Chapter 4
Chapter
Four
When Milo came downstairs in search of breakfast one morning, his nose started to vibrate.
He could smell two things. Honey buns, which were one of his very favorite pastries, and a bear. Not a man-bear.
A bear.
None of them wanted to admit it because they were vain creatures, but bears did have a scent to them. Musky and a little bit like a wet dog sometimes. This bear scent was super strong. It was also familiar and comforting. It was Warrick.
So perhaps War had shifted and was wandering around the house or had gone outside? Milo went to the kitchen first and grabbed a honey bun off the platter that lay on the counter before beginning a search of the ground floor of the house.
He went to the den to start, because where else would a bear be in the house?
There was no need for furniture to hold him or for a big bear to worry about smashing anything delicate.
But Warrick wasn’t there. Milo lifted his nose into the air and sniffed again.
Bears had the best noses in the animal kingdom after all, and he could find things that a bloodhound couldn’t.
The scent trail led him to the back door, and he put his hand on the handle but paused, not sure if he really wanted to go outside. He was safe. Inside nobody could get to him. Nobody could take him back where he’d been.
But at the same time Warrick made him want to be brave.
He knew he needed to see Nolan and Race at some point, too, so he turned the door handle, his hands shaking, a cold sweat breaking out all over his body.
He opened the door and a little cry escaped him, but he stood there staring out at the sunshine and the beautiful morning with its crisp chill in the air, yet everything was green and lush.
Milo took another deep breath, then another, and every one of them was scented with Warrick, stronger now that there was not a door between them.
A deck lay just beyond the door. The boards were perfectly stained and weathered.
He could see the kitchen was set up along one side.
The other side was sort of hidden from his view by the house, but when he stepped outside he could see it.
On a huge, suspended daybed, a gigantic grizzly body was stretched out and basking in the sun.
Milo thought maybe he’d never seen anything so beautiful in his whole life.
That wondrous grizzly bear, his blonde, brown, and red fur absolutely shining with health.
His body was enormous and full of strength, but Milo wasn’t afraid of him at all.
In fact, he wanted to shift into his bear and go curl up next to Warrick and sleep the morning away.
The problem was he’d been on anti-shifting drugs for so long that Milo wasn’t sure he could do that anymore.
He’d tried a couple of times since they’d freed him, but nothing had worked.
Maybe he’d put too much pressure on himself and tried too hard, or maybe he had just started too soon but ever since then he hadn’t bothered.
He didn’t have to shift to curl up and nap with Warrick, though, so he wandered over quietly, trying not to wake the big guy up. Naps were so important to bears, and sometimes they were a little grumpy if they were awakened abruptly; he knew that from experience.
When he got close enough, Warrick’s nose started to work. One eye opened, golden brown and full of recognition. Warrick shifted around so there was room for him on the outdoor pillows he lay on, the big daybed not even creaking.
That boded well for it, holding his weight, also. He was fifty pounds heavier as a bear than he was as a human, so even if he managed to bear out, he would probably wouldn’t make a dent.
“May I?” If he’d learned anything from his recent life, it was that consent was incredibly important.
Warrick sort of half-groaned, half-grunted, and made more space for him, giving him the option of not even touching that big, furry body if he didn’t want to. He wanted to, though, so he crawled onto the daybed and scooted close to Warrick, pulling one big forelimb to tug it over him.
A satisfied noise filled the air around him and the scent of Warrick enveloped him. Bear. Pure bear, and his body vibrated with the need to shift.
You can do it, little bear, I know you can.
Milo went absolutely still. He’d thought during the rescue that he could hear Warrick in his head, but he’d written that off as desperation or as a hallucination. But there was no mistaking that sound in his mind. It was definitely Warrick’s voice.
I’m not sure if I can.
Of course you can. It’s what you’re made for. You have to stop being so scared of it. It might hurt the first time, a little bit, because it’s been so long, but you know how to do this. Let yourself relax and sink into it.
Milo made his muscles relax one at a time.
It was an exercise he’d gotten really good at in captivity, something that had allowed him to sleep enough to be stronger than they had expected him to be.
He started with his toes, curling them, then flexing his feet and his calves.
He worked his way up past his knees, thighs, and hips, then sucked his belly in and let it out.
More deep breaths. More tensing and releasing of his fingers, his forearms, his shoulders, his chest, then even his face. By the time he was done he felt boneless, and the sun was beating down on him, and Warrick smelled so good, and he closed his eyes…
When he opened them again he knew he was seeing through his bear sight.
A long, low groaning sound came out when he opened his mouth, deep from inside his chest. He used a paw to look at it and saw his claw was fully there and ready to dig in the ground or pull honey out of a tree. He couldn’t believe it. It hadn’t hurt even a little.
There you are, little bear, you’re so amazing and beautiful. Look at you. Warrick, nuzzled into his neck.
He turned his head to rub their muzzles together, feeling safe and protected and wanted, somehow.
He didn’t think it was time for any sort of sexy situations, but he could feel Warrick’s affection for him pressing down, pushing against his fur and his mind, and it made him happy instead of feeling trapped.
Go to sleep little one. There will be plenty of time for all of the other mating rituals later. I’m a patient bear. I can wait.
Mate. The word made him shiver and groan again and he curled even closer into Warrick’s soft belly fur, letting his big grizzly cover him up.
Yes, he should have known right from the start that that was what was happening here.
He could only blame the fact that he had been so distraught during the rescue that he hadn’t seen it before now.
War hummed an affirmative, which worked its way all the way through that big body and into his. Mates. And for now all we have to do is nap in the sun as bears.
Milo rubbed his head against Warrick’s neck again, letting him have a nod. He could do that. In fact, he thought it was the most amazing thing he could think of right at this moment. So, he closed his eyes and let the sun and the smell of his mate follow him into sleep.