27

Something had changed between them. What it was exactly, Cedric couldn"t put into words, but things were getting better almost daily.

Bethany was changing, both in how she interacted with him, and how she seemed to go about her days.

He had been keeping track of the days, unable to help himself. They were on day six of her cycle now. Only eight more, give or take a day or two, and she would be ovulating again.

With Owen"s warning to be patient and give her time, Cedric had considered more than once skipping the next cycle as well, wanting to give them more time to be around each other, learning and exploring and growing together, but now, he knew that by the time Bethany ovulated again, she would be ready.

Love was there between them, whether she realized it or not, but he could see it. He could tell in the way she reached for him, and how she soaked in his scent and his embrace. She was open with him, more relaxed than she had been in days, and every time he looked at her, she seemed to have a new way to show her growing affection for him.

Any time they were in the same room, she always made her way to his side, grabbing his hand or tucking herself against him. Before he could even respond to her, she would be right there, resting her cheek against his chest or wrapping her arm around his middle. He was constantly playing catch up, following her lead really, wrapping his arms around her or pressing a kiss to the top of her head. She never pulled away unless there was a reason for it, and even then, it seemed like she hated having to do so.

Showers were almost always shared now, they made breakfast together every morning and washed the dishes, lunch and dinner were projects they took on together, exploring new ways to work with his well stocked larder, and at night, she was always pressed tight against him, her fingers interlaced with his if the position allowed it, her heart beating in sync with his.

It went beyond sex, although the sex was still going strong, through her period and after. Their interactions, both in and out of bed, were far more intimate. Everything from getting dressed to tugging off their boots was something shared between them, and he couldn"t get enough of her.

She was sunshine, glowing bright in his dark cabin, bringing warmth and light to his otherwise lonely existence. He would follow her like a lost puppy if she ever left his side for long, but she never did so, working and sleeping and eating and relaxing beside him day in and day out.

She joined him in the kitchen, joined him with cleaning up, and always joined him for the farm work.

The barn was the only place where they were not at one another"s side, but that was only because they split the work as needed. She had been a quick learner on picking up how to milk Dorothy, and so he had taken to brushing the cow while she sat on the stool, and when he cleaned the chicken stall, she would go about refilling water and feed. When he set up the smoker at the far end of the barn, she had watched, asking questions and helping as needed, until finally, she had asked what they would be smoking, and he realized he hadn"t left the cabin long enough to hunt or fish since she had arrived.

At the mention of going hunting, her eyes had lit up, but then a better idea had come to him.

They could hunt or fish or another day, as there was still plenty of meat to get them through another few weeks, and if they ran out, he knew Owen would likely trade for some of the milk and butter he had from Dorothy... which he probably should have taken over at some point sooner, but he hadn"t wanted to leave Bethany"s side, and he didn"t know if she was interested in seeing Cordelia again so soon, since it seemed their last visit had left her tense.

That was a thought for another day. First, he wanted to share a little bit more of himself with her.

After all, she now held his heart entirely in her hands. There was no way to guard himself anymore from her.

And it was time that he take another step forward, in showing her just how deeply his affection went, and just how much he cared for her.

They had worked together to bundled her up, as he knew the walk, while not too far, would take them a while longer than their normally short trek to the barn. She had giggled as he struggled to snap her snow shoes onto her feet, as normally he would cross large amounts of snow in either his bear form or on the snowmobile, and then laughed even harder as he attempted to strap an old, worn pair onto his own, but soon they were off, with Cedric trying to stay balanced while Bethany used her poles to stay level. It was a learning experience for them both, as she said it was always harder the first time of the season, and he wasn"t used to having large contraptions on his boots, but eventually they set a rhythm.

Their journey into the forest grew easier as he got them on the path, knowing the trees well after years of living out there, and with the added support of thick trunks to stabilize himself on, the cabin was soon out of view, and they were in an untouched winter wonderland.

They came across a red fox, who gave them a wide berth thanks to Cedric"s scent, and then a jackrabbit, likely the creature the fox was trying to track down. Bethany had delighted at the sight of both, but the real prize was a 10 point Whitetail buck. The deer had been the one to journey into their path, and all three of them had frozen immediately as they became aware of each other"s presence. He was close enough, either one of them could have taken the shot and snagged him, but there was no way Cedric could chase him down in bear form if he shifted immediately, destroying his clothes, so rather than thinking of the tasty meal, he instead enjoyed the beauty of the moment, and sharing it with Bethany.

