Series: Lee Savino
Total pages in book: 66
Estimated words: 63295 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 316(@200wpm)___ 253(@250wpm)___ 211(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 63295 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 316(@200wpm)___ 253(@250wpm)___ 211(@300wpm)
But it’s Paloma. My mate. The female who already holds my heart. The female I want to give everything to.
“I don’t know if I was running from myself. But definitely from my past. I wanted to go somewhere my bear couldn’t hurt anyone. Away from this mountain where I could barely control him.”
“It sounds like you’re afraid of your bear. Maybe you got that from your mother.”
“It’s no wonder my mom was afraid–my bear hurt my mom. And she’s a shifter, so she healed, but if he did something like that to you–”
“I mean she was afraid of her own bear.”
I swallow the torrent of damning words that were about to flow out of my mouth about my bear and the damage he’s done.
I blink.
It never occurred to me that my mom was afraid of her own bear.
And I sure as fuck don’t want to be like my mom.
But…fuck. I did the same exact thing she did! I abandoned my family because they were too bear-like for me to handle.
Right now, I wish Teddy were here beating the shit out of me. It would feel so much better than the deep shame that’s burying me alive.
“Fuck, you’re right,” I mutter, rubbing my forehead.
“Come on.” Paloma climbs off the bed and tugs my hand. “Let’s get you cleaned up–you still have the forest on you, and I could use a shower myself.”
I follow her to the bathroom and turn on the shower, and I then treat Paloma to a slow, sudsy round two.
Chapter Ten
Paloma
The shower is amazing, in more ways than one, but even better is the sense that Darius and I have connected on a new, deeper level.
He’s more than the insanely hot Viking warrior. More, even, than a man who can change at will into a bear.
He’s human. Or at least, my definition of human–a man with a heart that hurts.
As I put on another one of Darius’ flannels, a knock sounds at the door. “Yoo hoo! Darius? Paloma?” a female voice calls from the front of the cabin.
“That will be Lana.” Darius pulls on a pair of jeans and heads, shirtless, to answer the door. I follow in nothing but his shirt.
A curvy woman with smooth, dark skin and long, pink-tipped braids throws her arms around Darius’ neck. Behind her, Teddy stands awkwardly holding two large shopping bags.
“Darius! How dare you come to the mountain and not come to say hello,” Lana mock punches him, making her braids swing. Her hair is the same soft pink as her jumpsuit.
“We were coming to say hello,” Darius grumbles, receiving her hug with a warm embrace, “but your mate decided to knock down a tree and challenge me to a fight in front of Paloma.”
“Yes, I heard about that.” Lana pulls away and glances affectionately over her shoulder at Teddy. “He’s very protective of the cub.” She turns her attention to me, reaching for both my hands instead of shaking one. “And you must be Paloma. It’s so nice to meet you. I’m so thrilled to have a sister-in-law. How are you feeling? I heard about the poison–how horrifying!”
“Um, better, thanks.”
Lana is a lot to take in, but I instantly love her. I’ve been lonely as hell for far too long, especially missing my sister, so I don’t mind that she’s already adopted me as her new kin.
“Good. Matthias can heal anyone–even of poison. Here, I brought some clothes for you.” She turns and takes the shopping bags out of Teddy’s hands. “I didn’t know your size, so if you like anything here, and it doesn’t fit, we can run to my clothing outlet in town.”
Teddy still hasn’t said a word to Darius yet–the two just glower at each other behind our backs.
I take the shopping bags she thrusts at me and peek inside.
“Come on, I’ll show you what I brought.” Lana guides me toward the bedroom. “We’ll see if the two grumps can bear-hug and make up.”
I flash her a grin. “I see what you did there.”
Her smile back is dazzling. “Bear jokes have to be your jam when your mate’s name is Teddy.”
“Teddy!” I laugh as we enter the bedroom and shut the door. “Teddy bear. I don’t know why I hadn’t put that together yet!”
“It’s adorbs, right? And all the cabins have this Goldilocks and the Three Bears vibe going. I love it, but we built something bigger, so we could start a family.” She puts her hand on her round belly.
“Yes, I heard. Congratulations.” I dump the contents of both shopping bags out on the bed. “How far along are you?”
“Fourteen weeks.” Lana sorts through the clothes, unfolding and holding them up with a narrowed eye like she’s gauging my size. “Thank you. Teddy was already super protective, but now he’s going insane with it. I’m sorry if he made you feel unwelcome.” She tosses a three-pack of panties at me. I rip them open and pull on a pair under the long shirt.