Page 29 of Alpha Bear Accountant

I was nervous and even had a dream that I froze up at the unveiling and was unable to talk about my pieces. But everything came naturally, and one piece after another sold. Sure, some of them were bought by friends and family, but there were also random people from town who picked them up too. I wasn’t going to be the art world’s next rising star or anything, but there was something so rewarding about seeing people appreciate my hard work.

Ima hugged my legs and pointed to a group admiring one of the last pieces left. “Daddy, they like your pictures!”

I had to swallow back the emotion I felt. “They do, sweet girl.”

“I like mine too.” She reached for me, so I picked her up.

Now that she was in a big girl bed, she got to pick the decorations she wanted in her room, and that included a drawing I did of her father in his grizzly form, lying on the blanket beside her in the warm midday sun.

Speaking of her father, he kissed my mating mark. “I’m so proud of you, omega.”

I exhaled slowly and nodded. Inside my head, I’d told myself this was hardly a gallery, and no one was making big bucks on it, but I was secretly proud of myself too. “It’s a local gift shop, not the Met.”

“It might not be a fancy museum in a big city, but I’m still allowed to be proud,” Todd said. “Comes with the job description.” He held up his hand, showing off his wedding ring. He didn’t wear it every day because he didn’t want it to get broken when he shifted, but when we went out as a family like this, he always had it on.

I leaned against his shoulder. “You know, this wouldn’t have happened if it weren’t for you.”

He looked at me, questioning.

“You’re the one who saw it in me. You saw that I liked to sketch when I was nervous. And you gave me those pencils.”

He hadn’t realized what a big deal that was, but it was the nudge I needed. “I can say I knew you when.” He winked to lighten the moment.

I grinned. “Yeah, I suppose you can. I love you, alpha.”

”Not even close to how much I love you.”

On this one point, we were never going to agree.

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