“I am,” Abe replied carefully. “Ben and I are both bear-shifters. Kodiak bears.” As if that would make a difference to Danny. As far as Danny probably knew, a bear was a bear was a bear.
“Like from Kodiak Island?” Danny asked. “That kind of Kodiak bear?”
Abe blinked. “Yeah.”
“Cool.” Danny grinned.
“Our people actually came from Kodiak Island. Kodiak is the ancestral land of the Sugpiaq, an Alutiiq nation of Alaska Natives. Our name in the Alutiiq language is
Taquka-aq.
There are a lot of Alutiiq stories that revolve around the similarity between bears and humans. Some of them talk about the mystical nature of bears because of their proximity to the spirit world. Only a few know how true that similarity actually is. We lived in harmony with the inhabitants of the Kodiak Archipelago for—”
“The Kodiak what?”
Abe smiled at the confusion wrinkling Danny’s forehead. It was an adorable look on the man. “Kodiak Archipelago is a group of islands, south of the mainland of the state of Alaska.”
Danny nodded as if he totally understood what Abe was saying. “Okay.”
“As I was saying, we lived in harmony with the native inhabitants of the island for decades, even after several hundred Alutiiq men, women and children were massacred at Refuge Rock.”
Danny sucked in a breath. “By who?”
“It was a man named Grigory Shelekhov that started it. Shelekhov, along with a hundred and thirty or so Russian fur traders, attacked and killed hundreds.”
“Why would they do that?” Danny cried out.
Abe didn’t understand it either. “History says it was part of the Russian colonization of the Americas. I think it boiled down to greed. He didn’t want to share the bounty of Kodiak Island with others.”
“Is that why you left the island?”
“No, we stayed even then, mingling with the native inhabitants as much as we could. It wasn’t until the Novarupta volcano erupted in 1912 that we left. Even though the volcano was over a hundred miles away, life on the island was devastated by the eruption. Many starved to death because nothing could grow. Life became impossible. It was decided that we needed to move to the mainland and establish a new home.”
“Pacific Cove?”
Abe smiled and nodded, thrilled that Danny seemed interested in their history.
“What is life like there?”
“Well, Pacific Cove is a small community. We have both humans and bear-shifters there but everyone knows we are shifters. All of the families that live there are in some way related to shifters.”
“That must be convenient.”
“The elders decided to do things that way so that we didn’t have to hide our nature from any outsiders that might move there. It was agreed upon that no one would sell property to anyone that wasn’t aware of our shifter abilities.”
Danny’s eyebrows moved slowly up his face. “Elders?”
Abe pressed his lips together when the urge to snarl swept through him. As much as he was grateful that Danny was taking an interest in his world, he was pissed that Danny even had to ask these questions. He should know this stuff. It was part of his own heritage.
“You know in documentaries where werewolves live in packs?”
Danny nodded.
“We’re sort of like that except our pack, or clan as we call it, is our family. The oldest living set of twins of a direct line are the elders of a given clan. My fathers are the elders of our clan. We defer to them for all major decisions, settling disputes, setting down the laws we live by.”
Danny’s lips twitched then curved up into a smile. “So, basically, they are just parents.”
Abe chuckled. “Yeah.”
Danny frowned just as fast as he had smiled. “Did you say fathers?”
Abe gulped. “Yes,” he replied hesitantly.
“As in more than one?”
“Three,” Abe said. “My fathers Adam and Jacob are back home. And as you may remember, my father Isaac died during the massacre at the lake.”
Danny’s eyes misted before they dropped. “Yeah, I remember.”
Knowing he was going out on a limb but needing to comfort his mate, he reached over and lifted Danny’s chin until the man looked up at him again. He didn’t miss the small shudder that rippled through Danny when they touched. The man wasn’t as unaffected by them as he liked to pretend.
That knowledge was golden.
“That was a very long time ago, Danny, and my father died protecting us. If he had to go, he went the way he would have wanted.”
“I guess.”
“No guessing about it, mate. My father died to save us because—for him—saving us was more important than his life. And while I miss him, I understand why he did it.” Abe smiled as he smoothed a lock of curls back from Danny’s cheek. “In our clan, and most of the clans in Pacific Cove, we are all encouraged to pursue careers that give back to the community. Ben and I are firefighters. While most of our work is in Pacific Cove, we are both experienced smoke jumpers. We’ve fought fires all over the country.”
Danny’s eyes rounded. “Isn’t that dangerous?”
“Walking across the street is dangerous, Danny. And yes, being a firefighter can be dangerous, especially when we’re jumping into a hot zone. But we train for this, Danny. While there is a potential for things to go wrong in every fire we fight, someone has to do it. And truthfully, Ben and I are better equipped than most people to be in dangerous situations.”
“I guess. I just don’t…I don’t like thinking about either of you being in danger.”
Abe almost shouted for joy. He would have, too, if he didn’t think it would frighten Danny. But Danny was worried about him and Ben. It might have been something as simple as being worried about the dangers of firefighting, but it was a start.
“I promise you that we are very careful.” Abe tapped the edge of his nose. “You need to remember that we’re bear-shifters, Danny. We can smell danger coming long before it gets to us.”
Danny didn’t say anything.
Abe felt a lump forming in his throat. “Do you want us to stop being firemen, Danny?” Abe loved what he did but he would give it up in a heartbeat if that’s what Danny wanted. He couldn’t think of anything he wouldn’t do for his mate.
“You would do that?” Danny whispered.
Abe didn’t even think about it as he reached over and brushed his knuckles along the side of Danny’s face. He just knew he needed to touch his mate, and he thought maybe Danny needed to be touched as well. “I would do anything for you, Danny.”
Danny’s breath was heavy as he drew it in, his eyes luminous. “Would you kiss me?”
