Page 17 of Coveted By The Bear (When Worlds Collide #1)

“ A m I walking funny?” I asked, keeping my voice low since Miles had already told me about Shifter hearing.

“Uh, no. You okay?” he said against my ear, but he was growling and when I looked up, I saw why.

Oops.

A half dozen heads turned our way as we walked towards the front door and I wondered if maybe I misjudged what he meant exactly when he said they had ‘ good’ hearing.

“Miles Orson? Hi, I’m Taylor Devlin, Clan Keeper. You must be Hope,” the man, Taylor, said.

I noticed Shifters didn’t seem keen on shaking hands, so I kept mine loose at my side. Well, except for the one that was holding onto Miles like a lifeline.

“Yep. That’s my name,” I murmured nervously.

“Let me walk you to the room where you’ll be waiting until we are ready for you,” Taylor said, motioning us to walk ahead of him.

“Won’t I be with Miles?” I questioned.

“It’s okay, Pretty Girl. They probably want to ask me about some stuff,” he rumbled, rubbing the back of his neck.

It was a gesture I was starting to recognize. One that meant he was uncomfortable or anxious. I leaned into his side, pressing my body against his.

Something else I noticed about Miles, or maybe it was Bear, but he seemed to calm down whenever I touched him.

I liked that. I mean, I really liked touching him, so it was good I had a reason to otherwise he might think I was crazy or something.

“You’ll be safe here,” Miles murmured, placing his hands on my waist and pulling me towards him as we entered a comfortable looking sitting room.

There were huge couches in a large circle with tiny side tables between them. A soft, clean area rug sat in the middle along with a Lego table and a few tiny tables and chairs. It looked like the kind of set up a preschool might have.

Five seconds later, I found out why.

“Okay, now, everyone grab a toy and sit down and play nicely while I get us some snacks,” an older woman with gentle looking blue eyes told a group of seven rambunctious toddlers.

“Clary, is something wrong with the playroom?” Taylor asked, eyebrows raised.

Three of the little cuties waved to him and called him Daddy, and I had to bite my lip to keep from laughing out loud. He was trying so hard to stay formal.

“Hey munchkins, you be good for Nana Clary now,” he chided, but he was grinning all the same. He turned to us and sighed. “Pardon me one second.”

“Hey, it’s okay,” he said, but I was still worried.

“I wish I could go in with you now,” I told him.

“Everything will be fine. Don’t worry. I will make it right,” Miles whispered, squeezing my waist where his hands still held me.

“I know. Miles?”

“Yeah?”

“Let’s go, Orson,” Daniel Devlin, the tough man from last night, the Head Enforcer, stuck his head out of a door and called to Miles.

“Shit. I gotta go, Hope,” he said, kissing my knuckle.

“Okay, yeah. Um, I love you, too.” I blurted just when he was about to turn around.

His blue eyes blazed with feeling.

“I know my timing sucks. But you said it before, and I never said it back. I just wanted you to know I do. I love you. And if they tell you that you can’t stay here, then that’s okay. I’ll go anywhere you want. As long as we’re together.”

Miles closed the space between us and pulled me tight against his body.

“I love you so fucking much, woman. I’ll try my best not to let that happen. Love you, Mate,” he said again, kissing me hard on the mouth before turning away and walking into that room where I couldn’t see him or hear him or anything at all.

I sucked in a breath and covered my mouth, hardly noticing the two women bracketing me, one on either side.

“Let’s sit here while the cubs have their snack, okay?” a gentle-looking woman with curly hair said quietly.

“How about some tea? Or would you prefer water?” a curvy blonde asked.

“Oh, um, water would be nice.”

“I’m Krissy, Taylor’s mate, and that’s Leya, she’s mated to the Alpha,” Krissy explained.

“Oh, um, so mated is like married, right? Then I guess I am Hope, Miles’ mate,” I said, stumbling through the introduction.

