Stolen By Her Bear by Felicity Heaton

Chapter 18

The nerves Holly had managed to wrangle under control returned full force as she caught sight of herself in the mirror again. She wasn’t sure she could do this, and she wasn’t just talking about being a bridesmaid. The thought of seeing Saint had her restless, a little scared, and the thought of him seeing her in this dress had her wanting to run a mile. It revealed everything.

How had she not noticed that before?

The sweeping neckline plunged low, the loose folds of material that hung in front of her breasts baring a hint of cleavage, and the dark green satin hugged her hips and really showed off her backside.

Her fingers twitched at her sides as she stared at herself, as panic mounted inside her.

Ember placed her hands on Holly’s bare arms, pressing against her back as she peered over her shoulder, looking at her reflection too. “You look killer, Holly. Saint is done for.”

Holly hoped that was true. Ember had been telling her that from the moment she had put on the dress and had turned to Ember and sworn it was tighter than before, and far more revealing than she remembered.

“Come on. Let’s go knock them dead.” Ember looped her arm around Holly’s and pulled her away from the mirror, led her to the cabin door where Ivy and Gabi were waiting, checking each other over for what had to be the millionth time.

Holly had pulled Gabi aside when she had entered, had relayed to her what Saint had told her about the day he had tried to snatch her, not wanting her to be on edge around him or afraid. Gabi had reassured her that she wasn’t afraid of Saint and that she didn’t hold it against him, mostly because Storm did that enough for both of them. Holly had a plan to get them together later in an attempt to smooth things over between them and hoped Saint would apologise for his actions.

Saint. Was he here? Her nerves returned as she thought about the fact he might be out there, waiting for her to make an appearance.

“Someone is miles away,” Ivy’s soft voice stole into her thoughts.

Holly shook herself back to the room and smiled an apology at her.

Ivy looked beautiful in her more traditional corseted strapless dress, her dark hair twisted in a plait at the back of her head, exposing her mating mark. Her hazel eyes twinkled as she helped Gabi fasten her short, white fur-trimmed cape over her shoulders and smoothed it down against her long, figure-hugging modern ivory dress that almost resembled the green one Holly was wearing.

Only Gabi’s one had a slit up the left thigh that Holly was glad hers was missing. She was self-conscious in it enough without flashing her thigh with every step.

Gabi nervously checked her blonde hair, smoothing the braid that encircled her head like a crown, a flicker of fear in her blue-grey eyes. “I know we’re already mated to them, but this makes it all feel horribly real.”

Ivy laughed at that. “I wonder if they’re feeling the same way?”

“Cobalt looked ready to pass out when he left us. If he’s nervous, I can only imagine how Rath and Storm feel.” Ember smiled and released Holly, picked up the two larger bouquets of white roses spotted with glittering diamante, and held them out to Ivy and Gabi. “Let’s go find out, ladies.”

Holly picked up her own smaller bouquet, thinking about what Ember had said. Was Saint feeling as nervous as she was? She wasn’t really sure what to say to him when she saw him, and worried what he wanted to say to her. She hadn’t imagined the first male to make her feel something would be the one male in the world for her—her fated mate.

Ember sighed and stroked her arm. “Come on. Quicker you see him again, the quicker you’ll feel better. Just treat it like a date. You’ve had dates before.”

“Yeah, but not with my fated one.” And not with a male she wanted. She didn’t need to say that for Ember to hear it, knew it as her friend gave her a sympathetic, warm smile. Holly blew out her breath. “What if I do something wrong? What if I make a fool of myself?”

By fool of herself, she meant hurling herself at Saint and climbing him like a tree in front of everyone to stake a claim on him.

When they had returned to the Creek, she had been faced with not only the brothers and their mates. She had been faced with half of her pride, and among the people who had made it to the Creek were close to a dozen unmated females.

All of them more beautiful than she was.

“What if Saint…” She couldn’t bring herself to say it.

Ember pulled her into a hug. “Now you’re talking crazy. I saw the way he looked at you, Holly. Saint is going to live up to his name. He’s not going to be interested in anyone but you.”

Gods, she hoped so, because she wasn’t sure she would survive the blow if the one male she wanted ended up being more interested in someone else.

It was nerves talking. She was getting herself worked up over nothing, something which Ember had assured her was perfectly natural for a female when they found their true mate.

“If he so much as looks at another woman, we’ll set the brothers on him… but not in a vicious brawl kind of way. I think he’s had enough of that. I meant it in a make them corner him and teach him how a woman should be treated kind of way. Oh heck, screw getting the men involved. We’ll do the cornering and teaching.” Ivy beamed at her and Holly knew she was serious. “No man in this world can stand up to us ladies when we stick together.”

It felt good to have Ivy, Gabi and Ember on her side. She had always wanted sisters, and Ember had grown to be like one for her, and now she had two more. She would swap her brothers for them in a heartbeat if she could have them as her real family.

She followed Ember out into the chilly afternoon air, breathed through her nerves as her gaze lifted to the marquee. Had Saint come? She hoped he had.

Flint anxiously shifted foot-to-foot outside the marquee, a look of relief crossing his face as he spotted the brides, Ember and Holly.

“About time,” he muttered and looked them all over, flashing them a grin. “Ladies, you all look incredible. Let’s get this show on the road. I need a beer. Someone brought their new baby with them and Yasmin is melting into a puddle over the chubby little bastard.”

Holly tried not to smile, but Flint noticed her lips wobbling and frowned at her.

“I’d watch it… I swear Saint was looking fit to want one of his own just a second ago.” Flint waved her away when her eyes widened. “I kid. I kid. I think maybe he wanted to eat it.”

“Flint,” Ember snapped.

