Page 31 of Cowboy Bear’s Hope (Motley Crewd Shifters #3)

W aking up every morning with my mate wrapped up in my arms was just about as close to heaven as a Bear like me could ever hope to get.

I still couldn’t believe she was mine.

Lucky, that’s what I was.

We’d had a rocky start, but every trial and tribulation had been more than worth it.

Avery snuggled closer to me and I nuzzled her neck, breathing in her sweet scent, and that of the cub growing in her belly.

My Bear pawed at the ground, chuffing happily at the thought of our young. We already had one healthy cub who was growing like a weed and making my heart so full, but to be blessed with another so soon after claiming my mate?

Well, I used to think the Fates hated me, but now I know better.

Making things tough only meant you had to work harder before you could reap the benefits.

I came from a Clan that was backwards and cruel, but my mother had done her best by me.

There were times when I feared I would be nothing more than a monster for that uncouth prick, my former Alpha and his Clan of fucking filth. I heard he got his, and really, it couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy.

Sarcasm intended.

My path had been different, and I couldn’t be happier.

Finding this place, answering Max’s ad, and working my ass off were what turned the tide for me. Still, I was lucky. And I wouldn’t forget it.

I would spend every day for the rest of my life taking care of my girls, and our other cubs, boy or girl, and making sure they were safe and content, blissfully happy.

My mother used to tell me hope was a powerful thing. It kept people loyal even when times were tough.

I never gave out hope that Avery would accept my claim, and look at me now.

“What’s that smile for, Baby?” she asked, and i felt her eyes on me.

I looked down at her, adoration blanketing me like something tangible, love for her heating me from inside like a furnace.

“I was just thinking,” I said, kissing her nose.

“Yeah? What were you thinking?”

“That Rosie might like a wagon for Trixie to pull. Something she could sit in and hold her new brother or sister. They could go for rides together,” I said, liking the idea more as I said it.

“Oh Dante, that would be so sweet. But this baby isn’t going to be here for a while,” she said.

“I know. Meanwhile, she can help me build it.”

Avery’s entire face seemed to glow with her happiness, and I felt ridiculously proud to be the man who made her feel that way.

“Dante Bianco you are without a doubt the best man, the best mate, and the best father I ever saw,” she whispered, her voice breaking at the end.

Pride filled me. And love. So much love, I thought I might burst.

“You make me a better man. I love you, Honey,” I said, kissing her sweet lips.

Her body warmed beneath my hands, and the heady scent of arousal, hers and mine, permeated the air.

“I love you, too,” she moaned as I kissed her neck, licking over the first mating mark I’d given her.

She shivered in response and I grinned. My cock hardened , aching to be inside her soft, wet heat. I growled as I licked and kissed, exploring her gorgeous body.

Oh, but I liked being mated.

“I like it too, mate. Now are you going to claim me again or what?”

“Yes. Right now,” I said, and I thanked the Fates for gifting me this woman right.

Then I claimed her again, just because I could.

Mine.