Snow. Such a beautiful, perfect name for her. She's named after something I love. It makes me think about hibernating and having her in my bed with me. Now that she's my mate, she'll be the thing I love most. I'll take care of her.

The weather is taking a turn for the worst, so I speed up my running to get to the house faster. It would be easier to drive, but the roads are all unpaved out here. It's all protected land, so it's either run or shift. And since I didn't bring a change of clothes, I choose to run. Our shifters aren't too worried about nudity, but going to see my sister naked isn't something I'd like to do anytime soon.

When I get to the Denali cabin, I stand outside for a moment and listen for signs of someone being home. After just a second, I can tell that it's empty, and I walk in the front door. Since this is protected land, no shifter would dare break in and steal anything. If they needed shelter, it would be provided, so most of the time cabins like this aren't locked. Except mine.

Walking through the house, I can smell the scent of the three wolves and human that live here. The wolf scent is strong, so it covers most of Snow's, but I scent my way to her room easily enough.

As a bear shifter, our sense of smell isn't as sharp as other shifters, but I'm a male and I would know my mate's scent anywhere. When I go into her room, I see that it's tidy and simple. A small bed with just a few things around the room. Nothing is out of place, and it's all very clean. It makes me feel a bit sad that my home was so messy when she came in. When I get back I'll clean because it looks like she would appreciate that.

I take a bag out of her closet and pack what few belongings she has. Everything in her room fits into a small suitcase, and it makes another pang of sadness. .h.i.t me. I didn't have much when I first came to Gray Ridge. I just had a small pack with things that kind shifters had given me along the way. I'd told them all I couldn't stay and I was looking for my sister, and they all tried to help as best they could.

Seeing Snow's suitcase and thinking that this is all she owns makes me wonder what her story is and how she came to live with a pack of wolves she calls brothers when she's fully human.

When I go to exit the cabin, I leave the note on the table. Before I turn to go, I find a pen and write something at the bottom. Hopefully, it helps them understand what is happening.

I'm okay. Don't worry, guys. I found my mate and he is going to keep me safe. I'll check in soon. Love, Snow.

PS She is mated to Koda, brother of Winnie, who's mated to Alpha Stone. I will protect Snow with my life.

Once I'm finished, I take her bag and leave, heading into the woods towards the Alpha's home.

It doesn't take me long to get to Winnie and Stone's place. When I get there, I don't scent the Alpha, and I breathe a sigh of relief. I just need to talk to Winnie alone for a few minutes, and then I can get back to my mate.

I knock on the door and she answers a moment later, beaming brightly at me. Thankfully, she's a female bear and she probably won't be able to scent my mate on me when she reaches in for a hug. Our kind love to snuggle and are very affectionate, so I hug her back, thinking that she would know something was wrong if I didn't.

When I pull back and walk inside, she looks at me funny for a half second, then I see her dismiss whatever thought she had. I hid Snow's suitcase outside so she wouldn't get suspicious. I just have a few questions and then I can leave.

"Koda, I'm so happy you came by. Micah is sleeping right now, but I can wake him up if you want to hold your nephew."

I smile at her, shaking my head. "I'd love to see the baby bear cub, but let him have his rest. I know how it is in this weather. I just want to curl up and go to sleep."

Winnie agrees and rubs her big baby belly. She's pregnant with another baby, and I'm sure the cold has her wanting to nap a lot as well.

"I'm surprised you came out in this." She nods towards the window. "It's really coming down now. Stone went to go check on the pack to make sure everyone is stocked up and good to bed down for a few days."

"I had to pick something up in town." I look around, trying to find the words. "And I need to ask you a few things. Privately."

She sits forward in her chair, looking at me with concern. "Is everything okay?"

"Yes. I just have some questions about..." I hesitate, then just decide to rip the Band-Aid off. "About your mating."

Looking up, I see her cheeks turn red, and I hate that I've embarra.s.sed her.

"I'm sorry. I don't mean to make you uncomfortable. I just don't trust anyone else to talk to about this. It's hard not growing up with a pack or an Alpha to explain this to you, and it would be even more awkward if I asked Stone now."

Winnie nods her head in understanding. "I can imagine. I was lucky that I had women to talk to about it. Okay. What would you like to know?"

I clear my throat and just go for it. Needing it over as soon as possible.

"Did you feel attraction right away? Did you know you were true mates?"

I don't think this was the question she expected by the look on her face, but she nods and starts to explain.

"I felt attraction, yes, but from what I've heard, it's different for us than for other shifters. I didn't have the pull that some shifters experience, and that may be because I'm a bear. It was something that grew over time with me, and now I think I feel the same as others. I get separation anxiety when we are apart for too long, and I have an uncontrollable need to have his scent on me. I didn't have that before."

I nod, listening to her answers and thinking of what else I need to ask her.

"Dom and Ruby are mated. But she's human."

