After she bumped into Travis at the store, Grace had told herself that she’d put a button on the whole situation. Travis knew that she’d made her decision and she could finally take a deep breath and let go of the stress that she’d been ruminating over.

Yeah, that didn’t work so well. Sleep had only come when she was so exhausted that she couldn’t even remember how to set her alarm, so she’d started the morning late and completely frazzled. Her whole shift had been a breeze so that should have put a smile on her face, but every spare moment when she wasn’t taking an order or checking on a table, she was stealing glances at the clock on the wall.

Later, back at home, the time began to crawl again. She didn’t know what was taking her so long. She only had to pack enough stuff to take off. Ty and Mia had given them a cabin to use for the… the event, somewhere away from the others. Somewhere she wouldn’t feel like someone was standing at a window listening in the whole time. It wasn’t like the seclusion was really going to make it any easier. This all reminded her about those books she used to read about women in medieval times or some other time period like it, where people hung the sheets from the marriage bed out for people to see the blood stain, proving that her young mistress had been pure before her wedding. Sure, she’d bear Noah’s mark on her shoulder if everything went as planned. She’d have the mark and Noah would have protection from Ty and the others and she’d come back to her Aunt and Uncle’s house, finish helping them until her aunt was well, and then she was heading out into the world.

It was that easy. Right?

But why couldn’t she just get it over with. Toss her silk nightie with the lacey trim into her bag, and add in her silk robe to cover up with until they turned out the lights.

She let her fingers trace the lacey trim of the negligee and then grabbed it up in her hand and dropped it into her shoulder bag on top of her travel toiletries.

Wow. This is so strange.

No, not strange, her head answered back, just really messed up.

Her robe was added on top and pushed it down gently so she could manage closing the zipper without catching the fabric in the teeth.

“I’ll see you tonight.” Her uncle’s voice was in the hallway talking to his wife. “Yes,” she heard him sigh and laugh, his very tone filled with love, “I’ll drive safe. Bye, sweetie.”

Pushing herself up off the bed she hustled to the door and yet, by the time she opened the door he was almost through the living room. “Uncle Edward?”

He stopped and turned with a smile. “Hey, Gracie.” Even with the smile she’d slapped on, he saw right through her. “What’s wrong?”

“I feel horrible about waking up late today, I was a complete mess. And then tomorrow-”

He held up a hand to get her to stop talking. “It’s fine, sweetheart. Kendra has her friend coming in and as long as she can write legibly and get the food to the right table, we’ll muddle through. You should have some fun with your friends.”

Fun. Friends.

Ha.

“It’s not that. Not really.” She struggled to find something that she could say without breaking any more promises.

He juggled his keys and pushed the keyring down into his back pocket before he lifted his hands and brushed her hair back from her face just like he used to when she was a little girl. “When you lived here in Grayslake with your mother, you were always such a determined little thing. If you wanted to do something, you did it. I think most of what you did with Noah as friends was all your idea. I doubt the little guy had anything to say about the matter.

“My, but you were a force of nature, and when your mom took you away it was like the air was sucked right out of this town. When Nellie told me you were coming home for a bit, we were so excited. And then you showed up here, a beautiful woman with a wonderful personality and that same spirit under it all, you filled our house with so much joy.

“So I’m telling you that now and forever, if you have to talk, you can come to either of us. We’ll always be on your side and always be there to help.” He gave her a hug that almost lifted her off of the floor and then headed out the door to work.

Any hope of sneaking back into the guest room died a moment later.

“Grace?”

For a second, she considered pretending she hadn’t heard her aunt’s voice.

“I know that ruse!”

Dropping her chin down to her chest, Grace sighed and called down the hallway. “How did you even know what I was thinking?”

“I was your age once… just get in here.”

Grace obeyed her aunt. How could she do anything else?

Moving through the doorway she saw Nellie sitting up in bed.

“Hey, you’re supposed to be lying down.”

“Tsk.” Nellie waved off the concern. “I’m supposed to be at work.” She allowed Grace to fluff up her pillows and adjust them to bolster her back before settling beside her aunt. “So, you want to tell me why you’re dragging your feet?”

A happy grin appeared on her face. “I’m fine!”

“You, my dear girl,” Nellie gave the younger woman a piercing look, “are a horrible liar.”

Grace gaped back at her and then her shoulders sagged. “Can’t we just pretend everything is fine?”

“We could,” Nellie rushed on, “if I was sure that you have all the facts.”

Grace sat down on the chair beside the bed. “I think I’ve got the big picture. Because I know that there are a bunch of folks here and abouts that get furry and have a serious thing for honey I need to either mate with one of the bears or die. Hmmm… Yeah, I choose the mate thing. Because sex is way better than the alternative.” When she looked at her aunt she didn’t see a smile on her face. “What else can I do?”

