by B. N. Kasner
Apparently, the black curly hair and blue eyes were more dominant genes than Mason’s blonde hair and green eyes. Although, it wasn’t surprising considering the Wilson family all looked eerily alike, especially the brothers. Micheal started to cry in Lani’s arms. “Shh, little guy. What’s the matter? Aunt Lani is here.”
“Aunt Lani?” Grace laughed, leaning down to play with Dolly’s stretched out hands. Her tiny wisp of black hair had a yellow bow clipped around it. The bow matched her yellow striped onesie with a bumblebee on it. “I think Aunt Lani is crazy.” Dolly’s little fist tightened around her finger as she gave Grace a gummy smile.
“Aww, she’s smiling at you.” Ella came into the crowded living room, leaning over Grace’s shoulder, making a silly face at her daughter. Dolly’s attention went straight to her mama. When Ella went to walk away, Dolly whimpered. “Oh, come here, pretty baby.”
“I’m not crazy.” Lani paused, her head tilted to the side in a very dog-like way. “All the time, and yes I would like to be called Aunt Lani.” Micheal hadn’t settled down, and now that Ella had Dolly in her arms, it only spurred his cries on. “Am I doing this wrong?” Lani looked ready to cry herself.
“No, he gets fussy when Dolly is being held by either Mason or me and he’s not.” As soon as Ella got closer to him, he quieted right down. “Hello handsome, mama’s right here.” His blue eyes focused on her, a gummy smile on his face.
“How do you do it?” Annie picked up another toy. After handing Micheal off to Lani, she’d started to clean up the cluttered living room. Baby stuff littered the room. Ella was right, they really did need more space.
Warm spring air swept into the cabin when Corey came into the house. “Sorry, didn’t know we were expecting company.” He gave them all a sheepish smile while kicking off his shoes and putting them on the shoe rack.
“How was school? Did you get your science test back?” Ella took her role as Corey’s mom seriously. Her and Mason had enrolled him in a public school, made sure he had good grades and even got him involved with the football team.
“Got a B.”
“No way, wait until Dad hears about it. You know he’s gonna put it up on the fridge.” She smiled big at Corey, bringing a bottle to Dolly’s lips.
“Ma.” He whispered, his cheeks turned pink. Before he could say anything else, the door opened again.
“We’re home, oh. Hello everyone, didn’t know we were expecting company.” Mason repeated Corey’s actions too, putting his boots next to the boy’s athletic shoes.
“I didn’t realize they were so alike?” Annie smiled at them, before looking at Ella.
“If you think those two are bad, you should see our whole family together.” Ella rolled her eyes as Mason and Corey smiled at each other. “But I love them, so it’s entertaining. Mason, can you help me get the little ones down. Corey, get started on your homework before dinner.”
Corey gave Ella a kiss on the cheek before heading down the hallway which led to the rest of the cabin. Mason scooped Micheal out of Lani’s arms. “How’s my little man doing today?” He stopped, gave Ella a sweet kiss, leaned down and did the same with Dolly before turning the corner to the hallway.
“I’ll be right back.” Ella hurried after her husband, humming quietly with a smile on her face.
“Since the babies aren’t hogging all our attention, something else needs to be discussed.” Lani turned her gray eyes to Grace while taking a seat in Mason’s recliner. Her stomach was growing by the day, and she still had three months to go. “What’s going on with you?”
“I don’t know what you’re talkin’ about.” Playing dumb seemed like the best way to go. Both Annie and Lani rolled their eyes. Obviously, she’d said the wrong thing.
“If that’s not a bold face lie then I’m not pregnant.” She waved her hand in a ‘try again’ gesture.
“It’s not a big deal.” Annie scoffed at Grace, rolling her eyes towards the ceiling and shaking her head. “Really.”
“Okay, that’s why you look like you’re going to cry any minute now.” Ella took a seat beside her on the couch, sighing when she sank into the fluffy cushions. “There’s no use in lying to use. We’ll find out whatever it is sooner or later.”
