It was the Mama Bear herself, Elle Swanson.
As the Subaru drew closer, Elle waved at them.
Thor had spotted her too. He waved back, smiling, and said very quietly to Cassie, "Ready to beard the bear in her den?"
Trying to suppress the nervous butterflies in her gut, Cassie laughed. "I sure hope she doesn't bite."
She parked her car in front of the house and reached for the box of handmade chocolates she had bought before they left Ogden. Then she slid out of the car and hurried to help Thor out of the passenger seat.
He had told her that his fractures were feeling much better, and she believed him. He was certainly moving much more freely, and his limp had nearly disappeared.
She would have to text Betsy Chang tonight and ask her how much longer he needed to wear his casts.
In the meanwhile, even though he didn't really need the support any longer, she slipped her arm around Thor's waist, as she'd grown accustomed to doing, and he draped his good arm over her shoulders.
Together, they made their way around the car as Cassie nervously clutched the gift for Elle.
Elle strode towards them with a wide smile. "Thor! Welcome home, honey!"
The breeze carried her scent towards them—herbs and cooking food and the now-familiar smell of bear shifter.
As she drew closer, her smile widened to include Cassie. "And you must be the friend who offered to drive my son all the way from Colorado!"
Cassie returned the smile with a feeling of relief and extended the box of chocolates in Elle's direction. "Hi, I'm Cassie. Pleased to meet you, Mrs. Swanson."
The breeze shifted direction, and Elle came to an abrupt halt three feet from them. The smile vanished from her face. As did most of the color in her face under her subtly applied makeup.
"Thor!" she said, in a voice filled with dismay and anger. "I don't believe it!"
She pointedly shifted her body away from the gift that Cassie was offering to her.
Cassie tried to shrink back and hide herself behind her tall mate. This was exactly the kind of thing she had worried about! And now Thor was going to be in trouble with his family!
Thor's arm tightened around her shoulders, keeping Cassie firmly by his side.
"Mom," he said calmly, though Cassie could feel how tense he was. "I want you to meet my mate, Cassandra Long of the New Braunfels Pride."
Elle's hazel eyes widened with anger and betrayal at his words, and Cassie saw the other woman's hands clench into fists as the sharp reek of her rage filled the air.
"Thor, how could you bring one of them here? And you took her as your mate? Do you hate us all that much?"
Chapter 15 – Mama Bear
Thor couldn't believe what he was hearing. But he could tell that his mother was genuinely shocked and upset.
And, more importantly, so was Cassie. He sensed her distress and realized that she was ready to run. And he wasn't sure she was going to come back if he let her go.
He had promised to protect her, and he meant to do that, even if it meant going against his own family.
So he held on tight to his mate as he tried to find out what was going on.
"What do you mean, Mom?" Thor asked.
"Don't play innocent with me! You lied to me, and you knew it!" Elle spat furiously. "You told me that your friend was a cougar shifter. Not—not one of those monsters! And now you tell me that she's your mate?" Her voice rose in outraged disbelief at the last word.
He felt Cassie flinch at the word “monster” and squeezed her shoulder comfortingly.
His mom wasn't done yet. "I thought we'd gotten past your need to rebel against everything we stand for, Thor! Why would you do something like this? And why now?"
"Mom, this doesn't have anything to do with you," Thor said, struggling to maintain a calm tone. "But if you're telling me that my mate isn't welcome here, then we'll just turn around and leave again. I wouldn't want to cause any upset," he added, unable to suppress a note of sarcasm.
Thanks to his phone conversation yesterday morning with Sheriff Jacobsen, he knew that sabertooth shifters had previously caused problems in Bearpaw Ridge.
Apparently it had been a lot more personal than that, at least for his mother.
He wished he could remember what had happened. Right now, having a Swiss-cheese memory felt like a minefield, full of unexpected traps and explosions.
Elle narrowed her eyes at him, as if trying to peer into the depths of his soul. When he'd been younger, Thor had been convinced that his mother had mind-reading abilities. "So you really don't remember what happened with Mark and Caitlyn?"
