Page 47 of The Bear's Second Chance Mate
He led her to the kitchen, where another cat dozed on a kitchen chair tucked under the table. The space was simple butinviting, with hand-thrown mugs on open shelves, a row of herb jars, and a dish towel embroidered with foxes draped over the oven handle.
As he moved around the kitchen, filling the kettle and reaching for mugs, June watched him, the effortless grace of his movements, the careful way he selected tea leaves from a wooden box.
And suddenly, with perfect clarity, she knew.
She wasn’t just visiting a place.
She was already home.
Chapter Fifteen – Stanley
Stanley busied himself in the kitchen, trying to focus on making tea while June sat at his table, her eyes following his every move. The silence between them wasn’t awkward, but it was charged. Different. Her energy had changed.
His bear stirred, alert to what might come next.She knows. That’s why she is here, because she knows.
Do you think Barb got tired of waiting for us to reveal the truth and just told her everything?Stanley asked, his hands trembling slightly as he spooned loose tea into the pot. The kettle’s whistle pierced the quiet, making him jump.
Maybe she thought you would never get around to it,his bear said, with a hint of accusation in his voice.
I would have told her,Stanley said firmly as he poured water over the tea leaves and swallowed hard.
Well now, you’re going to have to pick up the pieces and make things right with June,his bear said.
I can do that,he said firmly.
“Everything okay?” The question came out rougher than he intended as he stirred the pot.
June hesitated before answering. “Depends. Were you ever going to tell me?”
Stanley froze. “Tell you?”
Oh yeah, she knows,his bear said.
“Barb told me about shifters,” she said, almost as if she were hoping he would tell her Barb was making it up. But when he did not reply, she added, “And about mates.”
He turned slowly, met her eyes. “She did?”
June nodded. “She told me that if we were mates, I’d know. That you’d know.” She paused, her voice raw as she said, “So I have to ask, Stanley…is it true? Are we?”
His bear pressed forward, wanting to break free and reveal himself to her.Tell her.
Stanley’s voice was barely above a whisper: “Yes. We are.”
June just exhaled like she’d been holding her breath for a month. “Then show me.”
He blinked. “What?”
“Your bear,” she said. “I want to see him.”
Stanley hesitated, unsure if she was ready. But her expression said she was.
It’s time,he told his bear.Are you ready?
Oh yeah,his bear replied, doing a somersault in Stanley’s mind.
“We should go outside,” Stanley said, setting the tea aside.
June’s face paled instantly, her fingers gripping the edge of the table. Stanley could sense her doubt. Did she cling to the lingering hope that perhaps this was all some elaborate joke, that Barb had been making everything up about shifters and fated mates?