Holly was too busy staring at the entrance of the marquee to chastise him herself, her heart drumming as awareness grew inside her, bringing her nerves back to the surface. Saint was in there. He had come.

And he was going to see her in this dress.

An urge to bolt shot through her.

Gabi pushed her forwards. “March your butt in there. Running solves nothing. Believe me.”

Holly steeled herself and focused straight ahead of her, trying to shut out the rest of the world as the music started and she walked forwards. She felt Saint’s eyes on her the second she entered, the feel of his intense gaze heating her blood to a thousand degrees and making her heart pound. She tried to keep her eyes off him, but couldn’t.

One glance was all it took to suck the air from the room and electrify what remained.

Gods, he was handsome with his damp dark hair tousled and a black shirt hugging his broad chest.

His rich brown eyes seared her, sent another wave of electricity arcing through her, making her sizzle with awareness of him.

“Eyes front,” Ember whispered out of the corner of her mouth, startling Holly into looking towards the altar. “You can feast on your handsome bear all you want later.”

Holly wanted to growl at Ember for calling her bear handsome.

Her bear.

She shivered again as she felt his gaze on her nape, deep awareness rolling through her. He was her bear. He was hers and she was going to stake a claim on him. Her fangs itched at the thought, blood heating further as her mind raced forwards to imagine the moment.

She took Ivy’s bouquet and drifted into position to one side of the altar, did her best to take in the ceremony and even teared up a little as the couples made their vows. She glanced towards Saint, wishing she could see him through the crowd. What did he make of this? It was unusual for shifters to have weddings, and she had never been to one before, but she loved it.

But not as much as she loved the shifter version of getting married.

A mating was a beautiful declaration of love and was an unbreakable vow. It was forever.

“You may now kiss the bride,” Cobalt said, a look of relief flitting across his grey eyes as he lowered his cards to his side and his shoulders relaxed.

Rath gathered Ivy into his arms and kissed her, and Storm did the same with Gabi. Holly’s heart swelled as she looked at the two couples, as she watched Ember going to Cobalt and kissing him too. She wanted the love that they all shared.

And she had the feeling she had found it.

She looked for Saint, grimaced as everyone crowded the two couples, pressing her towards them as they all hurried to congratulate their alpha and Storm. She pushed her palms against one male, twisted and reached for Ember, seeking a way out of the crush.

Her breath hitched as a gap between two people opened and she spotted Saint making a beeline for her, her lungs seizing as her gaze collided with his and she couldn’t look away. Such hunger. Such ferocity. He pushed through the crowd, easily parting them despite his injured shoulder.

“Congratulations,” he muttered to Rath and Storm, and seized her arm the moment he was within reach.

He pulled her through the crowd and over to one side.

“You all right?” His gruff tone backed up the spark of anger in his dark eyes. “You looked like you were getting squashed.”

Holly shrugged it off, quivered from his touch as he flexed his fingers around her bare arm, the heat of his hand on it like a brand. She was on fire for this male, and he had to see it. His eyes dropped to her mouth, scalding her lips, rousing an ache.

A need.

She licked her lips.

Saint groaned and scrubbed his free hand down his mouth. “You look beautiful. You are beautiful.”

She felt exposed as he gave her a slow once-over, his eyes darkening as his pupils dilated to devour the rich brown of his irises, the hunger that ignited in them unmistakable. Arousing. She shivered from his possessive gaze, had a hard time resisting the urge to throw herself at him after all.

Ember had been right. Saint was done for. She could see it in his eyes, in the need that sparked in them, one that wasn’t all about desire.

“I want to get you away from all these males.” His dark gaze flicked to beyond her, narrowed as it scanned the room.

His gaze strayed back to her lips and she knew what he wanted, because she wanted it too.

She didn’t resist him when he led her to the entrance of the marquee where it was quiet and then out into the fading light, didn’t feel the cold as she gazed up at him, unable to tear her eyes away from his lips or her thoughts away from finally kissing him.

She tensed, shaken from her reverie as his hands brushed her shoulders, and smiled as she realised what he had done. He gathered his coat closed around her and then drew her into his arms, trapping her hands against his hard chest. His heart thundered against her palms, rushing as fiercely as hers was as she stared up at his face, as anticipation swirled inside her and an ache formed, a desperate need only he could ease.

A flicker of a frown danced on his eyebrows, there and gone in a heartbeat, and then he dipped his head and captured her mouth.

Fire swept through her as he claimed her lips, his kiss possessive and fierce, dominant in a way that had her melting into him, on the verge of clawing at him as a need for more crashed over her. She leaned into the kiss, lost herself in it as his heat and his taste branded itself on her mind, as it roused a wicked urge to claw him anyway, to dominate him and stake a claim on him. She moaned and trembled, every inch of her quivering as he gathered her closer, as their tongues brushed and tangled.

She gasped at air, a little dizzy and wild with a hunger for more, as he pulled back on a curse.

“That was…” he mumbled, sounding unsure of himself, or perhaps he just felt as off-balance as she did as she swayed in his arms, hazy all over. “I hadn’t expected that.”

She tingled all over, aching for more as she murmured, “That was some first kiss.”

He tensed.

Holly’s eyes shot open, shock sweeping through her too, fear colliding with it.

“A first kiss for us… is what I meant. That was some first kiss for us.” The words rushed from her, but she could see in his wide eyes that the truth was out there now.

He knew.

Her thoughts tangled and twisted into a blur as she stared at him, wanting to say something, to show him it wasn’t a big deal, even when she knew it was.

“You can’t miss the celebration.” Ivy grabbed her arm, making her jump and blink, and throw a thank you to the gods as Ivy pulled her back into the tent. “You can play with the bear later.”

Oh gods.

Holly glanced back at Saint, seared by the fire in his eyes.

She wanted that so badly.