Thor shook his head. "Sorry. But I'm guessing it was something bad, and sabertooth shifters were involved?"
Elle rolled her eyes and released an exasperated sigh. "You could say that."
Cassie spoke up, her soft Texas drawl stronger than usual. "I'm really sorry about whatever happened, Mrs. Swanson, but we're not all monsters. And I can book a room somewhere else if you don't feel comfortable havin' me here on your ranch."
Elle's eyes widened at Cassie's words.
Touché, Thor thought. Intentionally or not, his mate had just hit his mother's most vulnerable point. Mom had always prided herself on her hospitality.
Which one's going to win? Her pride or her grudge against sabertooth shifters?
Thor added firmly, "If Cassie goes, I go too."
"No, no, of course you're both welcome here," Mom said quickly. "I was just…surprised. Your Aunt Margaret has already made up the rooms at Evan and Steffi's house, and everything's ready for you there. And I've invited everyone over for dinner. It's at six p.m., if you want to go to your rooms to rest and change into fresh clothes before then."
She did not look at Cassie as she spoke, and Thor's anger rose. He might have won this round, but his mother owed his mate an apology.
Memory informed him not to expect one, though.
* * *
Evan and Steffi's big cabin opened into a great room that soared two stories to a peaked beam ceiling. As Thor and Cassie entered, he saw her stop and look around in wonder.
The floor-to-ceiling windows filled the space with light, and a huge freestanding fireplace made from water-smoothed river rocks dominated the center of the room.
It looked like something out of a vacation brochure, comfortably furnished with Mission-style oak furniture and thick woven rugs scattered over a polished hardwood floor, just the kind of place that guests might want to relax in with a book and a drink after a day spent hiking or fishing.
A wide wooden mantel above the fireplace held a fascinating collection of animal skulls, shells, and fossils, stuff that his older brother Evan had collected himself during his years of doing field work as a wildlife biologist.
On the other side of the fireplace, one corner of the room was fitted out as an open-plan kitchen, with granite countertops and new-looking appliances. Next to it was a dining area, with a rustic wooden table large enough to seat ten, and another huge window.
In the early morning, the kitchen side of the great room would probably be filled with sunlight, Thor guessed.
On the far wall of the living room, a wide wooden staircase led up to a second story built loft-style around the perimeter of the great room.
"This is amazing," Cassie breathed. "After what happened just now, I kind of thought that your mom might make us sleep in one of the barns or something."
"I'm really sorry about what just happened," Thor told her, dropping his duffel.
It thumped loudly against the floorboards as he turned to her. "And I'm beginning to think that coming here was a mistake, especially since my memories started returning yesterday. If you want to leave, we can go somewhere else. Salmon is nice. And then there's Stanley, further up in the Sawtooth Mountains. There are some really nice lakes around there, and the fishing and swimming are great."
He could see Cassie was torn by his offer. She chewed on her plump lower lip, which distracted him with tempting thoug
hts. Finally she said, "Let's see how dinner goes. Maybe it won't be so bad."
Thor thought her statement sounded like the triumph of optimism over experience, but he appreciated his mate's desire to give his family a second chance.
They went upstairs and unpacked a few things in the prettily furnished room that had been prepared for them.
The shower stall was a little too small to share comfortably, but Thor and Cassie did it anyway. Much hilarity ensued as they bumped and slid against each other in a cascade of soapy bubbles, at first accidentally, then deliberately and suggestively.
Thor's leg was feeling only a little sore now, so he yielded to temptation and made love to Cassie while standing up in the shower, something he'd been fantasizing about since the first time they'd showered together.
They'd restocked their supply of condoms during their lunch stop on the drive up to Bearpaw Ridge, and Thor looked forward to using as many as they could manage.
It was awkward as they both bumped their elbows against the tiled walls and shower door, and her leg kept sliding down over his ass when she tried to wrap it around his hips, but it was still lots of fun.
