Page 32 of Fearless Bond

“My sweetheart.”

He let the endearment hang in the air. I wondered if he wanted to say something more, but I was too sleepy to ask.

Questions could wait.

10

BARCLAY

It took ages for the knot to go down. Not that I was complaining, but the longer I waited to tell Calvin the truth about myself, the bigger mess the situation could become. As soon as our bodies were separated, I carried him into the shower. I washed him, dressed him in those sweats and my hoodie that made him look even tinier and unbearably cute, and brought him to the kitchen. He seemed to like it when I carted him around like a parcel. He gave me these sweet little kisses into my beard and clung to my neck. Who was I to deny him? He was my mate. My forever omega. I would carry him in my arms all day, any day he wanted.

But first, he needed to know the truth.

Look, Calvin, I know we’ve just met, but you’re my fated mate because, well, bear shifter stuff. Have I mentioned I change into a bear for funsies? So, how about we keep fucking until I impregnate you? Then we’ll have five to seven kids, and you’ll stay here with me until we die. Sounds good?

Yep. He’d freak out. He had said he felt calm around me, but there was no way he’d take this news lightly. I prepared myself for the worst, but I couldn’t postpone it.

I sat him on the kitchen chair and got him a glass of water. Then I pulled the other chair close so I could hold his hand on the table.

“There’s something important I need to tell you.”

He frowned at me warily. “Okay.”

There was no way around it. I just had to spit it out. “Before I found you in the forest, you met a bear.”

Calvin blinked, looking confused. “I didn’t tell you that story, did I?”

“That bear was me. That’s how I knew where to find you.”

A few seconds passed, during which I managed to come up with five different catastrophic scenarios about him running away from me in terror or calmly leaving in disgust. People held all kinds of superstitions about us, and my experience said you never knew where you stood with a guy until you told him. But Calvin didn’t remove his hand from under my palm.

“You’re a shifter.”

I nodded. “Yes. Many here in Beauville are.”

His eyebrows scrunched up in a thoughtful frown as he studied me.

Now I had to get out the other part.

“See, your heat came quickly, and you said things about my scent… so, um, there’s a possibility, depending on where you are in your cycle… I mean, you might feel it already… or not. I… I think I feel it.”

“I wasn’t supposed to go into heat for another four months.” He sounded calm, almost detached. Was that a good or a bad thing?

“I think… I believe…” I couldn’t even say it.

Groaning in frustration, I stood and pushed the chair aside. I knelt in front of him and reached for his hands. He was still frowning but let me hold them.

“You’re my mate, Calvin. My fated.”

He opened his mouth. Closed it.

“Your heat is my fault. My scent caused it.”

I could hear his sprinting heartbeat. Was that fear? He didn’t seem afraid. He licked his lips almost sensually as he stared at me.

Eons went by as I knelt there, gazing at the little omega who threw my life upside down. He had a journey in front of him, and no matter how much I wanted to give him the world, there were some things I couldn’t help him with. He needed to feel and understand the bond between us, and I had to be patient until he did.

“Will you get me pregnant?” was his next question. His voice sounded remarkably steady.

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