by Sable Sylvan
“You’re perfect for me, Red, because you’re smart, funny, and a great listener,” said Scott.
“And you’re perfect for me because you’re passionate, curious, and adventurous,” added Nathan.
“And Red, you call me out on my shizz, you’re drop dead gorgeous, and you make me a heck of a lot less grizzly,” said Brandon. “And what we saw during our night together? Well, none of us have ever had that happen before, the mate mark glowing, and afterwards, we all knew you were our mate.”
“You left before we could tell you,” said Nathan. “And we’ve been beating ourselves up over it: we knew we had to talk to you before you left, as our one Hail Mary pass.”
“And that’s why we want you to come back with us,” said Brandon. “When we said you didn’t have to choose, we didn’t mean you didn’t have to choose one of us that night: we meant you’d never have to choose. We forgot that humans don’t have mate marks or fated mates, and no offense, we never thought that our fated mate would be a human. We should’ve been better about explaining things, communicating with you, instead of letting our hungry bears and our hungry cocks take over.”
“What Brandon’s trying to say is, we didn’t know that you thought you had to choose,” said Scott. “And you don’t have to choose, Meredith. We don’t want you to have to choose. We just want you back. The house is empty without you: we belong together, all four of us.”
“So you all want me to live with you?” asked Meredith.
“Yes...but more than that,” said Brandon. “Boys?”
All three men got up off of the couch, and got down on one knee, facing Meredith. They pulled out small black boxes out of their pockets and popped them open. Each of the rings was oddly shaped: Brandon, in the center, had a ring consisting of a simple band with a single solitaire diamond, shining bright in the room. Nathan, next to Brandon, had a ring with a top shaped like a V, covered in small rubies with a diamond in the center of the V and at each end of the V around the whole band. Scott’s ring was like Nathan’s, except the V pointed upwards.
“Meredith Baxter, over the last few weeks, you’ve made us the happiest men in Port Jameson, in all of Oregon, heck, all of the US of A,” said Scott.
“We can’t imagine a life without you and the light you bring into our house,” said Nathan. “Because you make our house a home.”
“What we’re trying to ask is, will you marry us?” asked Brandon. “All three of us?”
Before she could answer, somebody else did.
“Meredith Baxter, if you do not accept these young men’s proposals, I don’t know what I’m going to do with you,” said Grandma Baxter coming in with a tray of cocoa and then sitting in her rocking chair.
“But Grandma...isn’t it a bit...untraditional?” said Meredith.
“Oh, pish-posh,” said Grandma Baxter. “Let me show you something.” She got up from her chair and pulled out a photo album from her book case and flipped the pages.
“There, see?” said Grandma Baxter, and Meredith gasped: the woman in the black and white picture looked just like her and was with a man who looked just like Brandon Joyce, albeit in old-fashioned clothes. The couple looked happy, lost in each other’s eyes.
“Grandma...is that...” started Meredith.
Brandon put his cocoa down. “That’s your grandma...and my grandpa, Grandpa Joyce,” said Brandon softly. “I had no idea you two were...involved.”
“We were more than involved, we were in love,” said Grandma Baxter. “But in those times, shifters and humans weren’t supposed to mix together: this was back when shifters had just come out to humans, and revealed their powers. Brandon, your grandfather and I were in love, but we couldn’t get married because it was still illegal for shifters to marry anyone else but other shifters. I eventually moved on and met your grandfather, and I loved your grandpa dearly, Meredith, but a part of me always wondered what it would’ve been like if I’d eloped with Ezekiel Joyce...and I always used honey in my recipes as a tribute to our love.”
Grandma Baxter closed the photo album. “Meredith, I love you, the same way I love all my grandchildren, and all the love I’ve had for you kids has multiplied, not divided. You and these three fine gentlemen might be seen as unorthodox now, strange, weird, but what’s important is that you know what’s in your heart, and to me, it looks like the four of you all belong together.”
Grandma Baxter got up from her chair and pulled out a scrapbook. She had one for each of her grandkids, and this one said “Meredith” on the cover in plain print. She opened it and flipped to a Fourth of July themed page. “If you still don’t believe me, then you better believe that this is fate,” said Grandma Baxter, showing Meredith and the boys the page.
