Valentine's Mates

by E A Price

  Zane was a bear shifter and his mate a rare unicorn shifter. While he was admittedly regularly gruff and boorish, his mate was always sweet and serene. He knew he was one lucky son of a bear. Though, it didn’t stop him from complaining.

  “Who goes to the zoo on Valentine’s?” he continued to complain, staring around at the people making their way to the entrance. “Other than those people who have more kids than enough arms to hold them,” he added, thinking of Gunner and Erin.

  Sky slipped her hand into his and swung it gently. “I think it’s cute; I’ve been to the zoo on Valentine’s before. They always put up loads of decorations, and they sell heart-shaped sandwiches, and they tell all these stories about how the animals met their mates – it’s so sweet.”

  Zane grunted. Given the breeding programs in zoos, he assumed all the stories were fabricated. As for the heart-shaped sandwiches, did that mean there were no crusts? They were the best bit! Now his bear was grumpy too.

  “One time,” chattered Sky, “when I was dating a guy who worked at the zoo, after closing time, he brought me here, and we had a picnic overlooking the jaguar enclosure – it was fun. He put up all these candles and everything.”

  Zane grunted again. Telling him about her previous boyfriend was not helping matters. Besides, that sounded lame… and his bear wouldn’t want to eat that close to other predators. Stupid old boyfriend.

  “There’s more to Valentine’s than getting some,” she told him snickering.

  “I…”

  “There’s also romance and having fun.”

  “I’m romantic and fun,” he groused.

  Sky bit her lip. “I love you…”

  Zane narrowed his eyes. “But…”

  “Hmmm?”

  “You were going to say but.” He was sure he heard a ‘but’ coming.

  “Was I?”

  “Yeah, you definitely…”

  “Oh hey, there they are!” Sky waved at Erin and Gunner. “Hey, guys!”

  Sky ran over to them and hugged Erin before cooing over Gunner’s cubs and trading compliments with Erin over what they liked about each other’s outfits. Zane grunted hello at Gunner who nodded in return – that was the extent of their conversation. He gave the babies a wary glance – he supposed he wanted a cub one day, but three at once was way too many. Being outnumbered by cubs was a little worrying.

  “So, what do you want to see first?” asked Erin unfolding a zoo map.

  Shit, the place looked like a maze.

  “How about the giraffes?” suggested Sky.

  “How about the penguins?”

  “Or the polar bears?”

  Jeez, lots and lots and lots and still lots to choose from.

  “I do love polar bears,” murmured Erin. She smiled at Gunner who winked at her in return.

  Zane trailed after them. Oh, it was going to be a long day.

  *

  Gunner piled his tray high with snacks, and Zane followed suit. Yep, the sandwiches were missing their crusts. His bear huffed. What a freaking waste. Maybe he could ask the cashier what they did with the cut off crusts…

  “Having fun?” asked Gunner with a smirk on his face.

  “Yeah, sure,” he muttered. His bear was no slouch, but the polar bear was bigger and imbued with an incredibly short fuse when it came to his family – saying that hanging around with his cubs was more boring than watching paint dry was hardly the way to go.

  “Cheer up; your mate’s enjoying it.”

  His eyes flickered over to Sky who was sitting with Erin and helping to feed the babies. The two women were giggling and chatting.

  “Yeah, she is.” He softened marginally, and Gunner chuckled.

  Zane returned to scowling. “Are you enjoying this?”

  Because Zane found looking at tapirs and antelope - creatures his bear wasn’t even allowed to eat - mind-numbing.

  The huge guy shrugged. “Sure.”

  “Really?”

  “I got the day off to spend with my mate and our cubs – doesn’t matter what we do as long as we’re together.”

  “Didn’t you want to do something,” Zane cursed himself as he had to force the last word out of his mouth, “romantic?”

  His bear sneered at him, but he was still kind of put out that Sky didn’t think he could be romantic or fun. She hadn’t said that, but she had left that ‘but’ dangling in the air.

  Gunner’s lips twitched in amusement. “We did something romantic – that’s how we ended up with the triplets.”

