Page 64 of Choose the Bears

Every muscle in my body tensed, fists formed as the instinct to reject this information throbbed through me, but there was no way to fight reality. He shared this terrible, awesome, legendary intimacy with our fated mate and I was jealous of that.

“So, you just keep her safe and show her what we’re doing in her dreams?” I asked, needing that reassurance to settle my heart rate.

“Something like that.”

I knew Asher, so it became immediately apparent he was holding back details. Luc frowned and stepped forward.

“That’s not the full story.”

He was ready to interrogate our sleuth mate, get the truth out of him with a punch to the ribs if he had to, but I glanced at the door. There was someone else involved in this situation that was far more likely to be open and honest about it. All interest in training faded as I started striding towards the door. Asher called out my name, but unless he followed that with a confession of everything else he’d dreamed, I wasn’t listening.

That didn’t come.

The bear was close to my skin, scenting the air and telling me where she’d gone. Not towards the kitchen like she’d said, but here, the art room. I stood in the doorway and watched.

Imogen was so fuckingbeautiful when she drew. Some wary part of her was set aside to let this out. Her real and true self was allowed to peek out, a secret part of her, just like my bear, and it had her hand moving across the paper.

Blocky, faint shapes were sketched out, giving her a framework to go back and adjust, the lines growing stronger, darker, more confident. I knew what it was before she’d even drawn in the details, knowing the shape of that head, those fluffy ears. Luc’s bear appeared on the page, becoming clearer by the second, only to be shoved aside.

Imogen drew like she was in a fugue state, her pupils flicking back and forth rapidly in time with her hand. This shape was familiar for a whole other reason, because at least some of the time, I lived within it.

My bear’s shoulder wasn’t quite that shape and she frowned, as if realising the exact same thing. An eraser was snatched up and she rubbed it out quickly, then went back for another go. The line was stronger, more certain, and then my fur was indicated in a series of cross hatches, leading down to paws that she recorded in detail. It was the chest that she paused on, though. She had a basic outline, then when it came to doing the shading, her hand slowed. An indication of fur at the crest, but when she got to the spot that still stung from the scratch Luc had left her fingers tightened around the pencil and stopped. The paper was then discarded, just like the other. Another was retrieved and before she put pencil to paper, I knew what she would draw.

Asher, big, tall, the most powerful. Asher who entered her dreams like a thief in the night. Asher, who hid the fact that his bond with her was far deeper than ours. I watched her breath come in faster and faster, her teeth sinking into her bottom lip as her cheeks pinked, making me wonder what the hell had happened as she dreamed. Her hand moved much moretentatively as she took greater care to record his bear on the page. Less shading was needed, so she focussed on the line work, going over and over to correct them until I saw a damn near perfect outline of his beast. She sat back then, the pencil left on the desk as she stared. Seeing what, that’s what I wanted to ask.

What had they done together in the safe cocoon of her dreams? What had she seen, heard, felt? Had he touched her, ran a finger down the slope of her neck and teased that stray curl there, just how I’d wanted to? My fangs ached, my bear pressing hard against my skin. That didn’t happen if I let him out regularly, but he was vexed. In his mind we’d been holding ourselves back for a damn good reason. Our mate needed to heal from another’s harm before she could see us as anything but a helping hand.

But what if Asher helped her in whole other ways?

My lips parted and I took a step forward, ready to ask her just that when a little voice broke the silence.

“Kyle!” Scott rushed towards me, flinging himself at my legs. My hands went out to grab him and swing him around because I knew it’d have him giggling. “Are you going to do a drawing too?”

“I’m sorry,” Mary said, then stopped herself. We’d told her often enough she didn’t have to apologise, and it was nice to see that taken on board. “Scott loves to draw and…” Her eyes met mine, pain and hope uneasy bedfellows there. “Having a big brother figure in his life has been helping.”

Considering the fact that when Scott arrived he was angry and spitting like a furious kitten, I’d take the boisterous boy I had with me any day.

“I’m glad.” I winked at the boy. “So what’re you going to draw today?”

“The Grumpy Bear!” he said, roaring wildly. The picture book series was a hit with kids and hey, if it operated as a little human/bear shifter propaganda, I was OK with that.

“OK, show me what you’ve got.”

But when I turned around, I saw Imogen was standing, her whole body trembling like a frightened fawn.

“Those bears are cool!” I wished one day that our mate would think the same thing, but I admit I grinned at Scott’s review of her drawings. “They don’t look very grumpy, though.”

“No, I don’t suppose they do.” She pushed the drawings his way, something that had Mary making a sound of protest. “They’re yours if you want. You can make them as grumpy as you like.”

“Oh no, he’ll ruin them,” Mary said, rushing forward, Charlie tugged along behind her.

“Nothing to ruin,” Imogen replied, not to Mary but to me. Her eyes locked with mine as she walked towards the door. “I was just going to toss them in the bin, so if he wants to rework the drawings, I’m cool with it.” Her hands smoothed down the front of her shirt. “I need to get breakfast on.”

That look she gave me as she pushed past, full of fire and rebellion, I was glad to see it but heartbroken at the same time. Betrayal, that’s what her scent told me, along with a thick stench of doubt. She wasn’t sure how to feel, and I couldn’t tell her which was right.

Chapter 34

Imogen

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