Chapter Twenty-Two
Mya
I woke up in a strange bed. The sun beamed through the window and tried to blind me. Everything came flooding back. The mating. The marking.
I lifted my fingers to touch the mark on my shoulder, the place where Greyson’s teeth sank into my skin and hissed. Still sore. That wasn’t the only part of me that was sore either.
Stretching, I realized Greyson wasn’t in bed with me. I sat up and heard Benji’s laugh downstairs.
Oh goodness. Did this mean I was Benji’s stepmom? The thought filled me with so much warmth and love, I thought I would burst.
Not only was I now the mate of the most gorgeous, kind, and gentle man on the planet, but I got a son in the process.
I threw back the covers and went to my room to shower and change. By the time I got downstairs, I smelled French toast and bacon.
“Good morning,” I said, walking into the kitchen.
“Mya! We got pancakes.” Benji got off the chair and ran over to hug me. I crouched down and as I hugged him, I saw Greyson flipping the toasts and on the verge of tears.
Oh, boy. How did we handle this? We probably should’ve talked about how to approach Benji with the news.
“My daddy told me that you are his mate now. Bears have mates, not wives. Titi is Uncle Davy’s mate. I told you.”
That was a lot of information at once. “He told you?” I eyed my mate.
“Yep. Now you can live with us forever.”
Good grief, it was too early to cry but that didn’t stop me. “Come here, mate,” Greyson said, his deep voice beckoning my feet to move.
“It’s okay that I’m your dad’s mate?” I asked once I was in Greyson’s arms. “You’re okay with it?”
“Yeppers.”
And that was the end of that discussion. We had pancakes together and bacon, and Greyson decided to ask his brother to take Benji for the night so he could have me all to himself. He was already planning dates and things we could do together, us and as a family.
“Do you want to move everything into our room tonight?” Greyson’s hand slid up my thigh.
“I’d like that. I feel like the other shoe is going to drop. It’s too much happiness.”
I was crying again.
“You deserve too much happiness. All of us do. We’ve gone through things and now we’re on the other side. It can be overwhelming. Do you need some time to yourself?”
“No. I want to be with my new family today.”
“Good. This family wants to be with you.”
We packed up lunch and brought Benji on a hiking trip and, since there was no one else around, the boys both shifted. I got to see my man’s bear in action again, and the way he played with his son was adorable.
I loved them both.
My time with Jacob felt like it was so far away. I knew I had things to heal from and the past would creep up now and again, but I was on my way. And now I had the support of a man who loved me.
That would take some getting used to.
Once the boys were done running, we ate together, picnic style, and were open and honest with Benji.
He didn’t have to call me Mama. In fact, I preferred it.
He needed to keep the memory of his real mama alive, and I made sure to reiterate that the pictures and memories of Jeanine would stay in place. Her memory was welcome in our home.
Greyson learned to love a mate through her, and she was the reason we had Benji.
“Time to go home, mate?” Greyson kissed my hand and hadn’t let go of it much during the day. He said touching me helped his bear since the bond was new. It helped my omega as well.
“Yes, please. There’s something stinky around here? What is it?” I sniffed in Benji’s direction. “Oh, it’s a stinky little bear cub.”
Benji put his hands on his hips. “Hey, I’m not stinky. Oh, wait. Yeppers. I am.”