Page 9 of Wooded Bliss (Mated to the Monster: Season 3)

BIRDIE

It’s been a few days since I woke up to find myself alone in my bed. I knew I hadn’t dreamed the night before because my body was deliciously sore, and I could still feel the ghost of Thatcher’s touch. While I was a little confused, I couldn’t find it in me to believe everything he said and the moments we shared in the silence, between the pleasure we found with each other, were bullshit.

I looked into Thatcher’s eyes and saw the depth of his emotion. He meant his apology. He meant his claiming.

Even now, in his absence, I don’t feel like he came out of hiding only to take advantage of me. Maybe I’m just na?ve.

Hell, maybe every word out of his mouth was a manipulation. He could have been with hundreds of women instead of giving his body to me and only me just like I gave my body to only him.

My gut tells me everything was very real between us. It’s my head that’s been trying to keep me grounded in reality. I certainly wouldn’t be the first woman taken in by pretty words and smoldering good looks.

Since I’ve been only slightly better than useless the last few days, it’s time to get my shit together, find my bravery, and confront the situation head on. I won’t let Thatcher run, if that’s what he’s doing. And if everything he said was a way to get in my pants, then he’s going to face me and admit it.

Which is why the second I close Blooms Happen, I march right over to my delivery van, which is also my personal vehicle because having two seems like a waste of money. I climb in and slam the door with panache and determination.

On the drive, I take in the scenery. I love the forests surrounding Whispering Pines. The trees are tall, and wildlife has a chance to thrive out here because people respect nature and the importance of protecting it. I’m grateful to live in a place where there isn’t a lot of deforestation and development. We don’t need any of that here.

My stomach starts to knot more and more the closer I get to the road that leads to the giant lodge and then Thatcher’s home. I slow as I pass the lodge, wondering who lives there. I don’t have to wonder very long because I notice Grady on the front porch. His mouth opens and closes a few times, the shock clearly written across his face, but I don’t stop to say hello.

I’m pretty sure if I stop now then I’ll turn around. And I have a certain giant of a man to confront.

Refusing to lose any steam, I climb out of my van the moment I park in front of Thatcher’s place. There’s a certain stillness in the air and my heart sinks because I know, without even going to the door and knocking, Thatcher isn’t home.

How do I know that? It doesn’t make any damn sense, but I just know I’m right.

As I huff out a breath, I contemplate what my next move should be. Is Thatcher over at the lodge? If Grady lives there, then it’s possible Thatcher spends a lot of time there. For some reason, the thought doesn’t feel quite right.

Even though I try and keep my focus on the front of the cabin, my eyes keep drifting to the side of Thatcher’s home and into the trees. I get the same feeling I had the other night when I walked out into my backyard and met that bear.

How strange.

Before I can decide what to do, my eyes widen as the same bear I met days ago lumbers out of the trees. He doesn’t stop until he’s only a few feet away from me, his eyes fixed on me the entire time. This time I don’t feel any fear which surprises me.

A very large brown bear is far too close to me for comfort, but everything in me wants to run to the bear and throw my arms around his neck. It would be stupid to give into those impulsive thoughts, but they’re there all the same.

“What is wrong with me?” I mutter the words more to myself than anything else.

I’m certainly not talking to the bear. That would be silly. Maybe. I think.

Something like understanding lights up in the depths of the bear’s eyes and he takes a step closer to me. I should back up, slowly of course, but I don’t. My heart should be pounding in my chest, but the peacefulness I feel in this bear’s presence has me relaxing instead of freaking out.

The bear must take my reaction, or lack thereof considering my stillness, as permission because he steps even closer. I can feel the heat coming off his large bear body. He takes a deep breath, moving the air around me and I swear his eyes roll back in his head.

“I never thought I’d have a woodland princess moment, but here I am,” I whisper.

The bear’s lip curls back and then something changes in the air. I don’t know how to describe it; it’s like the barometric pressure changes or something. One moment I’m looking at a huge brown bear and then within seconds, Thatcher is standing in front of me.