When Nellie touched her hand and gave it a squeeze, something shocked Grace, darting through her body from the contact with her aunt. “When your mom took you to Arizona, I didn’t know that you’d seen Noah shift. All I knew was that he moped around town for months, stopping into the diner to ask about you.”

“My mom kept telling me it was too dangerous with all the wild animals around. She was pretty mad at me for getting so close to a bear in the first place. Let’s just say she held my hand everywhere we went for months, thinking I was going to go play in traffic.”

“And you didn’t tell.” Nellie chuckled, shaking her head. “Most people would have just blurted it out to save themselves.”

Grace didn’t laugh along with her aunt, her expression was completely sober. “Noah was my best friend in the whole world, I couldn’t betray him like that. He was hurting and I didn’t want to add to the mess.”

Nellie nodded, her eyes tearing just the littlest bit. “So you know just enough to make things difficult.”

Another knot formed in Grace’s stomach. “What do you mean?”

“Ty told you that mating with one of the bears was a choice you had-”

“The only choice really and-”

Nellie squeezed her hand and Grace went silent.

“But did he tell you what it meant?”

Grace’s shoulders slumped a little as she thought back to her conversation with Noah, when he explained the process. “Noah talked about the claiming bite, and that it wouldn’t hurt so much if he… I mean, if we-” she swallowed and looked away, “you know.”

Nellie sat there silent long enough that Grace started to feel a little uncomfortable.

“Aunt Nellie?”

“Did Noah tell you about fated mates?” A moment later she continued to talk. “By the look on your face, I’d say the answer is no.”

Grace’s shrug felt more like a twitch. “Kind of like the idea of soulmates, but really that’s just what people say.” The laugh that choked out of her throat was dry, painful. “It doesn’t mean anything, it’s just what you say when you’re crazy in love and later on, you know you were just crazy and then,” her free hand twisted in a vague gesture, “you meet your next soulmate.”

She saw the pain in her aunt’s eyes and Grace looked away. “We can’t all be like you and Uncle Edward. So I’m going to be with Noah and get Ty off of his back. And when you’re healthy and back on your feet, I’m still going. Noah said he can handle things after that. Ty’s rules say-”

“First of all,” Nellie pushed in, “they’re not just Ty’s rules… it’s the rules. It’s how the bears in Grayslake have kept themselves safe from the rest of the world that wouldn’t try to look beyond the furry side of them. And the rules are about survival, but there’s more to it than that.” With a slow sigh she managed a smile and a frown at the same time. “Bless Noah, I’ve always liked him, but if he didn’t explain the rest of it, I wonder what that boy was thinking.”

“Auntie, I-”

“No, I’m not grumping about the boy. He’s been good to you and I almost consider him family. But listening to you talk about relationships, I think some of this problem is because of your mom.”

“What? My mom was good to me, she loved me a lot!”

“She loved you like a mother should, but she had a real issue with men.”

Grace felt a wall going up between them. Her head was shaking back and forth as she fought down the anger that was building inside.

“Grace?” Nellie squeezed her hand but Grace couldn’t meet her eyes. “Gracie, please, I need you to listen to me.”

She snapped her gaze up and felt her lips purse together in a stubborn line.

“Your father was a force of nature, sweetheart. He lived life on fast forward and he died that way, but I think his loss was almost more than your mom could bear. She had you and I think for a long time you were the only thing that kept her on her feet.” Nellie’s expression softened. ‘When you moved to Arizona and she finally started to see men and go on dates, I think she wanted… needed so much, that she fell into what she thought was love.”

“And then she didn’t stop falling,” Grace mumbled the words around the knot in her throat. “She just kept needing more, needing someone else. I know all of this. I saw it. I watched her struggle more and more when things would end.” Sitting up straighter, Grace tried to get her thoughts in order. “That’s why I’m not going to get caught up in the loop of love. Noah and I joke around. We’ll survive being stuck in the same place for a bit. We’ll have fun and then I’ll be gone before things go sour. He doesn’t ‘love’ me and he knows I feel the same way. We’re on the same page.”

“And that young man? Travis?”

“That’s below the belt.”

A smile twisted the corners of Nellie’s mouth. “And thanks to that man shifting without a spare set of clothes nearby, we know what he has below his belt.”

Grace didn’t know how to react to that. It wasn’t that she didn’t know what Nellie was talking about, she’d had enough close contact with his body to know exactly what Nellie was saying, just didn’t want to get further into the discussion. “Travis is… a monsoon. He makes me forget to think. He came out of nowhere and when I look into his eyes… when he touches me, I’m drowning. I feel like he’s the air in my lungs and the blood in my veins and no matter how I try to explain it… to justify the way he gets inside of me, I can’t.” She stood, pulling her hand out of reach. “I look at him and I feel like I’m my mom, waxing poetic about the new ‘forever’ guy in her life.

“I can’t be her, I won’t. I won’t let a guy become everything, because I can’t lose myself. I’m stronger than that.”

She almost made it to the door. “Grace, stop!”

