Ethan (Blackbeary Creek 1)
happiness was at odds with her prickly mood, in fact, he seemed almost too happy. If he knew about Tristian and Ethan's plan, and agreed with it, she didn't know if she could ever forgive him.
    “Did you know?” she asked him, point blank.
    “I'm the one that told him where you were,” Graham said. “He didn’t tell you?”
    “How could you?” she ground out, fighting back more tears.
    “Whoa,” Graham said. “He’s your mate, you love him, I thought it was the right thing to do. Why are you so sad?”
    “I'm not his mate Graham,” she said, wiping her eyes. “He's just saying that so I'll come home.”
    “What are you talking about? He told me specifically that you’re his mate.”
    “I'm not,” she said. “He's just sacrificing himself for Tristian.”
    “You don’t really believe that,” Graham said. “You know your brother, and you know Ethan almost as well. Hell, even I know neither one of them would ever do that. No bear shifter alive would take on a mate just because . Besides, when he told Tristian, your brother was pissed. He wanted blood, and Aiden, Zach, and I all watched him try to beat the shit out of the guy.”
    Some of her anger dissipated as Graham spoke, and a tiny strand of hope sprouted in its place.
    “They fought over me?”
    “Well, Tristian fought,” Graham laughed, “and Ethan took it. Didn't you notice is cracked ribs?”
    “Yeah,” she said, “but he told me it was from something else.”
    Suddenly, everything started to make sense.
    The way he’d treated her growing up, especially after her parents died, and the way he’d distanced himself later, but still always managed to be around. The way he looked at her when she thought he wasn’t looking, and the way he’d recently started calling her baby.
    “He loves me,” she said out loud, but more to herself.
    “You're his mate, Tee,” Graham said.
    Shit!
    “Graham, I have to go.”
    She ended the call, and went in search of her mate.
     
    ***
     
    Ethan left the cabin, and shifted into his bear form.
    Even though Tegan had told him to leave, he couldn't.
    Not without talking to her again.
    It hurt that she believed he would somehow lie about something so important, but he knew her feelings were justified. He’d kept his secret for over six years, and he understood why she found it hard to trust him. Especially since he hadn’t been all that nice to her during that time.
    His plan had been to roam around in his bear form, and give her a few hours to cool off, but when he heard the hysterical sobs coming from the cabin, his heart nearly shattered.
    They weren’t the normal cries of a woman wronged, they were the wails of an animal in pain. Tegan might not be able to change into a bear, but she'd never been fully human either. It was probably why she’d never really fit in anywhere.
    Ethan laid down in front of the cabin door, curled into a ball, and endured her sobs. Knowing he was the cause of her pain made his heart hurt, but he deserved it. He didn't know what would happen next, but he hoped one day she would forgive him for deceiving her.
    Eventually, the crying stopped, and silence stretched out over the mountain for nearly an hour.
    He’d been about to shift, and go back inside to check on her, when he heard the shrill ringing of her cell-phone. When she answered the call, he couldn’t understand the muffled words, but he didn’t care. Unless it was an emergency, the fact that she’d answered, and agreed to talk to someone, probably meant she was feeling better.
    Suddenly, the muffled words ended, and the door to the cabin flew open.
    “Ethan!”
    Tegan yelled his name, stepped onto the porch, and then tripped over his big bear body. He rolled his body under her, to soften her landing, and caught her against his chest. Once they were still, she stood up easily, as if being held by a bear was the most natural thing in the world.
    “Shift back,” she said, turning away from him.
    She walked back into

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