But it was hard when the bond between them hummed low and constant, reminding him she was near. Breathing the same cold mountain air.
His bear exhaled hard, a low rumble shaking through his chest as he pushed himself faster. Snow stung his face. The ice crust cracked beneath his paws. The world sharpened into scent and movement, the simple clarity of cold air and the steady presence of the three bears at his side.
Christopher angled them toward the slope leading toward the high ridge, and James followed without hesitation. Their paws broke through untouched drifts, white powder brushing their bellies, the incline steep enough to force power into every stride. The climb burned beautifully. Muscles flexed and released. Breath steamed in thick ribbons. The bear inside him, wound tight all day, finally began to loosen.
By the time they reached the top, the forest opened onto a silver-bright ridge overlooking the valley. James slowed, paws sinking into the snow as he padded to the edge. The others came up beside him, forming a quiet, instinctive line.
It had always amazed him how the four of them fell into formation with no need to look or speak. Years of shared hunts, shared losses, shared laughter… and now, shared futures that seemed brighter than any of them had dared imagine a short time ago. Except Daniel.
James lifted his head, drawing in a deep pull of the night. The mate bond hummed at the base of his ribs—steady, warm, unshakable. Not a direction. Not a command. Just a knowing.
She’s here,his bear murmured.
Somewhere in the quiet valley below, Doreen was settling in for the night. Maybe coaxing Jake toward bed. Maybe laughing softly at Bash’s antics. Maybe standing at the window staring out into the darkness, completely unaware that James could feel her presence like a steady, glowing point on a compass inside him.
Or maybe she was staring into the night sky, aware of the same pull. That unexplained connection they shared.
Could she sense him looking down on her from the cliff edge?
His bear rumbled, low and sure, the sound vibrating through the packed snow beneath his paws.The mate bond is strong. Unbreakable.
But for James, it was also a mystery. It was all so new. So unexpected. Even though he had waited his whole life for it to happen.
Magic shimmered in the air as Christopher shifted first, his bear dissolving in the frigid air to be replaced a heartbeat later as a man. Michael followed next, then Daniel.
James hesitated for a moment as his bear took one last, longing look at the valley below. Then he let go of the world, the air cracking and popping around him as he disappeared. A second later, James sucked in the mountain air and let it out in one long puff of vapor.
“There he is,” Michael said, slapping him on the shoulder.
“Here I am,” James replied, unable to stop the grin spreading across his face.
Christopher stepped to his side, his hands tucked into his jacket pockets as he followed James’s gaze down the valley. “You sense her out there?”
James let out a slow breath. “Oh, yeah.”
Michael crossed his arms, exhaling a thick plume of white into the air. “Hits hard, doesn’t it?” He stared out across the valley. “The day I met Sarah, my entire world tipped sideways. And then I blinked and somehow had a family.” He smiled, warm and rueful. “And a daughter who stole my heart before she ever even said hello.”
Daniel huffed a soft laugh. “You think that’s wild? Try giving a terrified little girl and her quiet, stubborn brother a home and realizing you’d walk through fire for them before you even figured out how to make breakfast.”
Michael snorted. “I’ve seen your breakfasts. The fire would have been safer.”
Daniel elbowed him lightly. “Watch it.”
Despite himself, James felt a smile tug at the corner of his mouth. Their banter wasn’t just noise; it helped ground him. It reminded him that he wasn’t navigating this new world alone.
“You all sound very wise,” James said dryly. “Did you rehearse this?”
Christopher shrugged, his lips curving in a smile. “Maybe a little.”
“Christopher told us you were all gooey-eyed last night at dinner,” Daniel teased.
“Did he now?” James arched an eyebrow at his friend.
“You did kind of look as if you had been run over by a snowplow,” Christopher said.
“It feels like it,” James agreed, raking a hand through his hair.
“You’re good with the boy, too,” Christopher told him. “And the dog.”