“That’s....that’s me,” said Meredith, looking at the picture on the page. It was of Meredith as a kid, her head leaning on the shoulder of one boy, holding the hand of another, with a boy behind her leaning his head on her shoulder, while all four kid’s faces were smiling, illuminated by bright rainbow lights.
“You, and these three boys,” said Grandma Baxter. “One Fourth of July, you got lost in the woods, and a bear shifter’s family found you. That bear shifter’s name? Brandon. His dad brought you back to us, and you and your mom went to the bear shifter camp so that you could play with some kids your age, and you made fast friends with these boys.”
“They were the boys that I met that summer?” asked Meredith. “There’s no way!”
“That’s us, Red,” said Nathan. “I recognize that shirt I’m wearing. And that’s definitely Scott and Brandon.”
“I’ve seen those boys grow up, it’s them,” said Grandma Baxter. “I knew you were their fated mate when they told me about their mate mark: red fur, red hair, it’s not that hard to conclude that you’re meant to be with all three of them. I just had to give you a little...push. That’s why I faked the lease notice: so you’d go up to stay with them.”
“You planned all this, grandma?” asked Red, shocked.
“That’s why I didn’t remember drawing up that lease,” said Brandon. “It’s amazing you grandma managed to slip it into her file...she must’ve done it when she came over to give us one of her pumpkin pies around Thanksgiving.”
“I had to do it: the boys were never really going to raise my rent, but I wanted you to at least meet Brandon and the boys. I’ve got the real lease right here,” said Grandma Baxter, pulling out an envelope from under her rocking chair’s seat cushion. She passed the envelope to Brandon. “Grandma’s got more than a few tricks up her sleeve...but the real magic was what happened up at that house between you and the boys, and we’ve got a word for that magic: fate.”
“It’s fate, Red,” said Scott. “We’re meant to be together: fate brought us together once, and it brought us together again. So Red, you’re our fated mate: will you marry us and make us the happiest bears in these or any woods?”
“Brandon...Scott...Nathan,” said Meredith. “I’d be the happiest woman in the world. A million times yes!” Meredith stood up and hugged the three men, who all took turns kissing her right on the lips.
The boys pulled out the rings and stacked them on top of Meredith’s finger: Nathan’s ring went on the bottom, then Brandon’s ring, and finally, Scott’s, the rings stacking to form one big engagement ring consisting of a solitary diamond surrounded by four lines of diamonds and rubies, representing the four members of the relationship. “It’s perfect,” said Meredith. “It’s amazing and it’s perfect. This is perfect.”
“Then that settles it,” said Grandma Baxter, smiling at the quartet. “We’ve got a wedding to plan!”
Epilogue
Six Months Later
Meredith’s wedding was held in Dream Meadow, the meadow in the middle of the woods where she’d been found as a child by the bear shifter, the meadow that had provided as the setting for her special dreams, and the three bear shifter’s families were all there to watch the wedding, along with Meredith’s grandmot
her and her parents.
So many things had happened in the last six months: life with the bear boys ended up being a ton of fun, and the new lease for Grandma Baxter’s house ended up becoming a deed transfer, and so Grandma Baxter was given her house free of charge by the bear shifter boys as a tribute to the love she’d shared with Ezekiel Joyce.
Meredith had quit the job she’d accepted down in LA and moved her things up to Port Jameson on an epic road trip with the boys who made moving a breeze. Although they’d considered eloping, their families had been more than accepting of the arrangement, as the werebears all had the same mate mark since puberty and their families had a hunch they’d fine one special lady to complete their family. Of course, they didn’t think the guys would end up with a human, but once they met Meredith, their hearts melted and they accepted her as one of the clan.
As a tribute to her three fiancés, Meredith had a mate mark of her own tattooed onto her chest with the permission of the clan. The mark took the form of an under breast tattoo, with Brandon’s name in the middle, Scott’s name on the left, and Nathan’s name on the right, each name stylized in a way that best represented their personalities. The tattoo had healed in time for the wedding and was hidden under the dress, as it was for the werebears’ eyes only.
