Her eyes closed, and in that moment, Chance felt something odd yet magical click inside of him. Much as it had when the mating ritual had shown him who his true woman was, the second he looked into the dark eyes of his little girl, he felt the love blossom and grow into an unstoppable tide that consumed him completely.
He would do anything for her. Be anything for her. She would never want for anything.
“My little girl. My precious little girl,” he crooned as he reached for the squawking, little bundle of chubby legs and arms.
Annalida’s smile was soft but tight as she handed the now-swaddled babe to him.
Black, black eyes stared up at him, and though he knew she was probably as blind as any newborn cub, it was easy to pretend that her bright, clear gaze saw him and loved him right back.
“I’m a father,” he whispered in awe.
The queen stood, and dipping her head at them, she nodded. “Aye, that you are.”
He frowned when he realized she looked as though she was ready to leave. “Going so soon?”
Smoothing her hands down the front of her blood-stained gown, she nodded. “This is not a time for court politics or long, drawn-out conversations. My daughter needs to heal and rest, and your family needs time to bond. But in six weeks’ time, I shall return.”
“To see your granddaughter?”
Annalida said nothing as she gently, almost reverently, feathered her fingers along the babe’s chubby cheek.
The child, who’d gone quiet, turned her face into her grandmother’s touch, making smacking noises with her lips.
Smiling, Annalida murmured, “The wee one needs to feed.” Then stepping back, she dipped her head at him. Her every movement was regal and kept with her station.
As she turned, the light of transformation surrounded her, and in seconds, she was a crow of such hypnotic beauty that Chance could hardly rip his eyes off her. Her feathers gleamed as though lit from the inside out by candlelight, but instead of being a rich black, they held a tint of amethyst and jade to them. With a cry of farewell, she flew unscathed through the flames in the chimney and up the stack to the freedom beyond.
Little grunting, piglet noises snagged his attention, and for the first time, Chance felt fear. He was almost overwhelmed by the enormity of it all. He was a father.
“Holy shit,” he mumbled, finally understanding just what that meant. He was solely responsible for a life. A little person, a child, would look to him for the rest of her long life for guidance.
Bronwyn’s tender touch pulled him back from the panic threatening to swallow him. He leapt, startled by her touch.
But she just laughed. The sound was a little weak and a little tired, but it sparkled the same as it always had.
“You’re awake.”
Her smile was soft. “Aye. I woke up some minutes ago. I heard what Mother said. I’m free, Chance. We’re free.” Her words were strained, and there were still purple circles under her eyes. But to him, she’d never looked more beautiful.
She was his now. And he was hers. They were bound to each other in every conceivable way.
“Bron.” His voice broke. “We did it.”
She nodded. “Yes, we did.”
He leaned in to kiss her, but the cries of a grunting, angry piglet intruded on their peaceful interlude.
Leaning up on her elbow, Bronwyn opened her arms, silently asking for him to give her the baby. He reverently placed the little one into her mother’s loving arms. His heart almost burst at the joy that suffused every pore of his woman’s face as she smiled down at their child. He didn’t think he would ever get tired of saying that. Their child.
When the piglet latched onto Bron’s nipple and began suckling, he couldn’t help but chuckle. “She is aware that she’ll be sharing those with me,” he mock grumped as he traced the soft, fine lines of his daughter’s chubby cheeks.
“Not to worry, daddy. She’ll learn soon enough.” Grabbing hold of their daughter’s finger with her own, Bron looked up at him. “In six weeks’ time, Mother will perform the naming ceremony. It is custom among our kind to not name the child for the first six weeks, to give us time to learn the child so that we can then learn the name. But I understand if you’d rather—”
He kissed her words away then shook his head. “Six weeks is fine. Just rest, my precious. You worked hard today. Just rest and sleep and know that I’m here for you, whatever you need.”
“I love you, you crazy grizzly,” she whispered before planting a tender kiss against the corner of his mouth.
His heart trembled as a feeling of fullness swept through his body. If anyone had told him a month ago that his life would have been domesticated so soon after finding his mate, he would never have gone through the ritual. But now he couldn’t imagine his life without his mate and child.
It was as if he’d merely existed before them.
“And I you, my little bird.”
Epilogue
Six weeks had passed, and Bronwyn was crazy excited and nervous. She held onto her daughter with her one hand and Chance’s hand with her other as they walked through the demarcation between territories.
For the first time ever, a grizzly—two in fact—were given access to crow territory.
The eyes of her sisters and brothers stared penetratingly at the three of them as they walked through.
Chance, dressed in scuffed jeans and a form-fitting T-shirt with his shaggy brown hair and piercing eyes, was a sight to behold. And she was proud to be on his arm.
She’d come dressed as was the custom of a visiting crow. No longer part of the Murder, she’d officially adopted the grizzlies as her family. She wore a long, feathered cape that trailed along the forest floor, and she was nude beneath to show that she meant them no harm.
