Page 20 of Bearly Mated

“Let’s sit,” she said, towing me by my arm to an empty couch nearby.

I sat, blinking fast as I wrestled those damn emotions.

“What happened?” she asked, her voice soft. We had to be quiet in the shop. The town would gossip no matter what, but I didn’t want them gossiping with accurate, intimate details.

“He says he’s staying, Wren. What am I supposed to think about that? He’s never left me before, but he never even called or texted me, and now he’s saying he was always in love with me, and?—”

“Take a breath, Callie.”

I sucked in air, leaning back against the couch and closing my eyes. “I’m still in love with him. I’ve always been in love with him. What am I going to do when he leaves? You were right—it’s the feral cat all over again. I’m screwed. I’m so screwed.”

“You arenotscrewed.” She smacked my arm lightly. “Maybe most bears don’t stay, but Hudson did. Right? You guys were together every day for more than a decade. He didn’t get tired of you. He didn’t leave you. He didn’t run when things got hard, or when they got intimate.”

“But what if he leaves me after the baby? Or before? Or ten years down the road? Or what if?—”

“There will always be what-ifs. If you marry a human, he could divorce you. He could cheat on you. He could fall out of love with you, for fuck’s sake.” Her words were blunt, her eyes sharp.

“You’re right. Humans can be just as bad in relationships as bears.” I pushed a few strands of hair out of my eyes.

“But maybe bears can be just as good at relationships as some humans, if they decide to.” She gave me a small smile.

We both knew what she wasn’t saying.

Her mate wasn’t included in that possibility.

He’d been amazing to her while they lasted, but ghosting her sure as hell didn’t fit that definition.

“I’m terrified, Wren,” I said quietly.

“So am I. We just have to ignore the terror and enjoy our lives in spite of it.”

A door opened at the back of the shop, and a toddler with Wren’s dark hair came rushing toward us. She’d built a short-term childcare in the back of her bookstore, like some gyms had, so there were a handful of kids playing in the room.

Wren’s mother followed Parker to my best friend’s side. Even if I hadn’t known who his dad was, the shape of his face and those gorgeous golden eyes would’ve told me immediately.

The Pawsons were the only shifters in town with gold irises, and they only had one son. Reed.

Instead of the adorable little smile the toddler usually wore, his eyes were watery. He lunged for his mom immediately, babbling something I couldn’t translate.

Wren scooped him up and snuggled him right to her chest. Something within me ached at the sight.

Having my own little kid…

I wanted that.

“What happened?” she murmured, looking to her mom for an answer.

“I think he’s sick,” Wren’s mom admitted. “I can’t get him to eat anything. Sylvie’s on her way, she offered to run the shop so you can take him home.”

Sylvie was Reed’s mom, so one of Parker’s grandmas. Between Wren, her mother, and Sylvie, they made sure Parker always had plenty of love and attention. Wren was lucky to have so much support, and she knew it.

I wouldn’t be in the same boat.

Hudson’s mom would help me from time to time, but we had never been very close. And my pride wouldn’t let me lean on her.

Luckily, I’d have the clan’s money as a cushion for the first little while. I’d need to find a job to afford to eat after the first year or two, but I’d make it work.

Anyway, Sylvie.

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