At first, Abe wasn’t sure he had heard Danny correctly. When he just stared, Danny’s face flushed and his eyes quickly darted away. He started to roll to the other side of the bed. Abe grabbed Danny and pulled him back, slanting his mouth over Danny’s, trying his best to devour the man.
He wasn’t about to lose the chance to taste heaven.
He
rubbed against Danny as he sank his tongue into his mate’s mouth.
He slid his hands up Danny’s sides, and then wrapped around him, pulling his body closer as he took over the kiss, tilting his head for better access.
Danny opened his mouth, allowing Abe’s tongue to do whatever the hell it wanted to.
Abe started out slow, tasting, sliding his tongue over the full lips that opened for him. He traced them and groaned as he felt Danny’s tongue slip out to touch his.
Kissing Danny was like kissing a shooting star. It made his stomach tingle and his heart beat faster. It was definitely out of this world.
He couldn’t seem to get enough, wanting to be careful and not scare Danny, but at the same time he wanting to consume the man.
Danny whimpered when Abe pulled back from him, his hand
fisting in Abe’s shirt, holding on tightly
. “Sshhh, baby.” Abe stroked his fingers through Danny’s dark hair, petting him gently. “I’m not going anywhere.”
Danny breathed a little heavier. “Is it always like that?”
“Like what?”
Danny’s thick black eyelashes fanned over his cheek as he blinked heavily. “Like kissing a lightning bolt.”
A fluttering in his chest made Abe inhale sharply. “Only between mates, Danny.” For a moment, he had the urge to crush Danny to him, to never let go. An unwelcome fear grabbed a hold of him. “It’s only like that between mates.”
Danny needed to understand that.
“Do I really belong to both of you?”
“You do.” Abe almost breathed his response. To hear Danny question him in that soft awed tone was setting his need on fire. Abe brushed a lock of hair back from Danny’s face, stroking his fingers over the man’s soft skin. “I was just a kid when you were born but I remember feeling a connection to you unlike anything I had ever felt before. I couldn’t stand to be away from you.”
“It’s true,” Ben said from the doorway. Abe rolled his eyes at the amused glint he could see in his brother’s eyes when he looked at him. “He got grounded because he kept sneaking out of the house to go sit outside your bedroom window so no one could get to you.”
Danny’s eyelashes fluttered again as he glanced at Ben for a moment then back to Abe. “How old were you?”
“Five.” Ben chuckled as he moved away from the doorway and ambled over to the bed. “Bears tend to live a really long time so we aren’t considered adults until we are twenty-five years old in human years. We were just five years old when you were born.”
Abe’s arms suddenly tightened. “We had less than two years with you before the attack.” His voice was rough as he spoke. “Charles took you away to keep you safe but—” Abe’s lips thinned, pressing tight together.
“It wasn’t easy being away from you,” Ben finished. “For any of us.”
Abe scooted back to the edge of the mattress when Ben stretched out on the bed on the opposite side, Danny sandwiched between them. He almost growled in protest when Danny rolled away from him until the man settled on his back, his eyes moving between Abe and Ben.
Abe knew he needed to share his mate with his brother. Without Ben, he wouldn’t even have a mate. They needed to claim Danny together. It was just the way things were done, how they made sure that the bond formed between them. It also insured that there were two shifters to protect their human mate.
But he had to admit he was a little jealous every time Danny looked away from him. He wanted the man’s entire attention centered on him. He had spent the morning preparing to see Danny again for the first time in nearly twenty-three years. He had spent the rest of the day watching fear fill Danny’s eye every time the man looked in his direction.
And now, for the first time since he laid eyes on Danny again, his eyes weren’t filled with fear. Well, not a ton of fear anyway. They were still tinged with apprehension but that was to be expected considering he had just learned about bear-shifters. Abe hoped in time, there would be no fear in Danny’s eyes at all.
“What does it mean to belong to both of you?”
“It’s like a human marriage, Danny,” Ben explained. “Only stronger.”
Much stronger in Abe’s estimations. A human marriage didn’t even come close to the mating of twin bears with their human. The bond between mates was unbreakable. It connected them on a level that humans could never reach on their own.
It entwined their souls.
“I’ve never been married before,” Danny admitted.
“We know.” Ben chuckled. “Even though we now believe they were fake and filled with a bunch of crap, Charles sent us monthly reports on how you were doing. I think he would have mentioned it if you had gotten married.”
Danny’s mouth dropped. “He sent you reports?”
“That was part of the agreement,” Abe said quickly when he saw something shimmer in Danny’s eyes that made him uncomfortable. “We never would have allowed you to be brought to the city without knowing you were okay.”
The second the words were out of Abe’s mouth, his eyes landed on the neon-green cast on Danny’s arm. His breath was shaky as he drew it in. “You should have been okay.”
“This?” Laughter burst out of Danny’s mouth as he lifted his cast into the air. “Stuff like this happens to me all the time.” There was a twinkle of amusement in his moss-green eyes as he turned them on Abe. “You need to be prepared for that. I’m a certified klutz.”
Abe started to growl until Danny’s words really filtered through the anger he felt at Danny being hurt. “You’re going to stay with us?” He could protect Danny if they were together. He’d have Ben to help him. Hell, his entire family would help keep Danny safe.
He just needed to get Danny back to Pacific Cove.
Danny shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess it’s something I need to think about. I just met you this morning.”
“We’ve known you twenty-five years,” Abe insisted.
“I don’t know you.”
That hurt. Abe knew he would be lying to himself if he said it didn’t, and Ben would never allow that. Ben always made sure he was truthful with himself as well as his brother at all times. He said it created fewer headaches. But Danny’s words didn’t make his head ache. His chest ached, right where his heart was located.