There was just one tiny problem. Grace couldn’t tell them what was really bothering her, the fact her mate wanted to find a way to undo the bond. It was slowly crushing her heart and spirit. She felt like a shell of herself. She didn’t even want to think about everything happening with Jake.
Thankfully, she could at least get their advice regarding him. “My ex-boyfriend came into the office yesterday.”
“And?” Grace imagined Lani’s mouthwatering over all the juicy details she’d get. Her sister-in-law was nothing if not dramatic.
“He asked me to go dancing with him on Friday. I said yes.” The girls all had the same confusion on their faces.
“That’s all? I don’t understand. You wanted to find someone, maybe this guy is the one?” Lani always had her back. She’d even been working on Gene about being an overprotective goon. “Hell girl, go get yourself some.” Annie coughed, her face turning red. Ella giggled but also had pink cheeks.
“Who’s going out and getting some?” Mason’s head popped around the corner. He glared, making all of them laugh.
“Oh, for the love of the Goddess, it’s Grace. Handsome bear, none of us would ever cheat.” Ella got up, giving Mason a kiss on the lips and whispering in his ear. He growled, pulling Ella around the corner and out of sight.
“Well, we’ve lost her for a while.” Lani winked, as Annie and Grace giggled. “Now, as I was saying, what's wrong?”
“I’m just worried. The way we broke up wasn’t the best…” The lump in her throat stopped her from saying anymore. She took a deep breath before meeting her friend’s eyes. “Nobody at school knew I was a shifter. Jake was the popular guy, the star quarterback.
“I couldn’t believe he liked me, then we started goin’ out and he was the sweetest guy. I didn’t want to chance losin’ him, the only guy I had in my life other than my brother. Of course, nobody understood what he saw in me. This one girl, in particular, had a problem with me.”
“I think I know where this is going.” Lani gritted her teeth and wiped angrily at her eyes. “A jock from my high school used me, then spread around gossip about what it was like to fuck a freak.”
“Almost, I never slept with him. The girl who I said had a problem with me? She told everyone I was a bear. How she found out about me being a shifter, I still don’t know.
“But at the end of the day, he came up to me in front of everyone and said, ‘I have to go to a doctor thanks to you and your animal saliva. Who knows what kind of diseases I’ve picked up from a bear whore.’ I just stood there while everyone laughed at me. Nobody talked to me for the rest of the school year.” Grace couldn’t help herself, she burst into sobs.
She’d never told anybody what truly happened. She knew Gene might kill Jake, and he wasn’t worth losing her brother over. Annie pulled her into a hug, running her hand over Grace’s hair.
“Oh shit. What did I miss?” Ella chose that moment to come back into the room. Her hair looked thoroughly messed up, and a button was still undone on her shirt.
“Why is she crying? Do I need to call Gene? Was it Carter? I swear I don’t know what is wrong with him these days?” Mason started going off on a rant, as Corey came around the corner.
“Fuck.” The boy took one look at her, then turned back down the hallway, disappearing into the kitchen.
“What did I say about cussing boy?” Mason yelled, which in turn woke up their twins. “Fuck.” Ella just shook her head, covering her laugh with a cough. “I’ll get the little ones, you figure out what’s wrong with her and who Gene needs to get his hands on.” His mumbling didn’t stop until the nursery door opened and closed.
The little exchange made Grace smile through her tears. “Excuse me ma, ladies.” The girls were huddle
d around her, making a wall between her and anyone else. They all moved away from her, but close enough to be there if she needed them. Corey bent down in front of her, bringing them eye to eye with her sitting on the couch.
Corey placed a warm rag on her neck. Grace closed her eyes, letting the warmth seep into her skin. “It always helps calm me down. I thought, maybe, it would work for you too.” His cheeks were as red as Grace’s hair.
“You’re gonna make some woman very happy one day.” She leaned over and kissed his cheek. Corey gave her a shy smile. Something she didn’t think she’d ever see on a Wilson man. Nobody would describe the Wilson brothers as shy.
“Corey, can you go help your dad with the twins?” Hell, Ella wasn’t shy either. Must have something to do with being an alpha.
“Yeah ma, no problem.” Corey got up and started walking down the hallway.
