Page 44 of The Bear's Perfect Mate
And if she had to thank anyone for that shift, it was Nero.
Yet, as they reached the edge of the forest, a sense of unease crept up her spine. Surely, whatever he had to show her would not spoil the day.
He wouldn’t do that to her. Would he?
When Nero stopped in a small clearing beneath the towering trees, she was not so sure. Whatever he wanted to show her was serious.
“Is everything all right?” Sophie asked again. “You’re worrying me.”
“Everything is fine,” he replied. “Better than fine, but there is something I need to tell you...show you.” He took a steadying breath. “About me. About who I really am.”
Sophie wanted to run. The serious tone made her heart lurch. She’d been here before—too many times. Secrets, confessions, hidden truths. But this was Nero. He’d never lied to her, never played games. And she trusted him more than anyone she’d ever known.
“Show me,” she answered, her voice steadier than she felt.
Nero stepped back and gave her one last searching look before the air around Nero seemed to shimmer, like heat rising from sunbaked asphalt. It popped and crackled as if the air was suddenly filled with static electricity.
And then he was gone.
She stepped forward, her arm arcing through the air. “What?”
But then the hairs on her arm stood on end, and her hand touched something solid, furry.
“A bear!” Sophie’s legs gave way beneath her, and she sank to the forest floor, her breath coming in short gasps.
Before her stood the biggest bear she’d ever seen. But she wasn’t afraid. How could she be when she leaned forward and looked into the bear’s eyes?
“You’re...” she whispered, unable to complete the thought.
The air shimmered again, and within seconds, Nero stood before her once more, completely himself except for the anxious expression on his face.
“A bear shifter,” he finished for her.
Sophie stared at him, her mind struggling to reconcile what she’d just witnessed with everything she knew about the world. “That’s not possible,” she said weakly.
“I understand this is a shock,” Nero said, keeping his distance. “But it’s the truth. Bear Creek was founded by shifter families centuries ago to escape persecution.”
“I don’t understand,” Sophie said numbly.
“I’m a shifter,” Nero said. “Still human, but I can take on another form. A bear. We’re like two halves of a whole.”
Sophie pressed her hands against the cool earth beneath her, trying to ground herself in something solid and real. “Why are you showing me this?”
Nero took a cautious step toward her, stopping when she tensed. “Because you deserve to know the truth. Because I don’t want there to be secrets between us. Because...” He hesitated, then continued more softly, “Because you’re my mate, Sophie.”
“Your mate?” she repeated, the word feeling strange on her tongue. But hadn’t she heard that word used before?
Yes, Nero had described it when he first told her about Cassia…
“Shifters have mates. That one person they’re destined to be with,” Nero explained. “I knew before I even saw you at the wedding expo. That’s why I was so flustered, why I dropped to my knees with the ring box. It was that instant shock of recognition when I saw you.”
Sophie’s mind flashed back to that electric current she’d felt when their hands touched, the immediate connection that had defied explanation. “That’s why I felt...”
“A connection,” Nero finished for her. “Yes. But being mates doesn’t mean you don’t have a choice, Sophie. I would never pressure you or rush you. I just couldn’t keep hiding this from you, not when you’re staying in my home, not when we’re growing closer.”
Sophie leaned against the tree, needing its support as she processed everything. Shifters. Mates. Destinies. It was overwhelming, impossible…and yet, somehow, and yet, strangely, it made sense. The way she’d trusted him instantly. The way he’d welcomed her into his home. The way his family had embraced her as if she were one of their own.
She should be terrified, or in denial, or running as fast as she could back to the city.
