Bear with Me (#2, Completed)

26. Maybe this was a mistake

CALLUM

I grinned like an idiot, just like I did the night before when I carried her to the bedroom, and her sweet confession reached me through our link.

Her cheeks, on the other hand, flushed warm red right now. I could hear her rapid heartbeat, feel the warmth of the embarrassment that spread through her. All because I knew what she didn't dare say out loud. Yet, I had no doubts about how she felt about me because our mate bond left nothing hidden between us.

"Oh god, you heard that?" Flame gasped as she covered her face with a pillow.

She was fucking adorable!

Even when I took the pillow away from her, she hid behind her hands, still trying to peek through her fingers with one eye, which made me let out a hearty, genuine chortle.

"Why are you hiding, mate?" I pulled her hands away from her face so that she could look at me. "Was it a lie?"

"What? Of course not! I just...I guess I just wanted you to hear it from me first, rather than from my thoughts."

When I pulled her in for a kiss, she melted in my arms. Her embarrassment and worries fizzled out in no time, judging by the way that her tongue greedily explored my mouth.

If we keep kissing like this, we will never make it out of bed, I thought to myself.

"That would be such a bad thing," my mate retorted as she pulled away, smirking devilishly at me.

Goddess, she made me forget about everything and everyone but her, so much so that I had just shared my thoughts through our mind link without even realising. This woman was my weak spot, and I fucking loved it.

"It looks like this telepathic connection will come in quite handy after all," Flame giggled and stuck her tongue out at me, sensing what I had just done.

"You have no idea," I breathed off an easy laugh. "You can also talk to Mahon through our link. That's who you heard earlier, actually- the damn cockblocker! If it wasn't for him, you would have been screaming my name by now."

I thought my last statement would have gotten a reaction from her, but it didn't even seem to register. Instead, she stared at me with amazement.

"Whoa, so you mean I can talk to your bear? For real?" The excitement that seeped through her voice pleased Mahon and he purred with content in my head.

"Absolutely. You are our mate, Flame, so you can talk to either or both of us whenever you want. In fact, once you officially become the Luna of our sleuth, you will be able to communicate with all the bears."

Okay, I was actually freestyling now because I had no idea how things worked with a human Luna. In fact, I was just as surprised as Flame when she was able to hear Mahon earlier, even if I immediately figured out what was going on, as it was not a given that our bond would have worked in the same way that it did between shifters.

I assumed that just like how Riley and her mates seemed to have a normal shifter bond, the same would have gone for Flame and me, but Riley came from shifter origins and my mate didn't. Yet, I could barely hide my satisfaction from the fact that my beautiful redhead and I were able to mate and connect in every single way possible.

"Hold on a second, Callum. Me? Luna? Isn't that the equivalent of one of the leaders of the bears? Like a first lady or something."

"Yes, beautiful. As my mate and equal, you will lead the bears with me, guiding them and protecting them together. My Beta Jack will be our right-hand man, as he has been up to now, and we can always also consult our advisors but everyone will look up to you and me for decisions and guidance."