“Vixen…” Takoda growled while Hawk and I stared, our mouths hanging open.
Holly just grinned, dropping her shields to flood the bond with how much she already loved us.
“But if you don’t mind promising forever to a super-petty vixen,” she teased—right before her smile melted into something tender and full of hope. “Of course, I’ll marry you.”
Shewasa super-petty vixen.
And, of course, we didn’t mind.
Takoda let out a stunned exhale, then vaulted to his feet, sweeping her into his arms.
“Mate,” he murmured against her hair, the word reverberating down all our bonds as Hawk and I closed in, surrounding her in a warm, unbreakable hold and pressing kisses wherever we could find skin.
Her head tilted back, and that’s when we got the happy tears we’d been hoping for since we climbed the stairs to her fifth-floor apartment.
“We’re a maul now,” Takoda said, his voice thick with emotion as he kissed her forehead. “You’re not alone anymore, Holly. Never again.”
Hawk’s rough hand steadied her back, his lips brushing the crown of her head. “You’re ours, sweetheart. Always.”
I pressed closer, letting my warmth soothe away any residual feelings of abandonment. I could feel how much she needed this—how much she needed us. And I let our truly petty vixen know, “You’re perfect.”
Holly turned her head to look up at me, and her lips trembled with a fragile smile. “I’ve never been good at believing something like this could last,” she admitted a lot more softly than she teased us. “Thank you for not giving up on me.”
“Never,” Takoda said fiercely. “We’d never give up on you.”
I leaned down, my forehead brushing her temple. “You’re worth every fight, Holly. Every misunderstanding cleared up. Everything we’re willing to do to show you this is forever.”
I felt the best thing from her then—the crumble of her walls breaking, her heart letting us in, one beat at a time.
But then it suddenly stuttered, and a slew of new, panicked doubts spilled over the bond.
Everything that had happened before she opened the door to find her ex-husband standing there lit up our maul bites as Holly drew back from our group hug.
“My license is at risk. My visa’s in the air. And all threats aside, I still officially owe Corey, like, four more years of alimony payments....” She shook her head, bitter regret replacing all the happy feelings from a few moments ago. “My life is currently a mess, and I don’t know how all of this is supposed to work with a three-way marriage—which I’m sure is technically illegal anyway.”
“Ayaska Bears have a special exemption,” Takoda said, his voice steady. “And I meant what I said earlier. You’re not alone anymore, Holly. We’ll figure this out together.”
“Worst case, you disappear to Bear Mountain,” Hawk offered casually.
Takoda nodded, shooting approval over the bond. “I no longer talk to Ash, but we’re having a cub boom this spring, and I’ve heard he’s in desperate need of a midwife.”
Dr. Ash. Just the name made my bond with Hawk and Takoda hum with tension. But they were both willing to set aside their estrangement with him if it meant Holly getting to keep the job she truly loved—and Bear Mountain gaining a capable midwife on top of everything else.
“You belong with us, Holly,” Takoda told her. “We’ll take care of you.”
But Holly just kept shaking her head. “I trust you. I do. But I can’t practice without a license, and I really can’t stay here illegally. Plus, if immigration—or worse, the RCMP—finds out you’re harboring me…”
Her words trailed off, and I felt Hawk’s and Takoda’s hearts sinking through the bond.
Then they stopped.
Because both of them noticed at the same time that my heart wasn’t sinking right along with theirs. I’d kept it carefully neutral.
They turned in unison to squint at me.
“Why ain’t you as upset about all this as we are, puppy?” Hawk demanded.
Well, I knew this would have to come up sometime.
