Page 20 of Bear's Midlife Surprise

Walking down the street in a blanket would earn them some looks, and she knew Tavish wouldn’t want the attention. Why was she thinking of a blanket anyway? The whole street was full of shops. Clothes would be easier to find than anything, wouldn’t they? Maybe not in Tavish’s size, but he couldn’t be very worried about a perfect fit.

Why was she even contemplating a good fit when he’d just gone from a man to a bear and back to a man?That was some supernatural, paranormal shit right there, and if it had been real, there had to be some kind of explanation.

“I’m just going to those stores out there.” She turned and pointed behind her. “Don’t go anywhere.”

He didn’t seem capable of saying anything, but when he bit down on his bottom lip and studied her with huge eyes that were liquid with pain and fear, she felt it like a kick to the midsection.

Finally thinking about the cold and about Tavish’s exposure, she took off her jacket. It meant walking over. He was crouched down and didn’t move. It wasn’t that he didn’t comprehend what that outstretched hand and jacket meant. He looked up at her warily.

“I’m coming back,” she promised. “Here. See?” Did he think she was going to run and tell someone that he’d just turned into a bear? Without video evidence, how well would that go over? But he was alone and vulnerable, and if she brought someone who could manhandle him into submission, like cops or something, and if he was taken into custody and anyone believed her and they ran tests…

She slipped her purse off her shoulder and took out her wallet. She slipped her credit card out of the card holder and showed it to him. “I’m just taking this. You have the rest. You have all my ID. I know it’s not irreplaceable, but it’s a real pain in the ass to do it. You have my credit cards, my insurance info, my driver’s license—everything. It’s proof I’m coming back.”

His eyes were as big and dark as wind-whipped summer storm clouds, but only the kind that bring rain, not the ones that herald disaster.

“Okay?”

He looked like a man about to jump off a cliff with the churning ocean beneath. The foamy, choppy waters hiding rocks that could be there near the surface, ready to smash a body to bits.

She waited to leave until he gave her a tight nod. She needed that affirmation from him, because despite the assurances she gave, she felt one hundred million percent unnerved and untethered from anything she’d previously known as realty.

Chapter 9

Tavish

Just like the bear tearing loose had happened so fast, it all happened fast afterwards.

He’d gained control after only a few minutes, forcing the bear back so he could resume his human form. He’d wrecked his clothes in the shift, and when his mind truly cleared, there was January, telling him it was going to be okay, letting him know he could trust her, handing over her jacket, all so very gently and sweetly. She was so kind.

He was astounded by that kindness and goodness. Not that he didn’t know good, kind people, because he did, but he didn’t often need their help. He was strong, didn’t get sick often, was capable, didn’t have to rely on anyone, and was used to fending for himself.

He wasn’t in this position often. Or ever.

Only a few minutes after she left, January was back, holding out a reusable bag with a sunshine on the side. She rummaged in it when he stayed crouched down, hiding as much of himself under her coat he could, as if that would undo the past twenty minutes and could wipe her mind back to a clean slate.

No one else had seen. Of that, he could be thankful. Very thankful. And he was.

But he was afraid that he’d hurt January just by forcing her to know this. He hadn’t wanted her to witness it, to come and find him, but she had, and of all people, he was glad it was her. He couldn’t wish that she wasn’t with him now. He’d never felt more damaged, more broken, more fragile or vulnerable. He wasn’t used to feeling any of it.

It felt like she was the strong one.

When she gathered up her purse and turned around, leaving the bag on the pavement beside him, she felt strong. When she waited as he slipped into a t-shirt soft enough that it didn’t hurt his skin, always more sensitive after a fresh shift, and a pair of jeans that fit well enough even if they were a few inches short, she felt strong. He found a pair of sneakers in the bag. He hoped she’d saved the receipts. He’d pay her back for everything.

God, why was he thinking about money?

Was he already skipping ahead to the old clan imperative? To what they used to use back before Sam became alpha, to buy their young back from human mothers, to bribe doctors to take the young for them, to buysilence?

He would never do that. They were supposed to be moving forward. Finding a way that involved honesty and love and not the ugliness of cash and bribes.

“Are you okay?” It was her asking him again.

“I should be the one asking that question.”

“I-I don’t know. I think we should get back to the truck.”

“It won’t happen again. I promise, it won’t happen again.” Could he promise that? He felt monumentally fucked up at the moment. Normally, yes, he could promise, but what the hell had just happened to him?

She bit down on her bottom lip. The trembling started then, even when he set her coat back on her shoulders and zipped it up when she didn’t do it herself. Even when he took her elbow and guided her out of the alley and down the sidewalk. She seemed shell-shocked, like it had taken half an hour to set in, but now it was taking over.

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