Annalida sat on her throne of bones at the head of the long processional. She too was nude with only a black feather tied into her long hair, denoting her queenly status.
Once she and Chance got halfway to her mother’s throne, they stopped, bowing their heads in a show of respect.
Little piglet—as she’d taken to calling their daughter, thanks to Chance’s constant referral of her in that manner—was grunting and restless. She poked her baby fists through her swaddling as though she were breaking free of her bindings. Already, she had the strength and powerful nature of the bear showing through.
“Bronwyn, formerly of the Crow Clan, and now of the Grizzlies, come forward,” Annalida said with solemnity.
Squeezing Chance’s hand, she made her way toward her mother with only her piglet in tow. She and Chance had decided on the name that morning, and it felt right. Powerful. Like their daughter.
She knelt by her mother’s throne, bowing her head and staring at the face of her daughter with love shining in her eyes. Bronwyn had never known what love meant until the day she’d looked into the familiar eyes of her daughter. She loved Chance. He was all things to her, but their daughter was a piece of her soul and his, combined into the form of one.
Only after she’d had her baby had she understood the pain she’d put her own mother through. And though Bronwyn couldn’t regret the road that had led her to Chance, she did feel shame that she hadn’t handled things better.
Annalida didn’t make her wait long. Her tender touch on Bron’s shoulder made her finally glance up. Her mother smiled down at her with tears brimming in her eyes.
“People of the Crow.” Annalida spoke with authority, causing the air to ripple with threads of power as she drew from the earth magick. “We welcome back our wayward sister and my daughter, Bronwyn, and the new life blessed upon us all. And now I ask, daughter mine, what name has been chosen for this child?”
The hush was heavy. Even the wind seemed to stop moving through the boughs of the trees as they waited to hear.
The naming of a child was a sacred business, and one done with the utmost respect and reverence.
Smiling proudly, she glanced back at Chance for a quick moment.
He gave her a thumb’s up, and once again, Bronwyn almost couldn’t believe this was her life.
The gods had smiled down on her the day she’d seen the bear. They’d given her a second chance at a happier, more fulfilling life. She knew that no matter what came down the road, she would never cease being grateful for it.
Inhaling deeply, she cuddled her daughter closer, giving her fat cheek a quick kiss before reverently saying, “Her name is Ursa. Ursa Hawthorne.”
Jubilant cries of joy rang out through the woods as the Crows chanted her daughter’s name.
“Ursa. Ursa. Ursa…” over and over and over again, they cried.
Annalida hugged Bronwyn tightly, careful not to hurt the child, then whispered in her daughter’s ear. “A miracle has been wrought here, my child. And now there is only one question left to ask.”
As though knowing what would be asked, Chance finally joined them, slipping his arm around her waist. It was exactly where Bronwyn knew she was supposed to be. She leaned heavily into him, breathing a sigh of relief. Even Ursa quieted down a little when her daddy appeared.
“Are you happy?” Annalida looked at them both.
Chance nodded but stayed silent as he looked to her for her answer.
And she knew there was only one answer to give. “Yes. I am very happy.”
Annalida’s arms drew into the air. With a shout, she said, “Let us celebrate our sister’s joy. Eat, drink, and be merry.”
And though the Crows wouldn’t adopt Ursa as their own, they had shown her respect and reverence by celebrating her birth and life. It was more than Bronwyn could have hoped for.
Later that night, when the stars were shining like tiny, twinkling diamonds in the sky, and Ursa was being tended to by one of several dozen doting aunties, Bronwyn was alone with Chance. She rested her head on his shoulder, listening to the gentle rhythm of his beating heart.
“Until I met you, Bron, I could never imagine being happy in a life like this,” he said solemnly.
She smiled, looking up at his rugged and handsome face. Her heart was so full, she felt it might burst from happiness.
“No regrets?” she asked.
Taking her hand in his, he kissed her knuckles and shook his head. “None. You’re it for me, woman. And you always will be.”
And when they kissed, she tasted forever on his tongue. And life… well, life was good.
~*~
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Get more Mating Fever stories! The first in each author’s series are listed below:
Mating Fever Bears
V. Vaughn—Andre 2/24
Elle Thorne—Cross 3/4
Kenzie Cox—Cyrus 3/14
Mating Fever Dragons
Saranna DeWylde—Ondrej 3/2
Ronin Winters—Mica 3/7
Elsa Jade—Dragon Fever 3/11
Minx Malone—Nathan’s Heart 3/16
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Selene Charles’ Books
Tempted Series
Forbidden, Book 1
Reckless, Book 2
Possessed, Book 3
Mating Fever Series
Chance, Book 1
August, Book 2
Phoenix, Book 3
Chance: Mating Fever (Bears of Kodiak Book 1) Page 7