The BEARly Tamed Grizzly (Bear Clan 3)

“What does this all mean?” Her words were soft, curious, but underneath all of that I felt her acceptance.

“What do you want it to mean?” I asked in return, and she shifted so she looked me in the eyes. A moment of silence passed between us, but it wasn’t uncomfortable. It was what I’d always wanted to feel after being with my mate.

It was perfection.

I felt so damn possessive of her already, and I knew with each passing day that proprietary sensation, and the need to keep her close, would only increase. I looked into her sweet face, the face that I’d happily look into for the rest of my life. There was no stopping my emotions, the love that would grow for her every second. I leaned down and kissed her softly, telling her without saying the words that it was her and me from this point.

“India.” I whispered her name. “There is nothing for me in this world if you’re not by my side.”

“You’re sure you want to be settled with me?” she teased, but I stayed serious. “I have no family, nothing to offer you.”

I sat up and pulled her into the same sitting position. I wanted her to see that she had my full attention, that there was nothing more important than her. “There’s nothing I need in this world except you, India. I mean that. Do you understand?”

She licked her lips and nodded. I grabbed her hand and brought it to my heart. “You feel that?” She nodded again. “It beats for you now. Only you.” I pulled her in close and held her, my nose buried in her hair. “My mate.” God, the feeling I had right now was one of completion. I pulled back just an inch, still holding her, and pushed her hair off her shoulder, staring down at the mark I’d left on her neck. It would always be there, a reminder to not only any male who dared look at her, but to her and me as well. I’d look at it and know that she was mine.

Irrevocably. Undeniably. Forever.

Chapter Ten

Oli

The following day

I sat in the cab of my truck and stared at the grocery store. I had my cell pressed to my ear, listening to Asher talk about what was going on back at home.

He was talking about pregnancies, too much PDA being thrown around, and how mated couples were annoying as hell. But it was going in one ear and out the other as I thought about tonight, as I thought about being with India.

But then again, she was always on my mind, a constant presence that made me feel whole and settled.

I was making dinner for her tonight, would feed her, make sure she was nourished. It was something I desperately wanted to do for my mate. To be able to provide for her, make sure she was full, have her eat out of my hand, had every possessive instinct rising.

It tamed the bear deep inside, knowing we would be taking care of our India.

“And now you’ve gone and got yourself mated,” Asher grumbled and I snapped my focus back to the present.

I looked at my hand wrapped around the steering wheel, my knuckles white. “Well, your time will come, brother.”

Asher kept to himself a lot of the time, the brother who acted like he didn’t need a mate to be happy.

But we all knew that was a load of shit.

“You think I want to mate after all these years?” He acted, sounded, like he didn’t give a fuck, but I could hear in his voice he was lying.

Although I knew Asher wanted his female, craved her like all of us did, like any shifter did, he’d lost hope of ever finding her. It was that hopelessness that had him retreating into himself, not expecting that he’d ever be complete. He was skeptical of it all, even after seeing three of his brothers find their females.

And I hated seeing him like that, hated that he’d lost the drive. But his time would come. If I had to go out there and help him find his other half, so be it. Because I knew as soon as he saw her, as soon as he scented her and the mating heat took control, he’d feel like a dumbass for ever doubting that he’d find her.

After I got off the phone with him, I sat there for a moment, feeling so fucking nervous. I’d already claimed India, gave her my mark, filled her with my seed, but cooking for her, being domestic and shit, that scared the hell out of me. I didn’t want to screw this up, and that was my fear.

I climbed out of the truck and ran my hands down my jeans. I started heading into the grocery store when my entire body froze, a scent I recognized slamming into my nose, having a growl being pulled from me, my anger instantly rising.

I swung my head to the left, the scent strongest in that direction. There was a wind that had picked up, mixing the smell throughout the air, surrounding me. I turned my body in the direction it came from, my bear right at the surface, my fingernails turning into claws, my canines punching out. It was the scent of the fuckers who’d hurt India, who’d put their hands on my mate.

In this moment, I was just reacting on instinct, needing to right the wrongs that had been done to India. I found myself walking behind the grocery store building, seeing a line of dumpsters, two men leaning against them, smoking cigarettes. They both had bottles wrapped in paper bags, the stench of their greed and intoxication nauseating. They didn’t hear me approach at first, both of them engaged in conversation. But my shifter hearing picked up on them discussing robbing a house, one owned by an elderly man who lived alone.

“Man, he’ll be alone and asleep. Easy pickings, easy money,” one of the guys said and took a hit off his cigarette, blowing a cloud of smoke in the other guy’s face. He grinned, showing a set of crooked, yellow teeth.

“I don’t know, Ricky. I don’t like the idea of hitting up some old dude’s house when we don’t even know if there’s going to be anything of value in there. The risk might not be worth it. It’s probably just a bunch of old worthless shit and pictures of his grandkids.”