I rest my head against his chest and breathe him in. “Ronan, I don’t get it. You should be running me out of town, not telling me you want me to stay.”
“Hey”—he nudges his body against me, shaking me a little—“look up at me.”
I raise my head, resting my chin on his chest.
He stares at me for the longest time and I swear I see exactly what he feels for me in his eyes. The thought scares me a little.
His voice is rough and thick with emotion. “Do you remember me telling you that I was claiming you? That you are mine?”
I nod.
“Well, I meant that. You’re stuck with me.”
I try to back away from him, but he stops me. I push my hands hard against his chest. “This doesn’t make sense, Ronan. I feel so boggled up inside and I can’t make sense of anything. I don’t understand this… what’s happening between the two of us. I just don’t know,” I tell him.
“I know exactly what it is, but I can’t tell you how to feel, Bree. I need you to figure this out on your own.”
Ronan
Now I’m worried. I know she’s younger and doesn’t fully understand what’s happening, but how do you tell someone that they are mated to you? What if she’s my mate, but I’m not hers? Is that even possible? I’ve never heard of it.
I lead her over to the table and pull the chair out. “Sit down.”
She looks at me weirdly but does as I ask. “Okay, clear your mind, try not to think of anything but you and me.”
She rolls her shoulders as if she’s trying to relax.
I pick up the letter that she started, and read the words over and over. “Ronan, I’m leaving.”
She’s watching me curiously, but I keep at it. I imagine coming here and finding her gone. I imagine never seeing her again. I imagine losing my one true love… my mate. The emotions build inside of me and I can feel it affecting me. My heart is beating rapidly in my chest, my muscles are flexed and the pain in my gut is immense.
Her hand slides across the table and I can’t stop myself from reaching for her. Her other hand goes to her stomach and she holds herself like she’s in pain, like she can feel what I’m going through. She leans toward me and I watch as a tear rolls down her cheek. I can’t help it, I pull her into my lap. She curls into me, her hand pressed against my chest. We sit there for the longest time, until finally our breaths return to normal.
With her cheek on my heart, she finally asks me the question I’ve been waiting for her to ask. “Ronan, how did you know I was hurt? How did you know where I was at?”
I don’t answer her for the longest time, and finally she raises up and looks at me. I cup her jaw in my hand. “I felt your pain. I felt what Solos was doing to you. I felt it so hard that I couldn’t even get up off the floor because the pain was so bad. It was weird and I’ve never experienced anything like it, but I knew where you were. I could see you.”
Her eyes are wide. “I felt your pain, Ronan. Just now, when you read my letter that I was leaving, I felt what you were feeling.” She says it with awe in her voice.
Nodding my head at her, I say to her, “We’re mated, Bree. You’re my mate. I wanted you to figure it out on your own. I didn’t want to tell you what you’re feeling, but you’re mine, and I’m never letting you go.”
Her hand goes around my neck. “I love you, Ronan.”
I nuzzle her neck, inhaling her sweet scent. “I love you, too.”
Epilogue
Ronan
Two Months Later
Bree, the badass black bear, is the only woman who is bear enough for me. I thought it would take years with someone to get even close to how I feel right now about Bree. I wish I could say I left that fight with Solos without a scratch on me, but that’d be a lie. She’s nursed me back to health, and completely taken care of me. She’s even kicked my ass a little when I’ve tried to milk my healed-up injuries a little longer.
The sun is rising over the Klamath mountains and I have Bree in my arms. Ever since the day she had planned on leaving, she has been by my side. I’m pretty sure I convinced her that day that we were meant to be together, but just in case, I plan on sealing the deal.
She stretches beside me and when she’s finished I pull her into me. She lays content on me and I breathe her in. “Honey.”