Page 112 of Bear Facts

“I’ll need a dress,” Freya said when she could speak again. “How about we go shopping?” she suggested to Nell and Keira. “It’s been a while since I did that.”

“Tomorrow,” Nell promised. “Eat up. We have a lot to do, and you’ll need your energy.”

Shane didn’t say a word. No rebuking his family to stop being pushy or scoffing at his mom for taking over planning the mating ceremony. His eyes sparkled as he listened to them all, a smile hovering around his mouth.

He wanted this mating too.

Freya’s heartbeat sped when Shane shoved back his chair at the end of the meal and rose. Freya hopped up beside him.

“Well, we need our rest if we’re going to be doing all this shopping and ceremony planning,” Shane announced. “Good night.”

Freya said a quick good night as well, before Shane towed her at a rapid pace from the table. Instead of heading to Shane’s bedroom, he opened the door in the wall that took them down the stairs to the basement.

A quick eye scan from Shane let them into the secret spaces, then Shane flicked on all the lights and locked the door behind him.

“Nice and private,” he said, voice going low. “Soundproof, too.”

“Keira’s sleeping down here, isn’t she?” Freya asked.

“She can have my bed for the night. I’m sure Mom has already brought out the clean sheets for her.”

They entered another bedroom, one Freya hadn’t seen before. It held a large bed, neatly made with a thick bedspread along with a large television and a mini fridge humming away in the corner. A bachelor’s room if she ever saw one.

Shane closed the door. “There’s clean sheets in here too,” he said.

Freya turned to face him, resting her hands on his chest. “Will we ever get to see these clean sheets?”

“Eventually.”

Shane skimmed off Freya’s shirt as he backed her toward the bed. Her hands worked on his clothes too, and soon they were bare, the room quiet except for sounds of kisses and little growls.

Freya shrieked as Shane tossed her to the bed and landed next to her. It wasn’t long before their groans tore the air, then Freya’s cries as the bed moved with their frantic lovemaking.

Freya held Shane as he drove deep into her, erasing all her weariness from their journey and search. She was in love with her big, strong bear, who could sleep in her bed anytime.

“I love you,” she cried out, and then her climax enfolded her in dark waves of pleasure. A blue glow flicked around her, gently touching Shane and drawing him closer.

Shane’s thrusts became frenzied. “Love you, Freya. Mate of my heart. Love you.”

“Mate of my heart,” Freya whispered in response, and she knew it for truth.

Somewhere outside, the moon rose, cold and clear. Freya felt it, though no windows let it in.

The Mother Goddess smiled down on her Shifters, weaving the mate bond around them like a golden thread, binding their hearts with their love.

Epilogue

Three days later, Freya, dressed in a shimmering gold dress that was the prettiest she’d ever owned, recalled what Misty had said about a mating ceremony.

Shifters dancing around like crazy, many of them naked. Raucous is a good word for it.

Misty had been so right.

Eric had already said the words that blessed Freya and Shane and mated them under the light of the Mother Goddess. The sun blessing had happened earlier that day, and the Shifters had started celebrating then.

By the time of the moon blessing, the party was far along. Shifters danced, ate and drank, shifted, and ran, then dropped, exhausted, to the ground, naked and human once more. Some grabbed their mates or would-be mates and found shadowy corners to continue the merrymaking.

It was cold, the January wind blowing through the desert, but no one seemed to notice. The sky was clear—the sun had shone mightily that afternoon, and now the moon and stars were hard and sparkling against the night.

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