Page 47 of My Unbearable Mate

“Very good. I wouldn’t expect a rough and tumble bear like you to know your gemstones.”

“I paid attention when the elders spoke,” he said, coming closer to get a better look. “Looks antique.”

“It does.” I took a closer look. The silver filigree pattern with smaller stones woven in, the perfect circular shape of the moonstone…this wasn’t the first time I’d seen it. “This is Nana’s ring.”

Bellamy cocked a brow. “Are you sure?”

“To be honest, I feel like I’ve gone completely crazy ever since I walked into your office, but this ring is so familiar. I remember tracing over the silver and loving the way the light shone off the main stone. Nana said it came straight from the moon, and I believed her.” I chuckled sadly. There was a time I would’ve believed anything she said, and a terrible feeling in the pit of my stomach made me think every word out of her mouth might have been a lie. “But what would it be doing here? Did she follow us?”

“Wouldn’t put it past her.” Bellamy’s voice had a hint of a protective growl, and it vibrated deep in my core.

Was it the ring making him have even more of an effect on me? Sweet moon, I was in trouble. I hadn’t even put it on yet. I almost tossed the damn thing, but didn’t, because a girl could have a little fun while we were in the middle of a wild ghost bear goose chase.

“Didn’t expect her to make an appearance at the bakery,” he added when I was too bedazzled by magic and his existence to form a coherent sentence. “We went straight to Choppers by Lowe from there. She could’ve overheard the conversation.”

“It’s possible.” I went through the scenarios in my head. “But that’s extra, even for Nana. If this is her ring, she loves it. She wouldn’t leave it out here as bait.”

“Or would she?”

“I don’t know anything anymore.” I sighed. “Has she always been this overbearing?”

“Kinda.” Bellamy lowered his gaze, like it pained him to come to this awful realization too. “Honestly, I didn’t want to be alpha because I knew I’d never be in full control of the clan. I would have always been answering to her.”

“Maybe you weren’t powerful enough back then to stand up to her. But now, I think the clan would be ready to follow you.” I went up on my tiptoes and kissed his cheek. “What would you change about the clan if you were alpha?”

His eyes glittered almost as much as the stone. “I’m sure a lot has changed since I’ve been there?—”

“Not really,” I scoffed.

“Well, then we’d have a lot of work to do.” His lips spread in a dreamy grin. “I’d have a talk with everyone about what they wanted. No one likes it when someone comes in and tries to change everything. But one thing I’d definitely do is build stronger connections to the local packs.”

“And you said you didn’t want to be alpha.” I nudged him.

“I said I didn’t want to compete with your grandmother for control of the pack.” He took the ring from me and considered it. “Maybe we should see how this fits.”

He positioned the ring, and I held out my hand. Butterflies went absolutely berserk in my belly as he easily slipped it onto my ring finger. Like he knew exactly what he’d do if he were alpha, I’d dreamed of this moment too. The two of us together, surrounded by our loved ones, with lots of flowers and string lights illuminating the twilight.

And maybe this was the closest I’d ever get to that moment, standing on a sidewalk in downtown Coeur d’Alene.

He lifted my hand so we could both admire how pretty it looked, and I staggered, like something slammed into me. All I saw was an explosion of colors like the ones that had illuminated from the stone. But they were coming from me, the sight of the impact. I wanted to scream for Bellamy, because all the sudden he felt like he was a million miles away, but the sound was trapped my throat.

The colors faded, and I was no longer on that sidewalk, about to kiss that gorgeous bear. I was in a tent, and there was a newborn baby crying. All the clan elders were around her, fussing—no, arguing. The baby felt so familiar, like I’d known her for a lifetime.

Was she…our daughter?

My heart was about to burst at the thought. Somehow, I was still aware that I was under the influence of the most powerful magic I’d ever knowingly encountered. Which made this weird, because it was like watching a movie I was starring in at the same time. I wanted to hold the baby, get her away from this chaos, but I couldn’t, because my mother had snatched her away from Nana.

Mom had been gone since I was a little girl. She looked the same as I always remembered her. Young, healthy, and free. I came by my wild streak honestly. Oh, how I wished this was real so I could talk to her. I talked to her all the time, when I was by myself, but to have her answer me…

Wait, was I looking up at her, like I was the one in that swaddling?

“No!” My mother cried. “You can’t do this.”

“It’s not by choice.” Nana’s voice sounded different. Smoother. She didn’t look that much different, but I could tell her hair was still naturally red, and not the knockoff shade that came from a box. “The spirits want her.”

Mom hugged me tightly against her cheek, and if it weren’t for her arms around me, I would’ve freefallen at the realization that I was witnessing this scene through my newborn eyes.

“Don’t take my baby from me.” I could barely hear the words over her frantic heartbeat. “You can’t raise her on lies.”

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