Bear's Claim (Bear Heat Book 3) (11 page)

Aubrey finally disentangled
herself from the raucous, unruly bears and walked towards a young man
who was standing in a corner with his hands in his pockets. He
smiled shyly at her as she approached and offered his hand.
“Congratulations, Aubrey,” he said, straightening up.

Instead of taking his hand,
Aubrey pulled him into a bear hug. “Thanks, Luke. I'm so glad
you could make it.” He looked thinner and his eyes no longer
sparkled with humor, but other than that, he looked well. Well
enough for a man who had climbed out onto the hospital window ledge
when the doctors refused to terminate his life. Thor had climbed out
to the ledge and grabbed the young man around the waist before he
could fling himself to his yearned for death.

After a while, Luke Keller
finally put his arms around her and hugged her back.

He pulled away and looked
down. “Well, yeah, I had to come.” He pushed a hand
through his hair. “You did say you'd hate me forever if I
didn't turn up for your wedding.”

Aubrey wagged a finger. “I
wasn't joking.”

“I know.”

Aubrey linked her arm through
his. “How are you, Luke? Come, I'll introduce you to my clan.
I'm sure you'll like the Black Bears. They're...”

“I...I've already met
them.”

Aubrey stopped in her tracks.
“You have?” She frowned and canted her head at him.
“All of them?” she said slowly, suspiciously.

Luke nodded. “All of
them.”

Aubrey turned to see Thor and
Ethan striding towards them. “Hey Luke,” Thor smiled.

“Hey, congratulations,
man!”

Thor clasped Luke's hand and
clapped him on the shoulder. “We've decided on your mentor.”

Aubrey rounded on her mate.
“What mentor?” she demanded. “What are you guys
talking about?”

Thor grinned and threw an arm
around Luke's shoulder. “Luke is the newest member of the
Black Bears clan! Ethan's going to make the official announcement
today.”

Aubrey gaped at him.

“Yep,” Ethan
confirmed. “Luke was injected with a huge dose of bear shifter
serum. And he survived. He has a remarkably strong constitution.
His body didn't reject the serum. He's a full-fledged shifter, so he
can shift fully into a bear. He won't be like...”

“Like Michael,”
Aubrey said quietly.

“Yes. Michael was
given an experimental dose. It wasn't enough to turn him fully bear.
Just enough to trigger his predatory instincts and force him to
kill. The serum that was injected into Luke contained much purer
shifter cells. They weren't mutated, so Luke won't be stuck in a
half-bear, half-man form when he shifts. And he will be able to
control his shift. He just needs to train under the right mentor.
And that's what Thor and I have been doing. Choosing the best mentor
for him.”

Aubrey gawked at the Black
Bears Alpha. “You're saying...that Luke is now a Black Bear?”

“Yes. We offered him a
place in the Black Bears clan, and he finally decided that he'd
accept our offer. But he sure took a damn long time to decide.”

“I'm sorry,” Luke
stammered. “I thought I was...a monster. I didn't want to put
anyone in danger. I don't want to hurt any of your clan members...”

“Hurt us?” Ethan
smirked. “Right now, I don't think you're even a match for our
youngest she-bear.

When Luke reddened and looked
down, Ethan gentled his tone and continued, “But with the right
training, you'll be a formidable, valuable member of our clan. Your
bear is powerful. You just need to learn to control it.”

Baxter and Dylan sauntered up
to the group, elbowing and heckling each other. “So, who's it
going to be?” Baxter asked, waggling his brows at Luke. “Me,
who's totally fun, or him, who's no fun at all?” Baxter jerked
a thumb at Dylan. “You'd want a fun mentor, right Luke?”

Thor and Ethan exchanged an
amused look. “I told Luke he has to learn to
control
his bear. Not unleash it,” Ethan said pointedly to Baxter. He
turned to Luke and said, “It's been decided. Dylan will be
your mentor.”

Baxter feigned shock and
outrage. He gagged and rolled his eyes, swore and stomped his foot.
“Fine. Have fun with Mr No-Fun,” he scoffed, then winked
at Luke.

