Page 41 of The Bear's Forever Mat
“Like discovering you were going to be a dad?”
His laughter was soft, his gaze on Marianne tender. “That part came slightly later. First was discovering shifters were a thing. And then fated mates. That was all pretty complicated and not something I could explain in a letter, so I didn’t try.”
It made a lot of sense. The fact Amber had discovered shifters existed had a lot to do with being in knee-deep with Borealis Gems. “I never got any messages from you.”
He looked horrified. “I’m so sorry. I would have tried harder, but I thought—I don’t know what I thought.”
Wasted time and wasted years, but they were here now, and Amber needed to focus on that. On all the good that was now possible because the mystery had been settled. On the fact she’d never again wake up in the night, heart pounding, imagining the worst.
Never again feel guilty for falling back to sleep after that inexplicable sensation that everything was fine rushed in.
“As it turns out, you could’ve straight up told me and I would’ve understood, but there was no way you could’ve known.”
Her brother squeezed her fingers before he leaned in close, eyeing Cooper with suspicion. “I take it he’s with you?”
Cooper was staring at Bram, opening and closing his mouth at the same time as the little boy. Amber wasn’t sure Cooper was even aware he was doing it.
Her heart gave a huge thump. “He’s my mate,” she said simply. “We’re untangling a few final issues before its official, but yeah. He’s with me.”
Mason leaned back in his chair and folded his arms over his chest. “Huh. A polar bear shifter. Okay, then. Although it does make for a few complications when it comes to family gatherings.”
That was a mouthful.
“It’ll be a little interesting, but we’ll figure it out,” Amber assured him. She hesitated. “Mom and Dad? What did you find?”
His smile increased. “Good news and bad news there. I found them—you’re not going to believe this.”
“Try me,” Amber said dryly. “I can believe a lot these days.”
He snorted. “Yeah, I guess. They survived the plane crash, but they’re still in recuperation. They’re both shifters, which is why the regular search crews didn’t find them.”
Wow. Unbelievable was right, and yet it made perfect sense.
Amber was going slightly numb with one huge revelation after another, but she managed to speak as if they were having an ordinary, everyday visit. “What kind of shifters, and where are they?”
“Wolverines. They’re living with a group of shifters in a remote area of the Yukon. Northern Lights Retreat or something like that. We can Facetime with them if you’d like.” He made a face. “Dad still spontaneously shifts at times, which is why they haven’t contacted you. Mom figured if you knew they were alive, you’d insist on seeing them, and that really wasn’t possible. Now that you know about shifters, I’m sure it’ll be okay.”
It was a miracle on top of a miracle. “I’m glad to know they’re okay. And I’m so happy to have finally found you.” She took a deep breath around the knot in her throat. “I missed you.”
His eyes sparkled. “I missed you as well. It’s good to know you’re back in my life.”
Amber glanced over at Marianne, checking out this woman who would have been her brother’s introduction to the world of shifters and the magical possibilities beyond the human realm. “She’s pretty.”
“She’s perfect,” Mason said, adoration in his tone. “She gives me hell when I’m unreasonable, and she makes me laugh, and we just fit. And now that we have Bram, I can’t imagine not being with them.”
Which was pretty much how she felt about Cooper, and the rest of his family, and her friends in Yellowknife.
As she looked at her brother and his cozy home with his new family, she felt as if her search was complete. He was content, and more than that, he didn’t really need her other than as a sister at times. Not the way they’d needed each other growing up.
She took his hand. “I’m glad you found your place. That you found the people you need.”
Mason squeezed her fingers back. “I found my heart.”
Bram was old enough to sit in a little chair attached to the table, and now that he’d had enough to eat that he wasn’t starving, he seemed fascinated by Cooper’s fingers.
Cooper and Marianne had been talking quietly about fishing and other shifter-type topics while she fed Bram. Cooper had stretched his free arm out within reach of Amber’s nephew, and now every time Bram reached for one of his big fingers, Cooper would wiggle it slightly and send the little boy into gales of laughter.
Amber’s heart turned to mush at the sight of her big bear and the little baby.