Meredith was wearing an ivory dress that had a scoop neck top and a short ball gown skirt. It was untraditional, but it was the dress from her dreams, and she’d learned that sometimes, her subconscious knew best. For the wooded wedding, it was perfect; the guests were in casual wear for the potluck style wedding.
The three bear shifters were in formal suits with ties and glossy black shoes. They’d insisted on dressing up: although Meredith said she wanted a low-key wedding, they wanted to give her a fairy tale princess wedding, the kind she deserved, so the glen was lit with small lights, like a canopy of fireflies.
The ceremony started at sunset, like a traditional bear shifter ceremony, as the cycles of both the sun and the moon were important to shifter folk. The officiate from the bear shifter clans said his bit, but each of the men said their vows and gave Red a ring in turn.
Scott went first, approaching Meredith and taking his hand in hers. “Meredith Baxter, in our time together, you have never ceased to amaze me with your compassion, empathy, and caring for others. Will you accept this ring as a symbol of my commitment to you?” asked Scott.
“I accept your ring,” said Meredith, and Scott placed a thin rose gold band onto Meredith’s finger. Meredith took one of the rings off her right hand. “Do you, Scott Sanders, accept this ring as a symbol of the warmth you bring to our home?”
“I do,” said Scott, and Meredith slipped a standard thickness rose gold band onto Scott’s finger. Scott pulled her close and kissed her lips tenderly. Their families clapped and as Scott pulled back, he retreated, and Brandon walked up next.
“Meredith Baxter, you are the only woman I’ve ever known who can make me feel like I’m a man and a bear at the same time. For that, I offer you this ring,” said Brandon.
“I accept your ring, Brandon Joyce,” said Meredith, and Brandon placed a thin yellow gold band onto her ring finger over the rose gold band. “Do you accept this ring, as recognition of my unending loyalty to you?”
“I do,” said Brandon, and after Meredith slipped a full sized yellow gold band onto his ring finger, he took her into his arms and kissed her deeply, everyone present hooting and hollering as he did so.
Finally, Nathan approached. “Meredith, there’s so much I could say: you’re the only woman who can deal with me, bear and all, and the only woman who I hold back my bear for...but who I don’t have to hold back my bear in front of,” said Nathan. “Will you accept this ring as a symbol of the ways you make me a better man?”
“I accept this ring, Nathan Daniels,” said Meredith, as Nathan slipped the thin silver ring over the yellow gold ring, the three rings forming one big ring that would be welded together after the wedding as a symbol of unity. “Nathan, you’re the biggest, baddest grizzly bear I’ve ever met, and I never want you to change. As a sign that you will stay true to yourself, do you accept this ring?”
“I do,” said Nathan, wiping a tear from his eye, and Meredith placed the ring on Nathan’s finger as the crowd sobbed at the beauty of the ceremony between the three men and the women they loved. There wasn’t a dry eye in the glen, and even Scott and Brandon wrapped their arms around one another’s shoulders for support. It was rare that they saw Nathan open up that way to anyone. Anyone who had previously thought this was just a weird kinky sex thing now saw that this was more than sex: this was love, and this was fate. Nathan pulled another ring out of his pocket: it was the engagement ring, which had been welded into place by the jeweler in town, who had made the custom rings to begin with, so now, although it looked like it was three pieces, it was really one big hunk of diamonds. He slipped that over Meredith’s finger, over the three wedding bands.
Nathan pulled Red close as the sun finished setting and kissed her, and the crowd cheered loudly. Meredith and the three men walked down the aisle demarked with lights that were now turned on and softly glowing as people threw wildflower petals at the newlyweds and shouted out congratulatory remarks.
The pot luck reception was amazing: Meredith had put the boys to work in the woods and they’d caught lots of salmon, so there was tons of wild salmon, perfect for the bear shifters, and instead of cakes, they had pies upon pies, many baked by Grandma Baxter herself. Marionberries were back in season, and Meredith and Nathan had gone into the woods to collect berries for both the picnic wedding as well as for Grandma Baxter’s famous marionberry pie with marionberry honey drizzled on top.
