Chapter 9
Kaya followed her mates down the wide, wooden stairs that led from inside a big, red barn to the underground were-bear city. Their family followed them, hauling in their supplies from the long trip to Canada. Kaya was thankful to be out of the RV. Originally, the plan had been to stop at RV parks and spread out the long drive over a few days, but because of the attack, they’d opted to drive straight through with minimal stops. Even though the RV was nice, and she enjoyed getting to know her mates and their family better, she had never been so glad to be out of a vehicle.
She stepped off the stairs and onto the floor of what appeared to be an enormous cavern. It stretched on for so long she couldn’t see the end of it. Tents of all shapes and sizes filled about half of the open area, with animal pens and gardens topped with UV lights taking up the rest of the room.
“Oh, my,” she said as she let her gaze roam, trying to take in everything.
Shy chuckled. “It’s a lot different than living in a trailer out in the open, huh?”
“I’ll say.”
“Let’s drop off our things first,” Teck said, “and then we’ll give you the grand tour.”
She walked between her mates as they followed a path between tents. The floor was stone, but there were pathways carved into the rock floor to simulate sidewalks. The ceiling soared above them, and vents carved into the stone allowed smoke from the fires to escape.
Teck stopped in front of a tent and lifted the flap covering the entrance. She ducked inside and moved to the center of the main room. She dropped her bag and turned in a slow circle. The floor was navy carpet, and a chandelier that looked like it had been made from deer antlers hung from the center pole. There was one leather couch and a coffee table made of a piece of oval glass on top of a tree stump. A bed took up most of the rear area in the tent, and near the bed stood a wall partition made up of tent canvas attached to poles that resembled a folding door.
Teck cleared his throat. “I know it’s not very nice, but we’ll fix it up for you. Dad already ordered the supplies to expand the tent, and we’ll need a larger bed of course.”
“A closet, too,” Shy said, standing next to her with his hands on his hips.
She looked up at Shy. “You never lived here?”
“Teck and I shared a bedroom in our parents’ home until we were sixteen. Then he moved down here.”
“You didn’t want to also have a place here?”
Shy didn’t answer for a long moment, and then he said, “I guess the truth is that I didn’t really want to face Teck when he was shutting me out of his life. It was easier to stay aboveground with our family than to admit that my twin and I were growing apart.”
“You think I’m selfish,” Teck said, looking at Kaya.
“No, of course not,” she said, shaking her head. “The dreams drove me crazy. So many years, never knowing when or even if I’d ever meet you two. I still don’t understand why you both didn’t have the dreams, but that’s in the past. The only thing I care about is that we’re home. I just want to make sure that things are okay between the two of you.”
Both her sexy mates smiled. “We’re good, sweetheart,” Shy said.
Teck nodded. “This is the first day of our new life together. The past can stay in the past.”
“I like that,” she said, linking her arms around their waists and pulling them to her. “And I like the tent. It’s intimate.”
“Tomorrow, we’ll start to fix it up, though. You can help if you’d like,” Teck said.
“I’d love to.”
Teck bent and kissed her cheek, and then he tilted her face and kissed her lips. Their hands were on her, touching and sliding and tugging on her clothes, and all thought fled from her mind except for how much she wanted to be with her mates.
Someone cleared his throat loudly from outside the tent, and all three of them froze, and then they laughed.
“Whatever you’re doing, put a lid on it for a bit. We need to talk to you,” Axe said.
Kaya righted her top, feeling the heat in her cheeks, as Teck called for his family to come inside.
“They have terrible timing,” Shy murmured.
“I heard that,” Axe said as he lifted the flap and stepped inside, followed by Elizabeth and Ash.
“We have great timing, since we caught you before you got too far,” Elizabeth said.
Ash held a stack of clothing in his hands, and he handed it to Shy. “Your grandfather wants to do the joining ceremony tonight. This will give the den a chance to welcome Kaya officially. Then you’ll have the night to yourselves, once you’re out of your shifts of course.”
