Her bear surged in response, a wave of primal need that made her back arch. She felt her canines beginning to lengthen, the sharp points pressing against her lower lip. The urge to bite, to sink her teeth into his flesh and mark him permanently, pulsed through her with increasing urgency that bordered on pain.
As the orgasm crashed over them both, they struck simultaneously. Hunter’s fangs sank deep into her neck while Brie bit down on his shoulder with all the strength of her bear. She felt him pulsing inside her, filling her with his seed as theclaiming venom flooded both their systems. The sensation was overwhelming.
Suddenly, Brie wasn’t in the bedroom anymore.
She floated in an endless expanse of cosmic space, surrounded by swirling galaxies and brilliant nebulae. She was not human. She was a magnificent polar bear, her fur pristine white and glowing with inner light. Across from her stood Hunter’s wolf, powerful and dark, with eyes that held the wisdom of ages.
The space between them shimmered, and then everything that was Hunter flooded into her consciousness. His memories, his fears, his fierce loyalty, his love all poured into her in an overwhelming cascade. She saw his lonely childhood after his mother’s death, felt his father’s grief that had shaped him, experienced every mission that had hardened him, and understood the vulnerability he’d hidden for so long.
At the same time, she felt her own essence flowing into him. Her warmth, her creativity, the love her parents had given her, her dreams for the bakery, her strength in the face of fear. All of it transferred through their cosmic connection. They weren’t just sharing thoughts; they were sharing their souls.
Her bear and his wolf moved toward each other in this starlit void, touching noses in recognition. Ancient, primal, eternal. Their bond transcended human understanding. She could feel Hunter’s wonder matching her own as their spirits danced among the stars, intertwining in patterns of light that seemed to write their future across the cosmos.
“I will protect you always,” Hunter’s voice resonated through their bond, not spoken but felt.
“And I will be your home,” she promised in return.
The vision held for what felt like eternity. Then, gradually, the cosmic space began to fade, the stars dimming as reality pulled them back.
Brie gasped as she returned to her body, Hunter’s fangs retracting from her neck. She tasted his blood on her tongue.
“Brie,” Hunter breathed, pulling back to look at her. His eyes were wide with awe.
“I know,” she whispered. Through their new bond, she could feel everything he was feeling. The overwhelming love, the fierce protectiveness, the bone deep contentment of finally being complete.
She touched his face, marveling at how she could sense his emotions layered with her own. Joy, satisfaction, and a possessiveness that made her feel cherished. “I can feel you,” she said in wonder. “I feel… everything.”
“You’re mine now. And I’m yours.”
“Forever,” Brie agreed, pulling him down for another kiss.
They lay tangled together, legs intertwined, her head on his chest where she could hear his heart still racing. His arm was wrapped around her shoulder. Neither spoke for long minutes, both still processing the magnitude of what had just happened.
The bond hummed between them, no longer potential but fully realized. His contentment washed over her like warm honey. Deep, satisfied, almost purring. It mixed with her own sense of completion, the two feelings twining together until she couldn’t quite tell where hers ended and his began.
Chapter
Thirty-Six
FOUR MONTHS LATER
Brie stoodin the bathroom of Hunter’s apartment, staring at the small white stick in her trembling hand. The second pink line had appeared slowly, darkening until there was no mistaking it. Positive.
Her eyes darted around the bathroom. Suddenly everything seemed different. Her toiletries crowded the counter next to Hunter’s. Her rosewater face cream, her makeup bag, three different hair products all jostling for space beside his shaving kit. Four months of living together and she’d taken over most of his counter. Now there would be baby things too. Baby shampoo and bath toys and diaper cream.
The thought made her heart race. But was it panic or excitement? Both, maybe.
Her floral shower curtain was the first thing she’d changed when she moved in, softening his stark masculine space. His dark gray towels hung beside her cream ones. Little integrations, little compromises. They’d figured those out. They could figure this out too.
Couldn’t they?
She touched her still-flat stomach, and something fierce and protective surged through her chest, mixing with the fear.
A baby. Their baby.
“What’s wrong?” Hunter’s voice came from the bedroom, followed by his footsteps. He appeared in the doorway, shirtless and alert, dark blue eyes scanning her.
Wordlessly, Brie held up the pregnancy test.