He enjoyed hearing Cassie's uninhibited laughter between breathless kisses as she clutched at him.
He came hard and deep inside her. He was disappointed to notice that she didn't climax as well, though she seemed to be enjoying herself nonetheless.
Afterwards, when they had dried each other off, Thor led her to the bed and did his best to make it up to his mate.
He took his time making love to her, savoring her taste, her scent, and the lovely noises she made as he started with her lips and steadily worked his way down to her pussy.
When she came, arching and crying out as her powerful thighs squeezed him and her delicate folds pulsed against his lips, he drew out her pleasure as long as he could with his lips and tongue.
Afterwards, he drew her close and held her naked in his arms, enjoying the intimate sensation of her breath tickling his throat, and inhaling the clean scent of her hair.
Relaxed by their lovemaking, they both napped until it was time to get dressed for dinner.
"Should I get dressed up?" Cassie asked doubtfully as she dug through her suitcase. "I don't really have anything fancy…"
"We're a ranching family, so we're not too fancy," Thor said, seizing on another fragment of newly returned memory. "Jeans and a clean top should be okay. I'm going to be wearing sweatpants and a T-shirt," he added.
Cassie threw him a wry look. "Yeah, but you're wearing two casts, and you appear to be the prodigal son. We already know they're preparing a fatted calf for you. I'll be lucky if I get dry bread and water."
"If it's my sister-in-law Annabeth's bread, you're in for a treat. She owns a bakery. But don't worry, I'll make sure they treat you right," Thor promised.
When they were both dressed, they walked hand-in-hand over to the big yellow Victorian house.
Cassie wore jeans, and she had found a cute short-sleeved chiffon blouse in a soft turquoise shade with a bold floral print around the bottom hem. Her tightly curled tawny hair was caught up in a loose ponytail at the base of her neck, though a few locks had escaped to frame her tanned cheeks.
She looked gorgeous, Thor thought, stealing appreciative glances as they approached the house.
There were a number of cars parked in front of the Victorian now—a couple of big white Ford pickup trucks bearing the Grizzly Creek Ranch logo painted on the doors, a bright blue Subaru Forester, a silver BMW X5 SUV, an older red Toyota Highlander, and, incongruously, a light-blue Prius that looked tiny and out of place among all the trucks and SUVs.
It was a warm summer afternoon, and the sound of conversation and country music drifted out of the open, lace-curtained windows, accompanied by the mouthwatering whiffs of roasting beef and Mom's special Sunday dinner casseroles.
"Looks like everyone's already here," Cassie commented nervously.
Thor felt her hand tighten around his.
"Good," he said grimly as they approached the gravel walk that led to the porch stairs. "Would you mind waiting here for a minute while I go inside to talk to my family?"
"Sure, no problem." Cassie said, and halted under the big crab apple tree planted in the front garden.
The branches were heavy with unripe green fruit, and Thor had a sudden recollection of Mom and Aunt Margaret cooking jelly in a big kitchen, bright red crab apples piled high in baskets on the long stainless steel counter, and big 25-pound bags of sugar leaning against the base of the kitchen cabinets.
More memories came rushing back as he climbed the porch stairs and pushed open the front door to the house where he had grown up.
He was greeted with a wave of sound and the mingled scents of cooking food, bear shifters, and fresh flowers.
Entering the foyer, he realized he remembered the high-ceilinged space with its curving staircase and the long carpeted hallway that led further into the house.
The hallway walls were covered with framed family photographs ranging from sepia antiques to color photos. Thor paused to look at them, hoping that they would help bring back more of his memories.
A couple of the photos sparked recollections, and he recognized a much younger woman, wearing bridal veil and gown, as his mom. As for the tall, dark-haired man standing next to her…
Well, I guess I take after Dad, Thor thought. He fished for memories of the big man but couldn't find any.
And his dad was missing from all the more recent photos. Thor wondered what that meant. Were his parents divorced? Or had something else happened to his dad? Bear shifters were tough but not immortal.