“Shifts?” Kaya asked.
“The joining ceremony occurs first, and then the den eats a big meal. After the meal is finished, all the bears in the den will shift and they’ll walk by you. It’s a way for them to imprint your scent on their beasts,” Elizabeth said.
“Neat,” Kaya said. “I’ll get to see both of my mates in their shifts.”
“Right,” Axe said. “Afterward, the night if yours. You’ve both been given tomorrow off from your den duties. The supplies for your tent were delivered last night, so whenever you’re ready to expand we’ll get to work.”
“Dinner’s at six,” Elizabeth said.
After their parents left, Shy carried the stack of clothing to the bed and began to separate it. A small black tube slipped from between the clothing, and Kaya lifted it before it slid off the bed and onto the floor.
“Oh!” She looked at the tube of sex lube, and her cheeks heated.
Teck stepped behind her and slid his arms around her. “I was going to run out to the store and get something for us for tonight.” He kissed her cheek.
Shy smiled at her. “Don’t be embarrassed. Our people are pretty open about sex. There’s no voyeur stuff going on, but it’s a natural part of life, something to celebrate, not keep quiet about.”
She nibbled on her bottom lip for a moment and exhaled. “I guess they want us to have a good time and for a certain person to not be really sore tomorrow.”
Her mates laughed.
Teck took the tube from her and set it on a small table next to the bed. “For later,” he said. “Right now, let’s go on our tour, and then we’ll get ready for the ceremony.”
The tour took more than an hour, and she met many of the inhabitants of the underground city and explored with her mates. Even though she’d lived aboveground her entire life, she had no trouble envisioning spending the rest of her life with her mates underground. Shy picked blueberries for her from the fruit section of the garden, and she nibbled on them as they walked.
“Everyone in the den participates in some way,” Teck said. “Our first responsibility is to our family and then to the den.”
“You’re a warrior for the den, right?” she asked Teck.
“Right. I patrol our territory as part of my duties, and if our grandfather meets with other dens or shifter groups, I accompany him as part of his security. That’s only a portion of what I do, though. Since I’m part Wiccan, I help our den on the full moon with protection spells, and I also grow herbs in the garden for spells. Shaylee uses them in her healing.”
“That’s so cool. What do you do, Shy?”
“I cook, and I also can sew.”
“You’re being modest,” Teck chided. “He makes clothes, and the den loves what he does.”
“You do?” she asked.
His cheeks darkened in blush. “Yeah.”
“Aw. Would you make something for me?”
“Absolutely,” he said, his eyes lighting.
They reached their tent, and she ducked inside and said, “What will I do?”
“You said you liked soapmaking,” Shy said.
“I do.”
“That would be very much appreciated by the den, I’m certain. And you’re also going to be training with me and Teck to hone your new powers,” Shy said.
“And,” Teck said with a soft growl, “you’ve got two husbands who will keep you very, very busy.”
“I don’t think making love all the time qualifies as a job in the den,” she said.
“It would be wonderful if it did,” Teck said. “I’d put in for overtime.”
* * *
Kaya stepped into a pair of white hide trousers. They were soft and supple. Shy said they were made from rare white albino deer that the den hunted in Canada. He straightened and fixed the closure on the trousers, and then he threaded a beaded belt through the loops at the waistband.
“I made the belt,” he said.
She looked down at it. It was covered with an intricate pattern of black, red, and white seed beads. “It’s beautiful.”
“Our father, Ash, is a craftsman for the den, too. He taught me how to work the leather and choose the right patterns for the beads. I’ve sold belts like these to other bear dens, too.”
“When did you make the belt?” she asked, knowing he hadn’t had the time to do something so detailed in the few hours they’d been in the den.
He tightened the belt and rubbed his thumb around her navel for a moment before answering. “I made this belt a year ago. I didn’t know what the future would bring, but I knew that the female I mated would participate in the joining ceremony and need a belt for the trousers. I didn’t know she would be you, but it was my desire to have the belt ready for whenever I did meet her.”
