“Not a chance.” He ran a hand through his hair.
“So have you decided?”
“About Denver?”
She scoffed. “What else?”
“I have no reason not to take it.”
“Other than family.”
“I’m not giving up my family. I’m just taking a job.”
Skylar sat back again, her face in a pretty pout.
“Maybe you should come with me. You might find a man to use that pout on.”
“I don’t want you to go.”
“I know.” He stepped around the desk and pulled his sister into a hug. “It’s just for a little while. I need a change of scenery.”
“I know.” She murmured against his shoulder.
Aiden left his sister’s office and walked back to his cabin. Just two weeks until he would be out of here. Away from the memories of Emma that haunted the cabin with every step he took.
And no amount of logic made it any better.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Two months Later
Emma sat at her desk in the office she shared with Henry at the university in Pittsburgh.
Henry was preparing a lecture for a class he would be teaching that night, but Emma was using her office hours to finish up the final first draft of her dissertation. Her paper was a review on migratory patterns of black bears, but the final section was on future directions.
Emma stared at the wall in front of her. The wall had a mountain scene with wolves standing on a hillside. The picture always reminded Emma of falling off the boulder, which then led to thoughts of Aiden.
Her brain had a way of taking any random thought and circling it back around to Aiden, but this one was one of the most obvious triggers.
“Do you think some wolves really mate for life?” Henry asked.
Emma shrugged. “You’re the wolf expert.”
“The literature is mixed. It seems like the better our tracking systems get, the more we know, and the evidence is pointing less and less in that direction.”
“So you don’t think they do.”
“I think some do, but I think a lot of it depends on the circumstances.”
“Hm.” Emma typed a new heading. Shapeshifters.
Although it’s commonly accepted that bears are solitary creatures and do not mate for life, they may have favorite mates that they seek out year after year.
Yet for those who support the notion that shapeshifters exist, they also automatically accept the idea that shifters mate for life. Yet not all shifters mate for life. Some never find their mates.
Perhaps bears aren’t so different from humans. Maybe some bears don’t mate for life simply because they never located their fated mates. Maybe all that wandering around is just a bear’s way of searching for that special bear. Much like some humans who spend their whole lives searching for a soul mate.
Perhaps a soul mate is the same thing as a shifter’s fated mate.
Emma stopped typing and stared into space again. Had she found her soul mate?
Henry looked up from his reading. “Are you going to tell me what happened out there in Colorado?”
“There’s really nothing to tell.” There’s so much to tell, I wouldn’t know where to begin.
“When are you going back?”
“I’m not going back.”
Henry linked his hands behind his head and leaned back in his chair. “That bad, huh?”
She smiled wistfully. “It wasn’t bad.”
“But nothing happened, and you aren’t going back.”
She began typing again. When a shifter finds his or her mate, is the shifter then compelled to be with that mate? Or is it optional?
“How do you think wolves find their mates? For those who mate for life?” She asked.
“Maybe it just happens. Like people. Or maybe like people, they’re drawn to each other. And since it’s all about fate, the things that we do, that we think we do randomly, are really just to bring us closer.”
Her fingers poised above the keyboard, she stared at the poster. She thought about her compulsion to visit the zoo as a teen as well as her inexplicable decision to be a wildlife biologist.
Did it really matter that Aiden could shift into a bear at will?
It didn’t change who he was as a man.
It didn’t change the way he felt about her.
Or how she felt about him.
She could spend the rest of her life searching for someone like Aiden, who couldn’t shift into a bear.
She could search, but in her heart she knew that she would never find another man like him – one that she loved with every fiber of her being.
She typed the final closing remarks of her paper and emailed it to her dissertation chair.
Done. She was overwhelmed by the feeling of completeness. Sure. There would be rounds of revisions, and it would next spring before she could graduate with her doctorate. But the hardest part was completed.
Her grades for the class she was teaching were in. Her coursework was complete.
She was free. Free to do whatever she wanted to do.
Her parents were spending the last two weeks of December in Italy, so she had no family obligations. A lot of people found that sad. In fact, Henry had invited her to spend the holidays with his oversized family.
Emma, though, preferred solitude.
Perhaps solitude that included Aiden.
“Are you sure you won’t come with me to Texas?”
Emma’s lips curved into a smile. “It’s really sweet of you to offer. Give your family my best. But I’ve got something to do.”
Chapter Thirty
Emma drove up the road to the lodge in her blue rented sedan and turned off the motor. Her hands shook against the steering wheel.
She hadn’t called first. She hadn’t even made a reservation. But now that she was here, she realized that she hadn’t thought this through. She needed a room to freshen up before she went to find Aiden. She’d flown out of Pittsburgh before daylight. Then after the drive from Denver to the lodge, she was exhausted. Maybe it would be better to wait until morning to seek out Aiden.
