Page 20 of The Alpha Grizzly's Mate

“Stop right now.” He cupped my cheek. “First of all, no one could ever hate you. And second, everyone knows my uncle was responsible for all of that crap. He constantly got mixed up in things he shouldn’t. It was not on you.”

While everything he said was true, it didn’t stop me from worrying the conclusion he drew might not have been. But he believed every word, and he was my mate. I trusted him.

“Okay.”

“Do you feel better now?”

Did I? Sort of, at least about that. “I do. Thanks. We can go now.”

He shook his head.

“When I said ‘feel better now,’ I meant 100 percent or at least close. What else has you feeling this way?”

“The cubs. I don’t…I don’t want to leave them. I know they’re safe here. I know there are people to look after them here. But also…maybe it’s because I scented them the first time I was at the compound, or maybe it is their adorable little faces… I don’t know. It’s hard to explain.”

“There’s no need. If you and your wolf feel like we need to be the ones taking care of them, we will be the ones taking care of them. They can come with us to the den who will fully accept them.”

“What if they want to stay here?” They’d been through enough without having us impose change upon them they didn’t want.

“We can ask them and let them choose.”

We also needed permission, but I loved the idea of giving them the choice. They hadn’t even been allowed to walk across the room before. It was time they were able to have some say in their lives.

It was easy for us to know what the cubs wanted. I went in, sat down with them, and said, “My mate and I—it’s time for us to leave.”

I didn’t have time to get to the question when the oldest one, Nora, interrupted, “That’s okay. We’ll go with you.”

And just like that, they were coming with us.

We had a brief meeting, and the entire group agreed it was best for the cubs to come because they felt more bonded with my mate than they did with any of the other people who had been caring for them. Everything fell into place much more easily than I’d hoped.

We spent the drive singing silly songs and telling stories. It made the time fly.

Levi parked, and I opened the door, immediately greeted by the welcoming scent of my new home. Maybe it was because I was mated to a grizzly, and there were a lot of grizzlies around—a lot being relative. And relatives, but it felt like this was where I belonged.

I’d never felt this pull to land before. Sure, it was because this was my mate’s den, where he belonged. But it was more than that. My wolf felt at ease, something I’d never truly experienced before.

The cubs jumped out and ran around giggling. Safe to say, they liked it here already, too.

“Ready to see your new room?” Levi asked.

Their faces lit up.

“We have our own room?” Nora stared at us, wide-eyed.

“Yes, for now, you’re all going to share one because I think that’s what you’ll prefer.”

“Yes, please!” She bolted toward the cabin’s front door, and they followed.

Levi jogged in front of them and showed them where they would be staying then brought them to the kitchen for some cookies his aunt had made. It was hardly a nutritious dinner, but they were full and sleepy when they were done, so I was calling it good enough.

We got them settled into bed, and then he gave me a tour of the place. What I wanted to do was crawl into bed and sleep for about a week. But my mate and his brothers, as well as Tyrus and Mav, decided it was best that they do a perimeter run first.

I stayed behind, checked on the kids, took a shower, and climbed into Levi’s bed. Our bed now, I supposed. My plan was to wait for him, and we could continue from where we were interrupted when his uncle fled.

I didn’t mean to fall asleep, but that was exactly what I did.

Chapter Thirteen

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