"It's our room," I correct.
He nods. "If that's what you want. Or I can sleep on the couch again if you'd prefer—"
I silence him with a kiss, rising on tiptoes to reach his lips. He responds instantly, his arms encircling me, pulling me against his well-built body. When we break apart, we're both gasping for air.
"This is what I want," I say, gesturing to the room, to him, to everything. "I wouldn't be here if I wasn't sure, Cole."
"I've been going crazy without you. My bear has been impossible—pacing, restless, demanding I go find you and bring you back."
"And the man?" I ask, running my hands up his chest.
"The man wasn't much better." His smile is rueful. "Turns out forty years of independence can be undone by two days with the right woman."
I laugh, delighted by his candor. "The right woman who also happens to be your fated mate."
"That helps," he admits, his hands settling on my waist.
"Speaking of which... how was the full moon? I thought about you that night."
Cole's expression sobers. "Difficult. I drove deep into the national forest, found a remote spot. My bear wanted to run back to you, to find you. It took everything I had to stay away."
"You don't have to stay away anymore," I tell him, suddenly eager to witness this side of him again. Not in the shocking aftermath of passion, but deliberately, with full awareness. "Will you show me? When you're ready, I mean. I want to understand all of you, Cole. The man and the bear."
Wonder fills his eyes. "You really mean that."
"I really do." I take his face in my hands. "I've spent the past week researching everything I could find on shifters. Mostly fiction and folklore, since Google isn't exactly reliable for supernatural information. But the point is, I want to learn. I want to be part of your world."
"You are my world," he says simply, the words sending a shiver through me. "And yes, I'll show you. Whenever you want."
We stand there, holding each other, the afternoon sun casting long shadows through the windows. It feels like a beginning, not just of a relationship, but of an adventure I never could have imagined when I drove up to this cabin in the rain just over a week ago.
"So," Cole says eventually, his thumbs tracing circles on my hips, "what now?"
I pretend to consider the question. "Well, I have several emergency bookkeeping clients who need attention. And I should probably unpack. And we need to discuss a proper filing system for your business going forward—"
He growls playfully, lifting me into his arms. "That's not what I meant."
"No?" I wrap my legs around his waist, grinning down at him. "What did you mean, then?"
"I meant, my mate has returned to me after a week apart. My bed has been cold and empty. And my bear has been extremely patient."
"Ah," I say, my heart rate accelerating. "That now."
"That now," he confirms, carrying me toward the bed.
As Cole lays me down, his powerful body covering mine, I marvel at the journey that brought me here—from emergency bookkeeper to mate of a bear shifter in less than two weeks. It defies all logic, challenges everything I thought I knew about the world and myself.
And yet it feels right. Like pieces of a puzzle finally clicking into place. Like numbers that add up perfectly.
Some might call it magic. Some might call it fate. Whatever it is, I'm no longer fighting it. I'm embracing it. Embracing him, this extraordinary man who's opened my world to endless possibilities.
And as Cole's lips find mine, as his hands begin their now-familiar exploration of my body, I know with absolute certainty that I've found where I belong. In this cabin in the woods. In these strong arms. In this impossible, wonderful new reality.
I've come full circle, back to where my journey began. Only this time, I'm not just passing through.
I'm home.
Epilogue - Cole
