Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 77952 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 390(@200wpm)___ 312(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77952 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 390(@200wpm)___ 312(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
When we left our cabin, I thought we carried the responsibility of a mate and a child on our shoulders. Now, I know there’s a child in Scarlet’s womb. Our destiny is broadening. Our pack is growing. The weight of responsibility only grows heavier.
Ahya is destined to be a bridge between species, and she has brought us into a war we would do anything to avoid, but one we’ll have to finish.
“I’ll take them home tomorrow,” I say. “To Blackwood… then to the bears.”
Cami smiles. “Good. Every step forward is a choice. You will make the right ones.”
And with that, she disappears into the trees.
I remain on the porch a while longer, listening to the night and the familiar heartbeat of this place.
Then I turn back inside, toward Scarlet and my future.
38
REED
We sit in the main room, a vast space framed with wood beams and old stone, the walls alive with family history.
Hunter sits in a high-back wooden chair that’s more like a throne. Nixon paces, too keyed up to rest. Finn leans against the hearth, as if he’s deliberately trying to show that at least one of us is relaxed. Scarlet sits on the couch beside me, legs tucked under her, cradling Ahya against her chest with a fierce stillness I’ve come to recognize as her armor.
The room quiets as Hunter’s eyes drift toward her.
“So,” he says, rubbing a hand over his jaw, “she’s a wolf... but also a bear?”
“That’s what we’ve been told,” Nixon answers, his voice edged but even. He stops pacing to stare at our mate and foundling.
Hunter glances at Robert, his brother, who sits in a thick chair by the window. The man’s been silent since we arrived, but the weight in his gaze is heavy with skepticism.
“It’s not possible,” Robert says. “Not biologically.”
“It shouldn’t be,” I agree. “But she’s here… a female wolf shifter. And our spiritual guide senses it in her. She’s never wrong and would certainly never joke about something so serious.”
Evan shifts forward in his seat, brows drawn. “The essence of three individuals can’t combine,” Evan says.
Hunter shakes his head. “There has never been a child born of two species of shifter.”
“I know,” Nixon says. “I know what I’m telling you doesn’t make sense, but can we let Ahya play with your sons. If she sees them shift, maybe she’ll recognize something in their appearance, in their essence. If she shifts into a bear, we’ll know for sure. We’re not asking you to believe us blindly.” He turns toward Hunter. “We want to know for sure. Just let her spend time with your boys.”
“And if she shifts into a bear?” Hunter asks, still watching Scarlet.
“Then we’ll all have our answer,” Nixon says.
Goldie sits nearby with the twins balanced on her lap, already wriggling toward freedom.
“Goldie?” Hunter says gently.
She nods, lifting the boys off her legs. “Connell. Coran. Go play, loves.”
The twins waddle over to where Scarlet sits, their chubby legs and wild hair making me smile even in this heavy moment. Ahya watches them, her blue eyes bright and still like she knows what’s coming.
Goldie moves toward the rug in the corner, where soft toys and wooden animals are scattered across a thick woven mat. The boys settle into play instantly, babbling and growling at each other.
“They don’t shift often,” Goldie explains, looking back over her shoulder. “We’ll need to be patient.”
I glance at Evan. “Would it help if one of you shifted? Something to mirror?”
He rises without hesitation.
We all go quiet.
Evan steps into the center of the room. Then, with a deep inhale and a ripple of energy, his skin splits, fur rolls across his body, and in seconds, a massive brown bear stands where he had been.
Ahya lights up immediately.
She squeals with delight and immediately squirms in Scarlet’s arms. Scarlet looks stunned but places her on the ground. The strain in her face darkens her usually relaxed features. I understand it’s the human part of her that’s wary of animals, especially one as big and ferocious-looking as Evan. He approaches, his long snout huffing hard enough to ruffle Ahya’s hair. His eyes fix on Scarlet like he’s trying to reassure her that he means no harm. He bends over Ahya, and she reaches out to touch him like he’s the most magical thing she’s ever seen.
The twins laugh, too, scrambling toward their father. And then it happens.
They shift into little brown bears, scampering around Ahya.
Ahya stops. Her little body goes still.
Then she shifts.
Fur spills over her skin, sleek and black, limbs thicken and shorten in a blink. Where a little girl lay, now a bear cub tumbles forward, nose twitching, paws heavy and soft. She barks, a tiny, giddy sound, and lunges at Coran, rolling into a clumsy pile of cubs.
My heart stops.
Scarlet gasps, one hand pressed to her lips. “She’s… she’s a bear.”