Epilogue

EPILOGUE

TWO MONTHS LATER…

" Y ou can do this," Indiana encouraged.

Hadlee stared at Indiana from across the clearing, trying not to ogle too openly at his naked body. She was naked too, but he was obviously far more comfortable in his skin than she was. And damn if that wasn't distracting to see those gorgeous muscles and his broad shoulders and slender waist. It brought back far too tempting memories from that morning of how she'd had her legs wrapped around those hips as he'd taken her in the shower over and over until she'd been too tired and tender to walk. She bit her lip to keep from grinning.

"Hadlee, focus. I can hear your thoughts, remember?" Indiana didn't sound mad at all. Given the way lust heated his brown eyes like honey, he was definitely seeing her memories of their lovemaking play along the invisible bond between them.

"Sorry." She wasn't sorry at all.

She thought she would hate having access to his thoughts and he to hers, but it was better than she could have imagined. The connection between them wasn't irritating. She didn't hear every thought of his, just the ones he felt strongly about, the ones he seemed to desire to send to her, and vice versa. It was strangely freeing. It reminded her of when she'd been a child and she and her childhood friend across the street had walkie talkies. They'd talk to each other whenever they wanted. It was like having access to her best friend whenever she wanted to talk to him, even if he wasn't in the room. Their connection could spread at least thirty miles, possibly even farther, but she hadn't wanted to leave him to see how far she could really go.

With a sigh she made herself focus on what she was here to do. To change back into her bear.

"What if I attack you or Jones after I change?" She shot a glance at the dog, who lay sprawled in the grass. His tongue rolled out of his mouth as he happily watched the two humans as if this was an entirely normal sequence of events. Indiana had carried him for most of the hike, and now Jones was enjoying the shade of the nearby trees.

"You won't attack us. Bears aren't prone to attack by nature," his lips twitched as though he fought off a grin. "More often than not they turn and run."

"Except polar bears, they're supposed to be deadly," Hadlee added stubbornly. She had been reading every book she could in the last few weeks about bears while Indiana and Jones healed. Indiana had thought it sweet that she wanted to know everything about bears, but Hadlee wanted to be prepared. One of the ways she felt she was in control of herself was by researching the issue thoroughly.

"Honey." Indiana's chuckle was full of amusement. "You're not a polar bear. You're a brown bear. Now stop stalling and change."

He was right. She needed to stop looking and just jump.

Hadlee closed her eyes, let out a breath, and did what she had been practicing in her mind for weeks. She listened to the wilderness around her. The birch trees hummed in a strange but wonderful sort of rhythm. The mountains grumbled and the stream seemed to laugh in delight. Each piece of nature had its own sound, its own melody. All she had to do was find her own melody within it and answer the call of the bear's song.

The bear's song was like plucking invisible vibrating strings out of the air. She reached for one strand that sang louder than the rest. It felt like a trumpet call to lead her home. In her mind she grasped that shimmering, gossamer strand and pulled it toward her. The bear came forth as easily as letting out one breath and drawing in another.

Joy filled her, like the warm sunshine on a chilly day. It covered every inch of her soul and burst outward in a solar flare. The bear was free and so was she. Smells filled her nose, and the breeze tickled her fur. She stretched her claws out, sinking them deep into the cool soil. And there it was, that easy sense of peace that came with choosing nature and its quiet magic into her heart.

She smelled Indiana and the dog. Her bear was used to them now, even though her bear had not been allowed out since that awful night. Hadlee had been practicing with Indiana's guidance to listen to her bear's thoughts over the last few weeks. Her bear didn't want to think about the past, her bear preferred to look forward. And for that Hadlee was grateful. She looked back enough on her own past; she didn't want her bear to dwell on it.

Hadlee ambled toward the human male who stood still, grinning at her.

"You're beautiful," he murmured as he held out a hand for her to smell. "Your fur is more russet colored, not grizzled like mine. You're a true brown bear." He stroked her neck and head, and she lowered her head into his touch. It felt so good to feel his fingers in her fur and her bear rumbled in delight.

"All right, my turn," he said. He stepped back and a moment later, a tall grizzly bear faced her. He was nearly a foot taller than her, his hump a little more defined and his fur shimmering with glints of silver at the edges. He licked her nose, making her huff with delight, and then he bumped her shoulder with his head lightly, enticing her to play. She nipped him back and he took off running across the clearing. Jones barked in excitement but stayed in the shade, content to watch the two bears play. Hadlee gave chase, enjoying the easy loping move of the bear. She'd always thought bears were big clumsy creatures, but she was surprised to realize how lightly and easily she moved and how her paws spread over the ground, giving her a firm footing even as she ran.

Indiana turned around and came back toward her.

