Page 15 of Her Former Bear Mate

Lena winced and automatically touched her eye."Vicious."

"You have no idea.That---" Aditi gestured to the lone woman at the bar who was softly sobbing."Was actually pretty mild."

"I'm realising our fights were pretty tame then," Lena remarked, thinking back to their worst days.There would be screaming and slamming doors but never anything close to this scale.

Aditi hummed in agreement."Yeah, we were never that bad.Maybe we just loved each other a lot more than those people do."

The words cut through Lena but she managed to keep a neutral expression even if it felt like salt into a fresh wound.

Loved.

Not love.

Loved.

She finished her wine with one big swig and turned around, searching for a server so she could order more.Instead, she spotted Maria arriving at the restaurant with a head of chaos hair.

"I'm so sorry, I totally overslept!"Maria announced when she got to the table.She sank down and poured herself a massive glass of water that she downed in one go."Goodness.Have you been waiting long?"

"Just a little while," Aditi said diplomatically.

"Where's Alix?"

Lena tried not to let her frustration get the better of her."Delayed by traffic."

The look on Maria's face was worth a picture."So it's just the two of you here?Goodness."

"We didn't do too badly, did we?"Aditi said, looking at Lena for the first time since she sat down.There was a softness in her eyes, a sparkling warmth and traces of genuine affection.

It melted Lena's frustration away like snow under the first sun.

"Yeah, we didn't kill each other unlike the couple at the bar," Lena replied.Her chest contracted when Aditi laughed.It was amazing what such a simple sound could do to her poor heart.

EIGHT

Aditi

Aditi pushedthe cherry tomatoes to the side of her plate, not particularly enamoured with them.She liked tomato fine in soups or sauces, but not seedy and squelchy like this.

She used to pawn them off to Lena but she wasn't sure if that was still allowed.That was something couples did and they were no longer a couple.

It was just tomatoes though.

She decided against it.The atmosphere at the table was great, warm and full of laughter like the old days, and she didn't want to ruin that.

"I have a potentially weird question, and you don't have to answer this," Lena said, her attention on Maria."Could you give birth in bear form?"

"I wish, that would be so much easier, but no."Maria stroked her belly."Apparently, my body won't let me shift when I'm too close to giving birth.Don't ask me how it works because I've got no clue."

Everyone looked at Aditi who held up her hands."Don't look at me.It's not my area of expertise either."

Lena hummed."It's probably for the best.It would be weird to see a human baby come out of a bear."

The group chuckled in agreement and Aditi had to do everything she could not to stare at Lena with little stars in her eyes.She always loved the way Lena's brain worked, the way she asked things that other people didn't dare or think of.

Brains and beauty, she really was the whole package.

"Speaking of babies.You're all coming to my baby shower, aren't you?"Maria asked, mostly looking at Aditi and Lena.

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