Of course, no wedding was complete without champagne, and they broke out the bubbly as the sky turned dark and the moon rose above the glen.
“We have a surprise for you, Red,” said Nathan wickedly, groping his new wife discreetly by placing a hand on her hips, a hand that wandered between her thighs for a quick squeeze. Nathan hadn’t quite gotten around to explaining to the bear in him that weddings weren’t a socially acceptable place to feel up the bear’s fated mate.
“A surprise?” asked Meredith, as she sipped on her sparkling wine, a few ripe marionberries at the bottom of the plastic champagne flute.
“You know...Joyce and Brothers Realty doesn’t just own our house and your grandma’s,” said Brandon. “We’ve got lots of rentals in the area, including summer rentals...and although you said you didn’t want something fancy, we’ve prepared one of the seaside cottages we own.”
“And when we say seaside, we mean it,” said Nathan. “This place has its own private beach.”
“You guys, that’s awesome!” said Meredith with a huge smile which accentuated her cute chipmunk cheeks. “But do me one favor.”
“Anything, my love,” said Scott.
“Don’t make me be the housekeeper,” said Meredith with a groan. “I can do it in the winter, but that’s it.”
“Deal,” said Nathan, kissing Meredith on one cheek while Scott kissed her on another.
“Well, I’ve got a surprise for you guys too,” said Meredith, looking at each of her husbands in turn. She rubbed her tummy. “We’re pregnant!”
“No frikkin’ way!” said Scott. “How far along are you?”
“Almost exactly six months,” said Meredith. “So I’ll have the babies before hibernation starts this year.”
“It’s going to be one heck of a winter: I’m sure none of us are going to get any sleep,” groaned Nathan.
Scott ribbed him with his elbow. “Nathan, those are our kids in there.” He rubbed Meredith’s belly. “I can feel the pulse.”
Meredith put her hand on her stomach. “I can’t.”
Brandon pressed his palm onto Meredith’s waist. “I can feel it too. Must be a shifter thing.”
Nathan felt up Meredith’s stomach too and in a second the scowl on his face washed away. “We’re going to be fathers, dads,” he
said to his two best friends. “And you’re going to be a mom, Red...the best mom ever.”
“If I can take care of you three boys all winter and however many cubs we end up having on my own,” said Meredith.
“You don’t have to do it on your own,” said Grandma Baxter with a smile, who had been standing beside Meredith. “You’re going to be a great mom, and you can spend the winters with me. I miss having little ones run around the house: I’ve got the rooms set up, we just need the cubs!”
“Thanks, Grandma” said Meredith, giving Grandma Baxter a hug. “For everything: if it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t have ever had a reason to come to Port Jameson and if it wasn’t for your...methods, I wouldn’t be with my three husbands, my three fated mates.”
“The thanks can wait, the fireworks are starting,” said Grandma Baxter. Meredith turned and sat down on the picnic table with her grandma, her three bear shifters sitting behind her as the lights in the glen were dimmed and the fireworks show started. The glen was the perfect place to watch the fireworks show and everything came full circle: after over twenty years, Meredith was watching the Fourth of July fireworks with her bear shifters, together again at long last.
“Meredith, we’ve got one last surprise for you,” said Scott, tapping her shoulder.
“Go with them,” said Grandma Baxter. “I’ll keep company with your mother.”
“Grandma, you’re the best,” said Meredith, hugging her grandma tight. Scott helped her up and she noticed that there was a pile of clothes on the picnic table and one less husband. “Where’s Brandon?”
Her query was answered with a hearty roar. She turned: there was Brandon, in his bear form. “I have his ring, don’t worry,” said Nathan with a wink. “And I convinced him not to burst out of his clothes this time, I know how much you liked that suit. Hop on.”
Meredith rode the bear without a saddle, gripping into the fur. It was just like in her dreams, the dreams that felt like memories, and the two men next to her followed the bear which carried Meredith away from the ceremony discreetly, through the woods, down a path lit by fireflies that glowed brighter than the Fourth of July fireworks