Her eyes stung, and she rose onto her toes and kissed him. “I’m glad I’m her.”
“Me, too, sweetheart.”
Teck helped her put on a matching vest that was covered with polished beads and metal signets. Shy tightened it against her body with the leather ties on the front, which bunched up her breasts like ripe melons as he pulled the soft material tight around her.
“Can you breathe, lilenta?” Teck teased.
“It’s just a little tight.”
“Sorry,” Shy said. “If it’s too loose, it will gap, and then Teck will have to kill every unmated male in the den for seeing your sweet breasts.”
She smirked at her warrior mate. “You’d kill for an accidental peek?”
“You’re ours,” he said.
“I know. But you’re ridiculous.”
He smiled. “Just for you.”
She brushed her hair, and then Shy braided it into two long braids, fixing feathered ties on the ends. He pushed a pair of wooden combs in her hair, and then braided his own. He and Teck were dressed in tan-colored hide trousers that had fringe running up the outside seam of the legs. Their upper bodies were bare, save for stamped leather bands that encircled both their upper arms. Symbols in their native language emblazoned the leather.
Teck took her hand and kissed it. “The outfit you’re wearing is special. Our people believe in upholding traditions, and the joining ceremony is one of our most valued. Tonight you’re starting the first chapter of your new life as a den bride and the mate of two bears. The clothing is made from hide that is naturally white to symbolize purity. The deer gave their lives so that you could start yours. Our people always give thanks to the animals who provide for us.”
Shy joined them, taking her other hand. “The two braids mean that you’ve tied yourself to us in marriage. The feathers on the ends are to give your heart wings. The combs belonged to our great-great-great-grandmother. They remind us about our past as we look toward the future. And the beads on the vest and belt represent the earth and trees, where life springs new.”
They both removed the dark metal rings from their fingers and pushed them onto the ring fingers of both her hands.
“We told you that the rings were meant for our mate, and we’ve had them since we came of age,” Teck said. “I knew when I made the ring that it would be for you, lilenta.”
She kissed them both, feeling happy tears sting her eyes again. Teck held open the flap over the door, and Shy led her out. They were greeted by applause and cheering from the den, who had gathered to watch them make their first official appearance as mates. The crowd parted for them as they held hands and walked together to the grand hall, which the den used for ceremonies. The great hall was a long, hide-covered tent with a curved roof.
Once inside, Teck and Shy led her to a raised platform at the back of the hall, on which sat a long table with carved wooden chairs. Adriel and Filene stood behind the center chairs. Kaya sat between Teck and Shy, and Elizabeth and her mates sat next to them, with Kaya’s new aunts and uncles on the other side of Adriel and Filene.
After everyone was seated except Adriel, he lifted a goblet, and the den quieted, following his direction and lifting their own goblets. Teck and Shy lifted one goblet in front of her, holding it together.
Adriel said, “It fills me with great joy to know that my grandsons have found their truemate. Kaya is beautiful and powerful, a wonderful addition to my family and our den.”
He lifted his goblet a little higher, and Shy whispered, “Take a drink, sweetheart.”
They brought the cup to her lips, and she took a drink of sweet, red wine.
Adriel said, “We drink to the hope of the future.”
Then Teck took a drink as Adriel said, “We drink to remember our past.”
Shy took a drink, draining the cup as Adriel said, “We drink to the love in our hearts.”
Shy put the empty goblet upside down on the table, and the den cheered as they emptied their cups and turned them upside down.
“They’re upside down to keep evil spirits from lingering around us to drink the wine or trying to stay permanently,” Shy whispered.
Kaya cast her gaze around, wondering if there were any evils spirits in the air that she couldn’t see. Then she decided that there was too much joy in the den for anything evil to come around.
“I’m so happy,” she said. “I feel like I’ve finally come home.”
“It wouldn’t be home without you,” Teck said, kissing her cheek.