"Oh," she breathed out, the sound so soft, Cedric hoped it didn"t startle the buck.

After a few long seconds, the buck resumed it"s journey across their path, moving a little faster than it had been before, but certainly not running. The moment was beautiful as they watched the deer continue on it"s journey, heading towards the national park, and safety from any hunters who would love to snag him as a trophy.

"Oh, he was so beautiful," Bethany whispered, her voice revealing she was in awe as he was. "And so close. He didn"t even seem scared of us."

"We didn"t move, so he didn"t see a reason to run," Cedric answered, used to seeing wildlife out in these woods, although never normally so close. "If I was in my bear form, he never would have come near, but I guess he could see we weren"t trying to get him, so he wasn"t bothered by seeing us."

"I"m glad we didn"t bring the gun," she commented, reaching for his hand and squeezing. "I mean, I know we need meat eventually, but something about seeing him was... wow."

"Yeah," he agreed, squeezing her glove covered hand with his own. "This forest is always beautiful, but covered in a layer of snow, it"s something real special."

They resumed their journey down the path, although they were nearing where he was taking her, when she spoke up again, now sounding nervous. "Are there deer shifters?"

The question made him nearly chuckle, but a glance at her face had him swallowing his laughter and answering honestly. It was a valid question, seeing as she hadn"t even knownbear shifters were real a month ago, and they had never discussed other types of shifters before.

"No. Shifters are always at least omnivores, if not carnivores. Never heard of a deer shifter, and if that one was one, he would have been able to tell from my scent that I"m a shifter too, and would have revealed himself. While we do smell like a bear to animals, there"s a subtle difference that shifters pick up on."

"What other shifters are there, besides bears?" she asked, now very interested and looking a little more relaxed.

"Well, there"s packs of wolf shifters, and I met a mountain lion shifter once. Oh, and the artist who does our tattoos, he"s a panther shifter. Lives a few towns over. He once told Gareth about a scrappy raccoon shifter he knew, but I"m not sure if he was being serious or fucking with us."

"Do bear shifters come near here often?" she asked with a shiver.

"Not this area, no. They know our scent and know this is our land. If they do come by, they"ll have asked permission ahead of time. It happens once or twice, when one of them is looking for a job like ours. Owen always puts in a good word. There"s witches too, according to that panther I mentioned, but I"ve never met one."

Bethany nodded her head, but he could tell there was a question she was dying to ask.

"What is it?" he pressed, curious now.

"I"m just nervous about hunting, now," she answered honestly. "I know that you can tell if they"re a shifter or not, but if I"m by myself, then—"

"So long as my scent is all over you, Sunshine, you"ll be fine. No bear shifter would come near you regardless, wanting to keep the secret and not get shot, but if a bear comes charging towards you and you"re not sure, shoot above his head... unless it"s a grizzly."

"A grizzly bear?" she asked, raising her brow slightly. "Because bear shifters can"t be grizzlies?"

"Because they"re assholes," he answered with a laugh. "And if it is a shifter, he deserves it. We can take a few hits, and our anatomy isn"t quite like a bear, what with the shifting. A shot will warn him off if it is a shifter, and they"re stupid enough to get close enough to a woman who smells like me with a gun."

He hoped there was never a time she didn"t have his scent covering and protecting her.

They finally reached the clearing they had been moving towards, and Cedric let go of her hand as he approached one of the trees. There, about knee height, was gnashes in it from the claws of a young bear. Owen. Owen had left those marks, over three decades earlier. Higher up, near to the point that Cedric almost couldn"t reach in human form, was another set of marks.

His father"s.

"I know I"ve already told you some about my father, but... well, no, let me restart," Cedric explained, shaking his head a little. Bethany quickly approached, as fast as she could in the snow shoes, and bent down to look at the marks he had touched before.

"You don"t have to tell me anything you"re not ready to share," Bethany offered, but he shook his head a little.

What he had to say, he wanted to share with her. He just wasn"t too sure how to explain it all.

"Owen was the one who settled out here first, when he turned eighteen. He was ready to explore the world, this being the first place he wanted to travel to, but once he got here, he never left. Those marks down there? Owen made them when he was a cub." He took a deep breath and reached upwards, touching the higher marks as Bethany stood. "And these were our father"s. When Owen was a young cub, he returned and got our mother pregnant again. It"s not something bears often do, impregnating the same female twice, but I guess he also wanted to check in on his cub. That summer, he brought Owen up this way, and taught him all about being a bear. Our mother is a shifter too, and could have done the same thing, but I guess he felt it his duty."

