Page 23 of Her Embarrassed Bear Mate

“I should go back to my room,” Veronica whispered, a part of her wishing that Alix would wrap her arms around her again and they would throw caution to the wind.

“Yeah, that’s probably sensible.” Alix's voice was flat and hollow, making it impossible to know what she was thinking. Was she uncomfortable with what just happened or disappointed that they were stopping?

As much as Veronica wanted to know, this was not the time or place. She had to get out of here before she did something else stupid because feelings aside, Alix was right, the situation was already complicated enough.

She returned to the attic, all thoughts of the awkward encounter in the hallway forgotten. The only thing Veronica could think of was Alix in her thin shirt, her smooth bare thighs, and the kiss thatmade her heart pound so fast, it felt like it was going to explode.

With her hands clenching the sheets, Veronica stared up at the sloped ceiling. Her heart wasstillracing.

She was in so much trouble…

FOURTEEN

Alix

Alix ate her eggs quietly,her eyes fixated on her own plate to avoid looking at Veronica. After their unexpected midnight encounter, her cheeks and ears glowed red hot when she thought about their kiss and what almost happened.

It seemed like she was doomed to have almost-sex with Veronica which was honestly worse than if they hooked up properly. Then it would be out of their systems and everyone could move on.

Her mum reached for the orange juice. “Dirk was telling me there’s a lovely walk along the cliffs. Ifigured we could all go and enjoy the views and the fresh air.”

Nate cleared his throat. “Oh, we actually made plans to do some kayaking. There’s a local club that lets us use their equipment.”

Alix wished she had a good excuse too but none came to mind. She didn’t want to make it too obvious that going on a walk while her mum clung all over Dirk wasn’t exactly her idea of a fun morning either. It would just be up to her to watch the needy Princess and adventurous Trixie while having to avoid Veronica.

It was like someone had manifested her idea of hell.

She made the mistake of glancing up, only to find Veronica watching her. Images of the night before flashed through her mind and it made her cheeks and ears burn. This was definitely not the time or place to be thinking of Veronica’s soft lips, her tongue, her daring hands, her— Alix broke their eye contact and drank some water, almost choking on it.

Yes, there was no way she could go on this walk if Veronica was going to be there too.

After breakfast, she pulled her mum into the hallway for a private moment. "I'm not feeling so great. I think I'll skip the walk."

"But then I'll have to watch Trixie and Princess all by myself. You know they're a handful."

Alix didn't point out that it was her mum's brilliant idea to bring everyone along on this stupidfamilyholiday or that her mum was the one who chose to have a dog and a child without thinking it through.

Instead, Alix just took a deep breath in and out in an attempt to calm herself. "I just didn't sleep very well and I don't want to feel worse tomorrow when I have to drive us back."

Her mum agreed reluctantly and went back into the living room while Alix hid upstairs, glad to finally have a moment to herself. As big as the house was, there were far too many people in it and all the forced activities together were coming out of her ears. She was done with being constantly surrounded by people. It was so dire, she was actually looking forward to her commute because it meant she would have half an hour alone in her car.

She listened to the chatter and clattering of people getting ready to leave. Princess was barking extra loudly, Trixie was telling excited stories, the jangle of keys. Then she heard the sound of the door hitting the lock and then finally, silence. Sweet, blissful, precioussilence.

For the first time this week, Alix felt like she could breathe again. She caught up on some messages from her friends, read some nonsense articles on her favourite procrastination website until she was convinced everyone online was an idiot, and posted a handful of pictures on her social media so it looked like she had a life.

After that, she went back downstairs for some water and to watch some telly. She had no idea how long the others would be gone but she was going to savour every second on her own.

She passed by the large windows leading to the patio and something outside caught her eye. At first, she thought it might be a lost dog. On second glance, it was obviously not a lost dog but a brown bear moseying through the garden.

Alix stood frozen, unsure what to do. A normal person's instinct might be to call the police or animal control but as someone who grew up in a shifter community, Alix wondered if the bear in the garden might be a shifter. It seemed the most logical explanation because bears didn't live near the sea, did they?

The bear noticed her and stood up on its hind legs and waved. A bit dumbfounded, Alix wavedback. Definitely a shifter then but that begged another question. Who the hell was it?

A sinking feeling hit her stomach. It wasn't Veronica, was it?

The bear wandered back and forth through the garden for a bit more, sniffing flowers, and doing funny hops. Its behaviour was certainly very human-like and kind of endearing. After a little while, it came to the house and knocked gently on the glass door.

Alix gulped and reached for the handle, unsure whether she should open the door or lock it.

---