Page 48 of The Bear's Second Chance Mate
It’s not,his bear said.
He moved toward the back door, his footsteps unsteady. This was it. The moment he had been waiting for since he first sensed his mate.
But fear gripped him. He didn’t know exactly what Barb had told her. Would she trust in him and give him a chance to explain?
Or would she run?
She came here for answers,his bear said.I don’t think she’s going to leave without them.
Then, answers are what we will give her.Stanley didn’t need to look to know June had risen to her feet and was following him with hesitant steps. He could sense her. Sense every breath she took, every move she made.
It was as if his shifter senses had been heightened, sharpened by her presence.
The dogs watched curiously as they passed, one of them whining softly as if he understood the significance of the moment.
The most important moment of our life,his bear said.
“Are you sure?” he asked, hand on the door handle, giving June one last chance to back away.
“Yes,” June whispered, her voice steadier than he expected. “I need to see.”
Stanley opened the back door and stepped onto the wooden deck that overlooked the dark forest beyond. He paused for a moment, filling his lungs with pine-scented mountain air as he tried to clear his head and focus. June’s sudden arrival at his cabin had given him no time to prepare.
We have been preparing for this moment for our whole life,his bear reminded him.
So we have,Stanley said as he led her down the porch steps into his backyard.
Moonlight bathed the clearing in silver, casting long shadows from the surrounding pines, while the mountains loomed like silent guardians in the distance.
This was it. This was the moment that would change everything between them.
Stanley reached the middle of the clearing and turned to face June. She stood several feet away, arms wrapped around herself against the cool night air, her face pale in the moonlight but resolute. The distance between them felt vast and intimate all at once.
“June,” he said, his voice catching. “I need you to know that when I shift, it’s still me. I’m still the same man who built Herbert’s hutch with Oli. Who makes terrible cookies and runs a pet store.”
She gave a small smile, though he could see her hands trembling. “I like your cookies.”
“Good to know,” he said, giving her a nervous smile in return. “Just please don’t be scared.”
June lifted her chin, her eyes reflecting the moonlight. “I’m not.”
Relief flooded through him, warm and sweet. She was braver than he’d dared hope.
“Wait there,” he said, taking several steps away from her, creating a distance between them. He stopped and turned, drinking in the sight of her. The way the moonlight caressed her features, how her hair caught the silver light, how her chest rose and fell with each breath.
She looked ethereal, otherworldly. But in a moment, when he shifted, she was going to think the same about him.
With that thought, Stanley let go of the world.
The air around him crackled and popped with static electricity. For a heartbeat, he disappeared entirely, and then returned, transformed.
Where Stanley had stood moments before, a massive bear now occupied the space. His fur was deep brown, almost black in the moonlight, and his shoulders stood taller than a man’s.His eyes, however, remained the same, dark and gentle, fixed intently on June.
She didn’t run. Didn’t scream. But her hands flew to her mouth, eyes widening in shock as she stared at the enormous creature before her. Her breath came in quick, shallow gasps that Stanley could hear even from this distance.
Stanley’s bear took one cautious step forward, then another. Moving slowly, deliberately, giving her time to process what she was seeing.
“Stanley?” Her voice was barely a whisper, trembling with disbelief.