  Zane grunted. “Do you think I’m fun?” He cringed that he sounded needy, but seriously, he’d always thought of himself as a gruff but still fun bear.

  “What?”

  “Never mind, forget I asked,” he said hurriedly.

  Like he wanted Gunner’s opinion anyway – that guy had never been fun. Gunner had gone through three stages of being since Zane knew him. First, he was serious about his job, then, he was boring and mated, now he was soppy and boring and mated with cubs. He wouldn’t know what real fun was if it beat him and whacked him over the head.

  Zane grabbed another three bags of chips, and some heart shaped cupcakes and took a moment to complain about the extortionate zoo prices, earning him a glare from many of the people in the long queue behind him.

  Gunner bristled beside him and stood up ramrod straight as his eyes turned to the darkness of his beast. Zane could feel his own beast stirring, sensing danger.

  “Who’s that?” hissed Gunner.

  Zane looked over at Sky and Erin. Erin was talking to a member of the zoo staff who was holding a parrot, while Sky was… hugging one!

  Oh, hell no! Grrr.

  *

  “Sky,” rumbled Zane, striding towards his mate.

  Sky beamed at him – the way she always did when she saw him. “Zane, sweetie, this is my friend, Jude.”

  Zane slipped an arm around his mate’s waist and casually angled her away from the other male. He smells like dung thought his beast sneeringly.

  “Jude?”

  Jude, a clean-cut human with a pretty bland, forgettable face, gave him a lukewarm smile. “Yeah. Nice to meet you.”

  He noticed Gunner had maneuvered his big body in between Erin and the parrot guy.

  “Aha,” grunted Zane.

  “Jude works here in the big cat house,” said Sky.

  Jude nodded. “Look I have to go, it’s almost feeding time – see you soon, yeah?”

  Not likely grumbled his bear.

  “Nice to see you,” replied Sky.

  He left, taking the parrot guy with him.

  “Bloody pirate,” complained Gunner not quite under his breath.

  Erin rolled her eyes and returned her attention to the babies.

  “Who was that?” rumbled Zane peevishly, expecting his mate to say he was just a friend.

  “My ex-boyfriend,” she told him simply.

  “Was he your… oh right, you admitted it.”

  Sky gave him a serene look. “I told you about him. Don’t be jealous.”

  “Why on earth would I get jealous?”

  She tilted her head to one side. “I really have no idea why you should be jealous; I just sense that you are. We went out for a few months a couple of years ago, and then we broke up. End of story. Nothing to worry about.”

  “Yeah.”

  Yep, it was coming back to him. He must be the one who gave her the nighttime picnic. Stupid idea, he thought roughly. Though she seemed to like it. He scrambled to think of something he could do to be romantic and came up with zilch.

  His bear shrugged – he was just as clueless as the man.

  Hmmm.

  *

  Erin smiled at Zane, surprised at his attentiveness. He had insisted on carrying Axel while Sky went to the bathroom. Her little angel was still munching on his chew toy – when he wasn’t throwing it at Zane’s head that is. She was getting some funny looks from other parents, but he did look awfully cute – like a puppy.


  Gunner was changing Anna’s diaper. Erin bounced Arik up and down - considering that he was perhaps going to take after his father when it came to size - and cooed over the camels

  “So…” Zane started.

  “Just ask me,” she said mildly.

  “What?” He affected an innocent look.

  “You want to know whether Sky told me anything about Jude and if she did, what she told me.”

  Zane huffed and shrugged, making noises as if to deny it.

  “Well, maybe I’m wrong…” She knew she wasn’t.

  “How did you know?” he said brusquely.

  “I am psychic, but I know because you’re very obvious.” She could spot a jealous bear at a hundred paces. She had practice.

  “Humph.”

  “If you want to know anything…”

  “I know, I know, ask Sky.”

  “I don’t know why you’re put out by him – Sky adores you.”

  He looked mildly delighted for a moment before giving her a thoughtful yet pained look.

  “Does Gunner do… romantic things for you?”