She hadn’t expected to be this nervous, but then he had sent her away and hadn’t tried to contact her since. Maybe she should just turn around and leave now.
She took a deep, ragged breath. She had to talk to him. After the initial shock had worn off, she no longer had a problem with him being a bear shifter. Actually, it was sort of sexy. And fitting. She was a wildlife biologist after all.
She opened the door and stretched. The clean mountain air brought back a rush of memories. Before she could change her mind, she locked her car and went inside to the front desk.
“Ah, welcome back, Miss Miller.”
“Thank you,” Emma said. “You remember my name.”
“Of course.” Nate smiled. “Emma Miller.”
“I’m impressed.”
Nate raised an eyebrow. “Do you want to stay here? In the lodge?”
“Yes. I don’t need a cabin this time.”
“Great. How many nights?”
How many? I really needed to think this through. She’d flown all the way out here just to see Aiden. To talk to him. To let him know that she was okay with him being a shifter. She had nothing past that. “I’m not sure.”
“It’s okay.” Nate’s fingers flew against the keyboard. “I’ll leave it open. If you wouldn’t mind, I need some basic information from you.”
He handed her a form asking for her name, address, phone number, and email address. “This is new?” She asked, filling in the boxes.
Nate had that strange expression again. “It’s quite new.”
After she finished the paperwork, Nate handed her a key. “You’re on the second floor.”
“Thanks.” Emma hadn’t been in any of the rooms here in the lodge.
“Do you need help with your luggage?”
“Oh no. I can get it.” She’d only brought one small
suitcase.
She put the room key in her pocket and went to her car to retrieve the suitcase from her trunk.
Back inside the lobby, rolling her suitcase behind her, she saw Skylar walking toward her.
“Emma!” Skylar said. “You’re here.” Skylar gave her a quick hug. “I didn’t know you were coming.”
“I… um.” Emma shifted uncomfortably. She hadn’t said goodbye to Skylar or Riley, despite their new friendship. “I really didn’t plan it.”
Skylar smiled knowingly. “It’s okay. I understand completely.” Then she bit her lip. “But I think you might be too late.”
Emma’s stomach dropped. “What do you mean?” Had something happened to Aiden?
“Aiden left this morning to go to Denver.”
“Oh. Okay.”
Skylar shook her head. “He took a job there. In Denver.”
“But… I thought…” She shook her head. “Never mind.”
Emma dragged her suitcase upstairs and sat on the bed. Too late. She was too late.
She no longer cared about freshening up. She needed some air. The weather was cold, but otherwise temperate for the mountains.
Grabbing a jacket, she headed outside and started up the trail toward the mountains. The same path she’d taken that fateful day that she’d met Aiden.
Only this time, her heart was heavy. Maybe she could find him in Denver, but it would be a lot more difficult. It would require Skylar’s help, and she wasn’t sure Skylar would be up to sharing her brother’s address.
She wasn’t sure exactly where she’d veered off the path last time, but she went with her gut.
As she stopped to catch her breath from walking uphill, she saw the boulder where she’d fallen off.
She climbed up and sat up on the boulder, pulling her knees under her. It had been Aiden that day. Aiden as a bear. She was sure of it now. He’d had Beau next to him.
She hadn’t been able to make sense of it at the time because she didn’t know he was a shifter, but now all the pieces fell into place.
As the sun shifted, she closed her eyes and turned her face toward the warm light. It would start to be dark soon. I should go. I should head back. She did not want to be caught out here after dark.
Chapter Thirty-One
Aiden took one last look around the cabin. All his personal items were packed. Skylar could rent the cabin now to guests. Beau sat expectantly at his feet.
He glanced at his watch.
He had three hours before Brayden would be there to drive with him to Denver. His brother had just called and said he was running late. Something about a problem with a horse.
The weather was sunny and perfect. He would miss this place. Not the cabin so much, but the mountains. The cabin held too many memories. Emma was imprinted in his mind. In just the short time she’d spent here, she’d become an indelible part of it.
He’d rather be like Uncle Bert than try to force someone to be with him just because he’d decided she was his mate.
And she was. He knew it now in his heart, but sometimes it wasn’t enough.
Despite what Skylar said.
He closed the door and headed up the path. A walk up the mountain would be a good way to spend his last few hours here.
He admonished himself for being dramatic. He’d be back soon. For visits. And not just holidays; his close-knit family would never allow him to neglect them that way. Still. It wouldn’t be the same.
As he walked along the path flanked with fir trees, allowing his mind to wander where it would, one of those images flashed through his mind. The first one since he’d sent Emma away. It was the same one he’d had once before – the one of him carrying her over the threshold of his cabin.
He shook it off. His brain was just torturing him now. Probably his bear longing for Emma. He’d only shifted one other time since that day and then only for a few minutes. His bear had been in such emotional pain he couldn’t stand it.
