I’ll just have to have morning sex, then,” I whispered with a smile.

He hugged me a little tighter. “Night, mate. Thank you for being you. And for waiting for me.”

“Thank you for waiting for me,” I whispered back.

He didn’t hear me, though. His soft breaths had already evened out. He was fast asleep. I carried him to our bed and I climbed in beside him. My sweet mate, still asleep, snuggled right in close to me, as if he couldn’t be away despite being in dreamland. I was a lucky, lucky bear.

“See you in the morning, omega mine.” I closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep, my entire world cuddled up with me.

Chapter Sixteen

Abel

I was getting tired of donuts. Something I never thought I’d say. My mate, loving person that he was, always made sure I had a fresh one every morning. Unfortunately, I’d gone from craving donuts to egg rolls, and I didn’t know how to tell him that.

This baby had their own ideas about what they wanted and when, and it wasn’t just that I didn’t crave the donuts anymore. They made me queasy. I’d taken to hiding them in the wastebasket and feeling very guilty about the whole thing.

After working up my courage to tell him at least five times, I began to feel foolish. How hard could it be to let my mate, who only wanted to give me what I wanted, know what I actually did want?

Unfortunately, it was difficult for me to get an egg roll because the local town did not have a Chinese restaurant, and a quick internet check showed that the closest one was over an hour away. Which was not even reasonable to request from my mate. Not just for an appetizer. How silly.

But then, one day, he came into the bedroom very excited. “Mate, we have to go to Wesleyville. They have the best baby store there, and look.” He sat on the bed next to me and showed me the set we’d been admiring online, but the price listed was 20 percent less. Want to go today? We can go out to lunch, too. Make a day of it.”

“I love that set. That was the highest rated crib for comfort and safety.”

We were in the car and on the way so fast, I caught Denali giving me strange looks more than once. But I was so excited to be going to that little town because not only did they have discount baby furniture—which was, of course, themost important thing, but also the Chinese restaurant I’d been reading about.

The store was awesome, and they actually had what we wanted in stock and could deliver it to us the following week. I amazed myself at sticking to the exact items we’d wanted and not going off plan because the place had so much nursery furniture, all at good prices, and much of it was really nicely made. I could see any of it in the room my mate and I were preparing for our baby. But we’d done so much research on the one set and so…it was ours. I patted my belly. “Like it, little one?”

“What did they say?” Denali answered, placing his hand over mine. “Do they like it?”