Page 130 of Bear
The cabin was bustling with activity. I don’t think I’d ever had so many people in the cabin at once. Nadia’s parents, the inner circle, Switch, the magical beings, they were all either inside or on the porch talking, trying to forget.
The bar was undergoing renovations. It had been closed for two and a half weeks, and just being around the bar was hard enough. It brought up terrible memories of Locke running out in his wolf form, eyes blazing red, and patches of hair missing from his body.
It was all a terrible reminder that we were alone without an alpha.
Grim grunted, holding Journey in his lap. “Thanks for hosting this.” Grim wiped a napkin down his beard. “It’s a great reminder that we are all still a family. That we are going to get through this.”
I nodded and put my plate down on the kitchen counter. “Locke wouldn’t want us to mope around. He would want us to continue what we started. We have to continue training, continue moving forward with the raid on the mansion…” Nadia grabbed my hand and rubbed her thumb over mine.
“I agree,” Grim interrupted. “Locke wanted to rescue those at the mansion, and we will. As soon as the fae say they are prepared. Switch has a close eye on the mansion. No one is being abused. They are currently just locked up, and the duke isn’t even there. Switch is working on tracking any correspondences coming out of the house. We should know something in a few days.”
I grunted and pulled my mate closer.
Nadia growled. “I’m coming too.” Her claws elongated and scratched the kitchen table.
My grizzly snarled, snapping at Nikita, but she growled back.
“We can talk about that later,” I grunted at her.
“It’s happening,” Nadia argued back. “Delilah can’t go, not with Hannah just being born. We all know Delilah and Hawke can’t travel.”
The baby cooed from Hawke’s arms and slapped him across the face.
His eyes widened, and stared at her in shock. “Well then,” Hawke snorted. “You are just like your mother.”
We all laughed around the table and held our mates a little closer.
Journey raised her glass to our small circle. “To Locke. May he find his mate quickly.”
We all stared at each other in question for a few moments. Could it be possible she knew more?
“Of course she does,” my mate soothed me through the bond. “You can’t possibly think that this is the end of Locke, do you? Not after he has done all this?”
I held onto Nadia’s gaze as we looked out over our home, our den. As much as we meant for this to be a merry time, to help forget the renovations of the bar, losing our alpha, or president, there was a solemn tone to the party. The brothers still talked, still mingled together, but no matter what, I think Locke would always be at the forefront of our minds.
Journey looked behind her, her glass still raised. Grim rubbed his hand down her back and cleared his throat to get everyone’s attention in our home.
With Grim’s demanding presence, the room stilled. Even the people who gathered outside looked in the windows. “My mate wants to raise a toast,” he growled.
Silence came over the cabin, and they all stared into the kitchen. Journey scooted closer to Grim. “You didn’t need to do that,” she whispered.
“This is a toast for everyone,” he murmured into her ear.
Journey sighed and pulled back her shoulders. “To Locke,” she announced loudly. “May he find his mate quickly.”
Everyone in the room looked as shocked as we were until Grim gave a glare that promised death if they said or questioned his mate. They all raised their glasses.
“Oh dear,”my mate squeezed my hand.
“To Locke,” we all said in unison and downed whatever bit of alcohol we had been drinking.
As I lay beside my partner, embraced in slumber’s grasp, a profound sense of gratitude washed over me. I was fortunate to have her by my side, to call her mine. With gentle caresses, my fingertips traced the curves of her hips, gliding down the length of her legs. The softness of her skin met my touch, igniting a tantalizing sensation. In the darkness, our bodies aligned, and the subtle pressure of her backside against my own stirred a primal desire.
My mate made me forget, made me forget the troubles of the world that would plague us until Duke Idris was long gone and hoping our president would return.
He would return.
I slid my hand up her torso and cupped her breast, my fingers pinching her hardened nipples. She sighed and turned her body toward me. Her body was lush, her hips full and damn, her ass had filled out nicely.
