Page 108 of Bear Facts

“Accepting my mate-claim wasn’t just a ploy to confuse your brother, was it?” Shane whispered the question he’d been longing to ask. “Because it counted. You said the right words and everything.”

Freya shook her head, brushing him with her warm hair. “Not a ploy. I …” Color rose in her cheeks. “It was time.”

“It was a good time.” Shane cuddled her close. “It’s always a good time to accept a mate-claim. Well, for you to accept mine anyway.” He put his lips to her ear. “I’m glad you did.”

“I’m glad I did too.” Freya slid her hands behind Shane’s neck. “A bad time too, though. Kind of stirred up my mate frenzy.”

“Yeah?” Shane pretended to be amazed. “Mine as well.”

Freya’s smile undid him. She pulled him down to her for a thorough kiss, one that told him they were mates in truth. He heard Marlo chuckle as the plane rumbled through the soft blackness of the night.

Freya kissed Shane for most of the ride home. When their lips weren’t meeting, she slept, cradled in her mate’s arms. It was the most profound and relaxing sleep she’d experienced in a very long time.

When they landed, Brody met them to drive them home. He was ecstatic that Freya had accepted the claim.

“About time,” Brody said as Shane’s truck rattled away from the airstrip. “I was ready to lock you two in a room and not open up until you figured it out.”

“Aw,” Shane said as he lounged with Freya in the back seat. “Can we still do the locked in the room thing?”

Matt, a boy once more, laughed from beside Brody. Freya smiled, but holing up with Shane for a while sounded good to her.

When Brody pulled the truck to a halt in Shiftertown, they were quickly surrounded by bear Shifters. Shane stepped out of the pickup first and reached back to help Freya climb out.

Kyle saw Matt and yelled at the top of his lungs. Matt shouted back. The two cubs ran at each other, grabbed hands the second before they’d have crashed into each other, and danced around in a wild jig.

Nell enfolded Freya in a crushing hug the moment she landed on her feet. “Welcome to the family, honey. For real now.”

Tears stung Freya’s eyes as she hugged Nell. Freya had lost her mom so long ago, and now she had a new one.

Nell finally released her, only to have Cormac grab Freya and swing her off her feet. “This is awesome. Thank you, Freya. You’re just what Shane needs.”

“What I need too,” Freya said when she could breathe again.

A family. She’d always had her brother, through their ups and downs, and Graham had looked after them in his gruff way, but she’d never had a complete family.

Now she did, courtesy of the giant bear Shifter who was grinning widely beside her. Shane hugged his mom and then Cormac before leading Freya up to the porch and inside the house with bear-sized furniture.

“Welcome home, Freya,” he boomed, the walls echoing with his words.

“Thank you.” Freya’s answer was quieter as she rose on tiptoe to kiss him. “But I think we’re going to need a bigger bedroom.”

As much as Shane’s mating frenzy pulled at him, he and Freya fell almost instantly asleep as soon as they hit Shane’s bed. Shane was unaware of how much time had passed when he woke to see red-orange sunlight slanting through the window.

They’d flown home in the dark and driven through more darkness from the plane to Shiftertown. His window faced west, a beam of sunlight landing on the wall next to his head, so probably it was sunset the next day.

Freya emitted a soft noise when Shane moved to look at the clock next to his bed. Yep, five-fifteen.

When he glanced down at Freya, he saw that she’d opened her beautiful golden eyes to him.

“Sorry,” she said, yawning. “Didn’t mean to fall asleep so fast.”

“Let’s see, we climbed down a mountain, swam a river, hiked for miles, and then fought crazed feral Shifters. Plus, you found your brother, but it wasn’t the reunion you hoped for.” Shane touched her face, softening his summary. “That would make anyone tired.”

“What will they do to Rolf?” Freya asked worriedly. “I’m really mad at him, but he is my brother.”

Shane wished he could reassure her, but he wasn’t certain what Dylan had in mind. Graham would probably insist on Rolf being healed, as Keira had been, but Dylan was like the uber-boss of all the Shifters. Even Eric did what he asked.

“We can find out.” Shane forced himself to sit up. He’d managed to slide off his shirt before going to sleep but still wore the jeans he’d donned for the mission. At least he’d gotten rid of his boots before he smeared mud all over the blankets.

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