Gloria clutches Ava’s hand in hers as I hold Adam’s, and the two of us walk through the crowd gathered for Marcel’s swearing-in ceremony. When I spot Izzy’s white-blond hair in a sea of redheaded and brunette Ouellettes, I lead us toward her.

“Tally,” she says when she sees me. She’s with her three children and Grace. “They’re going to start in a few minutes. Let’s go make sure we have the best view.”

I smile at my friend, who is one of the tallest members of the clan due to her polar bear heritage, because I know she’s saying that for me and the children. As we walk, Jean Luc’s voice carries over the crowd, announcing the ceremony is about to start. When we get near the podium, we see Marcel talking to a few of the other warriors, and the crowd quiets.

“Daddy!” Ava cries out.

“Shhh,” says Gloria as she grabs the back of Ava’s dress to keep my daughter from running up to her father. “We have to watch right now.”

Ava knits her brow as she pouts. The ceremony was scheduled for the afternoon, and that means the twins are missing their nap.

Adam decides Ava is on to something, and he tugs on my hand. “I want Daddy.”

“I know, honey,” I whisper as I squat down to talk to him. “But right now, we have to watch him get a special honor. Okay?”

Jean Luc holds up his hands to stop all chatter. But as I look at the alpha and Marcel, I hear fabric tear, and my attention is drawn to my children, who have both shifted into bear cubs and are now ambling their way toward Marcel in an act of two-year-old defiance.

I hear a few gasps, and my heart stops as I wait for a horrible reaction. But I’m surprised, because as murmuring begins, a girl exclaims, “They’re so cute!”

Gloria steps forward and turns to face the crowd. She speaks in a loud, clear voice as she asks, “All you grandmothers are jealous right now, aren’t you?”

The clan members laugh, and I glance at Marcel with my kids before looking at Jean Luc. He’s smiling as he watches Marcel holding the cubs. The alpha holds up his hands again for silence and says, “I had a speech planned, but I think you’d all like to hear something else.” He glances at Marcel and then looks at me. “A few years ago, I noticed my medicine woman—” He shakes his head and chuckles. “Correction. My wife noticed the attraction Marcel and Tally had for each other.” A few people in the crowd chuckle. “It was more than an ordinary human-werebear crush, and when we realized just how strongly the two of them felt for each other, I knew something special was there.” He pauses for a moment. “Today, I believe you all see why they were meant to be.” He turns to Marcel. “I’d like to welcome Marcel as the new leader of warrior training and congratulate him on being the first father in our clan to have shifting bear cubs.”

I chuckle as Gloria speaks softly to me. “Leave it to a man to think this is all about them and their testosterone.” She puts her arm around my shoulders. “It’s your magic, Tally. And I’m honored you brought it into my life.”

I gaze up at her. “Thank you for being in mine, Gloria.” She smiles at me as Marcel comes over to us. We spend the rest of the afternoon enjoying the food and the company of clan members while our twins prance around as adorable cubs and entertain the guests.

When we get home, it’s an early night for the kids and for Marcel and me too. Marcel’s book thuds softly on the bedside table, and I crawl in next to him.

I say, “Today was nice. I’m so glad the clan accepted our kids with open arms.”

Marcel puts his arm around my shoulders, and I snuggle into his chest. “I told you everything would be okay.”

“You did,” I say as I smile up at him. I think about how much I love my husband, and what Jean Luc said about us having something special. Love swells in my heart, and I let it fill me to the brim. It occurs to me that I’ve never gotten over being afraid of my feelings for Marcel. At first, it was because I thought I shouldn’t have them when I knew we could never be more than a fling, but that didn’t stop me from falling in love. So my fear became about the intensity of how I felt, because I knew that when it was over, I’d be devastated. And even after Marcel was promised to me in marriage, I was still unsure and feared I would wake up one day to find everything had been taken away. But now I believe he’s mine forever.

I reach up and kiss him, and I let myself taste him fully. The way I plan to let myself love him with everything I’ve got. And I know what I have to do to allow it to happen. When he begins to lower me to the mattress, I break away. “Wait. There’s something I need from you tonight.”

He waggles his eyebrows. “Are we trying to break a record? Because I’m game.”

I chuckle. “No. I’m being serious.” I place my hand on his cheek, and he leans into my palm. “Seal our bond.”

He blinks in surprise. “Are you sure? I think it’s going to hurt, and you’re not going to heal the way we do.”

“I know. But I want your mark, Marcel.”

His breathing gets heavier, and his eyes darken with lust as he nods. He kisses me hard, and I respond with the same hunger as I help him strip off my nightgown. I reach down and grip his thick cock hard as he slides his fingers into me. I moan as he lets out a groan of his own at how wet I am. I’m holding nothing back as I spread my thighs and guide him toward my entrance.

Marcel lets out a low growl as he enters slowly, dragging along my tender flesh, making every sensation last longer until he’s deep inside me. I wrap my legs around his waist and try to pull him in more. “I want all of you. Every single inch, Marcel.”

His growl rumbles around us as he stares into my eyes. “Everything I have is yours. It’s always been yours, Tally.” He moves slowly in and out of me, never breaking eye contact. My juices flow around his cock, and the faint scent of us floats up and arouses me further with its heady perfume.

My husband’s gaze falters as his orgasm builds. Mine does the same, and I focus on the fire in my belly that threatens to explode. As it rises up, I bite my lip hard enough to draw blood, and I cry out with the beginning of my release. I throw my head back for my soul mate to mark me as his, and I don’t flinch when Marcel places his mouth on my neck. He hesitates, and I grab his head.

“Make me yours,” I whisper.

Sharp pain slices through my flesh when he bites me. My orgasm hits instantly, and I rock with the pleasure of it as the pain from my husband’s bear teeth turns to a searing heat. As if it’s something more. Suddenly, I know it is, because the golden tendrils I saw before are back, winding their way around me. Inside me. I send out strands of my own that intertwine with Marcel’s love, and I hear him in my head.

Mine.

And you are mine, I reply.

Marcel lifts up to gaze down at me. He licks the remains of my blood from his lips as he smiles, and I hear him in my head again. I love you, Tally.

His mouth didn’t move, and I say, “Did you—” I stop and talk to him telepathically too. I love you too.

Both of us smile in the giddy way we used to do when we first fell in love. And I giggle when Marcel leans down to lap at my wound. I know that it’s aftercare that works to speed werebear healing, but it won’t do a thing for me. I let him do it anyway.

“My darling,” says Marcel. “That’s going to take forever to heal.”

“I know, and it’s going to leave a prominent scar you werebear only wish you could have.”

Marcel lets out a deep laugh. “Do you have any idea how proud I’m going to be every time I see it?”

I reach up and touch my wound lightly. “It’s going to be the same for me. We may not be true mates, Marcel—”

“We’re more, Tally. So much more.”

The overwhelming love I have for Marcel glows in his eyes, and I know he’s right. We’re soul mates bonded for life, and there’s nothing else I’ll ever need.

* * *

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