by Elena Aitken
“Ella.” Harper’s smile was warm. “Of course we’ll—”
“That’s the first thing.” She might as well jump in. “My name isn’t Ella Rodriguez. Well, not really.” At their confused expressions, she continued. “My full name is Gabriella Santos. Ella was the nickname my abuela gave me and Rodriguez was my mother’s surname.”
“I don’t understand.” Chloe shook her head. “Why would you tell us a fake name? It doesn’t make any sense.”
“But it does.” Gabriella shifted in the chair and wrung her hands together. “You see, I took this job and came here to escape. I couldn’t use my name. I needed to—”
“Escape?”
“Oh!” Harper grabbed her stomach. The other women looked at her in concern, but she nodded and gestured Gabriella to continue.
“It’s not the same there as it is here. My father is the alpha of our clan and he’s very strict. I was promised to a bear when I was born. You see, we’re almost extinct and it’s crucial for our bloodline to continue, so he—”
“Oh! Ow!” This time when Harper cried out, neither Chloe nor Gabriella could ignore it. She bent over, her arms wrapped around her stomach.
“Harper. What’s wrong?” Chloe was on her knees next to her friend in seconds. She looked up to Gabriella. “Go get Axel. Now. Something’s not right.”
His grandfather had been right. He may now know the truth, but it still wasn’t what he needed to know. The problem was, Kade didn’t know what it was he needed to know. He’d excused himself to the bathroom to gather his thoughts, but he couldn’t put it off any longer. He needed to put an end to the visit.
Gordon called him out the second he returned to the living room. “Why did you come, Kade?”
“I told you. For answers.”
“And did you get them?”
He shook his head. “No.”
They sat in silence for a moment before his grandfather said, “Tell me about her.”
“Ella?”
“That’s her name? It’s pretty. I imagine she is as well.”
It felt both strange and comfortable talking to his grandfather about Ella. It wasn’t that long ago that they were a family and despite everything that he’d done—the choices he’d made, the rifts created—he was still family. Kade sighed and a smile came to his face the way it always did when he thought of Ella. “She’s gorgeous. And before you ask, she’s not from here so you likely don’t know her clan. She’s a bespectacled bear.”
“Bespectacled? Really?” An expression Kade couldn’t quite read crossed his grandfather’s face, but it was gone so fast he couldn’t be sure he saw it. “It’s been a long time since I’ve come across a bespectacled bear. She must be from…”
“Peru.”
“Peru? Really?”
“Yes.” Kade paused for a moment before he continued. “She came to work for us at the Ridge. She’s a wonder in the kitchen and…”
“And your mate?”
“Yes. Well, not officially. I mean, we haven’t…I haven’t…”
“You haven’t claimed her yet.”
“No.”
“Can I ask why not?”
Kade thought on it for a moment and decided on the truth. “I needed answers from you first,” he said.
“About your mother?”
“Yes.” He nodded. “And Kira.” He walked to the bookshelf where family pictures had always been displayed. His eyes landed on his favorite one: a picture of Kade and Kira about sixteen years old. Young enough to dream big and naive enough to believe those dreams would come true.
“You said you didn’t get the answers you were looking for.”
Kade didn’t turn around, but kept his eyes fixed on the picture. He remembered what his grandfather had said about Kira not finding her mate. The worry came back, but he quickly dismissed it. If she’d been unhappy, she would have come home. Kira knew he’d always be there for her. Besides, if she was in any kind of distress, he would have sensed it. The connection between twins was strong. Especially in bears.
But you’ve denied your bear. Kira’s voice rang in his head.
He had denied his bear. And for what? His mate had found him anyway. Besides that, it was all of a sudden clear to him that it wasn’t mates or mating that was the problem. It wasn’t the idea of a fated mate, or choosing a mate that ripped families apart.
It was his grandfather.
