Page 82 of His Stubborn Bear

We finally went into the house, and my whole family was there. Of course, they’d gone all out. There was enough food for the next few days. The co-sleeper had been moved to our room. I sat in my mate’s arms and watched as my sons were fawned over and thanked my lucky stars, I’d found my way home.

Epilogue - Gabe

“I’msurprised by how well the direct orders are doing. I shouldn’t be because my mate and Rhys did such a wonderful job,” I mused, looking over the numbers for the last quarter. We’d rolled out Kian and Rhys’s joint effort just eight months ago, and it had definitely shown in our profits. “Who knew people preferred to grab their Thanksgiving turkeys and Christmas hams online and not have to go to the store? And the bundles are doing so well.”

“Rhys and Kian,” Bailey replied. “And they knew people wouldn’t stop there. We’ve not had a single order since we started. It’s like most people get on, and they figure if I’m buying this, I may as well buy in bulk.”

I laughed. “I guess I underestimated the convenience factor.”

“Yup, we should just let the omegas run things. They seem to know better,” Bailey pointed out.

“I will be telling my mate you said that,” I told my assistant.

She snorted. “It’s the truth.”

“Yeah,” I agreed. “Because I never thought our company would ever do faux meat, but of course, the profit margin on it has definitely been worthwhile.”

“Getting a couple of shifter influencers didn’t hurt,” she added. “And I thought Kian told you not to call it faux-meat anymore. They’re meat substitutes.”

“I know. I know.” I waved her off. “Our non-meat-eating shifters have been very happy.”

“Like I said, the omegas are smarter than you,” Bailey said.

“This is exactly what Rhys wanted when he started this whole rebrand scheme.” I couldn’t help smiling thinking about that day almost two years ago. I would never stop being grateful Rhys had out-stubborned me because my mate and family were everything to me.

Kian was not only an amazing mate; he was also a wonderful father. And between him and Rhys, our business had grown.

“The website traffic was over fifty-thousand, and I think we can triple that for Easter,” Bailey added, studying the numbers on her tablet. “But if we want to deliver direct-to-door past our backyard, we may have to revisit opening CBF warehouses in certain locations.”

“I’ll discuss it with the family in the next meeting, see what they think. I wouldn’t want us expanding too fast and running into problems. The western United States is already a lot of ground.”

We talked a little more about the business, going over what was needed and making sure everything was running smoothly.

With this being my last minute today, I left just before six. Sometimes, I thought about my old self still here till nine, no one to go home to. And even though my house was a lot louder, definitely stickier, I wouldn’t change it or trade it for anything else.

I didn’t dread going home to the oppressive quiet. Nope, there were usually people screamingDaddyas soon as I walked in the door and Kian looking at me like no one ever had. I would never tire of seeing the happiness in his eyes when I walked in the door.

I pulled into the garage and jumped out of my UTV. When I entered the kitchen, there was no one there, and then I heard the voices coming from the backyard through the open sliding door in the kitchen.

I left my laptop bag on the counter and followed the sounds; I walked out and saw my mate sitting cross-legged on a carpet, two little bear cubs against his thigh.

“They shifted,” I gasped in awe.

Kian smiled up at me. “Yeah. I was trying to keep them shifted until you came home.”

I lowered my head and kissed my mate softly. “Hey, baby,” I whispered.

Kian’s eyes crinkled. “Hey, babe.”

Our boys woke up and saw me and immediately shuffled over, nipping at my ankles. I grinned and squatted so they could reach me, and I pulled both my boys into my arms.

“You’re so smart,” I cooed at them. At eighteen months, they were early on their first shift.

Beau managed to balance on his hind legs but not for long, and Kian praised him. Rhett rolled on his back, and I rubbed his belly. Gods, could my life be any better?

Kian gave me a knowing smile. “You’re dying to change and play with them, aren’t you?”

I grinned. “You know me so well, mate.”

Kian held our little guys as I got undressed quickly. I walked down the patio steps and let the shift overtake me, and Kian walked down with a bear cub in each arm. He stopped in front of me, and I leaned my head against his belly.

Kian put our sons down and pushed his hand through my fur. I purred, and my mate laughed and stepped back. “Go have fun with our sons.”

I ran and was chased by two little cubs. Yeah, I thanked Urs that Rhys had been his usual self because I wouldn’t have any of this.

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