“And if he’s on the phone, come back out and get me. Lani may have to do some damage control.” Ella called out just before the nursery door opened and closed again. “Now, since I’m almost one hundred percent sure your brother is going to be pounding on my door in five minutes. Someone tell me what the hell is going on.”
Ella used to be nervous about using her dominance level and alpha command, but she’d adapted quickly. Most people tried to go through her first before seeing Mason. He was known to fly off the handle, and to be bit of an asshole. Ella, on the other hand, could be more diplomatic with issues. Although, she had no problem sending the more troublesome shifters straight to Mason.
“Grace just told us the guy she’s going out with is a complete and total asshole.” Lani started, but Annie finished for her. “And we’re not talking about Carter. This guy is worse in my opinion.”
“They're bein’ a bit overdramatic.” Grace rolled her eyes as Annie snorted and Lani cursed.
“Doesn’t sound like it to me, especially when you were just bawling your eyes out. I’m assuming the guy in question was the reason you were crying in the first place?” Grace stayed mute, instead nodding her head. “There’s no way you can go on a date with this guy. Is there any more to the story?” Three sets of eyes focused on Grace, making her look towards the floor.
“It happened in the office, so-”
“So, Carter was within hearing range and you wanted to make him jealous?” Annie had hit the nail right on the head. Reliving the nightmare of that day only reminded her how much Jake’s rejection hurt. Did she really want to go down memory lane again? Fuck, she couldn’t even if she wanted to. Grace was a mated bear, no matter what Carter liked to think.
“Yep.” She looked up into her friends’ sympathetic eyes. None of them had an easy time when it came to mating. Each one had faced different obstacles, but they had all gotten their mates in the end. Grace wasn’t sure the same would be said for her.
“Do you want to go on a date with this dickhead?” Annie almost never cursed and for some reason, she looked extremely interested in Grace’s answer.
“I think I’m tired of chasin’ after Carter. It felt nice for someone to chase me for once, and not the other way around.” Grace shrugged her shoulders, she couldn’t let on how much Carter had hurt her over the past week.
“I’m going to take that as a no, which helps with what I’m about to say.” Annie's voice had taken on its big sister tone. “We should all go, make it a night out.”
“I agree, it sounds fun.” Lani already looked excited, bouncing around in the recliner.
“Mason and I will stay home with the little ones, we can’t part with them yet, but I’m going to vote for going out anyway.” Ella even raised her hand in the air with a wolfish smile.
“My love life isn’t a democracy.” Grace’s voice got drowned out by the girls as both Annie and Lani pulled out their phones, surely calling their mates. Ella squealed, almost skipping down the hallway to the nursery. Her best friends had just taken over her love life and invited themselves on her date. Grace had no doubt in her mind the news about the planned group outing would circulate through their friends like wildfire.
At least she wouldn’t have to tell Carter herself and see the smug look on his face. She truly wouldn’t be going dancing alone now, or ever, after Gene got through lecturing her.
Chapter Eight
Carter knocked on the open door, “About time you get here boy, Viv wants me home by six.” Greg leaned up against the edge of his desk.
“What’s this all about?” Scott sat perched on the arm of his chair, an open book hanging from his hand. Stepping inside their office, Carter closed the door behind him. He didn’t need anyone else overhearing his conversations. This is it.
Without a word, Carter rolled his sleeves up. Greg’s sharp intake of breath and the thump of Scott’s book hitting the ground let him know they’d both seen Grace’s mating mark. “Who does that mark belong to?” Greg grabbed his arm, turning it from side to side.
“It doesn’t matter.” He didn’t want to get Grace involved in this. She’d made her stance on mating clear, there wasn’t a reason to drag her into something she didn’t want to be a part of.
“Like hell, it doesn’t. If this mark isn’t a little redheaded beauty’s, then you’re about to have some very pissed off shifters coming for your head.” Scott picked up his book, throwing it on the chair before coming to stand beside him. Maybe they thought staring at the mark would tell them who it belonged to.
