Kaylene folded her owl inside of herself as she came in for a landing then made quick haste to go find her clothes where she had left them by the Jeep. Dipping her head under the vehicle, she searched around but couldn’t find them.

The light flicked on on the porch of Cabin D, and Stella poked her head outside.

“Alrighty, I think you’ve got some explaining to do. Come on in. I had Tyson help me bring your stuff in while you were gone.”

Feeling her cheeks heat with embarrassment, Kaylene nodded in agreement and headed inside. Casting her eyes around the cabin as she entered, she found herself impressed. For a staff cabin, it was really well put together. The cabinets and countertops had a new finish on them, the furniture looked brand new, and the little bear decorations all over were in good taste. If it weren’t for her current predicament, she’d even crack a joke or two about the irony of bear shifters having bear decor in the cabins they owned but she decided to hold off on that.

Stella pointed to the door on the far wall. “You’ll find your clothes in your room.”

Again, Kaylene nodded then moved towards the bedroom door. She knew she should be making more of an effort to cover herself in front of her employer, and if Stella wasn’t mated to a shifter, she probably would have. With shifters, nudity was normal though, so she didn’t make a big deal out of it. It wasn’t like she was ashamed of her body either. She had long, powerful legs, she was in some of the best shape of her life, and her breasts and ass were each a nice little handful. As far as Kaylene was concerned, everyone should be proud of their bodies and embrace what makes them different because that’s where true beauty lied.

Closing the door behind herself, she worked to gather her thoughts while rummaging through her bag for a pair of simple black yoga pants, underwear, and one of her fitted yoga tops so she wouldn’t have to find a bra in one of the other bags. Pulling her clothes on, she quickly snatched the brush out of her toiletry bag. Running it through her long blonde hair, she grabbed a ponytail holder, then tucked her locks up in a messy bun. Heading back out to face Stella and the impending questions Kaylene was certain she had, she tried to practice her poker face.

Sitting down on the couch opposite Stella, Kaylene stared at the painting that was situated above the television. It had a woman draped in a white fur pelt with a big grizzly wrapping its arms around her. It was kind of sweet in a way, Kaylene thought as she considered the artwork. It showed the big, snuggly side of a bear but it also promised protection to the woman from anyone that might harm her.

“I found that at a shop online right after I convinced Brady we needed to install WiFi up here so I could use social media for advertising. I felt like this represented our relationship well. I needed someone to show me love and kindness and someone who could keep me safe after the nightmare I had just lived through. Brady became that force for me. He was always patient while he waited for me to tell him what happened to me,” Stella reminisced.

“What happened to you, if you don’t mind me asking? Brady had mentioned you had been told you’d never have children, but didn’t go much further into detail than that,” Kaylene asked gingerly, not wanting to impose but genuinely wanting to know.

Stella smiled naughtily at Kaylene, “I’ll tell you mine, but only if when I’m done, you’ll tell me yours.”

“Deal,” Kaylene agreed, shaking Stella’s hand to seal the deal.

Leaning back against the couch, Stella rolled down the top of her shorts and tugged up the hem of her shirt to just below her bra line. Kaylene willed herself not to look shocked at the silver lines that trailed all over Stella body, especially the web of silver that covered her pelvic area.

“What happened to you?” Kaylene whispered, a trickle of emotion slipping into her voice.

Stella slid her clothes back into place and looked at Kaylene. “I was attacked by a grizzly shifter. His name was Alaric. I met him by chance because when I was running a bar back in Seattle, he came into the bar and took a fancy to me. At first, it hadn’t been a big deal. He was nice enough, he would take me to nice dinners and buy me nice things. After a bit though, he started getting weird. Growling all of the time. Possessive. Most would assume he was just abusive. But he was sick. The night that I gathered enough will to finally leave him, he lost control and shifted. He ripped me to hamburger and then took me to the emergency room for them to fix me.

“There were a lot of weeks in the hospital and surgeries. It’s all kind of a blur now. But as soon as they said I could go home, I high tailed it out of there. He had taken everything from me, and I knew there was nowhere I could go in Seattle, or even Washington State, that he couldn’t find me. I packed what I could carry and ran to the last place I had felt safe. I ran to here. Sold my car in Garden Valley for cash, then hitched a ride up here on the back of a snowmobile.”

“Wow, that’s insane. I’m so sorry,” Kaylene said, struggling to find the right words. She knew Stella could tell she was trying to be sincere, but there weren’t enough words in the English dictionary that could sum up how unfortunate that was.

“It’s okay,” Stella said, her eyes beginning to glitter like stars in the sky as she finished telling her story. “It’s what brought me here. I got to come back to Brady. We were best friends as kids, and our grandpas were really good friends. I went into foster care when I was little and never saw Brady again. It wasn’t until I needed to go back to the last place that I had felt safe that I found my sanctuary in him. Brady is mine and I am his, and I know that shit happens for a reason because the Fates bring people together for a reason. They brought us together again and now they’re giving me the one thing in this life I thought I’d never get to share with him: a chance at a family.”

Kaylene felt the tears running down her face as Stella finished speaking. Owls didn’t believe in the Fates. They believed in arranged marriages and old money. They believed in keeping the bloodlines pure. But Kaylene also knew what it felt like to love someone so much that it felt like your entire soul might burst at the seams. Her relationship with Landon had been like that. He had been her sun and moon and all the stars in the sky. He had been the wind beneath her wings and the joy in her soul. Then everything had gone to hell in a handbasket because of her family meddling in their relationship.

Clearing her throat to speak, Kaylene leaned over and hugged Stella. “I’m so glad you shared that with me. I’m glad I get to be here to help with your little miracle cub and keep you both healthy. Thank you for letting me be here.”

“Thank you for coming,” Stella sniffled, pulling away from their embrace to wipe her eyes. “Now you need to fill me in, because what I saw outside wasn’t just some old friends reconnecting shit. That was lovers’ spat material, and I need to know what I can do to keep both of you happy. Especially because I can’t have you two shifting in front of guests and scaring the shit out of them.”