Once the idea took root, he couldn’t understand why he hadn’t seen it all along. He’d denied his bear for so long for all the wrong reasons. He was punishing himself for something that wasn’t his fault.
“I was wrong,” he said slowly. “I did get the answers I was looking for.” He turned around slowly and looked his grandfather straight in the eye. “I know now I was wrong. All this time, it was you. It was always you.”
“It was me, what?”
“You’re the one who tore this family apart. It was all you.”
“Kade, it—”
“It was you,” he said again. “Years ago, you made a choice with my mother and you made another with Kira.”
Gordon opened his mouth, but Kade wasn’t ready to let him talk. “I can see the toll it’s taken on you, and despite everything you’ve done, I feel bad for you.” He realized it was true. “But I can’t fix it for you.” He crossed the room, ready to leave. He got what he’d come for. “Only you can fix this, Grandfather.” He paused and turned around. “But only if you want to. And you know what else I know now?”
The old man, who’d seemed to have aged even further in the last few moments, shook his head.
“When it comes to my life, no matter what you’ve done, I’m the one in charge. It’s about time I realized that.”
Kade didn’t wait for a response. He turned, walked out of his childhood home, and didn’t look back. He was focused, and the object of that focus—Ella. His mate.
Chapter Ten
It was late before Gabriella finally closed up the Den and went up to Kade’s cabin to retire for the night. She’d been determined to wait up for word of Harper and how she was doing. Chloe and Luke had accompanied Harper and Axel down the mountain to the hospital, and hadn’t returned until after midnight. Harper was stable. They’d done an ultrasound and the baby looked fine.
For now.
Her blood pressure was too high and the doctors wanted to keep her in the hospital for a few days to monitor her. It was complicated, of course, by the fact that the baby Harper was carrying was no ordinary baby, but the doctors didn’t know that. Gabriella had never heard of a half-blood shifter carrying a baby to term, let alone getting pregnant. It was definitely a pregnancy that was rife with complications. She said a silent prayer for Harper and the cub as she stood on the porch and looked up to the stars before she walked through the door of the cabin she’d already started to think of as hers as well as Kade’s.
But it felt different without Kade there to warm it up. And warm her up. The winter nights were cold. She didn’t think she’d ever get used to that part of living in Montana. It was bearable with Kade snuggled up to her, his strong, muscular body pressed against her back, his arm holding her tight to him as if he’d never let her go.
But he had let go.
The little voice in the back of her head that she’d been trying so hard to push away all day finally snuck in as she changed into the warmest pajamas she could find. It was a pair Chloe had lent her, although she hadn’t worn them yet. There was no need with her big natural furnace keeping her hot every night. Very hot. But he wasn’t there now. He’d left. And as much as she knew it wasn’t about her—well, not really—she couldn’t help but feel that it actually had everything to do with her.
Gabriella crawled under the thick blankets and tucked them as tightly as she could around her shivering body. Despite everything, she was exhausted. Within seconds, her eyes drifted shut and she fell into a solid sleep.
It may have been cold outside, but Gabriella’s dreams were anything but.
Kade was there. Curled up behind her, his body pressed hard up against her, he heated her through her flannel pajamas. One hand slipped around her waist, his fingers playing with the elastic waistband of her pants. “I don’t like these,” Kade growled in her ear before he bit down gently on her lobe. “I like you naked in my bed.”
Gabriella moaned and wriggled up against dream Kade.
His lips and tongue continued to lavish attention on the sensitive spot behind and just beneath her earlobe while his hand abandoned the waistband to slip under her top. He splayed his fingers over her belly and pulled her closer to him. She could have sworn she could have felt the thick pulse of his erection against her back, even in her dream.
“You feel so damn good.” Kade’s hand moved up to her breast, where he pinched and flicked her nipple until it was a hard, throbbing peak, desperate for more attention. She tried to turn her head, needing more, but when his hand once again moved down to her waistband, before slipping beneath it, she couldn’t focus on the kiss she so desperately wanted only seconds before.
