Page 45 of Dawn Unearthed

I sighed and made my way out to the front lawn, sensing three little interlopers that should be with their mother.

“Baby triplets, what are you doing?” I asked the little bears as they crawled towards me, little bear smiles on their adorable bear faces.

They couldn’t say anything in this form, but they rolled around and played with the leaves in the yard. I shook my head.

“Hi,” Sage said. I turned, having scented her, thinking I was losing my mind.

Sage was here. On my land, in my home. Walking towards me. Without me forcing her here or tying her up in the house so she could be mine forever. Not that I would do that, but my bear had weird ideas.

I cleared my throat. “Sage.”

The three devious little bears crawled right up to Sage, sat on their furry behinds, and waved their little paws at her.

Sage’s eyes widened, and her hand came to her mouth. “You’re shifters, then?” she said. Then flinched. “Not that I should ask that. That’s probably a little uncouth.”

I laughed and shook my head. “It’s not.”

“Don’t laugh at me. I don’t know anything.” She knelt in front of the three cubs and smiled. “Hello, I’m Sage. I’m new in town.”

The little bears approached her, the littlest one crawling into Sage’s lap. Sage fell and laughed as all three bears sniffed at her then gave me knowing looks—far too knowing for little bear cubs—and continued pushing and tugging at Sage, wanting her to play.

“Hey, now, cubs. Be careful. She isn’t a shifter. She doesn’t play as rough as you.”

“You are adorable.” Sage laughed as she ran her hands over their little furry bodies. “It’s very nice to meet you.”

“Here, let me help.” I knelt and pulled one cub into my arms as another crawled into my lap. The last cub stayed on Sage’s lap and nuzzled into her side.

“They are seriously charming.”

“Yes, they are,” I said. “This is Honor, Jackson, and Henry. They should be with their mother. I can scent her somewhere near. She probably needed a break, and since I’m here…”

“Am I on den territory, then? Should I have asked?”

I met her gaze. “You never have to ask to be on my territory, Sage.”

Her cheeks flamed, and the baby bears gave me curious looks. I cleared my throat since what I was thinking wasn’t for baby ears.

“I wanted to see you. And to talk. And, wow, I’m not very good at this.”

“As you can see, neither am I.”

“Okay, darlings,” the triplets’ mother said as she came into the clearing, shaking her head. “You had your fun. Now it’s time to leave your alpha alone. He has to speak with his lady.”

And I knew with that, tales of Sage coming onto my land and playing with the cubs would be spread throughout the den in a matter of moments. Everybody likely had questions about my mate. Those who knew. And there was no hiding my reaction to her. Outside of that, they all wanted to know about the new witch in Ravenwood. The person that would help defend against the revenants, fight back the darkness, and potentially break through the prophecy. We all had questions, and for curious bears who always seemed to get into everything, they were actually being quite careful about it. They must have sensed Sage’s fear or knew she was overwhelmed about her new world and were giving her space.

I didn’t know how long that would last, but it was nice to see that they tried.

The baby bears went off with their mother, one stopping to wave again as they did. Sage waved back, her smile bright. She was stunning, breathtaking, but she wasn’t mine yet. My bear wasn’t in the mood to listen anymore. All it wanted was to claim her. I pushed that thought aside. I needed to. Sage wasn’t a shifter and didn’t understand mates. I didn’t know if she would ever fully grasp it. So, I wouldn’t push. But I would do my best to be my charming bear self. Hopefully, that would be enough.

I rocked back on my heels, forcing myself not to move forward or touch her.

Sage blinked up at me and studied my face. “You’re holding so much of yourself back, aren’t you?”

I swallowed hard. “What do you mean?”

She shook her head. “You have to be. You’re a bear, and yet you don’t act growly with me. I’ve only seen you that way when Faith attacked or when the revenants came. You protected all of us, but you were more bear than anything when you were protecting me. You’re holding yourself back when it comes to everything else.”

I couldn’t lie to her. She was my mate. So, I shrugged. “You’re not ready to see what being a bear shifter means.”

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