Page 11 of Delivered to My Elves

“Yes. This is…different.”

“Explain while we get in the truck.”

Once we were on the road, he turned to me. “I know you felt it too. She’s coming here to have a family with us, yes, but there’s something more.”

“There is. She’s amazing,” I confessed out loud even though the thought had crossed my mind many times while we were talking with her and in the aftermath.

“She is. I know she’s not our fated, and she’s not an elf but…maybe I’m getting ahead of myself.”

I laughed loudly. “Again? I think we both are. This is going to be a delicate situation. I think it’s healthy for us to grow to feel for her and care for her. Even though she’s coming here for the purpose of starting a family with us, I would never want my children to see her feeling unloved or neglected. They need to see their mother loved and adored.”

“You are absolutely right. Does it seem fast? Too fast?”

“Because we only met her a few days ago? Yes and no. I wouldn’t choose to sift through other matches. I’d rather find who we desire right off the bat. That app is a sure thing, apparently. Okay. What’s on the list?”

“I want to get her all new linens and a comforter. I want her room to be welcoming and somewhere she can be comfortable. I am not sure if bears are like wolves. Do they nest?”

I shrugged one shoulder and pulled onto the highway, heading toward the city. We had a lot of things made right in the elf colony, but linens and a new comforter, things like that, would take some time to sew. We would probably order one to be made for her but, for now, store-bought would have to do.

“Don’t bears have dens? To prepare for birth? Doesn’t matter. We can change things if she wants. Hell, I’ll…” I was about to reveal too much, even to my best friend.

“You’ll what?”

We pulled into the parking lot after a long pause in conversation. “You’ll what?” Callon repeated.

“I’d build her a new house if she wanted something new.”

He nodded. “Me too. Let’s go get our girl some things that will make her never want to leave.”

A few hours later, we came out of the store with mountains of new things for both her room and her bathroom. We went with a pale-green theme after I called her on speaker and we asked about a million questions about her taste.

She told us thank you for our effort. Sweet female. This was only a small part of what we would do for her. She was giving us a chance—a chance at a life we had all but given up on.

We went home and the place smelled new. Our scents were present, of course, but underneath the natural cleaning products Dorothy used when we asked her to clean on occasion.

“Now we need to get to the market. I already placed an order.”

“From the elf market?” I asked.

“Of course. Misty deserves the best.”

He wasn’t wrong.

Chapter Ten

Misty

The train was both a good idea and a very bad one. Sure, the rhythm of the tracks and not being cooped up in a flying aluminum can were good for my bear. She’d never had been fond of airplanes. Hell, she didn’t even like long car commutes. She didn’t mind the train since there were views of the outside.

Finicky beast.

The bad thing about the train? I wouldn’t arrive until the afternoon, which meant, I’d spent the whole day and some of the fitful night fretting.

I wasn’t nervous, I was giddy. I’d considered all the reasons not to go forward with this situation. Surprisingly, I found entire threads on breeders and what it meant to be one. There were negatives to every situation, but most were in agreement that as long as all parties were open and honest, it could be a fulfilling way to live and have a family.

It didn’t hurt that my baby daddies were hotter than hot and made my bear absolutely purr with need.

I’d never experienced her making that sound before except when I took a trip up north and lay in the snow.

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