Page 45 of On Tap for the Bear
"How many of you are there?" I ask again, needing to hear it out loud.
Eli's throat works. "Everyone. The whole town."
"Everyone."
"Everyone who lives here permanently, yeah. We don't let humans settle in Redwood Rise unless the land chooses them. Unless they can handle the truth."
"And you thought I could handle this?" My voice pitches higher. "I came here because I couldn't taste food anymore, Eli. I'm barely handling my life falling apart, and now you're telling me I stumbled into a town full of shapeshifters?"
"You didn't stumble." He takes a cautious step closer. "The land called you. Same as it called Cilla when she needed a fresh start. Same as it called Dorothy twenty years ago when she was running from an abusive marriage. The ley lines recognize people who need sanctuary. Who need healing. Who need...”
"What? Magic? Secret shapeshifter boyfriends?" The hysteria is creeping into my voice now. "I don't even know what I need anymore."
"You need to belong somewhere," Eli says quietly. "You need a place where you can be yourself without fear of being betrayed again. Where your gifts are valued instead of stolen. Where you're safe. Where you're wanted. Where you're home."
The words hit me square in the chest.
Home.
When was the last time anywhere felt like home? Not my apartment in the city. Not my childhood house where I spent years trying to meet impossible standards. Not the magazine offices where I built a career on someone else's foundation.
But here, in this impossible town, with this impossible man—I've felt more at home in less than a week than I have in years.
"What are you?" I ask. "Specifically, I mean. You're a bear, obviously, but...”
"Grizzly bear shifter. My whole family—my brothers and I—we're all bears." His expression tightens. "It's why we take protecting this territory so seriously. Why losing Jonah hit us so hard. The clan—our family—is everything."
"Clan." I test the word. "Not pack."
"Packs are wolves. We're bears; we have clans." He edges closer, and I don't move away. "There are different types of shifters here. Wolves, bears, big cats, birds of prey. Even a dragon, though she keeps to herself mostly."
"A dragon." I laugh, and it sounds slightly unhinged. "Of course there's a dragon. Why not?"
"Quinn...”
"Are you dangerous?" The question comes out blunt, but I need to know. "When you're—like that. Could you hurt someone?"
"I'm still me," Eli says. "The bear is part of who I am, not separate. I have control. We all do, except in extreme circumstances." He gestures to the clearing. "That ley line surge was strong enough to force the change, but even then, I knew you. Would never hurt you."
"Because I'm...” I struggle to find the words. "Because I'm yours? The bear seemed to think so."
His eyes flash. "You felt that?"
"I did. When I touched you." I swallow hard. "The bear's thoughts. I could feel...” How do I explain that I somehow felt his emotions? His bone-deep certainty that I belonged to him and he to me? "It's true, isn't it?"
Eli closes the distance between us in two long strides, dropping to his knees in front of me. "It is. My bear chose you the moment you walked into the tavern. But Quinn, listen to me—that doesn't mean you're obligated to choose me back. Mates are about destiny, but destiny doesn't override free will. You get to decide. You always get to decide."
I look at him—this man who's been patient with me, who's fed me, who's kissed me like I'm precious, who's shown me magic and mystery and now his deepest secret. This man who can turn into a literal bear and still somehow makes me feel safer than I've ever felt.
"Everyone," I say again. "The whole town knows about this?"
"Everyone who's permanent, yeah. Tourists and visitors see what they expect to see. The ley lines help with that—camouflage, sort of. But people who belong here, people the land chooses—they see the truth eventually."
"And you were going to tell me when?"
"Today. This morning, actually, before the emergency with Jonah." He reaches for my hand, hesitates, then touches my fingers gently. "I was terrified you'd run. That I'd lose you before we even had a chance."
"I should run," I tell him honestly. "This is crazy. All of it."