Right where the bear was.

And he’s naked.

My mouth falls open and my entire body freezes. I have no idea how to begin to process what just happened.

Is this when I run? Should I scream?

Nothing comes out of my mouth even when I do open it. My feet won’t move either. So, I guess both those options are out.

“What the fuck just happened?” My voice is so high that Thatcher winces. Or maybe he winces because, you know, he just went from being a bear to being a human right in front of me. “You were just a bear,” I screeched like he doesn’t know what just happened.

I’m internally screaming at my feet to move, to run. But I don’t.

Considering the man in front of me just shape shifted, or whatever, he’s far too close to me. That’s not even mentioning how naked he is right now.

“I am a bear,” his voice is soft, like he’s talking to a skittish animal.

My eyes widen at his easy admittance. How is he so casual about this whole thing? I have so many questions without a clue where to start.

“You were just,” I wave my hands over his body to try and encompass what I just witnessed, “and then you turned into this.”

“I did, Birdie,” he says my name like a prayer.

“I don’t understand,” I look up at him, pleading for him to explain what the fuck I just witnessed.

“I’m a bear shifter,” he starts, and I open my mouth, but he cuts me off, answering the question I didn’t get to say out loud, “and so are my brothers.”

“Bear shifter,” I mutter.

I look him over again without a single clue as to what I’m looking for. While I didn’t get to fully appreciate the man in front of me the other night—because I was too busy getting lost in an orgasm fog—I’m looking now.

Thatcher has a bear paw print tattoo on his chest. How did I not notice it the other night?

“Yes,” Thatcher starts to reach for me, but whatever he sees on my face has him dropping his hand as he frowns. “I’ll try and give you all the important information about this. I’ll also answer any questions you have.”

I nod while swallowing hard, the revelation he’s just laid at my feet barely passing my lips as a whisper, “Bear shifter.”

Thatcher smiles, but it doesn’t quite reach his eyes where I see worry and fear. “All sorts of shifters live with other shifters, mostly their own kind, in packs. There is a hierarchy in every pack, no matter what kind of shifter they are. My father used to be the Alpha until his death ten years ago. Now Ripp is the Alpha.” His sentences are simple, like he can tell I’m about a second away from losing it completely. “We can shift into our bears when we turn 18, but it’s not the only reason turning 18 matters.”

His eyes are focused on me and it’s almost like he’s willing me to understand and take what he’s saying at face value and not hold any of it against him. I won’t make promises I don’t intend to keep and I’m not sure what is about to happen.

“When a bear turns 18, they can also find their fated mate.”

I suck in a breath and stumble slightly. Before Thatcher can touch me, I right myself and get my shit together.

“Fated mate?” I tilt my head back and look at him.

His mouth is turned down in a scowl and there’s a wariness about him I hate. Even though I want to wrap my arms around him and comfort him, I hold myself back. This is a huge thing he’s told me; one I don’t take lightly. I know he’s trusting me with something big, but I’ve been thrown for a loop at the same time.

“Every shifter has a fated mate. They are the other half of our souls, and we are destined for them, to be one with them. When fated mates meet, they know their mate by their scent.” My heart sinks more with each word; there is no way I’m Thatcher’s fated mate. I’m human. “Then there are the tingles.”

I perk up and blink at the man in front of me, the bear shifter in front of me. “Tingles?”

“Yes,” he grins from ear to ear seeing a spark of excitement because knowing tingles are involved in this whole fated mate thing gives me hope. “Tingles. And a feeling of peace and rightness whenever you are near your mate.”

“But you’re a bear shifter and wouldn’t be mated to a human,” I try and keep the desolation out of my voice, but it’s there in the recesses of my words.

Thatcher shakes his head slowly, “A bear shifter could be, would be, mated to a human if the Moon Goddess makes it so.”

For some reason, the memory of what brought me all the way out here to see Thatcher comes to the forefront of my mind. I narrow my eyes at my mate, even though he hasn’t said it outright. I can read between the lines.

