Zara felt like she was watching a family that couldn’t exist in real life.

The moment that Fin had led her through the doors to the beautiful loft downtown, she’d been the center of attention. Never in her life had she experienced anything close to that.

There was an older couple standing up front looking anxious. “Zara, this is my mother, Ruth and my dad, Jeffrey.”

Fin’s mother hesitated only a moment before she launched herself at Zara, and she had no choice but open her arms to the woman.

“Oh, my sweet girl. I love getting new daughters,” she said pulling back and placing her hands on Zara’s cheeks like her own mother used to do. “Boys, I’ve been surrounded by boys all my life. Finally, my sons have found their mates and I get girls and grandbabies. I’m so thrilled to meet you. Oh my, you smell like spice and you’re so beautiful!”

“Mom, tone it down a bit, will ya?” Fin said from behind her.

This made Zara giggle. Moms were the same no matter what.

“No, I will not. She needs to know that I already love her and she’s beautiful and welcome in our family!” his mother said with a huff.

“She knows, why don’t you let me introduce her to everyone else before permanently squishing her face.”

His mother let her go with a wink.

“I’m not as crazy as that other lady, but I’m just as happy to meet you,” Fin’s father gave her a big warm hug that could only be described as a bear hug.

“Over there, the mountain of a man is my brother Cash,” he said pointing to a giant that towered over the refrigerator in the kitchen area.

“On the counter is his mate, Cassie.”

“Yo, chicky! We’ll gab later!” the small, brightly colored woman called out.

“My sister Allison,” he pointed to the woman at the end of the long counter.

The woman was beautiful and looked a lot like Fin. “They mean well,” she offered and held out her hand. Zara shook it and smiled.

She was introduced to Rainier and his mate Quinn. They looked familiar from school so it was an easy introduction. Quinn was asking about her classes when Zara was almost knocked off her feet, her knees buckling as she lurched against Fin’s brother who managed to grab her before she toppled to the floor.

Looking down to her feet, she saw a young boy dressed like a mini version of a skater boy. Jean shorts, Keds, a flannel shirt and a small flat billed baseball hat.

“Well, hello,” she said, squatting down to the little boy’s level.

He was staring at her intently. He reached a hand up to her face and petted down her cheek. “Pwetty brown,” he said.

“You think so?” she asked. She loved that children said what they saw, and commented out of pure curiosity.

“Yes, my bear brown too, he goes, rawr!” the little boy made a face that she supposed was supposed to be menacing.

“Oh my, that is scary,” she said. Her brain was trying to figure out the connection because a little boy talking about his bear was so much different than a grown man explaining it to her. These little people were growing up with animals inside them. How that changed their psychological development fascinated her.

“Yeah, I’m scawy,” he said proudly. Then he leaned closer to whisper. “Jetty not so scawy.”

Zara raised an eyebrow, “No?”

The little boy shook his head solemnly. “See,” he said, pointing to an open door where she could just see the corner of a bed.

From the side of the bed came a light blonde bear, dressed in a fluffy pink dress. It was trying to gain traction on the slick hardwood floors and getting caught up in the skirt of the dress and looking quite comical while she was doing it.

The little bear in the princess dress finally made it to where her brother was standing and Zara felt her legs start to wobble at the sight. She slid to the floor, sitting cross legged staring with her mouth open as the little bear crawled into her lap. She placed both her paws against Zara’s chest and started sniffing at her face.

“Jett, don’t sniff people, it’s rude,” Cassie called out.

“You don’t mind it, Sprite.” Zara heard the big man say.

Zara had seen a bear in a dress once. It was in an old video clip of animals being treated poorly in circuses. This little bear was something else.

The little bear leaned back and stared at her intently, her little eyes shining with a faint yellow glow. Then the ball of fur in her lap shimmered and a rainbow of sparks seemed to splash out over her lap. The little bear was replaced by an adorable little girl.

“Do you like my dwess?” she started.

Zara found her voice. “I do, it’s beautiful.”

“It is. I picked it. Momma not like it.”

“I just thought it needed a little black is all,” Cassie called out.

“I think it looks just like what a princess would wear,” Zara said quietly.

“I like you. You smell like food.” And with that, the little girl jumped up and ran past her brother which prompted him to start chasing her.

Finley came to help her off the floor. “These guys don’t matter, if the terrible two like you, you’re in.”

Zara laughed shortly. “Good to know. I wish is was that easy with my parents.”

“We’ll get there, don’t worry.”

Zara did worry a little, but as the night went on she felt more at home than she ever thought possible. Finley’s family accepted her like one of their own. She was in on their little secret now. Correction, their big secret. There was nothing to hide in their family. They were close knit, relying on each other for everything. It was nice to see them supporting Fin. His dad and brothers talked about the daycare and preschool. They had been making plans since he told them his idea. She listened to them talk to him about how great it was going to be and why hadn’t they thought of it before.

Nobody thought it wasn’t a viable job for him. They didn’t think it wasn’t good enough. It all came down to what was going to make him happy and what was best for the family.

