I caught the disbelief radiating through the bond. He hadn’t believed me when I said I was a good cook. But his surprise didn’t last long before he went right back to making dopey heart eyes at our mate.
“It didn’t smell nearly as good as you do, though,” he added, his voice warm and earnest.
Our mate’s embarrassment flared, rolling through the bond as if it were my own.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to embarrass you,” Leif said, ducking his head sheepishly.
“No, it’s just…” She hesitated, her expression softening. “I like the way you smell, too—not quite like maple syrup, but more like some kind of maple candy?”
“Maple fudge,” I supplied, figuring her American accent meant she wasn’t familiar with the Canadian staple.
“Yes! Maple fudge!” she said with a shy smile. “I actually really like it.”
“You do?” Leif asked, his insecurity melting into a big, dopey grin.
I chimed in. “Of course you like how he smells. You like how I smell, too, don’t you, baby? Cuz we’re a scent match.”
Her brows furrowed. “A scent match?”
The confusion in her expression made me frown. “Wait—are you telling me Koda spent all morning with you and didn’t break all this shit down?”
“I mean, I know I’m a bear now, and my sister is, too. She has, um… three mates. And I’m in estrus—which is this embarrassing condition Koda’s been helping me with.”
“That’s what he called it?” I arched an eyebrow, thinking about Elizabeth Bennet, Emma Woodhouse, Anne Elliot, and every other Austen character that spent nearly their entire stories in denial. “Helping you? With a condition?”
“What would you call it?” she asked, wary.
Before I could stop myself, the answer rumbled out on a low growl. “Claiming you. Breeding you. Filling your belly with our cubs.”
Her voice cracked as she repeated, “Our cubs?”
Leif and I exchanged a look, realization hitting us both at once.
I stayed silent, too pissed to speak, but Leif stepped in. “Wait, he didn’t explain the maul dynamic to you like Hawk explained it to me?”
She tilted her head. “He showed me that my sister had three mates—amaul. But I didn’t realize that…”
Her words trailed off, but the bond filled in the gaps. Still, I waited for her to keep going. My wicked bear likes the feel of her entire face flushing hot while she struggled to have this conversation with us.
“I didn’t realize that it had anything to do with… me,” she finally finished. “Or us. Or scent.”
“So youdon’tlike the way we smell?” I asked, already knowing the answer. “When your next wave of estrus hits, you don’t want us in that nest with you?”
She didn’t respond immediately. Instead, she took several small bites of her waffle, clearly stalling for time. I could feel the war raging in her head—everything she’d been taught about “responsible” women battling with the fresh wounds of her divorce.
I stayed quiet, letting her work it out.
Unfortunately, my third maul had the personality of a too-eager golden retriever.
“Hey, just so you know, we’re not like your ex,” Leif blurted out. “We just want to be with you—even if the cub thing doesn’t work out.”
Her fork froze mid-air. She stared at us, her expression blank with shock. Questions crashed over the bond like a multi-car pile-up.
Leif set down his fork to address the Mack truck one first. “Takoda didn’t tell you about us being able to read your mindthrough our bond bites, either? What were you two doing that entire time?”
“I think I can guess,” I said with a wry twist of my mouth, setting down my own fork. “Alright, baby, let’s try to get all your questions out of the way before the next estrus hits.”
“So, let me get this straight…”