Fuck. Why am I not freaking out?

I tap my chin as if I’m thinking before spitting out the words, not caring how the man in front of me can shift into a giant predator, “Would a mate pop up, fuck their mate, and then disappear from said mate’s bed without a word?”

Thatcher winces and has the decency to look chagrined and ashamed. Good. It’s a start.

“I’m sorry,” he whispers softly.

I gasp when he scoops me up into his arms and starts to stride toward his cabin. The only thing I can do is wrap my arms around his neck and hold on. He doesn’t talk again until he’s walked inside and settled on a huge couch in his living room with me on his lap.

I’m not entirely sure how I feel about how unbothered he is about being naked as the day he was born. It’s not like I mind, necessarily, but it is kind of distracting.

The man looks damn good with clothes on. But without them? I’m trying not to lose myself in the lust wanting to overtake me. The tingles aren’t helping either.

His chest has a nice amount of hair and the memory of the way it felt against my skin is distracting as hell.

“I freaked out,” Thatcher’s voice pulls me out of my lustful thoughts, but just barely. “I’m sure you heard about the death of my parents,” he begins, and I nod as I stare into his dark brown eyes, hating the pain I see there. “Ever since then I’ve been telling myself I don’t want a mate.”

Pain slices through me and my breathing becomes labored. Does he mean he doesn’t want me? I just found him. Should this be hurting so much?

“Shit,” he curses under his breath before gripping my chin and forcing me to look at him. His words come out quickly, but with conviction. “I was afraid of losing someone else who mattered so much to me, and with a mate it would be even worse. It was enough for me to devote myself to helping raise my younger brothers and live out here in the forest. But then you showed up with a flower delivery. I tried to fight it, but there was no way I was ever going to win the battle. It was never you, Birdie,” he rumbles, “it was always about my fear.”

“You don’t want a mate,” it’s a statement, not a question, even though my voice is weak.

“I want you,” he growls, his eyes shifting slightly and this time I know I’m not making it up. “I was letting fear guide me instead of trusting in the Goddess’ plan for me. We only get one mate in this life, one mate to mate, mark, love, and protect. I don’t want to lose you; I don’t want to lose my mate.”

Something, his bear, is peeking out at me. How strange. Why am I not freaking out about this?

“There’s no way I could walk away from you now. You’re mine, little one,” he grits out through his teeth as if he’s trying to hold himself back.

“Then why did you leave?”

“I wasn’t sure how to have this conversation,” he admits. “I felt badly because I should have told you everything before taking your virginity and giving you mine. It was like there was this big secret between us, one you had no idea even existed, and I felt horrible about it, like I was lying to you.” He sighs and shakes his head. “My bear was not happy about being away from you. He was giving me a lot of shit about it.”

I sigh and rest my head on his shoulder. “Well, I can understand that.” I rear back from him suddenly and glare at him, my tone threatening, “No more secrets.”

The smile that lights up his handsome face is one I want to see every day for the rest of my life. Mates. Somehow it feels right. I’m sure I have a lot more to learn about this whole thing, but I’m not afraid and I can take a moment to soak up how good this moment feels before I worry about all that.

“No more secrets,” he vows. I settle against him, and we sit in silence for a few moments before he muses, “You’re taking this a lot better than I expected.”

“I guess it helps that it happened right in front of me, but even before you shifted, I wasn’t afraid at all, even though I didn’t understand why.” I giggle softly and tease him, “Or maybe I’m just in shock.”

He scoffs and kisses the top of my head before standing up and starting to stalk through the house. “Well, if you’re in shock, I think I need to examine you. Thoroughly.”

I throw my head back and laugh as Thatcher looks down at me, his dark eyes twinkling. There’s a lightness around him which wasn’t there the first time I was here. It wasn’t even there when he showed up on my doorstep.

Silently, I make a promise to do everything I can to help him carry his burdens. No matter what.