It was obvious that neither Boone nor Zion were Indigenous, but Zion kept saying “our kind” like they had something in common with Ravik.
“What exactly do you mean by ‘our kind’?” I asked slowly.
They all went very still.
Zion and Ravik exchanged a glance. Boone rubbed the back of his neck.
Then Boone finally spoke for the first time since coming outside. “Okay, sugar, listen. We’re going to show you something, and weneed you not to scream. Also, to trust that you’re safe with us, no matter what it looks like. We won’t be able to talk to you for a few seconds, but don’t worry—we won’t hurt you.”
“We wouldneverhurt you,” Ravik added, his voice quiet but absolute. “Under any circumstance.”
Boone, who was dressed in nothing but a solid black tee and sweatpants, suddenly began removing both. And, oh wow, nope, he wasn’t wearing any underwear.
“What-what are you doing?” I asked, averting my eyes back to Zion and Ravik before he could fully reveal his package. But then, I stumbled backward with an “Oh my God!”
All three men suddenly sprouted animal heads.
Fur. Snouts. Round ears.
I didn’t scream. But I did stare for several long moments, my breaths coming out of my gaped mouth in short puffs of white vapor.
They were bears!
Zion and Ravik both wore the heads of black bears atop their human bodies—Zion’s turtleneck and Ravik’s ceremonial shirt.
And Boone had collapsed down to all fours—going what I’d guess you’d call “full bear.”
He was huge, and his entire body was covered in white fur. Polar bear. I’d seen enough nature documentaries and soda ads to recognize the species.
“Okay… okay,” I managed to say when I finally found my voice. My knees felt about ready to give out.
“So this is how you’re all connected," I said more to myself than the three guys... bears. "I guess that tracks.”
Because weirdly, them being bears suddenly made everything finally make sense. The strange sounds I’d heard when Dennis died. The way none of them seemed cold, even in this weather. The whole “our kind’s been doing polyamory since before polyamory was even a word.” The "long story" text message from Noelle.
I was very, very shocked, but I no longer confused—actually, wait a minute....
I narrowed my eyes at the three men—males—bear beings standing in front of me. “What does any of this have to do with you three calling me yourmate?”
13/
operation sugar cookie
RAVIK
The good news was that Bell didn’t scream and run away, like Koda told us her oldest daughter Holly had when confronted with his bear.
But bad news—the prospect of becoming our mate appeared to upset her more than finding out that we, and all six of her daughters' future husbands, were bear shifters.
The decision to mate her had been instant among the three of us. One whiff, and we all knew Ursa had sent us a second chance to be a maul. Even Zion was on board. At least physically.
The complete lack of sexual arousal since Niska died wasn’t something we ever talked about, but through our maul bond, I felt what had been dead in Zion suddenly pulse back to life. Arousal slammed into him, hard and urgent—seconds before the same hunger woke in me.
As soon as I saw her crying in the moonlight.
Mine.That had been my first thought, right before my nose caught her sugar cookie scent, and then my bear roared:OURS!
A claiming need like none I’d ever known outside of that first estrus with Niska shuddered through me. In an instant, I understood how my first maul son, Mak, must have felt when he walked into his cave to find his mate already bond bitten by Cody, his third maul.