I help the Gray Ridge sheriff a few days a week so that he can spend more time at home since his mate had triplets. I help the shifters with what they need, being muscle when they need it and do odds and ends around the office. Dom and I have never had a serious conversation about his human mate, and I didn't have a reason to before.

"Yes. Apparently, it's not unheard of. It's just rare. From what little I know, she felt the pull after their first coupling during the mating moon." Her cheeks splash pink again, and I am just as uncomfortable talking about this as she is. "The mating moon is designed to bring shifters together to propagate the species. And from what I could gather from Ruby, that's when Dominic was able to claim her for the first time. She felt the pull at its greatest then, and that's when they, um, bonded."

I nod my head, glad that at least one of us knows how this is supposed to work.

"So Dominic didn't claim her until the first mating moon?"

She nods. "From what they said, he could have before then, but the transition would be easier if he waited. So he did."

She lets out a little laugh and rubs her belly. "The mating moon gets all shifters though, not just the ones mated to humans. I guess this storm has good timing."

"What do you mean?" I ask in confusion.

"I guess you wouldn't know. Unless you're mated, you don't really pay attention to it as closely. But when the mating moon approaches, you want to make sure your house is stocked and you don't have plans for a few days. I'm already pregnant, so the pull won't be as strong. But all the other couples will notice a change."

"But what does this have to do with the storm?"

She waves her hand like I should understand her meaning. "The mating moon is tonight, Koda. Shifters are going to be holed up in their cabins in a snowstorm, with Mother Nature telling them to breed." She lets out a laugh. "Just be glad you're not a newly mated shifter. I hear it's pretty rough."

A sinking feeling hits my stomach, and I feel like the earth shifts under me.

"Koda, are you okay? You look a little pale."

I shake my head, trying to push away the thoughts running through my mind. "I'm fine."

"Why all the sudden questions about mating?"

I shrug my shoulders and look away. "I've just been feeling lonely lately. It's hard to be around couples and cubs and not want one of my own."

Winnie reaches out, rubbing my knee. I put my hand on top of hers and look into her honey-brown eyes, the same color as mine.

"You'll find her one day, Koda. And when you do, you'll turn your world upside down for her."

I nod, unable to tell her the whole story. I don't know why, but I want to make sure that everything is perfect between Snow and me before I tell anyone. I feel as if our mating is something special, and I don't want to tell anyone for fear it will all disappear. Like waking up from a dream that's too good to be true.

"Kiss Micah for me when he wakes up. And take care of this little cub, too." I reach down and rub her belly before giving her a hug goodbye.

"Be sure to stock up on food if you're going to be stuck in your cabin for a while."

I pause at the door, my hand on the k.n.o.b. For a second I wonder if Winnie knows about my mate, but there's no way.

Looking over my shoulder, I smile at her and head out. I grab Snow's suitcase from behind the tree and make my way into town for a few supplies. The storm is getting almost impossible to navigate, so I don't have much time.

Chapter 5.

Koda

I unlock the bolts and enter my cabin, shutting the door behind me and locking it again. I place the packages of food on the kitchen counter, thinking I may have gotten too much, but I want to make sure my mate is well provided for.

Once I've got the bags out of my arms, I notice the pot on the stove, a mouthwatering smell coming from it. Walking over, I see that it's a pot of stew, and my stomach growls loudly. The smell is wonderful and makes me think of a good home-cooked meal, something I usually have to go to someone else's house to get. It doesn't happen that often.

Looking around the cabin, I see everything is tidy, like it's been cleaned top to bottom. I feel a pang of guilt knowing that my mate did this. I should be caring for her, not the other way around. I should have cleaned up before I brought her here, but I had no idea I was going to meet her while I was out for a walk.

I inhale, smelling her scent, and I love it. Knowing she is here and in our home makes the bear inside me lie down happily. After I quickly put away the groceries, I pick up Snow's bag and go in search of her.

The cabin is built for a family, but it doesn't take me long to follow her scent into our bedroom. Our bedroom. The thought makes my bear even happier.

When I walk in, I put down her bag and see her laid across our bed. I feel a growl forming low in my chest. She looks like she belongs there. So small in the center of the giant king-sized bed.

She's stretched out on top of the covers, wearing one of my old T-shirts. The bottom of the hem has slid up, and I can see the curve of her a.s.s.

I clench my jaw with the need to bite her there, to mark her as mine. The sun is setting, and soon the moon will be full and I'll need to be inside of her.

Walking over to the bed, I slowly strip off my clothes. My bear is pushing forward, and the need is growing. I'm being pulled to her like nothing I've ever felt, and I need to be close to her. Skin against skin.

Looking down, I see my c.o.c.k is long and hard in front of me. It's never been this way before. For shifters, it only gets hard when you find your mate. I wrap my hand around it, rubbing up and down, but from the little I know about shifter matings, I won't c.u.m unless I'm inside of her. It's Mother Nature's way of making sure the seed isn't wasted and that it's used to breed your mate.

