She looked over at me with wide eyes. “Really?” There was wonder in her voice. “You’re like…” She glanced around again. “Like a master carpenter.”
“It’s what I’ve been doing my whole life. It’s a passion of mine. It was my priority.” I swallowed roughly. “It was… until you.” I stared into her eyes, wanting nothing more than to kiss her.
Her bear was right there, the scent arousing, overpowering, and making me so fucking on edge with need. I could tell that was unusual for her, new.
But by the time I was done with her, by the time she was mine, her bear would be running right beside me, wild and feral… mated.
Chapter Seven
Mena
I had to be insane to just agree to come to some strange man’s house, who I met just a couple hours before in the middle of the woods. But I was his mate. He said so. I felt it.
And it made complete sense, as if everything that happened in my life thus far had been leading up to this one moment.
I’d been here for like an hour, sitting on the plush leather couch in front of the fireplace. One thing I noticed about his incredible cabin was that there was no TV, no stereo system. I didn’t really notice any appliances on the kitchen counters either. Of course he had a refrigerator, stove, all the main things, but there was no coffee maker, no blender. A man, especially a bachelor, should at least have a television, right?
Instead, he had this ornate fireplace right in front of the living room, with stone detailing and a wood carving of a bear and forest scene on the mantle. It was beautiful and incredible, and the detail was immaculate. You could tell whoever made it had really taken their time, had really loved the work they did.
I looked at Cason and knew he built it, that he’d been the one to put so much passion and love into everything in this home.
I looked back and stared at it for a full minute. But I felt him watching me, his gaze intense. I glanced over at Cason and saw him doing just that, his stare trained on me as he sat in the oversized chair beside me, as if he couldn’t take his look off me.
I felt that truth.
I could smell him, the need he had for me, the fact that this was truly my mate, that there was no going back.
I ran that truth through my mind over and over again, loving how it felt, sounded.
Cason.
I said his name repeatedly in my head, loving how it made me feel.
“You must have questions,” he finally said in this deep, possessive voice.
I brought the glass to my mouth, the water cold and refreshing against my tongue, down my throat. Oh, I had a shit-load of questions, but none of them sounded realistic; none of them sounded like they made any sense.
“Mates?” I murmured that one word as a question, but of course I knew this was real. My bear was still right below the surface, pacing. Although she wasn’t afraid, wasn’t as anxious, she was feral in this moment as she tried to get out. She refused to question this.
She accepted this.
And so did I.
“Yes. My mate. Fated mates, Mena.” He leaned forward and rested his forearms on his thighs, his big, strong hands clasped together. His biceps were massive, causing me to feel extremely feminine. And his fingers, those digits covered with callouses from doing manual labor and woodworking, nearly made me drool thinking of what they would feel like on my flesh.
“I don’t know anything about mates. I’m only half shifter, never even let my animal out, because she’s so dormant.” But as I said that last part, I felt my bear push for dominance. She was stronger than my human now. So much stronger.
Those words came for me as if I’d been holding back, as if I couldn’t help but speak the truth, telling him everything about me, because it felt so natural. I was so far out of my element; I had no idea what the hell I was doing.
I didn’t feel like myself. I was on edge, excited, anxious, ready for the next step in my life.
“Tell me about yourself,” he prompted in his deep voice, a sound that had my nerve endings coming alive, lighting on fire.
I set my glass down and rubbed my palms up and down my thighs. My father would kill me if he knew I’d gone home with a stranger. My mother would freak out with worry. But how would they feel if they knew he was my mate?
Although they’d always been hesitant about me being with a shifter because of my father’s history, because of how severe and disheartening the shifter community had been to him, I knew in my heart that wasn’t how it was with every clan or pack. My father had an unfortunate experience, but I had a supportive family. And although they had their reservations about me being with a non-human, I knew they loved me and respected my decisions in life.
I knew they would be understanding no matter what. “I’m a half-bear shifter, although I know you’re already aware of that.”