HUNTER
First steps
The house used to be so quiet, with just me, Evan, and Robert rattling around its gigantic room, but not anymore. Since we met our mate, our house, which had felt like a hollow shell, has become a home. And with Connell and Coran added to our family, there is never a dull moment.
It’s a Sunday morning, and we’re relaxing in the den after a big lunch. The boys have had their midday sleep and have woken up with messy hair and cheeky grins. Goldie sits at my feet, helping Coran fit the square block into the correct shaped hole in his sorter toy. Connell is laughing as Robert tickles his round belly. Evan is flicking through the TV channels, looking for something the adults can watch without the kids getting scared. Anything with mauling is out, much to Goldie’s approval and Robert’s disappointment.
I watch my family, my clan, contented in a way I never expected. Restlessness had existed within me since I was a child, but now I see that my anticipation of a mate made me that way. Since we claimed her, all the jittery discomfort has gone.
I lift my arms, stretching to rest the back of my head against my palms, smiling as Coran laughs when the shape plops into the hole and his momma gasps with exaggerated surprise. Connell’s laughter rises as Robert blows a raspberry on his belly, and then suddenly, the room is silent. Goldie gasps and Robert goes from lying to sitting so fast, I jump in surprise, and then I realize why.
Our baby boys have shifted for the first time, and in place of their sweet, chubby human forms are two tiny bear cubs covered in the same brown fur as their daddies, their rompers split and scattered on the floor behind them.
“Hunter,” Goldie gasps, reaching out to grab my leg, her voice high-pitched with shock. I slide from the sofa onto my knees, reaching out for Coran, who sniffs my palm with his little snout, tickling me. I laugh, picking him up to bring his fury form against my body as Robert does the same thing to Connell. Evan whoops and laughs as the momentousness of what’s happened on this simple, relaxed Sunday hits home.
Our babies are not just babies anymore. They’re bear shifters, the future of our clan, the next generation of Bjorn men who will one day claim their own mate, continuing the cycle of life.
“Are they okay?” Goldie asks, concern furrowing her brow. “They will shift back, won’t they?”
“Of course,” I tell her. “Come.”
She shifts closer, and I pass Coran into her arms. He immediately nuzzles her neck and settles against her warm, soft breasts, still her child, even in his animal form. She sighs with relief as I rest my hand on her nape and stroke softly, wanting her to feel reassured enough to be as excited as we are.
I leave Coran in his mother’s care and steal Connell from Robert’s arms, softly kissing his little damp nose. He makes a slight growling in his throat, testing his bear voice, and I laugh softly.
In my mind, there’s the tickle of something new. The babble of my sons’ bear thoughts is wordless because they’re not speaking yet, but even so, it’s as clear as day.
“Connell,” I whisper in my mind. “It’s Daddy.” He stills, his little brown eyes staring at me.
“Bababab,” his mind whispers back.
“Baaaaa,” Coran shouts, making me flinch.
“Not too noisy,” I croon as Goldie, Evan, and Robert all laugh softly. It’ll take time for them to get the hang of it, and until then, we’ll have to get used to their noisy babbling being channelled directly into our grey matter. Fun times!
“We should take them outside,” Robert says. “Into Goldie’s garden. Let them run around.”
“Good idea.”
Goldie holds out Coran to Evan and then scrambles to her feet. We troop through the front door and around the house to the narrow opening in the hedges. The grass is damp, and the air is cool, but our baby bears don’t care. When we place them down, they start to run immediately, fascinated by their ability to move without assistance. It’s strange to see them bounding around, rolling together, and playing. They’re not walking in their human forms yet, so this independence is totally new.
Goldie must read my mind. “Do you think they’re going to start walking now?”
“Maybe.” I don’t really know. There isn’t a set order for development with bear shifters. A lot of what happens depends on the environment.
“I don’t know if I’m ready for that,” she squeaks as Coran bites playfully at her ankles.
“Imagine how our mom felt with three of us!”
“We were angels.” Robert bends to scoop Connell up by the stomach as he attempts to leave the garden alone. The forest is calling him already, but it’ll be a while before the twins venture out. They’ll need to understand their position in the clan and be old enough to respond to the alpha’s orders. Until then, they’ll stay close to their mother, and Goldie will have a chance to adjust.
Not for the first time, I feel a pang of regret that she’ll never feel the freedom that comes with the change from human to bear. She’ll watch her sons experience a life she’ll only ever view from the outside.
“Do you mind if we shift?” I ask her.
“Of course, not. I’ve got them.” Before I can instruct her, she moves to block the exit to the garden with her body.
“It’s time,” I tell my brothers, smiling as our sons’ ears prick up at the sound of my voice in their minds.
“Time to meet Daddy bears,” Evan sing songs.
“Don’t be scared,” Robert croons as we all begin to strip out clothes. I’m the first to shift, relishing the change into my more powerful form. Evan’s next and Robert’s last. Connell and Coran back up slowly, their eyes wide and scared. We haven’t shown them our bear forms before, so this is all new.
“It’s okay,” I say, padding forward on my huge paws as the soft grass finds its way between my toes. “It’s just daddy.”
“And daddy,” Evan laughs.
“And daddy.”
“You guys are such goofs sometimes,” Goldie says, and I shoot our mate a narrowed-eyed stare.
“I think you forget who the Alpha is around here.”
“How could we ever forget that?” Even in bear form, Evan finds a way to roll his eyes.
Robert has managed to get close enough to our sons to nuzzle them, and their laughter spills through our minds like brilliant sunshine. I approach from the right and Evan from the left, and when we’ve surrounded them, we drop to our sides, creating a big bear barrier.
“Get over here, mate,” I instruct.
Goldie doesn’t need to be asked twice. Suddenly, she’s gripping my fur and scrambling over my bulk to the center where our sons are rolling on their backs, and Robert and Evan are looking on.
Goldie flops onto the ground, leaning against my belly, and I gently use my paw to pull her closer.
“That’s it,” I whisper, then let out a low growl of satisfaction.
“Look at what we did,” she says out loud, resting her head against mine.
The love I feel at that moment would floor me if I wasn’t lying down.
There will come a time for us to make more cubs and build our clan. When Coran and Connell are a little older, and Goldie finds space in her heart for more children. Until then, I’m making a conscious effort to soak up the happiness we’ve made.
Who knew that luring our beautiful Goldie the locksmith into the deep, dark woods would end up with us finding our mate and building the perfect family.
I guess fate had a plan, and I couldn’t be more grateful.
(c) Stephanie Brother 2024
