Chapter 22

TWENTY-TWO

Drogo

We stare at the bear as he lounges comfortably in the blankets that smell of Tara and her arousal. I don't like it. Fuck, I kind of want to punch him in the face, but I know enough to recognize that that's jealousy talking. If I'd spent my night fucking Tara, I don't think I'd mind nearly as much if the bear smelled like her too. Which is a change. Maybe now that I've faced losing her, the idea of sharing her isn't nearly as bad.

My gaze slides in the direction Tara had gone. I take a step. Everything in me wants to find her. To be close to her. To never be away from her again.

"So, you boys ready to grovel?" Garrick asks lazily.

"Grovel?" I repeat, confused.

"You fucked up big time. And as dumb as you are, you have to know that if you say the wrong thing out there, you're going to lose her forever."

Lose her forever? No, we can't. Never again. If it takes my whole life, I'm going to do whatever it takes to have Tara in my life, in whatever capacity I can have her.

The damn bear is loving this. He knows how miserable we are.

I huff. "You'd like it if we lost her, wouldn't you?"

Something unexpected crosses his pain. A look of empathy. "Actually, as much as I can't stand wolves, especially you three, the most important thing to me is that my woman is happy. And I think she'd be happiest with all of us in her life."

"You mean that?" Rinan asks, looking surprised.

The bear actually sounds sincere.

He nods. "But we all need to be on the same page."

"How so?" Arlys asks, folding his arms over his chest.

"What are your intentions exactly with my Tara?"

I don't like the my in his question. "To love her and make her our wife."

"And what will that look like?"

I scowl. "We're going to dote on her. Okay? She'll have anything she needs, whenever she needs it."

"But not just her needs," Rinan cuts in. "Her wants too. She can spend as much time making swords and weapons as she wants. We'll take her out in the rowboat and let her read or daydream." There's a smile in his voice as he describes it all. "We'll rub her tiny feet and hold her every night."

"We'll love her," Arlys emphasizes, which kind of encompasses everything.

A minute of silence passes between us.

"You will, won't you?" he asks, looking curious. Then he releases a deep breath. "So, let's get into the logistics. We'll have to spend time in all our territories. Letting our people see us. Letting them get to know all of us."

It's hard. But that's important. "Agreed."

"But we won't move her much when she's pregnant."

"Pregnant." Even as I say the word, I'm smiling, just picturing her belly round with our child.

"And we'll be fathers to all the kids, no matter who they look like," he adds.

"Of course," Rinan says, and I can practically see him melting at the thought of having a child with our Tara.

"Hell." Garrick laughs. "Now I want you guys to succeed."

"Thanks," I tell him, annoyed but still smiling.

"But you guys are idiots, so I want to give you two pieces of advice before you shoot your shot with her."

None of us speaks for a long minute before Arlys clears his throat. "And that would be?"

He holds my eye contact. "Number one, go after her. Right now. Don't wait another minute. Number two, there's no room for pride here. Show her your whole heart and hold nothing back. Then, if you still lose her, you know you've done everything you can."

Lose her. Those words again. My entire chest hurts, and I rub the spot.

He sees what I'm doing and lifts a brow. "It hurts, huh? You fucking idiots." Then, without a pause, he continues, "Go on then. Go get her."

We head for the hot spring, not needing to be told twice. Anxiety is bubbling up inside us, so palpable I can almost touch it.

Garrick's words stop us before we're out of sight. "I'll be right here when you're done. Ready to take care of her, regardless of what happens with you three."

"Thanks," I mutter.

But I don't really care about him. All I care about is Tara. The woman I love more than life itself.