Page 13 of Bear Your Fate

I was a little afraid to answer his question. It might give him the ammunition I was starting to think he was looking for to convince me to give a relationship with him a serious try. If he was as relentless about it as I expected he would be, then there was no doubt in my mind that he’d get exactly what he wanted. “Exceptions like you and your fated mate, where she chose to stay with someone else and it ate her up inside?”

“Annora’s mother doesn’t count because Fate fucked up there and matched me with an evil woman instead of the woman I’m convinced was meant to be mine. But that doesn’t answer my question. Is there a possibility that you and your consort wouldn’t end up together? Without hurting you? Because causing you pain is the last fucking thing I’d ever want to do.”

Darn it. That’s exactly what I was doing. Hurting him by dragging my feet on giving him the answer he deserved. I couldn’t let my fear do that to him. “Yes, there have been situations where a witch has been matched with their consort and the pairing didn’t result in a relationship in the truest sense of the word.”

“Truest sense of the word?” he echoed. “Is there another kind of relationship witches and consorts can have besides a sexual one?”

“I’ve heard of a few, rare instances where they’ve been close friends instead of lovers,” I admitted softly.

“Friends? I’m not sure how my bear would feel about you having such a close connection to another man, even if he was only a friend, but I could definitely work with that if it meant I got to keep you.”

“And there have been other witches who’ve chosen to have no relationship with their consort.”

“Even better,” he drawled, bending low to give me a passionate kiss.

“Very, very rarely,” I stressed when he let me up for air again.

“It doesn’t matter to me how uncommon it is. Fuck Fate. I’m my own man. I make my own destiny, and it’s led me right where I belong—with you.”

He sounded confident in his decision, but I wasn’t convinced it was that simple. Not when neither of us had experience with healthy, romantic relationships and the people who’d be hurt if things went wrong were our children and grandchildren. “What if my consort finds me?”

“I refuse to let that rule our decision, not when we don’t know if it’ll ever happen. Or when it might not mean your Goddess had intended for you to be a couple. I’ll do everything in my power to make you too happy to ever consider leaving me, and we’ll cross that bridge if it ever comes to pass.”

“Are you sure?”

He kissed me again, showing me exactly how certain he was with his decision. By the time he was finished, I was straddling his body with my wet core sliding against his hardened length. “I should probably say some bullshit about stepping aside if that day ever came, but I’m too damn selfish when it comes to you. So fuck Fate, and fuck that guy too. The only person who can convince me to walk away from you is you.” He canted his hips upwards. “I refuse to believe that’s what you want to do, not with what we have. And I don’t mean just the sex, even though it’s fucking fantastic.”

Even with as worked up as I was, I didn’t doubt his sincerity. Not for a second. He just wasn’t that kind of guy. He was trustworthy, down to his bones. Any woman would be lucky to have him in her life. And here I was with all of his sexiness beneath me, telling me he wanted a relationship even though he was the one who would be taking the biggest risk.

“You’re right. I’d much rather do this.” I wrapped my hand around his length, lowered myself onto it, and went about proving again how fantastic the chemistry was between us.

9

Carrick

Between several rounds of sex to try to make up for the drought we’d both gone through while we were apart and checking in with Camden and Selene multiple times, Audra and I didn’t get much sleep that night. The ringing of my cell just as the sun rose in the sky wasn’t a pleasant surprise, especially when I saw it was Damien calling. “Fuck.”

Audra sat up, rubbing at her sleepy eyes. “Is it the kids? Is something wrong with Nixon and Nyssa?”

I clicked on the button to answer the call and promptly hit the mute button. Damien could damn well wait while I alleviated Audra’s concerns. “No, sweetness. It’s just Damien being a pain in the ass like usual. Go back to sleep.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah.” I pressed a kiss against her forehead and nudged her shoulders to get her to lie back down. “I’ll wake you up if it’s anything important. I promise.”

She nodded, snuggling against the pillows as her eyes drifted shut again. That’s how exhausted she was.

I waited until I tugged on a pair of athletic shorts, walked out of the room, and shut the door behind me to unmute the call. “This had better be a fucking emergency, Damien. I’m not in the mood for any bullshit. Our grandchildren were just born yesterday. Neither of us has gotten much sleep, and Audra has jet lag from traveling.”

“I’m sure it’s just the birth of your grandchildren and Audra’s jet leg that left her so tired.”

“Don’t start, man. Don’t even fucking start.” The sarcasm was thick in Damien’s tone, and it had pissed me the fuck off. “I’m not going to play your usual game where you know shit you’re not supposed to know and you say cryptic shit. Not today. Like I said, the reason you called had better be an emergency.”

“Sorry, you’re right. Now’s not the time to give you hell, but not for the reason you think.” I had made it downstairs to the kitchen. Partly in shock from receiving such an easy apology from Damien, I dropped onto one of the stools at the counter and braced myself for whatever it was he needed to tell me. “I didn’t wait to call because this concerns Nixon and Nyssa.”

My bear came to attention, pushing to the surface. Fur rippled on my arms, and I struggled to maintain control as I asked, “Is there some kind of threat to my grandchildren?”

“Not an immediate one, no. Our council has received a petition in regard to their standing in the shifter community, and I’ve learned that a similar complaint has been filed with the witch council. In and of themselves, the requests are concerning. But timed the way they were? Less than twelve hours after their birth, and sent to the leadership of both communities? I think it’s something we need to take very seriously.”

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