Total pages in book: 149
Estimated words: 138217 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 691(@200wpm)___ 553(@250wpm)___ 461(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 138217 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 691(@200wpm)___ 553(@250wpm)___ 461(@300wpm)
“And, at heart, a cub is always raised by the entire clan,” Pavel added. “It’s part of the very foundation of what it means to be clan—that any cub can go to any adult for help or a hug.”
Arwen’s heart grew warm as Pavel hooked his arm loosely around Arwen’s back in an action as natural as breathing. Arwen wanted desperately to grab at the promise of forever that hung in the air between them, wanted to call this man his mate and also shoot anyone else who dared look at him with covetous eyes.
Perhaps he’d inherited a few of Ena’s tendencies.
“Why won’t you accept the mating, Arwen?”
Silver’s voice, the question one she’d asked not long ago—without judgment. His sister understood the forces tearing him apart as few could.
“Because when you mated with Valya, you were as strong as he is. You knew your place in the world. I see that with Canto and Payal, too, and now, Ivan and Soleil. I’m still . . . lost.”
It was no longer because of his designation. Empaths had come out of the shadows long enough ago at this point that he didn’t have to hide an integral aspect of his nature. Now, it was about his family. His protective, dangerous, fiercely loving family. Ena, Silver, Canto, Ivan, and more—all of them forces of nature.
And all of them intent on shielding Arwen from harm.
“I don’t want to go from sheltering under one set of wings to another,” he’d said to Silver. “I want the capacity to shelter my mate, too.”
His sister had given a slow nod. “I understand. But, Arwen? I think you have no idea how much you do for us. We wouldn’t be the family we are without you. Don’t make the mistake of underestimating your own gifts because they’re different from ours.” A stroke of her hand against his cheek. “You are our heart.”
Arwen was still thinking over his sister’s words, not sure if he believed them . . . or if he wanted to believe them because he wanted so desperately to claim Pavel as his mate.
Now, his Pasha bear’s voice was a deep rumble beside Arwen as he said, “Our first port of call would be to adopt. Changeling or human—or even Psy now that your people have opened those doors—any cub that needs a home.” An affectionate glance at Arwen. “This one would adopt every orphan in the world if he could.”
“You talk tough but I see you sneaking the tiny gangsters cookies anytime they look sad,” Arwen teased, Pavel’s heart as huge as the sky.
“Lies, all lies,” his bear said with a dark look that made Arwen want to kiss him.
Yakov picked up the thread of the conversation. “Where a child is specifically carried for a clanmate who can’t bear a child themself, it becomes a new familial structure, with the clanmate who carried the child considered a bonus parent.”
Arwen caught Theo’s glance at Yakov, felt the vibration in the ether of a shimmering thread that was trust. He might have thought it had come into being too fast, but he’d trusted Pavel even when he’d refused to tangle with a bear. He’d known in his gut that this man would never cause him harm.
Some bonds were immediate.
“The child grows up mobbed with love,” Pavel added. “And disciplined by the entire combined family as well. Combined because the maternals who give this gift are always mated with cubs of their own.”
“That love, that embrace into family, is a given whether a cub is born into the clan or adopted into it,” Arwen explained to Theo, because it wouldn’t occur to the bears that such might even be a question. “Our race’s need to achieve ‘pure’ genetic lines as a goal toward high-Gradient children is—”
“An abomination.” Theo’s statement was hard.
And the rage in her, it scalded.
Chapter 39
Welcome to the world, Neiza Nguyen Adelaja.
—Message and photo posted to Nguyen Family chat group by Déwei Nguyen on behalf of Hien Nguyen and the late Kanoa Adelaja (18 January 1977)
YAKOV RAN HIS hand down Theo’s back, felt the quivering tension in her as she processed what she’d just learned. And he knew that her childhood had been nothing akin to that of a cub growing up in a healthy and stable clan.
When he nuzzled at her hair, she pressed back against him.
So he wrapped his arm around her and cuddled her close. He half expected a quick and firm repudiation . . . but she stayed tucked against him. And his heart kicked, tenderness flooding every cell of his body—along with the knowledge that Theo had granted him a certain level of skin privileges.
He had every intention of taking full advantage to pet her.
“You want a drink?” His twin’s voice. “I’m making an order. Beer for me, a lemonade for my Arlusha.” He held up his phone, which he’d linked to the Club Moscow system. With the tables all numbered, it was easier for the staff to deliver than to deal with the crush at the bar.