“The reason it doesn’t matter is because I want the bond undone.” He growled, but it couldn’t be heard over Greg’s laughter. Scott, on the other hand, looked like he’d just seen a ghost.
“The only way to undo a mating is death. You shouldn’t speak about ending a mating bond.” Scott snarled at him, getting right into his face. Carter hadn’t come there to fight. He needed answers, if he needed to tell the truth to get those answers, then so be it.
“You’re not the only one who knows how it feels to lose a true mate.” Carter let his dominance flow into his tone. Both older men took a step away from him. “Her name was Rebecca, and I’m still in love with her. This mark on my arm betrays everything I ever promised her. Now, I need to know if there’s a way to get rid of it.”
“I’m sorry for your loss, but Scott is right. There is no natural way to break a mating bond. Only death. Unless you or the woman who gave you the mark passes on, it’s forever.” Greg patted Carter on the shoulder before dropping into his desk chair. “Since it’s obvious you don’t want to be mated, how did this happen?”
Carter paced beside the shelves of books. He stopped and picked up the same book he’d read before Grace had busted through the front door. The image of her sprawled on the floor, naked and laughing, brought a small smile to his face. “Grace.” Her name would be the best place to start.
“The night Mason’s twins were born, we got into an argument. She bit me. Instead of it just hurting like hell, her eyes turned gold and I felt the bond forming. Before you ask, no, Grace isn’t on board with undoing the mating. At least, I don’t think she is.” Carter looked down at the book in his hand. “How does something like this even happen? I thought mating bonds had to be forged in passion and love.”
“Things are different for choice mates. All bets are off when it comes to them.” Greg grabbed his coat from the back of his chair. “Viv will hex me into next week if I’m not home for dinner. I’ve given you all the information I know about mate bonds.”
“Don’t tell anyone. Grace doesn’t know I came here today and nobody other than you two, Grace and Nathan know about the whole mating thing in general.” At Scott’s confused look, Carter elaborated, “Nathan overheard me at the cemetery, he’s also sworn to secrecy.”
“You know that boy can’t keep anything from his mate, right?” Greg chuckled, shaking his head and walking out the door. Fuck, Carter hadn’t thought about Nathan sharing everything with his wife, but it made sense. He would do the same thing if he ever decided to get married. Carter just hoped Annie could keep his and Grac
e’s secret to herself.
“So, you wanna tell me how this happened?” He turned back to face Scott, who plucked the book out of his hands and flipped it open to a certain page.
“Choice mates are a bit misleading with their name.” He turned the book to face Carter. On the page was a beautiful, hand drawn, albeit complicated diagram. At the top, a golden, womanly figure dangling four strings stood tall and proud.
Out of the four strings, two were red while the other two were white. Below her the red strings connected to two couples. “What is this?”
“Keep looking, I think you’ll get it.” The painting stepped down into another level. Instead of couples, only two people stood side by side. Moons and suns seemed to move across the picture as Carter stared harder at the page. Suddenly, the white string almost blinded him.
When he blinked his eyes, bringing his vision back into focus the page had set down, yet another level. Another couple stood united with the white string. His mind had a hard time figuring out what his eyes were plainly seeing. “Is this trying to say choice mates, are really, true mates?” It couldn’t be.
If that were true, it would’ve come out sometime in the past thousands of years. The damn thing only left more questions in Carter’s mind. “In a way. You see the same thing I do when I look at it. When I showed it to Greg, he only saw one couple with red strings.” This was leading into magic territory, and Carter didn’t know anything about magic.
“They’re not true mates, but I do think they’re pre-destined.” Scott rubbed his eyes. Carter took a good look at the older bear. His salt-n-pepper hair looked a little grayer and there were dark circles under his eyes. “And there is no choice about it. This drawing shows the Goddess knew our true mates would die and so, she made sure to put second mates in our futures.”
Carter gritted his teeth. How was he supposed to believe in a Goddess who knew his true love would die? Maybe he should’ve just been thankful he’d get a second chance, but it didn’t stop the anger he felt. He’d suffered for nine years and put Grace through more than she deserved, all for what? To find out she was meant to be his all along?