Hadlee stood up on her hind legs and Indiana did the same, play fighting until they both wore each other out and collapsed in a pile to rest. She quickly learned that she loved to wrestle with him, loved how he let her push against him and eventually how he would pin her down and let her playfully kick and nip at him. In bed he let her play, and he could also be rough, but he never hurt her. He always seemed to know exactly what she wanted and needed, likely because of their mate connection. Being with him was always fun, always exciting. And there were times when he took her slowly, gently, with such devoted tenderness that tears of joy streamed down her face and he kissed them away. Their bond only heightened as they mated because they were able to sense and feel each other's desires and needs.

She burrowed into Indiana's side and rested her head on her paws. He licked the fur on the top of her head in what she was learning was a bear's equivalent to when Indiana kissed the crown of her hair. She let out a rumbling sound of pure delight and dozed off in the early afternoon sunlight.

Hadlee woke sometime later to find she'd changed in her sleep to human again. Indiana was carrying her in his arms back to the large picnic blanket they had laid out earlier. He set her down on it, and she yawned as she stretched languidly. She was a little less bothered by her nakedness now. Her bear was unashamed of fur and skin, and it helped her feel less embarrassed.

"That was easy, wasn't it?" he asked her as he lay down beside her. He stroked a hand down her arm, then her hip, tracing invisible patterns with gentle fingertips.

"It was," she agreed. "I don't suppose every day will be this perfect?" she asked, knowing the answer before he spoke. She couldn't help but trace the scars along his face and want to kiss them.

"Not always, but we will try every day to find our glimmers."

"Glimmers?"

"Hmmm." He bent his head to nuzzle her before kissing her softly, sweetly. "Glimmers are those little moments of beautiful life that can come in the midst of the most mundane days. It might be the butterfly hovering above the flowers, or the smell of coming rain with the leaves rustling in the breeze. Whatever those small moments are, you must cling to them. Life, if we listen, will remind us how to live with joy and purpose."

Hadlee's heart tightened with a flood of love for this man. "How did you become so wise?" She was only half-teasing.

"Because I fell in love with you," he said simply, as if those words held every answer. Perhaps they did. For the last two months, she had been able to handle all the monumental life changes because she loved this man deeply. She'd quit her job, created her own marketing agency, and took Indiana's website design company as her first client. She had hired movers to pack up her apartment and drive her belongings from Chicago to Aspen Falls. She'd turned her mind and her heart toward life in the woods with the man she loved and their adorable dog Jones.

She knew they would face struggles, and there would always be a level of danger being bear shifters. But Wade, the sheriff, was on their side. He was a friend and ally. They took care to be safe, climbing into the higher lands of the mountains before changing into their bears.

Hadlee reslished all these changes in her life with a glad heart because she and Indiana were a team , a true set of partners in all ways. It was easier to make changes and sacrifices when she wasn't alone. That was something she had learned was different with Indiana compared to her life with her ex. Before Indy, she'd bent over backward and changed everything about herself to please her boyfriend while he'd done nothing to change himself. But with Indiana, it was a two-way street of changing and adapting to one another so they both found the same level of happiness together.

"What are you thinking about?" Indiana asked as she traced her fingertips over his chin and lips. His golden-brown eyes were hot with desire but tempered with patient love for her.

"I was thinking about how strange it is that my life led to this. That one walk in the woods managed to put me on the path to the right person." She hated that her voice trembled, but Indiana offered only warmth and understanding through their bond.

"True mates have a way of finding one another," Indiana said. "When I spoke to Dane yesterday, he told me he's heard stories of mates traveling halfway across the world by chance or because of some vague feeling, to find themselves in front of their possible true mates. It was as though when I went into the woods that day, the earth itself was guiding me toward you, to find you and save you. I believe fate brought us together in the same way."

"Fate and perhaps a bit of magic," she agreed.

"You love the idea of magic, don't you?" he teased, and stole a longer, deeper kiss from her.

"Yes I do. Because nature is magic. From the mushrooms that grow to the hawks flying above our heads. There is magic in everything in universe." The immensity of what she felt, that magic was born of love and nature, in that moment escaped the right words, but she felt it so clearly, so deeply, especially when she was in her bear form.

She knew she still had so much healing to do. Chad's attack had left her with nightmares and a few scars inside and out, but every day she was alive and striving for joy, was proof of her strength.

Indiana's lips curved as he gazed down at her. "I know the hike was one of the worst days of your life, but that was the day you saved my life." He leaned over to kiss her and cover her with his body. She embraced him, smoothing her hands over his bronzed back. She fell into his heady daze of sensual hunger as the trees sang all around them. They whispered a new song now, one that would travel with the northern winds to places far and away.

Once upon a time … there was a woman who faced a choice between a man and a bear in the woods. She chose the bear … she became the bear.