  Erin paused. She could see he was curious but didn’t really like to ask. “Depends,” she answered honestly.

  “On what?”

  “What you consider romantic – I think his thoughtfulness is romantic. I mean it’s not feasible for him to jump out at me and give me diamond jewelry and surprise trips to Paris. But, he brings home takeout when I’ve had a busy day, and he always rubs my feet while we’re watching TV. Plus he always lets me shower first, so I get the hot water – our house currently has a few plumbing problems. Unless we,” Erin blushed, “shower together.”

  Zane smirked. Three kids and she still blushed. Erin cleared her throat and tried to discourage Arik from diving into her purse – he had spotted a banana in there and wanted it.

  “You know,” she said, “if Sky wanted to be with that guy – she would be. But she’s with you.”

  “Yeah.”

  Erin sighed. He probably wouldn’t listen to her – bears could be darn stubborn, but he had nothing to worry about.

  Her breath hitched as she saw Gunner striding towards her, their tiny pink-dressed Anna in his huge arms. Quite a few women simpered at the sight of the huge man with the adorable baby, and Erin was definitely one of them. She hit the jackpot of mates.

  *

  Sky squeezed her mate’s hand. He was being all cute and grumpy, and she adored him. Her inner beast stamped her hooves in agreement.

  In spite of Zane’s many suggestions that they revisit the tapirs, they were approaching the big cat enclosures. She saw Jude giving a talk about the lions and dared a wave when Zane wasn’t looking.

  She loved her mate – loved him when he was happy and when he was grumpy, but she didn’t want him to be jealous and didn’t want to incite him to jealousy either. There was absolutely no need for it – they were devoted to one another, and while she still liked Jude well enough, he was not a patch on her mate. Truthfully, Jude was kind of arrogant and prideful. Zane could be a lot of things, but he didn’t think he was god’s gift to women. Which in her opinion he kind of was.

  “Arlo, get down from there!” snapped an irritated mother as her son tried to clamber up the fence surrounding the lions. “I said get down!”

  The boy paid no attention, and a couple of the keepers started yelling at him too. Zane humphed as they started pulling on the young boy's legs.

  “Arlo!” howled the enraged mother.

  “Oh, I am not looking forward to these three walking - crawling is hard enough,” murmured Erin sympathetically.

  “They better not try anything like that,” said Gunner darkly.

  “Get down from there!” screamed the mother.

  “Oh lord…” murmured Sky as the boy kicked his way out of their grip.

  “Stop!” shouted the keeper.

  The boy scrambled up the fence, balancing on the top. He started to make an obscene gesture at the keepers, lost his balance and toppled into the lion enclosure.

  “Oh my goodness!” exclaimed Erin.

  A few other people made exclamations, though they were a lot more explicit.

  Jude froze openmouthed, then started running in one direction then the other, panicking.

  Zane tore through his clothes, clambered up the wall and dove into the cage, bursting into his bear form. Sky and her inner beast whined as he took a protective stance in front of the boy, shielding him from the lions who were starting to get interested in the fresh meat. Zane didn’t hesitate. Didn’t have to think twice. He roared at the lions, challenging them.

  Gunner, a little slower because he had to pass Anna to Erin, was right behind him. The huge polar bear was beside Zane in an instance. The lions circled, growling at the bears, but the lions certainly weren’t getting past them.

  “I can’t look,” breathed Erin, hugging her two babies closer.

  In Sky’s arms, Axel merely continued chewing on his rubber bone, oblivious to what was going on, but Sky couldn’t bear to look away.

  The beasts growled at each other, but thankfully, before it could escalate, Jude got into gear and called on more keepers to come help. They lured the lions away by throwing fresh hunks of meat into the enclosure. Zane grabbed the boy, and he ran to the exit with Gunner on his tail.

  Everyone cheered and Sky let out a laugh of relief as her unicorn neighed in pride and happiness for their wonderful mate.

  “You can look now,” she whispered to Erin.

  They were okay. Sky beamed. Her mate had saved the day.