Bethany already knew the rest of their father"s story. He returned with Owen, and was never seen again, so far as they knew.

"When it was time for me and Gareth to head out, we knew we wanted to make our way to see Owen, but Gareth wanted to roam a bit first, so we took a while getting here. Once we did... He wasn"t our father, but Owen was the closest thing I had to one. He was the best brother a bear could ever hope for, always patient when we were little shits, and once we got out here... he was the one who taught me how to hunt and fish, in human and bear form. Taught me how to build things too, and work the land, and fell trees. We helped him build his workshop and stayed in it that winter, and come Spring... well, Gareth wanted to leave, and I follow my twin, but when summer came, I was back. Bears don"t normally share their territory, but Owen had plenty of land, and I liked it out here. We built a cabin for me, and that following Spring, rather than following Gareth out, Owen and I built the barn. When winter came, Gareth stayed there, and we convinced him to build his cabin too."

It was a lot of history, from more than a decade earlier, but it was a piece of himself he had never shared with anyone before, not that he had anyone to share it with.

"Every Spring, Gareth wanted to roam. Sometimes, Owen would join us, but normally it was just me and him. About two years back, though, I couldn"t do it anymore. The need to travel, to sow our wild oats and all that, I didn"t have it anymore. This cabin and this land, it was the place for me. I wasn"t happy anywhere else. And so, I"ve remained, close to the only father I"ve ever known, and the only connection to my father I"ve ever had."

He felt his throat getting scratchy, but he pushed through anyways as he turned away from the tree and grabbed Bethany"s hands.

She was oddly quiet, not asking any questions, and he could tell she was letting him get the whole story out, at his own pace. He appreciated that. Appreciated her patience with him.

Like Owen had said, what they needed most to work through this was time and patience.

"Never once have I felt lonely out here, even when Owen is off working and Gareth is roaming. I enjoy my solitude, like every bear does, but now that I have someone to share it with.... it was a house before. Now, it"s a home I can never see myself leaving ever again."

Bethany opened her mouth to say something, and he could see in her eyes that she was thinking a thousand things at once, but he didn"t want to hear her say any of it. Not yet. Not until he was done.

He let go of one of her hands and pressed his glove to her mouth, keeping her from talking. Her eyes widened as he shook his head a little. "Let me just... finish what I have to say, please."

She stared back at him for a moment before nodding her head, and he dropped his hand, continuing the thoughts that he had been building up the courage to speak.

"No matter what happens between us, Sunshine, no matter how you feel about me and us, you will always have a place with me. My cabin is your home. Whether it"s for as long as you can stand me, or just for a few nights, my cabin is open to you. I"ll bunk with Gareth if you want, or sleep in the barn, but my home is your home, whenever and for however long you want it. You and the cub, if you"ll still let me give you that."

Her eyes were still wide, and he could see a few tears building, although he knew they would freeze on her skin before they fell.

Her mouth opened, ready to say something, when he realized whatever it was she was going to say, he wasn"t ready to hear it. Whether it be agreeing to come and visit him, or turning down his offer, he couldn"t take it in that moment. And if it was to state her feelings... he knew her well enough to know that if she wasn"t ready to say something that morning, his small gesture shouldn"t trigger any sort of admission now.

He bent down and pressed a kiss to her lips, keeping her from saying anything. He expected her to pull away or protest, but instead, she only pressed tighter against him, her gloved hands clinging to the front of his coat. It was like magic, kissing her in the snowy landscape with wildlife all around them, and his offer still hanging in the air. It was better than breathing, better than roaming through fields of wildflowers, and he clung to her tight until they had to pull away to breathe.

"Don"t say anything," he begged against her mouth. "I know you have something you want to say, but just think on it. Don"t think I can handle whatever it is you"re gonna say, and I want you to be sure of it before you answer, not that you even need to give me one. That offer is open no matter what happens this week or next."

She nodded immediately, agreeing not to say anything, then kissed him again.

She had promised not to say anything, but her kiss...

He could taste the answer in her kiss.

Her home was with him, and she would always return to him. She was the sunshine and he was the moth attracted to the flame, and yet, he knew she would never be away from him, never leave him in the shade for too long. She would take him up on his offer, he was sure of it, if she even left him in the first place. She was his, and she would have his cub, and he...

He was in love with her. Wholly and desperately in love with her. And she, whether she realized it or not, was in love with him.

And her kiss tasted better than if she had confessed the same.