Epilogue

Six months later

"Oh, my god, I think I'm going to be sick."

"That's okay." Orion smoothes my hair back from my forehead and speaks softly into my ear. "If you've gotta puke, you've gotta puke."

I giggle, and instantly my stomach quits churning. "Would you still love me if I puked all over the beautiful new laptop you've bought me?"

"Baby, I'd love you if you puked over a hundred laptops. Now, as much as I'm enjoying this topic of conversation, shall we check your results?"

"I've so failed," I moan.

"You worked super hard. You got great scores in all the practice questions. You're the smartest person I've ever met. If somehow that didn't all align when you took your test, you can just do it again. It's nothing to worry about."

With every sentence, my heartbeat slows. Orion knows how to calm me like no one else.

There's nothing to worry about.

The bottomless dread that consumed me throughout my childhood has almost disappeared under his care and easygoing nature.

I hold my breath and, keeping my eyes half-closed, I jab at my laptop's trackpad.

"798!" Orion hollers, before I've even absorbed the blurry figures in front of me. He plants a smacking kiss on my cheek. Then he lifts me right up, holding me up high with his massive arms and spinning me around. "Baby, you did it! An almost perfect score!"

"Oh, my god!" I say over and over. "I've got my GED!"

"The world is your oyster!"

I laugh joyously, beyond touched at how excited Orion is for me. Ever since I told him how it bothered me that I hadn't graduated high school, he's been encouraging me.

Unsurprisingly, there were a lot of gaps in my parents' "home-schooling" syllabus, so for the past three months I've been studying my ass off. And it's finally paid off.

"And all because of you." I wrap my legs around his waist and kiss him, but he pulls back.

He taps my chest with his fingertip. "No, Scout, all because of you."

"Okay, well, a bit because of me."

"So, what's next?" he says. "College? An internship?"

I bite my lip. I've refused to think about any of this stuff until I got my GED, because I was worried it would jinx it. Then I gaze over the terrace rail at the morning sunshine illuminating the forest—our forest. "I don't think I want to leave here," I say.

He frowns. "We'll come back for college vacations. But now's your time to go out into the world. Enjoy all that stuff you've been missing out on."

I sigh. It's funny—since I met my mate, I haven't felt like I'm missing anything. We spend a lot of time here, in our amazing house. The rest of the time, we hang out with his awesome clan in their territory, and I couldn't be happier.

"Okay, we're going out for a celebration dinner tonight. Somewhere fancy. Cocktails first."

I grin. He's a big ol' grizzly, and his beast is happiest when it's in the forest. Hell, it could probably spend the rest of its life there. But he always makes sure to take me out and show me a good time.

"Okay. If you insist. Maybe I'll wear my new dress."

A sound escapes his lips. He coughs to cover it, but he's not quick enough. I hear his bear's possessive growl. My new dress is kinda skimpy. It has a plunging neckline and cut outs on the sides.

"Good idea," he chokes out.

My grin gets wider. "But won't your bear be riled up all night?" I say innocently.

He shakes his head, and his eyes get that tell-tale glow. "Not if we tire it out first."

"And how are we gonna do that?" I put my fingertip in my mouth and suck it.

"Jesus, Scout," he groans. A second later, he's tearing my T-shirt off. It's the only thing I'm wearing, and now I'm stark naked, bathed by the warm sunshine.

Orion stares at me, a growl of pure desire pouring from his lips. Every time, it's like the first time. He makes me feel like the most desirable woman in the world.

He's not wearing anything, of course, and his cock is already rock hard and ready for me.

At the sight of it, my pussy starts to throb, and I feel moisture pooling at the tops of my thighs.

He flips me around and walks me over to the edge of the terrace. A moment later, he's pressing the head of his cock to my soaking wet entrance.

I love the way Orion touches me and goes down on me with his amazing tongue. But sometimes, there's no foreplay required.

Sometimes, all I need is to bend over the terrace rail and have my big, grizzly mate take me from behind.