Page 72 of The Grizzly Situation

“Did you hang up on me again?” I queried.

“A human?” Sandy asked.

Not a question that it was a he, only that he was human. “Yes. Let me tell you about him.”

So I did. From our initial meeting to the boys calling him Momma, I detailed everything.”

“So the boys shifted? That’s amazing. This Uly must be something special.”

“I think he is. He’ll be living in town, staying in the mansion.”

“Good. You needed someone and Uly sounds like the right person for the job.”

“You don’t care he’s a man?”

A very inelegant snort from Sandy. “Oh, come on. Most bears I know have had dalliances with members of the same sex at some point in their lives. Some even settle down together permanently. It’s not a shock at all. But why him?”

So I went through the whole thing about mates that Chaim and Benjy had dropped on me. When I finished, Tom chuckled.

“Sandy smells like the lake on a cool, misty morning. I could lay in bed and be surrounded by that scent all day.”

“Mates,” I whispered, my mind reeling that others knew too.

“Yup. I always knew it. I remember the stories that used to be told, about how we had someone out there that was perfect for us. I knew, the very instant I met Sandy, she was the one for me. Then your father forbid spreading the tales, saying we were hurting our own people by giving them such lofty hopes.”

How many lives had he ruined by not allowing mates to be discussed? The more I learned, the less I liked the man.

“Though I am surprised about it not being just one mate. I’m glad, though. I wouldn’t like the idea of someone finding their mate, then being alone if something happened to them. Seems like the Fates are looking out for us.”

“Do you think we can do a call one night so we can say hi to the boys and meet Uly?”

I swallowed hard against the lump in my throat. “You’d want to meet Uly?”

“Of course. If you love him, then he’s got to be someone special,” Sandy said.

I must have hedged too long.

“Youdolove him, right?” Tom questioned.

“I do, but….”

“Get it out. Tell us what’s on your mind. And if you don’t, we’ll be turning around and headed home tonight,” Tom insisted.

“He’s human,” I whispered.

“Yes, that’s been established. So are you. So are we. Your point?”

“What if I hurt him? I mean….” Ugh. How did you talk to a woman old enough to be your mother about sex?

“You’re worried about hurting him during sex, right?” she asked.

“Yes’m,” I barely got out, my cheeks heating.

“We understand that we’re aggressive. The stories we could tell you about things we’ve done…..”

“Oh, God, please don’t. No need to add emotional trauma to my list of issues.”

He chuckled. “You’re not an animal, Mr. Lockhart. You’re part of an incredible melding of a being that had existed forever. Unless you’re planning on rutting with Uly in form, you can be gentle.”