Aubrey turned to Thor and
punched him in the arm. “Why didn't you tell me?”

“Well, we've only just
decided. We went through all the bears in the clan, and it was
finally down to Baxter and Dylan, but we still had to...”

“No, I'm not talking
about choosing Luke's mentor.” Aubrey made an impatient sound.
“Why didn't you tell me you're bringing Luke into the clan?”

“As Ethan said, Luke
took a damn long time to decide,” Thor answered straight-faced.

Ethan smiled at Aubrey. “You
do know your mate very well. You're right, Aubrey. It was Thor who
came to me with the proposal. He spoke up strongly for Luke. He
said Luke needed a solid clan behind him, to give him a sense of
belonging and purpose. Thor made a very good point. A good bear is
a terrible thing to waste.”

Aubrey threw her mate a
sidelong glance, and Thor hastened to explain, “I wasn't sure
Luke would agree to join the clan. I didn't want to get your hopes
up. I know how much you...”

Aubrey silenced him with a
long kiss. She drew back and flashed him a wide smile. “This
is the happiest day of my life! Oh, I love you so much! And you!
And you and you and you...” Aubrey twirled round and pointed
at all her clan members.

Cora, Prisha and Caleb and
the rest of the clan had come up to welcome Luke in their usual noisy
fashion and they called out exuberantly to Aubrey as she danced past
them. “We love you too!”

“I love you, I love
you...” Dizzy with joy, she spun straight into Thor's waiting
arms and giggled as he caught her and swung her around.

Music began to play and the
Black Bears cheered and took to the dance floor.

Aubrey danced the first dance
with her groom, then with the Black Bears alpha and beta. She
hollered to Prisha who was also being accosted by every clan member.
Everyone wanted to dance with the two brides.

Aubrey laughed when Dylan cut
in and waltzed her smoothly away from Baxter, who was left
spluttering in bewilderment in the middle of the dance floor. Dylan
twirled her around and she landed up in the arms of...Luke Keller.

Dylan blinked at the sudden
loss of his dance partner before bursting into laughter. “You're
a fast learner!” he called out.

“I learn from the
best!” Luke grinned at his mentor over his shoulder.

“Thank you,” Luke
said as he danced with her. “I owe my life to you, and Thor.
Thor saved me from that window ledge. You saved me from myself. I
would have gone mad, but you stayed by my side and talked to me,
encouraged me, advised me during my darkest days. You...”

Aubrey shook her head.
“Nobody can save you if you didn't want to be saved. You saved
yourself. I'm so proud of you. And I hope you're proud to be a
Black Bear.”

“I am.” Luke was
about to say more when he glanced over her shoulder. He gave a
subtle nod and smiled.

With a formal bow, Luke
handed her over to Thor.

Aubrey sighed in contentment
as she rested her head on her mate's strong shoulders. She lost
count of the number of kisses they shared, and she didn't know how
long they danced. It didn't matter.

The music would never fade
for her.

She was surrounded by her
friends, her clan, and she had her big, strong mate in her arms. She
placed her hand over his heart, a heart that belonged completely to
her.

She looked around and
grinned. People were eating, drinking and dancing, and some were
doing all three at once. There was rowdy banter and laughter all
around, and she saw Caleb lovingly feeding Prisha a slice of wedding
cake.

What a wedding.

What a party.

What a clan.

And it was her wedding, her
party, her clan.

Aubrey laughed happily. The
Black Bears sure knew how to party.

As she looked up and gazed
into Thor's blue and green eyes that were shining with so much love
and joy, she knew that her party would never, ever end.

It was, in fact, just
beginning.

~
End
~

About the Author

Natalie Kristen is a writer
who enjoys mixing the sweet with the spicy, the light with the dark,
the possibilities with the unimaginable. She enjoys exploring
paranormal and dystopian worlds, deep desires and inspiring romances.
She is hopelessly addicted to coffee, chocolate, reading and
writing. She loves to hear from readers so please feel free to
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