Page 8 of Beary Mated Christmas

In the dream plane, I spent most of a day with Denali, with my mate. Most of it would was nothing exciting to most people, but they hadn’t spent a decade missing the person closest to them for all of their life up until that fateful Christmas Eve.

And his scent, while it might not be the one I sought in real life, in the dream? It was everything. I didn’t even know there was a sense of smell in dreams. If I had ever experienced it before, I didn’t recall. We spent the hours visiting a farmer’s market, having lunch in a café, and hiking in beautiful woods with mature trees shading our path. It was…the best dream I’d ever had. When I was young, before the shift, I’d had a few and they were very physical in nature, but somehow this was better.

My young self was all about getting naked and exploring the sensual side of mating. And I wanted that, no lie, but my more mature self wanted more. Wanted days and nights of talking and eating and exploring the world together. Cooking dinners and doing laundry. Joking and holding hands and laughing. I wanted it all and for a while, my subconscious gave that to me before I woke up to the reality of where I was this holiday season.

Somewhere I had never thought I’d ever be again. With Denali. And not only with him but in bed with him. I’d fallen asleep on my own side of the bed, but sometime during that lovely dream, I’d cuddled up to him. As if he really were mymate. My dream may not have included the physical side of mating, but it didn’t mean I wouldn’t welcome that as well. Denali might not be my mate but without a lot of options, I decided to make the most of the time we had together.

Easing away from him, I put one foot on the floor before the bear coughed and rolled over, making the bed creak.

“Where are you going?”

“The bathroom,” I said, standing up before I allowed temptation to send me tumbling back among the covers and into his side. “And then to make coffee.”

“That sounds great.” He snuggled down and pulled the blankets up around his shoulders. “I think I’ll stay in bed and wait until that’s done.”

“You do that.” I padded off to shower and brush my teeth then returned to find that coffee making involved a stovetop percolator, something I’d never used before. I was going to ask Denali if he knew anything about it, but a glance over my shoulder showed his eyes closed, and his even breaths confirmed he’d returned to sleep. But how hard could it be to figure out?

Hard enough that by the time the brew was bubbling up into the glass-top thingy, the bear had finished his mini hibernation and was up and getting dressed. He came into the kitchen area and studied what I was doing—which was making toast at this point.

“Did you bring jam?” he asked. “I forgot.”

“Christmas jam. A gift made by a student’s mother.” I pushed the jar toward him. “I’m not sure what that means exactly, but I gathered it was her specialty, and getting it is a sign of the highest esteem.”

“Sounds good. What can I do to help?”

“Depends on what you want for breakfast.” I studied the perking coffee. “Do you think it’s done?”

“How long has it been doing that?”

I shrugged. “I was probably supposed to time it.”

“I think so, but since I don’t know for how long, does it look dark enough?”

We decided it did, and when I took my first sip, I lifted my chin with pride. “Best coffee I ever made,” I told him. “I have an idea. Why don’t we have coffee and toast now then take the animals out for a run?” I felt like I was making myself utterly vulnerable, considering what happened the last time. But he couldn’t break my heart again, could he? And it wasn’t his fault the first time. He couldn’t help it if Fate hadn’t chosen him for me, and therefore he just smelled like a wet bear. “My wolf would love to get out there and blow off some steam.”

“Okay, let’s do that.”

We drank my coffee, ate the toast with Christmas jam that we thought might have strawberries, cranberries, and pineapple. In any case, delicious, and a made a mental note to compliment the mom when school started again.

“It’s beautiful out there,” Denali said, peeking out the front window. “Ready to run?”

I set our toast plates by the sink. “I can wash these later.”

“We can.” He opened the door and stepped outside, leaving me staring after him. It wasn’t that alphas couldn’t wash dishes. It was that they never actually did. Not in our pack. “Come on.”

I joined him, staying just inside the doorway. “Maybe leave our clothes inside?” They were going to get awfully damp out in the snow.

“Oh, good idea. He stripped off his sweatshirt and tossed it onto a chair, revealing what the clothing had not done a great job of hiding anyway. My bear…the bear had been solid when we hung out together, but in the past ten years, he’d developed an impressive musculature that had my jaw dropping and my cock hard.

Mate.My wolf had just the best timing.

No. We know he’s not.I mean, wouldn’t we be getting the mate scent we’d expected.We just love him anyway.

Because he’s our mate.My wolf, in addition to his timing, was the most stubborn beast ever. And there was no arguing with him. Especially when I wanted him to be right. So, I didn’t argue, just undressed and hoped my leaner form didn’t suffer in comparison. But a moment later, my wolf surged up to take dominance, and we bounded out into the backyard. Turning, I just caught the final moment of Denali’s shift. Even more magnificent than I remembered if that was even possible. His fur thick and dense, claws long and sharp. A true apex predator, with the most intelligent eyes.

We gamboled about the yard for a bit before heading into the deeper snow in the forest nearby. My wolf was thrilled to be with the bear, preening and leaping and generally showing off, while the polar bear didn’t have to do anything to be impressive except exist. Not that my wolf wasn’t terrific, but he agreed with my admiration for the bear.

We stayed out for a long time, chasing one another and bounding through snowdrifts for fun. Both our animals were equipped with thick coats well able to keep us warm for as long as we chose to stay out, and the scents of pine and clean, fresh air were intoxicating. At the back of my mind, a warning ticked—nothing had changed. He still smelled like a bear. But the rush of the whole experience made it hard to remember that. Or care.