It made her realize how different their worlds really were. Not that her life was bad, it was just different. She never thought she would find herself in the middle of a table laughing and talking to people that could completely ignore the two small bears tearing around the table and climbing up people’s laps. Someone would pop some food in their mouths without breaking the stream of conversation. It was just life being lived. A little different than most, but still a normal family.

When one of the cubs crawled off her lap, Quinn, Rain’s mate came over and sat next to her.

“How is school going?”

“School?”

“I figured I’d start with something normal people talk about in groups. Not weird stuff like mating, shifting, and trees. They always talk about trees,” she said with a giggle.

“Hey!” Rain called out from across the room, winking at his mate.

“Oh, well school’s good. I have a lot more to do, but I’m looking forward to it.”

“I can’t imagine going to school for another four years. The thought gives me hives. I love your dress by the way. I like all Star Trek, old and new,” Quinn admitted quietly.

“I can tell you where I got it,” Zara started to offer.

“Better not, Rain will just turn it into some weird sex game if I had one.”

“Probably,” Rain called out, no shame in his smile.

“This is a lot, I get it. It does get better. You have me and Cassie to remind you of the outside world. It’s easy to get sucked into the bear side. It’s not a bad thing; it’s just more intense than you might be used to.” Quinn didn’t even bother whispering this part. It wasn’t like anyone in the room didn’t know she was telling the truth.

“Thank you, I think I’ll need that. I’m happy though. I want my parents to be happy too. I hope in time they will be.”

She kept chatting with Quinn. Cassie moved closer and they started talking about all things not shifter related.

Zara kept stealing glances at Finley. He was so handsome and looked so amazingly relaxed. He loved his family she could see that. But it didn’t even measure next to the look he got in his eyes when he looked at her. He loved her with a ferocity that kept taking her breath away.

He loved her and she was having the urge to say the words back to him. He had told her the previous day when she tried the bribing blowjob, which was still fun even if she didn’t get her way, that he didn’t need to hear the words because he could tell how she felt. It seemed like a cop out to her. It certainly wasn’t fair. He so freely gave his love to her. It was unconditional and pure. How could she not love him back? He had so quickly become a part of her very existence that not saying the words almost caused her pain. Whatever was between them, whether it was fate or biology, she wasn’t one to deny the facts. This man adored her. He was proud of her. He kept telling his family about her accomplishments. He remembered all the things she had told him when they had quiet moments together. He could talk about her fifth-grade spelling bee win as if it was a Nobel Prize.

His family also kept sneaking glances at her as though she was some kind of savior. She hadn’t done anything, and wanted to remind them that just existing wasn’t really that much of an accomplishment. In his family, she was quickly understanding, finding your mate, your One, was like finding a perfect diamond.

The Rochon family welcomed her with an intensity that made Finley’s love for her all the more real. They ate, laughed, and played with the babies. Zara couldn’t help but stare at them closely whenever one would decide her lap was the place to be. She was fascinated and wanted to study them. Then she realized that was probably a creepy thought and there was no way she could ever voice those thoughts. But maybe Fin would let her tinker on him a bit in the future.

At one point when little Jett had curled up in her lap and was starting to doze off, her mother, Cassie leaned closer to Zara. “You know, you are handling this very well. Me and Quinn, we know exactly how you feel. There are more Rochon adoptees that will help you through this. It’s crazy at first, but then it becomes your reality.”

“I think I’m actually over the bear part. There are some animals in nature that you can draw comparisons to, so scientifically it’s not too far off. Doesn’t mean I don’t find it fascinating. Honestly, I’m trying to get my head wrapped around the part where he loves me so much,” she whispered.

“They think their bears are the big reveal. It’s their own internal struggle. It’s harder for them to understand that a human woman has been trained to sniff out bullshit. A man that says he loved you from the moment he sees you makes your bullshit-o-meter fly off the dial. We’ve dated, we’ve had breakups and let downs. It’s impossible to imagine someone telling you that there isn’t anything they wouldn’t do for you, just because the universe picked you for them. And just so you know, they’re all pretending they can’t hear us whispering, but their bionic bear ears hear everything. Don’t look and don’t acknowledge them. It’s rude to eavesdrop and they should know better.”

Zara so desperately wanted to look over at the group, but she resisted. “Your mate never stops staring at you,” she said slyly.

“He doesn’t. He’s a big weirdo. I’m pretty sure he watches me sleeping, but then I pay him back and do the same. I also tickle his eyelashes so he slaps at his face. But that’s all in fun.”

Zara heard a growling noise from Cash’s direction and Cassie gave her a wink.

“They aren’t lying, you know. It’s their biological imperative to love you. Take care of you, and make little baby cubs. That’s all their animals, they’ll tell you, but it’s just them. They love hard and you will always be one of them as a mate. It’s like a cozy cult.”

“Sprite… ”

Cassie didn’t break eye contact with her; she just made a shushing noise that was meant for her mate.

“Can I get your and Quinn’s numbers? I think I might need them in the future.”

“Please, we might as well set up a weekly video call just to be able to talk about what these guys are up to. It’s best if we know what crap one of them pulls so the rest of us can be prepared.”

“Amen!” This came from Fin’s mom in the corner.