Page 22 of Coveted By The Bear

“Miles. Hey, look at me?” Hope was pulling on my arm, more insistent.

“Hmm?”

“You said you’d talk to me. And uh, I really need to understand what just happened,” she whispered, her eyes pleading with me to help her.

Fuck.

Okay. I could do this. Maybe she didn’t know everything. Maybe there was still a chance I could smooth it over.

“How much did you see?”

“Oh well, do you mean the part where two Bears broke into the garage and turned into men who wanted to hurt me or the part where you arrived, also as a Bear, then turned human and saved me?”

Shit. Okay, so she saw a lot more than I wanted her to.

“First, as you now know, there are a lot of creatures that share this world and humans are not top of the food chain,” I began, trying not to freak her out.

“W-what are you?” she whispered.

“I’m what’s known as a Shifter.”

“Like a Werewolf?” Hope asked and scrunched up her nose.

Smart girl. Beautiful, brave woman.

“Sort of. But Shifters come in all shapes and sizes. Wolf. Elephant. Tiger. Bear,” I said, pointing to myself at the end.

“Wow,” she replied, and her eyes were sparkling with emotion.

“Are you scared of me now?” I asked.

I didn’t know if it was a smart question. Chances were her answer would tear me apart. But I just had to know how she felt.

“Scared of you? No. But you started to say something on the phone. You started to call me something before you used the word normal,” she said.

“You know, you listen better than anyone I ever met,” I said, huffing out a humorless laugh.

She wasn’t ready for this.

Hell.

I wasn’t either.

But no one ever got anywhere by being a scaredy cat.

“I was going to call you my mate. You see, along with lions and tigers and bears, there’s magic in the universe, Hope. Magic and destiny, and I believe you’re mine. My fated mate. My Bear does, too.”

Her eyes got even bigger, if possible, and I couldn’t stand the distance between us any longer. Slowly, so fucking slowly it was killing me, I reached out with my hand and gently cupped her face.

Touching her grounded me. Like all my nerve endings were attuned to the feel of her soft, silky skin and her fresh apple scent.

“Are you saying you like me, Miles?” she asked, leaning into me like she was being pulled by a magnet.

“More than that, Pretty Girl. My animal wants to claim you. I want to claim you. Make you mine,” I replied.

I knew I had to do this quickly. A few cars were pulling up outside and Hope and I didn’t have the kind of time I thought we would.

“Will you let me, Hope?”

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