With a huff of breath, Grace turned back, waiting for her aunt to speak.

“That’s what I’m trying to tell you. A fated mate is none of that. A fated mate is the other half of a whole. No one loses anything, but they have everything to gain. It sounds like a greeting card sentiment,” Nellie wagged her finger at Grace, “I see that expression, young lady. But you still need to hear it, because it’s true. I live here in Grayslake, and I’ve seen it happen. I know these people and how happy they are when they find that person that makes them ‘more’ of what they are.

“Are you so sure that Travis isn’t that person for you?”

“It’s hormones!” Grace laughed out loud, pushing all of her troubling thoughts into the back of her head. “I see Travis and I want him. I want him like a brand new ‘pseudo-vegetarian’ wants steak, salivating over it. Just because I want to have him, it doesn’t mean I should have it. Who knows, maybe all of this wanting and needing is just as unhealthy as sugar creating an addiction. I know what I need.”

“You are a stubborn girl, Grace Kelly Howard. Just remember that you have time to reconsider.”

Grace could barely breathe. Tears pricked the back of her eyes. “I’m sorry if you’re disappointed.”

“Don’t you dare think that, Gracie. I have never ever been disappointed by you. Proud and surprised, always, but never disappointed. I just love you so much, I want to make sure you know what your choices are before you make a decision. The last thing I want for you is to look back one day and realize you made the wrong decision because you didn’t have all the information.”

Grace didn’t have any words left. She just felt heavy and tired, almost bone-weary and exhausted, and she’d only been up a few hours. So she did the only thing she could, and nodded with a soft smile before she left the room.

* * *

Travis set his duffle on the floor at his feet and stood at the front desk of the B&B. Looking at the elegant antiques on display amongst the furniture, he let out a breath. He’d never felt as though he fit into the surroundings, but he’d chosen the B&B because in the back of his mind and deep in his heart he’d hoped to bring Grace there.

Less than an hour before, he’d met with the Itan of Grayslake and explained that he would be leaving. It was harder than he thought it would be. He’d been in Grayslake for nearly a week, hardly enough time to feel connected to a town. Yet, as he stopped to offer his farewells to the Itana, he’d felt a distinct pang of loss as if he was cutting something vital from his life that he cherished.

The tick-tick-tick of the grandfather clock a few feet away turned his head and he saw the time. Everyone in the clan knew what was happening tonight and he knew he’d made the right decision. He couldn’t stay. He couldn’t see Grace and scent Noah on her skin. He couldn’t see her turn her head and flinch slightly as the mark healed.

He may not be able to claim Grace for his own, but he wasn’t going to stay in Grayslake and bump into Noah and Grace from time to time. It would be bad enough to see Noah touch her, hold her hand, press a kiss to her lips, but when she grew round with a cub, smoothed her hands over her swollen belly, and hold her little one in her arms, it would make him lose his mind.

“Sorry about the wait,” the clerk stepped up to the desk and gave him a smile, “I was on a call.”

Travis nodded, half-listening. “I don’t have anywhere to be.” Except gone from here. “I need to check out.”

Frowning, the clerk looked at the book on the desk. “You’re paid up through to the end of the week.”

Looking back up the staircase, Travis let out a sigh. “Yeah, I was hoping things would end differently, but it’s just better if I leave.”

She flipped a few pages in the register and looked back up at him. “We don’t have anyone to put in that room for over a week and it’s not like we get a lot of tourists in Grayslake.”

“I’m not staying.”

She tapped her pencil on the desk blotter. “Do you want me to get the manager? She can probably do a refund for you.”

He shook his head and dug the key out of his pocket. Holding it out, he waited until she put her hand beneath the key and then set it in her open palm. “Maybe if someone comes in, looking for a place to stay for a few days… you can give them my room.”

She lowered her hand to the desk top and looked at the keyring in her hand. “Look, I get that you’ve got one foot out the door right now, but I get the feeling that you’re upset. Not like Elena leaving Vampire Diaries upset, but more like David Tenant leaving Dr. Who and you’re not a fan of Matt Smith kind of upset.” She set her free hand over her heart. “Let me tell you, I could barely put two words together for weeks!” She looked off into the distance for a moment before turning back to him. “So here’s what I’m going to do, because you look like a Doctor Ten and Rose Tyler ‘shipper,’ and you don’t ask for all kinds of crazy stuff for your room.” She picked up his key and lifted up the carved bear figurine that sat on the counter. The underside of it was hollow and about the size of a human fist. “I’m leaving your key here. If you come back, doesn’t matter what time, go ahead, grab it and go right back upstairs. If you don’t come back by the time your paid reservation is up, I’ll check you out.”

Travis smiled at her. She was a nice young woman. A little talkative, but nice. “Whatever makes you happy.”

She gave him a curious look. “I get the feeling that you say that a lot. You take care now. Drive safe.”

“Thanks.” He gave her a nod and then he picked up his bag and headed for the parking lot.