Further down the hall, he saw two very young children occupied in pushing a toy car along the carpet.
The voices and music he had heard earlier seemed to be coming from the other side of a large doorway to his left. Sure enough, when he poked his head around the doorframe, it turned out to be a formal living room furnished with antique furniture and crowded with a mix of Swanson shifters and Ordinary women, all of them holding glasses of wine and beer.
He was spotted almost immediately.
"Thor!" a deep voice called out.
Thor looked up and recognized his oldest brother, Dane, standing next to a beautiful redheaded woman…his mate Annabeth.
A rush of relief accompanied the identification. Thor had been a little worried that he might not recognize anyone here except the people whose photos he had seen on the ranch's website.
A moment later, he was enveloped in a hard hug as his back was thumped vigorously.
"I saw you on the news. How are you feeling?" Dane demanded.
"Better," Thor managed, just before Annabeth squeezed in for a hug.
She smelled pleasantly of cinnamon and vanilla and was quickly supplanted by his Aunt Margaret, who kissed him on both cheeks and insisted on examining the cast on his arm.
His brothers Mark and Ash were here too, and they gave him hugs in turn while teasing him about avoiding trees while parachuting.
Only Evan was missing from the gathering.
He found out why when Mom came over to greet him with a somewhat reserved kiss on the cheek. She looked around when she noticed he was unaccompanied, but pointedly didn't ask any questions.
"Evan is off somewhere in the far northern part of the state, conducting a lynx population survey for Idaho Fish and Game," she informed him when he asked. "But Steffi is here."
"Where's your mate?" Dane asked cautiously when the initial round of greetings and questions sparked by Thor's arrival had died down. "I thought she was coming to dinner?"
"She's not really one of those sabertooth shifters, is she?" Mark asked before Thor could answer Dane's question. "That's just another one of your dumb jokes, right?"
His older brother gave him a challenging look, and Thor hung grimly onto his temper. Mark had always acted like he had a stick up his ass, and going to law school hadn't improved his attitude any.
"
No joke. I asked Cassie to wait outside until I had a chance to talk to all of you," Thor replied.
The buzz of conversation in the living room abruptly died away as every Swanson in the room turned to look at Thor and Mark.
Good. I'll only have to say this once, thought Thor.
He raised his voice slightly. "Look, I don't know what's happened here in the past, or what your beef is with sabertooth shifters, but Cassie is my mate now, and I expect you all to treat her politely. Do I make myself clear?"
Mark looked incredulous. "You mated a sabertooth shifter? Seriously? What is wrong with you, Thor?"
Thor couldn't help glancing out the living room's bay window, where Cassie stood waiting. With the windows open, she could probably hear every word being said inside the room. His temper went up another few degrees.
"Mom told us you picked up a case of amnesia from your accident," Ash piped up from a nearby armchair, where he had retreated to text furiously on his phone.
"Yeah, that's right, though stuff is starting to come back now in bits and pieces. But I still don't get what the big deal is about sabertooth shifters," Thor said, trying keep a tight leash on his annoyance towards Mark. "Cassie's really nice. You'll like her if you give her a fair chance."
Mark's mouth twisted in disgust. But before he could say anything, Ash spoke again.
"Seriously, dude, you don't remember what happened here?" his youngest brother asked. "When that gang of sabertooth shifters from Albuquerque tried to kill Caitlyn?"
His heart sinking, Thor shook his head.
Shit. Caitlyn was Mark's mate. No wonder he wasn't taking this well.
Mark said tightly, "They kidnapped and tortured her boss, then came here and tried to kill her while she was staying in my house. If I hadn't come home in time…" His eyes went briefly gold.
"It was like the showdown at the OK Corral," Ash said. "Caitlyn used Dad's old shotgun to take one of them down. It was extreme, man."
The other Swansons all nodded solemnly.
Thor stared at Ash. This was worse than he had imagined… He had just brought Cassie into the middle of it, and he couldn't remember a thing about the incident.
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