Page 34 of Fearless Bond

“What?”

“Calvin is my fated. He went into heat one day after we met.”

The phone was silent for a long moment. “That’s fast.”

“Yeah. It’s a strong bond, I think.”

Hunter’s exhale crackled in the phone. “You hide out here for a decade, determined not to put a foot outside of Beauville, hating on everyone and everything. Then you find your fated mate wandering through the forest behind your house. And only one day? You’re kidding me. You can marry him tomorrow, you fucker.”

“It’s like poker, man. I’ve got more luck than sense.”

“I hate you.”

I shouldn’t have laughed. For years, Hunter had been going on all these trips and cruises, driving for miles to meet omegas, and still no luck. Men were all over him like he was catnip—or a hot alpha doctor, as it were—but none of them turned out tobe the one. I did shit all, reconciled to being alone, and Calvin stumbled right into my arms.

“It’s not fair, I agree,” I said. “But he’s mine now.”

“You’d better fucking take care of that boy. He seems lovely.”

“He’s an angel. I should go. He could wake up at any moment.”

“Yeah, yeah. Hurry up and have all that heat sex, you asshole,” Hunter grumbled.

“Oh, I will do that. Many times.”

“You know what? It’ll be me laughing when you’re elbows deep in baby puke.”

I blinked, and it hit me like a ton of bricks. Chances were really high that nine months from now, I would be a father. “Shit.”

Hunter chuckled. “When the heat is over, tell Calvin he can make an appointment with me for a test and an ultrasound. Good luck.”

My cousin ended the call, leaving me standing there, reeling. I did know I’d breed Calvin. He wanted it, needed it even. Once a human omega bonded with a bear, his hormones went haywire and the powerful heat wouldn’t end until he was knocked up. And Calvin’s had started even faster than what was usual for newly mated couples.

So, yeah, in a few days, Calvin would be pregnant. I just hadn’t thought as far as to imagine an actual baby. A little boy, mine and his, growing to become a person.

Oh hell.

I dropped the phone onto the kitchen table and hurried to the bedroom.

Calvin slept on his side, huddled under the duvet, his eyelids pale and cheeks pink. His soft, plump lips were parted.

The most beautiful omega in the entire wide world.

I took off my T-shirt and, trying not to jostle him, I climbed onto the bed next to him. My mate snuffled in his sleep and threw an arm over my chest. He pressed his face to my shoulder.

He slept like that, nestled to my side, and I breathed him in, trying to get some rest.

11

CALVIN

I’d heard about bonds. Everyone had. Instant fairytale love, everlasting… But for people, they were rare. And with shifters mostly keeping to themselves, many staying in hiding, it wasn’t something you encountered often in real life. I’d heard the stories since I was a kid but didn’t personally know anyone who’d bonded with a shifter.

It explained so much. Why I felt so calm and even happy with Barclay from the first day. With only a few inhalations of his scent, all my worries miraculously disappeared.

Another incredible thing was my physical need. Barclay’s pheromones were aggravating my heat by the minute. My belly looked swollen. My womb must be growing and sinking lower. I was slick even between waves, and my nipples were super sensitive. Even my pecs looked bigger.

Yeah, I was mated to a bear shifter, and my body was swiftly changing for its new purpose.

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