Page 22 of Grumpy Special Ops Bear: Ep. 3
No matter what happened next between Price’s pack and Fergus’s clan, in this moment, I knew this connection between Fergus and me was right.
He was mine, and I was his.
Without a doubt, we would keep each other safe, or we would die trying.
Chapter 13
Trinity
“So explainto me what this whole mate thing is actually about?” I asked a few hours later.
We’d made love several times by the fire until it’d died down enough that Fergus needed to build it back up. We’d gotten dressed because we did not know when Grant and Cutter might decide to return. I really didn’t want to be naked when they came back.
Fergus reclined against the log, with me curled up in front of him, leaning into his chest. “What do you want to know?”
“Is there some crazy bear ritual we have to do?”
He rested his chin on top of my head. “I have to claim and mark you at some point.”
I scrunched up my nose. “Is that like a golden shower? Are you going to make it rain down on me?”
He replied, “No,” as he chuckled. “It’s a bite that goes on your shoulder and lets others know we’re mated for life and we are one. It also warns them there will be hell to pay if they fuck with you.”
“In other words, you’ll rip their damn throats out.”
“To say the least.” He hugged me tightly for a minute and then sighed. “Being my mate also means being in charge of my bear clan. It’s a lot of responsibility, and their well-being is vital. We’re a big family, and we have one another’s backs at all times. I also make sure everyone is financially secure. My parents created a corporation years ago. It started out small, but now its assets are in the billions.”
I whistled. “Billions? How do you manage a billion-dollar company when you’re out here, hunting down outlaw shifters?”
“Most of the members of my clan work as employees in some capacity, and everyone owns shares in the corporation. It’s really a family-run organization. While I was out in the human world, my mother and aunt were pretty hands-on with running the business while my dad—the former alpha—took care of the clan. When my parents died, it was a simple decision for me to come back to the clan and assume the alpha position. I went through a series of challenges with members of the clan before I earned the position though.”
“Challenges? As in actual fighting? I thought you were a family?”
“We are. Shifters respect power, intelligence, strength, and leadership. You can’t just demand to be alpha. You must earn it.”
“So as alpha-female, I will be challenged, too?”
His body stiffened. “Fuck no. Not in my clan. In other clans and packs maybe, but not in mine. Shit, they’ve been waiting for me to find a bear mate for years.”
I bit my bottom lip. “But I’m not a bear. I’m human—a damn human who has Protector lineage.”
“I will not lie. It won’t be easy for everyone to accept our mating, but we’ll make this work, Trinity. You’re my fated mate, and I will never give you up.”
Tilting my head back, I looked into his eyes with seriousness. “I have one more question about this mating thing.”
“Anything.”
“Will it hurt?”
“What do you mean?”
“When you bite me?”
Fergus burst out with laughter. “Only a little.”
I rested my head against him and closed my eyes, trying to imagine what it would be like to meet all the other bears.
Family. I will actually have a damn family.The thought excited me and filled me with fear.
