I turned my head to look at Bear. Was he still going to ask Animus to grant him the ability to speak?
I didn't know what to do. It wasn't my body and it wasn't my place to intervene. At the same time, I hoped Bear knew I thought he was perfect the way he was.
Bear met my gaze. He took my hand and smiled softly. It made my heart flutter. Then he slipped his hand away to sign to Animus.
"Nothing," Bear told him.
Relief flooded me. I chuckled and kissed Bear's cheek, which made him blush.
Animus raised a brow. "Nothing? What kind of mortal wish is that?"
"Thank you. I was only curious. I don't need a blessing." Bear smiled at me. "I have enough of those in my life."
A warm, sappy feeling filled my chest. I whimpered and threw myself at him. "Aww, Bear!"
Animus watched us in silence, then turned his head away. "Well, don't let me keep you from each other. Are you sure you don't want anything?" He paused. "A blessing for your child, perhaps?"
I tilted my head. Why would he offer that?
I faced Bear to see what he thought. My mate shrugged. Neither of us had strong opinions about it either way.
Hesitantly, I reached out and touched Animus's shoulder. He flinched but didn't pull away. He seemed surprised by the contact, but not offended.
"Hey, um... Why don't you keep the magic?" I suggested. "If that's possible, I mean? I don't know how any of this works."
Animus stared at me like I was crazy. "It is possible, yes."
From my understanding, the magic sparked from the connection between fated mates just existed. It didn't hurt us for Animus to hold onto it.
"Great. Then by all means, it's yours. It's not like me and Bear have any use for it, right?"
Bear nodded in agreement while Animus gawked. It was the first time I'd seen him look flabbergasted.
"Are you sure?" Animus asked.
"Yeah. Not like we can use it for anything, right?"
"No, I suppose not."
"Great. Then it's settled. You can keep it. In exchange, if that freak Terranus ever tries to kidnap us again, maybe you could step in?"
Animus flashed the closest thing to a genuine smile I'd seen on his face. "Consider it done. Now run along to your pack. A little birdy told me they're missing you."
"Huh?"
Animus disappeared into a black puff of smoke that dissolved in the breeze. It was like he'd never been there at all.
Bear nudged me, then pointed at the sky. I followed his gaze to see a little bird, just like Animus said. The finch hovering in the air looked oddly familiar.
"Wait... Farley?" I asked.
"Ashe! Oh, thank fuck. I found him!"
Farley's deep, tough voice coming out of a palm-sized bird never failed to amuse me. But more importantly, why was he here? And who was he talking to?
Across the plain, a red pelt streaked across the grass with a black-furred creature on its tail, followed by two bigger brown shapes. A fox, a black wolf, a dark brown wolf, and an adult buck with huge antlers.
It was Quinn, Zak, and my parents.
