Page 525 of Love Bites

Keith says, "No shit. Carly almost shot me."

I say, "Yeah, sorry about that."

"It's okay. I probably would have done the same thing. She's got balls, Brady."

Brady smiles at me. "That she does." He steps a little closer.

I ask, "This werebear stuff, is it a family thing? Are there a lot of you?" Brady's scent wafts toward me, and my skin aches for his touch.

Brady answers me. "We call ourselves a family, but we're really a clan. Keith and I are distant relatives, not really family."

I remember Catori, the Native American woman we met in Colorado who helped us believe coming here was our destiny. I also recall Lily, the girl at the motel, who had been called too. She told us Catori said she was destined to save a clan. I nod trying to process it all. Sierra asks, "So we're here to breed with you guys and have baby werebear, right?"

Keith scratches his head. "I wish you wouldn't call it breeding. We'll have babies the way usual people do. Only when they get older they should be able to shift given your heritage." He steps closer to us too.

Our heritage?I ask, "Hang on, me and Sierra have werebear genes?"

Brady looks at me. "You do." He holds his hand out again, and this time I take it. Even though I'm not sure I like him right now, I can't seem to resist. He continues, "The sign could only be seen by descendants of werebears. That's why we sent it."

Sierra asks, "So werebear are everywhere?"

Brady answers. "Because we go to regular public schools, sometimes members of the clan fall in love with normal people. We keep our shifting secret from the rest of the world, and once someone leaves us, we don't let them go back and forth between both worlds."

I ask, "I'm going to guess there's a lot of us, right?"

"That's right, but we only wanted those of you that could be our mates. It's complicated, but it was sent out to a target group. Each eligible male sent it to a possible mate." Brady's finger is rubbing the back of my hand, and his touch sends tingles through me.

Sierra asks, "How many women are going to come?"

Keith is holding her hand when he answers. "We don't know. You have to be pretty brave and willing to believe in the sign to come, don't you think?"

Sierra has succumbed to Keith’s charms, and he is now holding her. She says, "Did you not see me faint? I'm not brave, but I am willing to try almost anything."

Keith pats her hair. "And for that I'm grateful. I can't imagine life without you." He nuzzles her neck, and she giggles.

At those words, I look into Brady's eyes. I know he wants acceptance, and I want to give it to him. But a tiny piece of me can't believe the bear in my dreams is real. I let him pull me against his chest and melt in his arms. Exhaustion has overtaken me, and his embrace soothes my tired muscles.

He whispers in my ear. "You're the brave one, and I'm proud of your reaction. You must have come from warriors."

I snort. "I doubt that."

"I don't. We were made for each other, Carly. You were meant to stand by my side.”

I lay my head against his chest and let the soft flannel of his shirt caress my cheek. Catori's words echo in my mind."You'll find a great and powerful love. In return you'll provide the future."Brady is my powerful love, and having children with him would help provide the future. But I have a feeling there's a lot more to this, and I'm afraid to find out.

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