The Bear’s Nanny by Erin Havoc

EPILOGUE

KIERANThree Years Later

NOT IN MY wildest dreams did I ever expect to be in this position. I’m one lucky bastard, and I’m aware of that. But this? This is much more than I’ve ever hoped for.

Astrid scratches her eyes then raises her arms above her head, grunting as she sways on her feet. I reach out and hold her in place. She grips me back and chuckles. Even the sound of her laughter is tired.

My sweet mate. Her eyes are deep, dark circles staining the skin under them. The golden color of her hair is muted, and I crease my brows in worry. I don’t enjoy seeing her like this.

But she curves the tips of her mouth into a reassuring smile. “I’m okay, baby.”

“Are you, though?” I reach up and cradle her cheek in a hand. She leans into my palm and sighs, her eyelids fluttering closed. I’m pretty sure she’d sleep like this if we weren’t almost late.

But this event is for us. I know, and she knows, that we can put it off. We can cancel it altogether, and everyone will understand. As if reading my mind, as she does often, Astrid shakes her head. Her eyes are still closed, proving she might have picked up some of Sabrina’s powers.

“We won’t cancel anything.” Astrid’s eyes flutter open, and though her face is tired, there’s a glitter of determination in her eyes. “I want to go through with it.”

“But we don’t need to,” I tell her, and I’m being too persistent and even bothersome, but worry eats at me. Astrid has had bad days, and she’s barely slept. She needs her rest. “You don’t need to go through some ritual just yet. We can wait until you’re one-hundred percent.”

Astrid chuckles and raises a hand to run a finger down my jaw. “But, baby. We have a newborn. Half-bear or not, we won’t have rest anytime soon.”

I laugh softly, nodding in agreement. “You’re right, of course. Still, the ritual can wait.”

Astrid pulls back and crosses her arms over her chest. “Isn’t it supposed to happen on the first full moon after the baby is born? Because that’s today.”

“Yeah, but...”

“Sabrina told me full moons have tremendous power over all shifter species.” Astrid turns and walks into the kids’ bedroom. “I don’t want to miss this chance.”

I follow her into the room. Owen’s crib is getting too small for him, and I’m already choosing the right trees to cut down and build him a bed. Next to his crib stands the new crib, made from a pine that still smells incredible. The wood shines like marble, and I adore the fact that I built the crib my son rests inside.

Our firstborn, Bjorn, wiggles his tiny arms and legs, his face sideways as he watches Owen. The older boy is showing the baby his toys, each one with a long explanation of what it is. It fills my heart to the brim to watch these two. Owen’s grown quickly, faster than I’d like. He’s no longer the small bundle that could fit my arms. He can talk now, and he’s as much a part of the clan as every other bear. The animal inside him hasn’t awoken just yet, and we’re lucky for that — he already gives us enough trouble as it is.

“What are you up to, love?” Astrid puts her hands on her knees and bends to Owen.

“I show Mr. Rex!” He raises a tyrannosaurus toy we gifted him last Christmas — a small part of his ever-growing collection of dinos. I’m glad he isn’t fond of teddy bears. It would make it awkward. “Mr. Rex, go rawr!” He roars, showing off his new teeth.

Astrid chuckles. “He does what?”

Owen repeats the roar with more intensity. “Just like daddy!”

A foolish grin spreads across my face. “Just like daddy, you say? You saying I roar like that?”

Owen bobs his head and turns once more to Bjorn, unstoppable in his quest to educate the baby on all the things Mr. Rex eats.

Astrid straightens her back, her hands on her hips. “Did you hear that?” She whispers at me. “He called you daddy.”

I shrug, though the grin is still plastered on my face. “He's called you mommy so many times I lost count.”

“Isn’t it weird?” She curls her pretty nose as her arm comes around my waist. “We’ve told him about his biological parents.”

“I guess he’s too young to understand.” I run a hand through her blond hair, now cascading down her back. “But I’m not complaining. I like to hear that.”

She props her chin to my chest. “Me too. I’m glad he’s comfortable with us.”

My arms wrap around her, and I kiss her forehead, temple, and eyes. “He’s been extremely comfortable with you from day one. That’s how it all began.”

“True,” she laughs under her breath, and we stay like that for a moment, watching the two children. Then Astrid slaps my ass and steps away. “Let’s go; we’re so late!”

“Let’s go!” Owen repeats, throwing his arms up. “Can Mr. Rex come with us?”

“He can, if he keeps quiet,” I tell him, bending and picking him up. Owen hoots, dancing on my arm as I keep an eye on Astrid.

She’s exhausted and with reason. We came home with the baby just yesterday. She hasn’t had the time to sleep off the labor. But it is the first night of the full moon, and she wanted to be fully into the clan from the beginning.

Though I’d rather we stayed behind, there’s pride in my chest as we walk out of the house. I hold Owen in my arms as she cradles Bjorn in hers. The baby has blond hair like her, and he watches everything with wide eyes, his lower lip pouting as he squirms.

He’s going to be an active one, I can already tell. The two of us are in for a treat with these two boys. They’re going to be the life of this clan, the first kids of this generation.