It was hell being at war with himself this way. His bear would never forget her, nor would he, but as a man he could move on. As could his bear. It just took the animal longer.
Hell, what did he know? His bear might never get over the loss of Emma. He may have to stop shifting altogether.
Beau following at his heels, he approached the boulder where he’d first seen Emma. This was the path he’d taken when he was in bear form. When he got to spot where he’d stopped and watched her, he stopped. Beau sat down next to him.
As he looked toward the boulder, he blinked. He’d imagined this so many times, he was now seeing Emma with his eyes open.
It had to be a trick of the light.
But when she saw him and recognition registered on her face, he knew she was real.
Why was she here? He hadn’t given her a chance to absorb the fact that he was a bear shifter before jumping to the conclusion that she wouldn’t be willing to accept him, just like his ex-wife.
She stood up and climbed off the boulder as he walked toward her.
Within seconds, they stood only inches apart. “I’m sorry.” He spoke softly as he pulled her toward him. He kissed the top her head, her forehead, her eyelids, her cheek, and then pressed his lips against hers.
“I’m sorry, too.” She put her arms around his neck and locked her fingers against the back of his head.
He kissed her jawline. “I never thought I’d see you again. We didn’t have a phone number or address for you.”
“You looked for me?”
“I did. Do you know how many Emma Millers there are?”
She chuckled. “I can only imagine.”
He stepped back and took her hands in his. “You’re here.”
“I had a hard time staying away.”
“Fated mates,” he whispered.
She smiled ever so slightly. But her eyes sparkled, telling him everything he needed to know.
Then his lips were back on hers, and as she melted against him, he felt whole.
Epilogue
Spring flowers were sprouting up everywhere. The snow was almost gone, except for the highest peaks.
Emma sat on the upper deck of the cabin and sipped hot coffee. A package from FedEx had arrived yesterday, but she’d waited to open it. She wanted it to be the right moment and she wanted to share the moment.
“Here’s your sweater.” Aiden came out on the deck and handed her a sweater, along with a lingering kiss on the lips. “When do we get to open the package?”
“I think now.” She set her mug on the little table and pulled the tab to open the padded envelope.
Her professor had wrapped the book in bubble wrap. She carefully unwrapped it and held a hardback copy of her dissertation in her hands. She opened the front cover and ran her fingertips over the title page. All the signatures were there. It was signed by all her committee members affirming that she had completed the final phase of work to complete her degree.
But it was last page that she wanted Aiden to read.
“Can I see?” Aiden held out his hands and took the book. “I can’t wait to read it.”
“Skip to the last page. Before the references.”
He gingerly turned the pages until he found the section she wanted him to read.
In conclusion, it is this author’s opinion that the question isn’t whether or not shapeshifters mate for life or even if they exist. It doesn’t matter one way or the other. What matters is what lies in the hearts of two people who choose to be together.
He closed the book and, taking her hand, kissed her knuckles. “Do we belong together, Emma Miller?” His eyes twinkled.
“Yeah, Aiden Hunter, I think we do.” She smiled back at him.
If you enjoyed Aiden’s Mate, I think you’ll also love the next story in the series, Brayden’s Mate coming soon! Sign up on the next page to be notified of Kathryn Kelly’s new releases.
Then turn the page for a bonus excerpt of Pretend You’ll Stay - A Winter Kisses Novel.
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Pretend You’ll Stay Excerpt
Prologue
Smiling, Madison McKivitz batted aside black balloons as she left her office and shoved aside black crepe streamers as she walked through the door. She chuckled at the pictures of her own five-year-old grinning face plastered along the hallway. Passing the break room, she could smell the birthday cake that they would be sharing later in the afternoon.
A banner shouting “Dr. McKivitz is over the hill” had been strung across the entranceway from the waiting room. Her nurse, Nicole, had outdone herself.
Now all her patients, today at least, knew that she was only thirty years old.
Madison was having the most wonderful birthday she had had since she turned ten and her parents had rented two ponies for the day - one for her and one for her best friend, Lynn.
The dozen red roses in her office had arrived at eight A.M. Another dozen white roses had arrived at nine. They were in exam room one. Exam room two had the dozen pink roses that had arrived at ten. At eleven, a dozen lilac ones had arrived and were displayed in the patient’s waiting room. The dozen yellow ones that had been delivered at Noon sharp were on the receptionist’s desk.
At one o’clock she had gotten a huge wicker basket filled with chocolate and a teddy bear.
It was nearing two o’clock and she couldn’t help but wonder with anticipation what her fiancé would be sending next.
Thinking back to last night, she remembered Timothy’s words to her as they snuggled on the sofa, “I want every hour of your day tomorrow to be special.”
“Every hour is always special when we’re together.”
“Ha. Ha,” he said, “You’re being silly, but I’m being serious.”
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