“These pants have got to go.” With a quick move, Kade tugged her pants down around her knees and in the next instant, his fingers found her heat between her legs. Even in her dreams, she was so ready for him. Her body always wanted him. Even in sleep. And with him gone, she’d take what she could get. When he was once again wrapped behind her, Gabriella ground her bottom into him, eliciting a groan of pleasure from him. “God, I want you right now,” he murmured in her ear.
“Take me, Kade. Please. I need you here.” She spoke aloud, surprising herself. Gabriella’s eyes popped open, destroying her dream.
Only it hadn’t destroyed her dream at all.
Before Gabriella had time to make sense of what was going on, there was a shift behind her. Kade’s hand gripped her hip, lifting her slightly, and then his hard, hot length slid between her legs and inside her.
Damn, she felt good. But that wasn’t enough to really explain how it felt to be inside Ella. She gasped when he entered her and twisted around, her eyes wide with surprise.
“Sorry to wake you, baby.” He grinned mischievously and thrust his hips.
“I thought I was dreaming.”
“Every day with you is a dream.” It was one of the cheesier things he’d said, but it was exactly how he felt and he was tired of hiding it. “Nice way to wake up?”
“The best.” She smiled and turned her head around, pressing it against him so they were curled together perfectly.
He kept his hand on her hip and moved her back as he moved forward, slowly moving inside her. She moaned. Just loud enough for him to hear. He kept up his rhythm as he left a trail of kisses on the back of her neck, and just below the collar of the ridiculous pajamas she wore. His lips lingered on the base of her neck. He could claim her now.
He should claim her now.
They’d be mated before morning. Just the way he knew she wanted to be. The way he now knew he wanted them to be.
As if she’d sensed what he was contemplating, Ella shifted in his grip. “No,” she said. “Not now. Tonight I just want to feel you.”
He hesitated. There was no point in waiting, but if she didn’t want to go ahead, for whatever reason, he’d wait. He’d never do anything she didn’t want. Not ever.
“Okay,” he said after a moment. “Then tonight, you’ll feel.” He shifted focus immediately, and moved his hand between her legs again to the throbbing bundle of nerves he found there. He knew exactly what would make her crazy, and with a few well-timed gentle pinches, Ella squirmed under his ministrations. It didn’t take him long to bring her to climax. The feeling of her losing control around him was almost too much for him, but he wasn’t done yet.
He waited until Ella’s quivers slowed before he slipped out of her and turned her on her back. An instant later, he was on top of her, looking into her beautiful eyes.
“I wanted to see you. No. I needed to see you, Ella.”
Once again, he plunged inside her and as he did, her face twisted into a smile of pleasure. She responded so readily to him. They’d been born to fit together. He’d never felt about anyone the way he felt about Ella. Everything she was was pure and honest and…true. And she was his.
She reached up and pulled him down to her lips, kissing him hard. “I’m glad you’re home,” she said against his lips. “Don’t leave again.”
“Never.” The promised slipped out, but he meant it.
Kade thrust harder, and then again. He felt the familiar tightening of her body as Ella once again reached her climax, and this time, looking in her eyes, he went over the edge with her.
She’d said no to him. He wanted to claim her; Gabriella had sensed it. And she’d said no.
Sexually satisfied, the rest of her pajamas discarded on the floor, she was wrapped in his arms, her head on his chest, and she finally had a moment to think about what she’d done.
They could have been mated and she would be tied to him forever. Safe from any threat of returning to Argentina and Carlos. It’s what she wanted, what she’d been waiting for him to be ready for. But now things had changed. She couldn’t mate Kade. Not without her telling him the truth. He deserved to know who she really was and where she was really from. He deserved the truth.
“Kade?” She propped herself up on her elbow and stared at his handsome face. It was lined with exhaustion, his eyes closed, but she knew he wasn’t asleep. Not quite. “I need to tell you something.”
“Mmhm.”