I keep an arm tight around her waist as we take the forest trail behind the house. Council Meetings are held in the clearing up the mountain, but clan meetings are down here, in our territory. I wish the chosen place was closer to the house, so Astrid wouldn’t have to walk long, but there’s not much of a choice. I offered for her to climb onto my back in my bear form, but the way she laughed until she choked was refusal enough.

My clan brothers cleaned the path this morning so Astrid wouldn’t have problems trailing it. It takes the four of us twenty minutes to reach the clearing. I ask her if she wants to turn back every five minutes, but my mate keeps her chin up and a smile on her face as we get deeper into the woods.

The silence is ethereal as we cross the last pines into the chosen spot. The area is open overhead, and the light of the moon cascades down on us, bright like it was morning. Its white iridescence makes it feel like something magical is going on here.

And it is.

Introducing a new clan member is always an important thing. Owen’s was done hastily as soon as he arrived, and it wasn’t a pleasant experience for any of us. He screamed the entire way, and I heard none of the words exchanged.

Tonight, it’s different. There’s no rush. No one is hunting us anymore. We’re safe, we're family.

Astrid’s spine stands straighter. Though she’s human, she understands the magic fizzing in this clearing like an electric current. She shoots me a quizzical look but says nothing as we take part of the circle already formed.

My clan brothers stand with their legs parted, arms crossed, all with their heads bowed, all but Wyatt, our alpha. The light of the moon shines down on his naked chest, making him look silver. Like a spirit, or a god from ancient stories. Astrid stops and swallows. Even Owen has quieted down, his eyes wide as he watches the others.

“Come, Astrid,” Wyatt motions for the spot in the center of the clearing. His voice is the voice of the alpha. I know Astrid feels it deep in her bones.

There are two ways of entering the clan, and I don’t know if it works the same in all clans or not. But here, you are adopted into the clan, or you marry into it. Generations move little; hardly anyone new comes around as Owen did. Only mates do.

Astrid mated with me, so she didn’t go through this ceremony. The mating ritual already puts her in the clan. Already forces my clan brothers to protect her. We had a celebration anyway when we married.

This ritual is for Bjorn, so he also becomes a part of the clan.

Astrid looks at me, and I nod. I stay behind, lined with my brothers, as she steps into the circle beneath the moon. The light turns her hair silver, and she’s a goddess, coming down from the heavens to love me.

Bjorn coos as Wyatt raises a hand toward him. “Who have you brought me?”

Astrid takes a beat. “This is Bjorn, firstborn of Kieran.” She says the words the way I told her to do. My throat threatens to close, and my eyes sting.

This is real. All of this is real. I am mated to the woman I love, and she’s given me the most precious gift of all.

“This is the place our fathers and their fathers brought their young ones to be blessed by the Bear God,” Wyatt goes on, his voice echoing off the trees. The night is silent. No birds chirp, no animals rustle the fallen leaves. All obey the power of the moon. “Will you talk for Bjorn?”

“I will,” Astrid mutters.

“Will he obey the laws left by the Bear God? Will he cherish and protect his clan above all and kneel for his alpha and his alpha only?”

“He will.”

The words are mere bureaucracy, but they make my blood pump. The power of the alpha overwrites everything else, and I can barely wait to have Owen and Bjorn grow up and teach them to hunt and run with them in the woods. As a clan.

“He shall be protected by the clan as long as he’s one of us, as long as he desires to be one of us. He may leave, but only with his alpha’s permission. He may stay as long as he lives by the law.”

Astrid shifts and holds our baby closer. She doesn’t like the way this all sounds. So serious and ominous.

Wyatt smiles. It’s like he’s telling her it’s all right, that he’d allow nothing bad to happen to our child. Astrid’s shoulders relax, and I breathe out in relief. Wyatt’s the alpha for many reasons — his skill in reading people is only one of them.

“Is he welcome in the clan?” Wyatt calls into the night.

“He is,” I immediately reply. The others follow me, agreeing to it. Though the alpha has the last word, we all have the option to deny it. Not that anyone would.

Wyatt tilts his chin down in accordance. “As your alpha, I welcome you to the clan, Bjorn.” He reaches out and runs his fingers over my child’s forehead. It stains in dark brown, the color of this earth, to mark him as part of this place now.

“May the Bear God bless,” we all repeat. Astrid breathes the words last, and silence settles over us.

Wyatt looks at her with a smile on his face. He almost looks human. “Go to your mate,” he says and tilts his chin to me.

She turns and strides to me, her eyes glittering with unshed tears. I hug her close, Owen and Bjorn between our bodies. I kiss her face, and her warm breath fans my neck as she tightens an arm around my waist.

“You all right?” I whisper as the others make themselves scarce amid the woods. In moments, it’s all mute again. It’s only the four of us.

Astrid looks up at me and wipes a tear away. “That was...” She shivers. “Magical.”

I smile. “I couldn’t describe it better.”

Owen drops his head to my shoulder and releases a yawn. It’s way past midnight, and I’m sure that, though he felt the power rippling through the place, he thought it all quite boring.

Her hand in mine, I guide Astrid back out of the woods, through the darkness, and into our place. Owen and Bjorn are asleep before we reach their bedroom.

I kiss my mate’s hair, and I know I’m blessed. As long as I have her, I’m blessed.

THE END