The Bear’s Christmas Bride (A Bear Creek Christmas #4)

Chapter One – Daniel

“When we get home, can we have hot chocolate?” Teddy slurred from the backseat, his voice heavy with sleep while his eyes somehow managed to sparkle at the prospect. Classic kid contradiction, barely able to keep his head up yet still mustering enthusiasm for the little stuff.

“With marshmallows,” Maisie added.

“And whipped cream.” Teddy licked his lips.

“And chocolate sprinkles,” Maisie sighed.

“And…” Teddy paused.

“And cinnamon,” Daniel supplied, his lips curving into a smile as he glanced in the rearview mirror at his children. Their excitement over hot chocolate was a welcome distraction from the thickening snow outside, the flakes growing heavier as they danced in the headlights.

These ordinary moments, just him and his half-asleep kids planning ridiculously elaborate hot drinks they’d probably fall asleep before finishing, were the ones that stuck with him long after they’d happened.

And we cherish every one, his bear said, his heart filled with love for the two little ones who shared their lives. And ruled their hearts.

“Yes! Cinnamon!” Teddy clapped his hands together in a sudden burst of energy. “It makes it taste like Christmas!”

Daniel chuckled, tightening his grip on the steering wheel as the truck struggled to get a grip on the road.

The storm was intensifying faster than the weather report had predicted.

What had started as light flurries was quickly becoming a proper blizzard.

He slowed the vehicle, hyperaware of the precious cargo behind him.

His bear stirred, the primal need to protect their family kicking in.

We’ll be home soon, Daniel reassured his bear, though the visibility was dropping by the minute. The familiar road looked alien under its thickening white blanket.

Daniel clenched his jaw as an odd prickle swept through him, and the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end.

His bear lifted his head, suddenly alert. There’s something out there. Not danger. No, this was something deeper, older, stirring like a forgotten memory.

Panic gripped Daniel, and he automatically glanced in the rearview mirror, checking that the kids were okay. But whatever it was, whatever he sensed overwhelmed him.

Something shifted deep in his chest, as if a part of him was awakening.

His bear roared loudly in his head. It sounded like nothing he’d ever heard before. It was filled with longing and something else…something Daniel could not name.

Daniel frowned, his nostrils flaring instinctively as he tried to understand what had triggered his animal. There. He felt it now. A presence. A pull. A connection.

And whatever that something…someone…was, it was straight ahead.

“Dad, a princess!” Teddy’s voice broke through his thoughts, filled with excitement.

Daniel squinted through the windshield. There, illuminated by his headlights and the swirling snow, stood a woman in what could only be a wedding dress, waving frantically beside a stalled car.

The white of her gown nearly blended with the snow, making her appear ethereal, otherworldly.

For a heartbeat, he wondered if his eyes were playing tricks on him.

No. She was real. It was as if the storm had conjured her and placed her directly in his path.

No, fate, his bear said, his excitement now matching Teddy’s. But not because he thought they had found a princess. But because he knew they had found their mate.

Daniel’s breath stalled, disbelief and wonder crashing into him at once. His foot hit the brake before his mind fully processed what was happening. The truck slowed carefully on the slick road as his bear surged forward in his consciousness, rumbling one impossible word over and over. Mate.

Daniel’s breath caught. Can it really be? He’d written off the idea years ago, figuring the universe had other plans for him.

Hell yes! His bear practically bounced around his skull like a kid on a sugar high, all dignity forgotten. The image would’ve made him laugh if he weren’t busy holding himself together.

“Dad, we have to help her!” Maisie pressed her small hands against the window. “We have to save the princess!”

“I will,” he said, his voice rough as he pulled over. “You two stay put.”

His instincts sharpened, turning the world into clear, simple priorities…get her warm, get her safe, don’t startle her.

And tell her we are mates, his bear added.

And you don’t think that would startle her? Daniel asked as he stepped out into the biting cold, the snow immediately clinging to his hair and jacket. Walking carefully toward her, he kept his movements slow and deliberate, even though his bear urged him to reach her faster.

The cold slapped him in the face, making the warmth inside the truck feel like another world entirely.

“Are you all right?” he asked, his voice gentle, pitched to carry through the wind without sounding threatening.

Her cheeks were flushed pink from the cold, and her dark hair was dusted with snowflakes, making her look as if she were wearing a tiara.

Her wedding dress was soaked at the hem, the delicate fabric dragging in the snow.

She hugged herself tightly, as though trying to physically hold herself together.

But what struck him the most were her eyes. Wide with uncertainty, they held more resignation than panic. As though she weren’t afraid of the storm, but of everything she’d left behind it.

“My car,” she gestured weakly to the vehicle behind her. “It just... stopped. I don’t know what happened.” Her voice cut through the howling wind, and Daniel felt a strange tug behind his ribs, as if some invisible string had just pulled taut between them.

His bear went utterly still, listening with primal focus. Our mate.