“Are you asleep?”
“Mmmmm.”
“Can we talk?”
His eyes fluttered open and his arm squeezed her shoulders. “Of course,” he said, his voice thick with sleep. “But can we talk in the morning? I have a lot I need to tell you, too.”
“Of course.” She forced a smile. She’d been so focused on what she needed to tell him she’d momentarily forgotten that of course he would have a lot to tell her, too. And she both wanted and needed to hear what he had to say. Because wherever he’d run off to without an explanation had clearly changed things for him. She could feel the shift in him. “Let’s talk tomorrow.”
He nodded and his eyes closed again.
“Oh, and Kade?”
“Mmmmm?”
“I’m really glad you came back and I would really like to…”
“I know, baby,” he murmured. He opened his eyes and pulled her over to him to give her a thorough kiss. “Now get some sleep.”
Chapter Eleven
“What do you think?” Gabriella asked him again. She knew she was pushing her luck but she also knew that Kade had to be almost ready to explore his bear. Finally. Something was different about him now. He was different. “It’s a beautiful morning.” She glanced out the window and winced. “Well, for a winter morning, it’s a beautiful morning.”
He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her back down into bed with him. “You know what’s beautiful?” He rolled on top of her. One arm braced him so he hovered right above her; his other hand cupped her face and stroked her cheek with his thumb. “You.”
There was no way she was going to let him get away from it that easily. She rolled to the side. “And it’s beautiful outside.” She was lying through her teeth. It looked seriously cold, but she was getting used to it. A little. “Let’s go for a run. Come on, it’ll be fun.”
He hesitated for a moment and it gave her hope.
“Besides,” she continued to push. “It’ll give us time to be alone.” She definitely needed to be alone with him. She had a lot to tell him still, but selfishly, shifting and going for a run would be just the stress release she needed before such a conversation. It could only help both of them.
“We can be alone here.” He rolled her back toward him so she was under him again. He kissed her and it was almost enough to change her mind. Almost.
“Kade, come on.”
Before he could object again, she jumped out of bed. Naked, she walked backward to the front
room, her crooked finger beckoning him as she went. “It’ll be fun. I need this. And I think you need this.”
Just as she knew he would, Kade got out of bed and followed her.
Watching him walk toward her took her breath away. He was a magnificent man. In every way.
“What’s that tattoo for?” When he got close enough, she trailed her fingers down his arm and the tattoo that covered it.
“Come back to bed and I’ll tell you.”
Gabriella’s smile was sweet, but there was steel behind it. “I’ll make you a deal. If you tell me, I’ll tell you a secret.” She was playing with fire. Her secrets weren’t bargaining chips to be negotiated with. “But first…let’s run.”
“No.” He shook his head, and she could see the resolution in his face this time. “I’m not ready. But I’m ready to talk.” He took her hand gently and led her back toward the bedroom. “I went to see my grandfather yesterday.”
She nodded.
“It changed everything, Ella. I know you want to mate.”
“Only if you—”
“I do.” He took her face in his hands, holding her fast so she couldn’t look away. “You have to know that’s what I’ve wanted from the moment I met you. Maybe even before.” He nodded to himself. “Yes, definitely it was even before I’d even met you. But I couldn’t.”
“Why?”
“I can’t even explain it so it’ll make sense, but there’s a lot of history with my family.”
“Chloe and Harper told me some of it.”
His thumb stroked her cheek slowly as he spoke, but he still held her firm, looking directly into her eyes. “I’m sure Luke and Axel filled them in, but there’s probably more they don’t know. But it doesn’t matter. The short version is, I blamed my bear for…well, for everything.”
“And now?”
“Now I don’t. Now I know it’s part of me. Just the way you’re part of me. I believe that now. No.” He paused. “I know that now. You’re part of me and you have been the moment I sensed you out there on the road. Probably before. After all, there’s a reason you left Peru and came here to us. To me. It was fate.”
