“So what brings you two here and so late at night?”
“We just left the clan and didn’t have anywhere else to go,” Leif said. “My mate wanted to come and see Ramsey.”
“Oh?” Sara tried to keep her tone light, but I could hear the concern in it.
“Yes,” I said, and was unable to resist needling her. “I thought I’d come and talk with him about his apology.”
Immediately, Ramsey’s arm snaked around Sara’s waist, holding her down.
Leif squeezed my hand. “That was naughty of you,” he murmured.
“Apology?” Ramsey asked. Not a man of many words, that Ramsey. So he hadn’t changed that much since when I’d known him before.
“Yeah. For years I dreamed of making Ramsey apologize for leaving me a spinster. I resented him for a really, really long time. A long, long time,” I said, smiling. “But then I found Leif, and I realized that Ramsey’s leaving was the best thing that could have happened to me.” I looked over at Leif’s blue eyes and beamed, my heart full of love. “And so I wanted to come and tell him that. That I was okay.”
“I’m glad,” Ramsey said in a gruff voice.
Sara stiffened in his arms. “That so? Because I—“
He silenced her with a quick kiss, then said, “Felt guilty for her. Not for me.”
“Oh.” Sara blushed and looked over at me. “I understand.”
“Was it hard for you to leave?” I asked Ramsey. So far, I had no regrets but I wondered if they’d kick in later.
“I have never looked back,” Ramsey said after a long moment. Then, he added, “But I felt bad I ruined your life.”
“Not ruined at all,” I said, and squeezed Leif’s hand again. “I have my mate, and we’re expecting a child. All we need is a home.”
“Home is where you make it,” Ramsey said.
“That’s right,” I said, surprised to hear Leif’s words echoed in the fellow exile. Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad after all.
“A baby?” Sara’s face softened. “A baby bear? That is so cute.” She patted Ramsey’s arm that was linked tight at her waist. “We should let them stay in the cabin. Just until they get on their feet.”
“Oh,” I said quickly. “We didn’t come to impose. I just wanted to reconnect with Ramsey. He’s the only kin that Leif and I have now.”
“Stay,” Ramsey said. “We have room.”
“And you can tell me all about the bear baby,” Sara said, grinning. “I’m taking notes for the future.”
To my surprise, big burly Ramsey blushed beet red. As he did, I noticed even darker marks on his neck. Were those…? His long hair swung over them again, and I missed my chance to see it.
But it made me think.
Once Sara had realized I wasn’t coming to stir trouble between her and Ramsey, she was a fiery little bundle of excitement. I doubted she stood taller than five foot and probably weighed less than a hundred pounds, so it was interesting to see her stand up to massive Ramsey and lead him around with affectionate pats and groping. She chatted with me as she dragged blankets out of their linen closet and led Leif and I to a small detached house on the far end of their property. They had friends and guests stay here occasionally, she told me, and there was a faint smell of old werewolf in the tiny cabin. It was no more than a one-room cabin with a bathroom, but it would be perfect for Leif and I.
“I hate to impose,” I told her.
“Nonsense,” Sara said with a wave of her hand. “You’re Ramsey’s family. You can fill him in on what’s been going on with the bears while he’s been gone. I know he gets curious from time to time.”
“All right,” I said, and glanced out the window at Leif and Ramsey, who were unloading my car. “Can I…ask something personal?”
“Of course.” She thumped a stack of blankets into my arms.
“Are those…mate marks on Ramsey’s neck?” I saw them all over her neck, but I could have sworn I’d seen similar on Ramsey, though his hair covered most of it before I could get a good look.
“Yup,” Sara said proudly. “I figured if they can claim us, we can claim them right back.”
Oh, I liked that. I liked that a lot. “You’re a smart woman.”
She grinned.
A short time later, we were alone in the cabin. Ramsey (well, mostly Sara speaking for Ramsey) promised to show us around and introduce us to others in the Paranormal Alliance the next day so we could connect with other shifters in the area.
Leif and I talked about our plans. We’d cash out Leif’s IRA and, if we liked Texas - though if the other shifters we met were as friendly, I was pretty sure we’d like it — we’d see about putting a down payment on a house here.
It didn’t matter to me as long as I was with Leif.
I changed into pajamas and collapsed on the bed, suddenly exhausted. It had been a long day. I felt emotionally drained and as wrung out as an old towel. When Leif slid down on the bed next to me and pulled me in his arms in a languid motion, I suspected he felt the same.
But…I was ecstatically happy. I’d never imagined being so completely and utterly content. Exile? Seems it agreed with me after all.
“So,” I said to my mate. “What do you think?”
“I think I love you,” Leif said, and then touched my stomach. “And I think I love our child. Everything else doesn’t matter much.”
I smiled. “You’re easy to please.”
“I have everything I want in this bed right here with me.” He nibbled on my ear. “You know, I’d be perfectly happy if you wanted to return to Antarctica…or even back to the clan. Just as long as we’re together.”
I touched his cheek, full of love. “I like this place. We’ll see how things work out, yes?”
He nodded.
My hand slid to his neck, and I admired that tanned, beautiful skin. Sara’s comments had given me a great idea. I rolled over on the bed until I was seated atop my mate’s hips, my legs pinning him down.
“Mmm. Guess you’re not that tired,” Leif said with a grin.
“Guess not.” I leaned forward and pressed my mouth to his neck.
“What are you doing?”
“I learned something today,” I told Leif, my lips brushing over the sensitive skin of his throat. I was pleased to feel the shivers of reaction my featherlight caresses coaxed from him.
“What’s that?” He sounded a bit hoarse, and his hand slid backward to cup my ass.
“That if I want something in life, I need to claim it for my own.”
“I think this sounds good. What did you have in mind?”
“The only thing that matters.” And I bit down on my mate’s neck, claiming him for myself.
His groan of pleased surprise was delicious to hear. And as his hands slid up my back, I couldn’t resist another claiming bite on his neck.
By the time the sun rose on the small cabin that was our new temporary home, Leif had been claimed so many times that no one would ever doubt again that he was entirely mine…or that I was entirely his.
** The End **