“I’m Daniel,” he offered, not asking why a bride was driving alone in a snowstorm. “Let me help you get somewhere warm. This storm’s only getting worse.”

She hesitated, her eyes searching his face.

Whatever she saw there must have reassured her, because she nodded.

“Holly,” she said simply, and the name felt right in a way that made his bear hum with satisfaction.Names shouldn’t feel like destiny.

And yet hers settled under his skin as if it belonged there.

Because she belongs to us, his bear said.

Without hesitation, Daniel shrugged out of his thick winter coat. The garment was well-worn at the cuffs, softened by years of use, but still heavy and warm—exactly what Holly needed right now.

“Here,” he said, holding it out to her. “You’re freezing.”

Holly’s eyes widened slightly, her gaze moving between his face and the offered coat. For a moment, she seemed ready to refuse, that same stubborn independence he’d noticed earlier flickering across her features.

“I’m fine, really,” she started, but her body betrayed her as another violent shiver ran through her.

His bear growled with protective concern. She’s cold. Vulnerable. Needs us.

“Please,” Daniel said, his voice gentle but firm. “Just until we get you somewhere warm.”

After another moment’s hesitation, Holly nodded, reaching for the coat with trembling fingers. “Thank you,” she whispered, the simple words carrying more weight than they should.

Daniel watched as she wrapped the oversized coat around her shoulders, practically disappearing into the fabric. Something primal and possessive stirred in his chest at the sight of her in his clothing, her curvy body engulfed by his coat, surrounded by his scent.

His bear rumbled with satisfaction.

“It’s so warm,” she murmured, pulling it tighter around herself, her wedding dress a stark white contrast beneath the dark material.

“Come on,” Daniel said, offering his arm for support. “Let’s get you to the truck before we all turn into snowmen.”

Daniel extended his hand, steadying her as she took a step toward him. Her fingers were ice cold in his, and he resisted the urge to envelop them completely in his warmth. Instead, he guided her carefully to his truck, opening the passenger door.

“Dad, she really is a princess!” Teddy whispered loudly as Holly climbed in.

“Are you going to a ball? Or are you getting married?” Maisie asked eagerly. “Why are you alone? Where’s your prince?”

Daniel winced, glancing at Holly for her reaction. Pain flickered there, quick, but unmistakable.

“Okay, kids. Let’s give Holly some room,” Daniel warned gently as he slid back into the driver’s seat, but Holly’s soft laugh eased some of the tension.

It was warm, apologetic, and sparked something inside him.

So this was how it felt when you met your mate.

He’d never expected the connection to be so profound.

“Not today,” she answered through chattering teeth. “I was supposed to, but... plans changed.”

Daniel turned up the heat, needing to get her warm, to chase away the chill. All while trying to ignore the fact that his mate had nearly become someone else’s wife.

But she didn’t, his bear reminded him.

Daniel took comfort in that, then he asked, “Where were you headed?”

“I don’t actually know,” Holly admitted, looking down at her hands. “I just... needed to go. So I drove. Letting the road guide me.”

And it guided her to us, his bear said happily.

“And then the snow started, and I thought I could make it to the next town, but...” She trailed off, the weight of unspoken words hanging in the air between them.

His bear paced restlessly, urging him to protect, to shelter.

“Then we found you,” Teddy said.

“You did,” she said, and her voice cracked. “I don’t know what would have happened if you hadn’t come along. I don’t have my purse. My phone’s in there too. I—I can’t even call anyone.”

“But we did,” Daniel told her. “Do you have somewhere to go tonight? Or is there someone you can call?”

She shook her head, a flash of something like panic crossing her features. “I’m so sorry. I don’t want to be a burden. Maybe if you could just take me to a hotel…”

She doesn’t have an ID or a credit card, his bear said. So there’s only one solution…

“Look, our house is about ten minutes from here. You can stay with us until the storm passes and we figure out your next steps.” Daniel held his breath waiting for an answer. An answer that would change the course of their lives. Even if she didn’t know it yet.

It sounds as if her life has already changed course once today, his bear said.

Which meant that maybe now they were both on the right course. Heading toward a life together. And a happy ever after. Wasn’t that what every princess wanted?

“Yes, come home with us!” Maisie chimed in. “We’re having hot chocolate!”

“With marshmallows,” Teddy added solemnly, as though this detail might sway her decision.

A small smile tugged at Holly’s lips, and it transformed her face, and Daniel swore he would make her smile every day of her life from now on.

She belongs with us, his bear rumbled with approval. And she knows it.

“I...” she looked between the three expectant faces, then out at the worsening storm. “If you’re sure it’s not too much trouble.”

“We wouldn’t leave anyone out in this,” Daniel assured her, though he knew his offer went beyond simple kindness.Before she could change her mind, he carefully pulled back onto the road, intensely aware of his new passenger.

And that the wish he’d made on a shooting star the night he and his friends had chosen the town Christmas tree, had finally come true.

Better late than never, his bear grumbled, but his heart was fit to burst with joy.