“That’s right. But you can still get legally married. I am and so is Leya and plenty of the other women in the Clan.”

“Clan?”

“The Barvale Clan started as just Black Bear Shifters, but we’ve got quite the assortment now. Polars and Grizzlies, not to mention a few Foxes.”

“Really?”

“Don’t forget us normals,” Leya butted in and grinned as she handed me a glass of water.

“You’re human and you are mated to the Alpha? But don’t you turn into, um, a Bear after you mate him?” I asked, shocked, but a little hopeful, too.

“No! Shifters are born, not made. So, even though he can share some of his magic with me. Like longevity, I don’t turn into anything but this. Well, except for when I turn into a raving lunatic once a month, but blame Mother Nature for that,” Leya muttered, and Krissy laughed.

“So it isn’t against the law or anything for Shifters to mate humans?” I asked.

“Our Head Enforcer is mated to a human, too,” Leya said.

She seemed nice, and I liked how open she was. Sweet and pretty, too, no wonder she’d caught the Alpha’s eye.

“Wait, so the Head Enforcer, that Daniel guy also has a human mate? But he was such a dick about it,” I said and slapped a hand over my mouth.

“Sounds about right. The only people Daniel is ever sweet with are his mate and his cubs,” Krissy explained with an indulgent roll of her eyes.

“Now, if I understand correctly, you are a Barvale native?” Leya asked.

I nodded.

“Yes. I grew up here, but I moved away for college. Then I went to New York to live with my boyfriend. Well, my ex. We broke up a few months ago, and I came home. My mother retired and went South, and my brother is in the military. I took out a mortgage and bought my childhood home, intending to make a life here, but I guess now it’s all up in the air,” I said, allowing the rest to trail off.

“Is he worth it?” Krissy asked.

“Oh, yes. I mean, I know I don’t know everything about him. But the second I saw him, I just knew. It was like something clicked inside me, telling me he was special. I know it’s nuts, but I love him,” I confessed.

Shit.

I hadn’t realized how crazy my life was until I said it, spilling all that tea like these women had any reason to care.

“Hope, it’s okay. We understand,” Leya said earnestly and squeezed my hand.

One of the toddlers yelled, catching her attention, and she excused herself. I was left with Krissy and while she was very kind, I couldn’t help but wish I was with someone I knew.

“I am so sorry for what you are going through. I imagine this is very strange for you,” she said.

“It is. I mean, I meant it when I said I loved him. I do. But I am so worried about him,” I whispered and bit my lower lip.

“The waiting is the worst part. But I promise the council is fair and the Devlin brothers are the best men I know,” Krissy murmured.

I silently agreed with her about the waiting part. As for the Devlin men, well, I didn’t really know them.

The minutes ticked by so slowly. I rubbed my arms, even though the temperature in the room was comfortable.

Closing my eyes, I forced myself to slow the speeding of my pulse. I really missed Miles. And I hated he might be kicked out of town for protecting me. It all seemed so unfair.

“Hope?”

I turned towards the familiar voice and saw Betty standing in the doorway, looking uncertain.

“Betty,” I said, glad to see a familiar face.

Her wobbly smile told me all I needed to know, and I stood up and ran to my friend. We hugged, and she sobbed her apologies.

“I am so sorry I had to keep secrets from you,” she said, and I nodded.

“It’s okay. I understand,” I began when she tipped her head and sniffed me.

“Oh my Gods! You’re mated!”

“I am,” I replied with a wide grin.

“Wow! Congratulations, but I guess you feel kind of scared about all this now. Are you scared of me?” she murmured.

“Oddly enough, I’m not. I mean, I haven’t really met Miles’ Bear yet, but he told me he would show him to me after all this, you know, when we know what we’re doing,” I replied.

“And are you really sure about him,” she asked.

I felt the stares of everyone in the room. All of them were focused on me. I straightened my spine and told the absolute truth.

“I am more certain of Miles Orson than I’ve ever been of anyone in my entire life.”