Page 114 of Have a Bear-y Little Christmas
I let out a soft, inquiring sound, not wanting to startle her, but Jeannie was already on her feet.
“Holy shit! I thought maybe my memories were exaggerated, but you’re huge. Dinosaur-level huge!”
If I was in my human form, I would have laughed at that, but as a bear I let out a chuffing sound. I wished I could communicate to her with shifter speak, but that only worked with other shifters.
Thankfully, the noise didn’t seem to bother Jeannie one bit, because suddenly she had her arms wrapped around my neck, her face right next to my cheek.
“Your fur is so thick. No wonder you’re always so warm.”
I could smell her excitement and enthusiasm, a potent combination, and the alpha that had risen to the front of my mind was most definitely preening. Although his mate was...different, although she had no fur, or claws, or even a heat, she was still happy to see him and that was enough.
“I can’t believe this is you. Like, obviously it is. But also…what?” She let go of my neck and walked around my body. Even on all fours, I was still taller than her, as our type of shiftersreally were a more ancient ursine. “God, mentally, I understood why all you guys ate so much, but seeing you now, it almost feels like that can’t possibly be enough calories for you. This is just… just…”
I wanted to finish her sentence for her like I would in my human form, but that wasn’t possible, so I slowly turned with her, adjusting my speed so she never could make it all the way around me.
She caught on quickly, raising one of her eyebrows in a challenge, and picked up her pace. Naturally, I did too. Neither of us were moving that fast at first, but that began to change until I was spinning in the most concise circles that my bear body would allow while Jeannie was sprinting around me as fast as hersandals would allow.
It was stupid. Downright silly. Jeannie started giggling, which seriously interfered with her ability to sprint, and I started huffing in amusement. It wasn’t really how I imagined the situation going, but it was perfect.
I didn’t know if it was my large bear paw that slid first—after all, my front legs were shorter than my back ones—or if Jeannie tripped on something, but one moment we were both being complete and utter gooses, the next her arms were pinwheeling while I was rolling to the side.
The next thing I knew, I was flat on my flank and Jeannie had caught herself from faceplanting by grabbing onto my coat and yanking herself over me. It wasn’t the most comfortable thing, with one of her hands gripping my fur for dear life and both of her knees crossing just under my spine, but it wasn’t that bad either. I let out a questioning huff, and Jeannie seemed to understand exactly what I was asking.
“I’m okay,” she said, standing up and walking around to my face. I, however, wasn’t as eager to get onto my feet. Bears werehow bears were, and now that I was lying down, it seemed like it was perfectly reasonable to stay that way. “How are you?”
I let out a long, deep wheeze of air that I hoped communicated the exact mix of contentment and chagrin I was feeling, and Jeannie’s resulting smile told me that she got the gist of it.
“Good, I’m glad.”
There was the tiniest bit of applause as I lay there and she stood over me, hands on her hips. I had to hand it to her, sometimes it was easy to forget that she hadn’t known about shifters her entire life. She’d adapted to it so well. In a way, that was so perfectly Jeannie. Although I didn’t want her to haveanyhardships in her life, she had long since proved that she could not only survive but thrive through pretty much anything.
Eventually, she spoke, her voice almost tentative. “Do you wanna cuddle?”
I raised my large head at that. Her tone was nervous, but her face and scent were anything but. No big deal. Just some cuddle time with a giant grizzly bear.
I let out a positive sort of sound and flopped my head back onto the ground. Clearly, Jeannie and I were on the same vibe, because she let out a delighted sound and sat down by my belly, her legs stretched out in front of her as she leaned back against me.
It was such a simple thing, really, and yet it struck me right down to my soul. The comfortability. The joy in what I was. Zero apprehension. Sure, we may have messed up a little bit of the communication about relationship status and terms, but that was okay. Nobody was perfect, and neither Jeannie nor I had ever claimed to be.
But I knew, right down to my core, as her weight slowly rose and fell with my own breathing, that the stunning woman wasundoubtedly my mate. And I’d wait as long as she needed for her to feel the same way too.
We lay there for a long time, feeling the wind and watching the first beautiful clouds of summer drift across the sky.
It was heaven on earth, but then again, anywhere was heaven when I had Jeannie by my side. She made everything better, and she made me want to be a better man. A better father. A healthier person in general. Not just for her, but for my children and myself. Because as much as I liked to put myself on the back burner,Ideserved to make time and space for me too.
“Remy?” Jeannie asked after what must have been at least an hour. I let out the lightest of rumbles, and in response she reached over to scratch one of my legs. “Do you think you could shift back into a human?”
I let out an affirmative sound, and Jeannie got up and stood to the side for me to do my thing. While this transition was a bit faster than me turning into a bear, I still didn’t rush it, not wanting to add any stress or discomfort to what really was a wonderful picnic.
Once I was human, however, Jeannie was right back in my space, gently gripping my hands.
“Thank you for sharing that with me, Remy. Thank you foreverythingyou shared with me. I never imagined my life could be like this. So, if you’ll have me, would you be my boyfriend?” She gave me a sly grin. “Officially?”
“Only if you’ll be my official girlfriend,” I shot back, squeezing her hands the same way she had squeezed mine. I loved how tactile she was. It was an internal source of comfort and excitement for me.
“I think I can manage that.”
“ThenI am one very happy man.”
