Page 28 of The Bear's Reluctant Mate

Our third home, his bear chuckled.

Alfie arched an eyebrow.Yeah, our cabin, the vineyard, the garden center…But now, his home would be wherever his mate was.

His mate.

He drove along the mountain roads whistling, his heart as light as the spring breeze dancing through the trees.

Life is good,his bear said, stretching contentedly inside him.

Life is amazing,Alfie corrected, feeling the truth of it down to his bones.

His bear rumbled in agreement. The weight of longing that had been his constant companion had lifted, replaced by a carefree sense of anticipation of all that was to come.

And there was so much to come. So many memories to make with his mate. So much time to get to know her. Because this was the beginning of forever.

Alfie slowed the truck as he reached the vineyard, drinking in the sight of the neat rows of vines stretching across the hillside. The hacienda-style house nestled among them looked just as it always had, with its warm stone walls, terracotta roof tiles, and the wide porch where they often gathered for family dinners on summer evenings. It was all exactly the same, and yet everything felt different.

No,Alfie realized. The vineyard hadn’t changed. He had.

He pulled up to the house and parked, cutting the engine. Through his open window, he could smell the distinctive scent of the vineyard, rich earth, and greenery seasoned with the faint sweetness of developing grapes.

As he stepped out of the truck, he sensed his mother before he saw her. A lifetime of connection allowed him to pinpoint her location among the vines. His father was farther along the same row, the two of them working in the comfortable silence of mates who had been together so long, that words were not always necessary to communicate.

Leanne Thornberg looked up as if she’d sensed him, too, her face breaking into a smile that quickly shifted to concern. She pulled off her gardening gloves and hurried toward him, her movements still supple despite decades of physical labor.

“Alfie? Is everything all right?” she asked, her eyes scanning him for any sign of trouble.

“It is,” Alfie said, suddenly finding it difficult to put his joy into words. How could he explain what had happened? How could he make her understand the magnitude of this day?

“Are you sure?” Leanne pressed, reaching up to touch his cheek. “Only it’s a Saturday, your busiest day. And you are here.”

Alfie caught her hand, squeezing it gently. “Mom, I met her today.”

“Her?” Leanne’s brow furrowed, then her eyes widened as understanding dawned. “Her? Your mate?”

Alfie nodded, a laugh bubbling up from deep inside him. “Yes. My mate. Her name is Marion.”

Leanne’s hands flew to her mouth as her eyes filled with tears. “Oh, Alfie! That’s wonderful!”

She threw her arms around him, and Alfie hugged her tightly, lifting her slightly off the ground in his enthusiasm. When he set her down, she was laughing and crying at once, her hands fluttering between wiping her eyes and gripping his arms as if to assure herself he was real.

“Hugo!” she called over her shoulder. “Hugo, come quickly!”

Alfie’s father looked up from his work, concern crossing his weathered face at his wife’s call. He dropped his pruning shears and hurried toward them, his long strides eating up the distance between the rows of vines.

“What is it? What’s happened?” Hugo demanded as he reached them, his eyes moving from his wife’s tear-streaked face to his son’s beaming one.

“Tell him,” Leanne urged, her voice trembling with emotion.

“Dad,” Alfie said, reaching out to clasp his father’s shoulder. “I found my mate today.”

Hugo Thornberg stood perfectly still for a moment, processing the words. Then his face transformed, decades seeming to fall away as joy overtook him. “Your mate? Today?”

“This morning,” Alfie confirmed. “At the garden center.”

“Oh, my!” Hugo wrapped him in a bear hug that would have crushed a normal man, his deep laugh rumbling through both of them. “I knew it would happen. I always knew.”

When they pulled apart, Hugo kept one arm around Alfie’s shoulders, his other hand reaching for Leanne’s. “Tell us everything. Who is she? What’s she like?”

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