When I crawl onto the bed, she moves just a little. I run my hands up her warm legs, seeing that she's naked under the T-shirt. I can smell her p.u.s.s.y, and the scent has my c.o.c.k aching. The feeling is bittersweet. It aches, but it's an ache I want. I lick my lips, needing a taste, so I push her legs open more and push the shirt up over her a.s.s. She's on her stomach, but I can get to all of her no matter how she sleeps.

My bed is oversized because I'm larger than a lot of shifters, so it helps now that I have a mate. I lay my chest down on the bed and put my face between her legs, inhaling her scent again. I hear a little moan, and I open my mouth, pressing against where she's wettest.

Her hips rise, and I hear my name on her lips, the sound driving me wild.

"Koda."

The word is breathy, and it makes me feel dominant. My bear growls and pushes forward, wanting to taste her honey, too.

When her hips rise again, giving me more of her, I grab hold of them with both hands and keep her in place as I eat at her. I've never done this before, but from the sounds she's making, I must be doing it right. I lick all of her, tasting how sweet she is. I suck on her warm, pink parts, thinking that I could spend hours doing this.

I roll over onto my back, my bear wanting to show her we can be a good mate. When she sits down on my face, her p.u.s.s.y on my mouth, my bear stretches out and shows her his belly. I keep sucking on her sweet honey, and she keeps saying my name.

I push her shirt up so that I can see her look down at me, her bright blue eyes wide open. She reaches down, grabbing my s.h.a.ggy hair and gripping it in her hands as she moves back and forth on my mouth.

My bear growls when she tenses and tries to pull away from my mouth. I grab her thighs and bring her back down, not letting her off. I see out of the corner of my eye that my nails have come out a little and there is darker hair on the back of my hand. My bear is pushing forward, and I don't know how much longer I can hold my skin.

Snow grips my arms and cries out, but her sounds are from pleasure instead of pain.

Her honey drips into my mouth as she climaxes on top of me. I lick and suck it up as pleasure rockets through her and the mating heat takes me over. I didn't know what to expect, but it's far more intense than anything I could have imagined. My bear growls, and I flip Snow off of me, putting her on all fours in the middle of the bed.

Pushing her shirt up, I expose her a.s.s to me. I grab her hips and knee her legs apart, wanting to take her but trying to slow down. I growl again, not knowing how to stop myself.

Snow leans up, looking over her shoulder and pushing her a.s.s towards me. "Please, Koda."

There's a flicker of light in her eyes, and I can see that the mating heat is taking her over, too.

My c.o.c.k is so big and her body is so small, I don't know if it will fit. But surely Mother Nature wouldn't put us together and work us into this state only for us to be unable to mate.

I push the head of my c.o.c.k through her wet folds and feel her heat stretch to envelop me. I slowly sink into her until she has taken all of my c.o.c.k. Her tight channel grips me, and I reach up, pulling Snow back against me. I'm kneeling on the bed with her sitting in my lap, my c.o.c.k planted inside her small body.

I tear her shirt away, needing her skin against mine, her creamy neck exposed for my bite.

"I missed you, mate," I whisper against her skin, licking the sh.e.l.l of her ear.

"Koda. What's happening? I feel like I'm on fire. But in a good way."

"It's the mating moon. I found you when it's full. The mating heat will be stronger. The need to mark you is so powerful I don't think I can hold back."

"Bite me, Koda," she gasps as she moves up and down on my c.o.c.k. "It aches inside me. I think you biting me will make it better."

I feel her p.u.s.s.y pulse, and I thrust up, moving with her. Without hesitation, I put my mouth on the soft skin of her neck and bite down. The small taste of her pure blood hits my tongue, and I c.u.m inside her.

My c.o.c.k pulses and throbs as jets of c.u.m pour into her. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I realize she's c.u.mming, too, as the bonding takes place and the two of us join as one. Opening my mouth, I lick the small wound, knowing there will be a scar there for the rest of her life, showing all shifters that she's mine.

The thought makes me growl, and I pull out, putting Snow on her back and spreading her legs wide. Her arms go up, reaching for me as I come down on top of her and put my c.o.c.k inside her again.

"Don't take it out, Koda. It aches when you take it out."

She moves under me, raising her hips and begging for me to thrust.

She bites her lip as I thrust again. This time I claim her lips, needing to taste them while I'm inside her. She tastes like home, and my bear rolls around, loving the attention. It feels so good to have someone so close to us. Snuggling against Snow, I rub my body all over hers, letting my bear feel our mate.

Before I know what's happening, I'm c.u.mming inside her again. I hold myself still as she lies under me and I fill her womb up again. I don't stop thrusting though, my still-hard c.o.c.k not the least bit spend even after two powerful o.r.g.a.s.ms.

I look down at Snow, and she smiles up at me, petting my face. I lean into the touch, realizing that some of my bear has pushed to the surface. I know my eyes are probably glowing and I'm hairier than usual. My canines are a bit longer, and I feel more aggressive about protecting what's mine.

"I was a virgin, Koda. I thought it would be painful, but I just feel an ache like I need more."