Page 14 of Fated to the Grizzly

I turned one of the bedrooms into a games room. I also hired a style consultant to fill the huge walk-in closet with beautiful human clothes and shoes and toiletries.

Then I waited, three long years, for my mate to arrive. My beast might be a hunter, but you can’t rush these things—my mom warned me about that. Fate is ready when it’s ready. And if you try to hurry it, you might lose out, and you’ll be one of those broken shifters that never find their mate.

Today, at long last, it happened. Charging into my path, blonde hair streaming out behind her, was my mate—armed with a bow and arrow. Of course, she was supposed to shoot me. It couldn’t have happened any other way. The hunter shot by his own mate. My mom’s gonna be so tickled when she hears about this.

“This is so neat!” Scout is moving her hand back and forth in front of the sensor that controls the flow of water from the faucet. My chest warms. I’m dying to show her all the other cool features, but first I’ve gotta cook for her.

I slide out a stool from the island. “Take a seat,” I tell her. “And tell me what you like to eat.”

She wriggles up onto the high seat and scrunches up her nose adorably. “Anything, really.”

“You’ll have to do better that that.” I point to my walk-in refrigerator. “There’s a ton of food in there.” Every week I prepare new dishes, trying to improve my skills. So far, my clan have been the grateful recipients.

She bites her lip again. It’s a nervous tic of hers. When she’s mine, she’ll never have any reason to be nervous again. “Maybe not squirrel or rabbit. Or baked beans. Or tinned ravioli. But if that’s all you have, that’s good, too,” she finishes in a rush.

My heart aches. This poor girl has lived with so little. What kind of people has she come from, who’ve failed to take care of her?

I open the fridge and stick my head inside. “How about venison steak with wild berry sauce? Or smoked sausage and potato casserole?” When she doesn’t say anything, I continue. “Or wild game chili? Herb-roasted wild turkey?”

Only silence greets me. I pull my head out of the fridge. Tears are pooling in her eyes.

“Oh, little one.” I rush over. “What is it?”

She scrubs at her eyes fiercely. “It’s nothing.”

I stand directly in front of her. “Look at me,” I command.

Slowly, she raises those emerald eyes to me, the whites stained pink.

“You don’t need to hide your feelings from me, Scout. I want you to share everything with me. Always.”

Her eyes widen and her lips form a pretty littleO. I probably sound real intense right now, but it’s the truth, and it’s better that she hears it early on.

“I-I’m just not used to nice things, I guess,” she says in a small voice.

I close my eyes for a beat as the weight of fate overwhelms me.Thiswas why I was supposed to build this place. To give this princess everything she’s been denied so far.

“You’re gonna have nice things every day of your life from now on,” I tell her.

She blinks fast. Maybe I’m scaring her a little. She needs time to get used to me, to understand just how much I’m going to protect and care for her.

“How about I warm up the wild game chili?”

She nods gratefully.

“Want a soda while you’re waiting? A beer?”

“Uh, a soda.” She swallows hard. “You have Sprite?”

I fight back a grin. “Sure do.” I grab a can from the fridge, pour it in a tall glass and add a glass straw and a squeeze of lime.

When I hand it to her, she holds it reverently in both hands. Then, I watch, mesmerized as she purses her sweet cherry lips and lowers them to the straw.

Her eyelids grow heavy, and she gives a long, drawn-out sigh, full of longing and bliss.

Damn, if she makes that sound when my cock is inside her, I’ll be a happy bear.

When she opens her eyes again, I’m still staring. I can’t help it. I don’t even have the willpower to tear my gaze away. She’s all I want to look at for the rest of my life.

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