  *

  Gunner squeezed his mate’s thigh as they drove home. His bear was rumbling contentedly. Another happy family outing. True, it got a little dicey towards the end, but for the most part, they had a nice time, and his cubs were happy. They each had a new stuffed toy – Axel had even deigned to put the chew toy down in order to play with his new stuffed alligator.

  “It’s okay, I’m fine,” he purred as Erin tried to chew her fingernails down to the bone.

  He glanced in the rearview mirror to see his triplets strapped into their seats and dozing, clutching the new toys.

  “That was a little more exciting than I’m used to on one of our family outings,” she admitted with a forced laugh. “Usually the most exciting thing is waiting to see which of our cubs will throw up and where.”

  “Hey, I’m okay.”

  “I know.” She placed her hand over his. “My big, brave, perfect, sexy mate.”

  He felt a tendril of lust through her bond. His bear stirred in interest.

  “Oh, yeah?”

  “Yeah.”

  His eyes flared with excitement. With three babies, they had to catch alone-time moments when and where they could.

  Erin traced patterns over his hand. “When we get home I think we should celebrate Valentine’s – just the two of us this time.

  “Babe.”

  He started speeding up, and Erin chuckled.

  *

  “You know Jude says they want to name a new animal after you.”

  Zane mumbled something not altogether complimentary about Jude.

  “How would you feel about a lemur called Zane?” teased Sky.

  “Humph.”

  Yeah, she doubted he wanted a lemur with his name.

  “I am so proud of you. You both terrified and elated me when you jumped in there.”

  He was still moody, possibly because she shook Jude’s hand while she was saying goodbye.

  Her unicorn whimpered. Even for one of his moods, he was quiet. “Are you sure you weren’t hurt?” she asked worriedly.

  “I’m fine,” he said, relenting slightly and smiling at her.

  “Good, because I had a little Valentine’s celebration planned for you. Paintballing!”

  She thought he might actually be pleased to hear it – he loved paintballing, and honestly, so did she since he introduced her to it.

  Zane frowned at her. “You really want
to go paintballing on Valentine’s?”

  “Yeah,” she gushed, “they have a special course set out. We have to work as a team and go through the course collecting hearts that are hidden all over, and if we mange to get ten, we get coupons for Shaw’s restaurant!”

  “Oh.”

  “Oh? That’s it? You love Shaw’s – you said they did the best sandwiches. You once said you would sell everything you own for one of Shaw’s sandwiches. Which seems like a bit much because they’re only five bucks.”

  “Yeah, their sandwiches are pretty amazing, but don’t you want to do something… romantic?”

  “Like what?”

  He shrugged. “Aren’t you disappointed I’m not romantic or fun?” he asked grouchily.

  She rubbed the back of his neck – he liked that when he was upset or tense. “Who says you’re not?” she cooed.

  Zane pouted slightly. “Well, I wouldn’t think to bring you to a closed zoo, put candles out and give you a picnic.”

  Sky smiled. “That was nice, but I’d rather do the things that we both like together.”

  “But what about romance?”

  “Honey, You just jumped into a lion’s den. You didn’t even hesitate to save that boy. You’re my brave, selfless, wonderful, swashbuckling hero and I find that incredibly romantic.” Her unicorn stamped her hooves in agreement. “Don’t be hung up on what you think I want because honestly, you’re what I want. And trust me, if I’m ever unhappy, you’ll be the first to know.”

  Zane broke out into a huge smile. That was the thing about Zane – he could be grouchy, but he bounced back in an instance.

  “You’re perfect,” he crooned.

  “Yeah, yeah, yeah,” she said dismissively, pretending she wasn’t preening at the compliment, “are we going paintballing or what because they close at six?”

  Zane’s eyes widened. “You’re right, we better hurry,” he said seriously.

  “Love you.”

  “Love you too.”

  The end

  Six: Free Vacation

  “I swear if this guy leers at you I am going to punch him.”

  “The guy at the gas station was not leering,” murmured Jessie absently. She was swinging her phone around, trying to get a signal.

  Gerry grunted. “He definitely was.”