Page 36 of Coveted By The Bear

“Oh, um, water would be nice.”

“I’m Krissy, Taylor’s mate, and that’s Leya, she’s mated to the Alpha,” Krissy explained.

“Oh, um, so mated is like married, right? Then I guess I am Hope, Miles’ mate,” I said, stumbling through the introduction.

“That’s right. But you can still get legally married. I am and so is Leya and plenty of the other women in the Clan.”

“Clan?”

“The Barvale Clan started as just Black Bear Shifters, but we’ve got quite the assortment now. Polars and Grizzlies, not to mention a few Foxes.”

“Really?”

“Don’t forget us normals,” Leya butted in and grinned as she handed me a glass of water.

“You’re human and you are mated to the Alpha? But don’t you turn into, um, a Bear after you mate him?” I asked, shocked, but a little hopeful, too.

“No! Shifters are born, not made. So, even though he can share some of his magic with me. Like longevity, I don’t turn into anything but this. Well, except for when I turn into a raving lunatic once a month, but blame Mother Nature for that,” Leya muttered, and Krissy laughed.

“So it isn’t against the law or anything for Shifters to mate humans?” I asked.

“Our Head Enforcer is mated to a human, too,” Leya said.

She seemed nice, and I liked how open she was. Sweet and pretty, too, no wonder she’d caught the Alpha’s eye.

“Wait, so the Head Enforcer, that Daniel guy also has a human mate? But he was such a dick about it,” I said and slapped a hand over my mouth.

“Sounds about right. The only people Daniel is ever sweet with are his mate and his cubs,” Krissy explained with an indulgent roll of her eyes.

“Now, if I understand correctly, you are a Barvale native?” Leya asked.

I nodded.

“Yes. I grew up here, but I moved away for college. Then I went to New York to live with my boyfriend. Well, my ex. Webroke up a few months ago, and I came home. My mother retired and went South, and my brother is in the military. I took out a mortgage and bought my childhood home, intending to make a life here, but I guess now it’s all up in the air,” I said, allowing the rest to trail off.

“Is he worth it?” Krissy asked.

“Oh, yes. I mean, I know I don’t know everything about him. But the second I saw him, I just knew. It was like something clicked inside me, telling me he was special. I know it’s nuts, but I love him,” I confessed.

Shit.

I hadn’t realized how crazy my life was until I said it, spilling all that tea like these women had any reason to care.

“Hope, it’s okay. We understand,” Leya said earnestly and squeezed my hand.

One of the toddlers yelled, catching her attention, and she excused herself. I was left with Krissy and while she was very kind, I couldn’t help but wish I was with someone I knew.

“I am so sorry for what you are going through. I imagine this is very strange for you,” she said.

“It is. I mean, I meant it when I said I loved him. I do. But I am so worried about him,” I whispered and bit my lower lip.

“The waiting is the worst part. But I promise the council is fair and the Devlin brothers are the best men I know,” Krissy murmured.

I silently agreed with her about the waiting part. As for the Devlin men, well, I didn’t really know them.

The minutes ticked by so slowly. I rubbed my arms, even though the temperature in the room was comfortable.

Closing my eyes, I forced myself to slow the speeding of my pulse. I really missed Miles. And I hated he might be kicked out of town for protecting me. It all seemed so unfair.

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