Ever Cynical

Chapter 45🌶️- Second Mate, Found

Erik POV

I swear I was going absolutely crazy. My bear, the strongest Kodiak known to the supernatural world, had been a whimpering mess and completely unlike himself for the last week. He kept insisting we needed to go to mate, as if I already knew who and where she was. Or he, I guess. You never really knew until the moment came and you met them. Werebears never fought the bond, for better or worse. We did have rejections in severe cases, but it was rare. Nor did we interfere with any species' right to exist. Even when we hunted we were careful not to hunt too much.

I'm sure other shifters found us somewhat uncaring, but it wasn't that. It's just that bears tend to be loners, even within our own pack. We were not nearly as social as wolves, for example. We were not as solitary as Werecats, who ran in packs or prides, but really were more of a loose group of very individual beings that shared a name. Nothing wrong with that, obviously, but it was a completely different dynamic with nowhere near the same importance placed on hierarchy.

My brother, the king, had a polar bear for his beast. I took after my father and he, our mother. In battle we were pretty even, but I had never wanted to take the role that order of birth had given him. He'd also found his mate young, so it just made sense. They had a passel of heirs too, so I managed training as the head warrior, content to be an unranked alpha. I had just decided I needed to go on some kind of pilgrimage or something to find my mate before my bear just took over and went on a rampage.

I'd burst into Jacob's office, and he was doing his best to get rid of me when I heard it. Wait. It was a man's voice, but I didn't care. I moved quickly to the phone sitting in the middle of the room as the same, gorgeous voice said, Your brother, I think we can help him. And then he f*****g giggled, and I popped wood. Damn. My bear was screaming MATE in my head. Then I heard a smack. Who was hitting my mate?

"Hello, King Jacob. I am Anais, Kieran's mate." Another, equally beautiful voice said. My bear screamed MATE again. What the hell? I had two mates? Not that I minded, not a bit, but it was incredibly rare for bears to have more than one mate. We almost never got second-chance mates, either.

"Hello Luna Anais." Jacob said, giving me a look that was pretty damned grumpy. "My younger brother, Erik Brighton, is here as well." He nudged me. I cleared my throat.

"Hello, Alpha Kieran, Luna Anais... MATES." It just came out, probably my bear's doing. I wasn't sure how I'd ended up with two mates, but it wasn't my place to question it. It was silent for a moment before I heard some other male laughing in the background. Before I could think about who it could be, or ask, I growled. "Who the hell is that and why are they laughing?" I was na alpha, after all. I didn't take kindly to any perceived disrespect.

"Sorry, Erik, it was my adopted... uh Mother? The Basilisk King Ekezeic." Anais giggled. My body was on fire just listening to her speak. Wait, what did she say? The Basilisk King was her adopted mother? I looked at Jacob in confusion, and he just shrugged. So very helpful, my big brother. "I guess he predicted that I would have more than one mate along with Kieran, and he's enjoying his chance to tease Kieran."

"Oh." Was all I could say. I mean, what was I supposed to say to all of that? I had absolutely no frame of reference. I didn't exactly know any of them, yet.

"Soooo. The reason we are calling is that we would like an alliance with the Werebears, if Jacob will allow it." Anais continued. "However, it seems we need to add on asking when you are coming to see us. Then you can decide what you want to do." I heard some hesitation in her voice, but I was too busy making plans to focus much on it. I had to pack! I had to get on a plane! Fast!

"I'd have been one hundred percent fine with an alliance either way. Kieran's been a friend for a long time, though more for pack business, but a friend nonetheless. If you both are mated to my little brother though, then that's even more reason to agree." Jacob grinned. I was already searching for flights to Seattle on my phone. I needed to be on the next one I could get on.

"Let him meet us and decide before we say that's set in stone, shall we?" Anais said. I was confused as my eyes met Jake's. Was she implying that I would not want her? She sighed. "You will need full disclosure on what you're getting into, Erik." She could say whatever she wanted, but what I knew for sure was that these two were my mates, and nothing was going to keep me from claiming them. My brother liked Kieran, and had often said he was a good alpha. I doubted things were so bad that I would not accept them.

Within hours, me and everything I owned was packed and on a plane to SeaTac.

Nothing could kill the grin on my face.

Anais POV

After the phone call ended I sighed, and Kieran rubbed my shoulder. It wasn't that we both had another shared mate, not at all. It's that I didn't know if this... bear... could accept everything. While Werebears were known to value the bond over almost anything, my case was just a lot. I know it's weird, sitting here on Kieran's lap and desperately wanting my other mate at the same time. Especially for someone that lived in a world with very different views on, well, polyamory.

Fated, yeah, but still more than one!

"Mo shíorghrá, I can smell you." Kieran whispered. Everyone in the room covered their laughter with a cough. Ugh! Shifters and their damned sense of smell. Can't even be turned on secretly. I crossed my arms. "Mo bhanríon, listen. Erik is our mate. Not just mine, not just yours, ours." I just nodded, looking at the floor as the silence stretched out. "Hey guys." He said to the others. "We got the most important stuff taken care of, do you mind giving me a moment with my Luna, please? We will see you at dinner." He asked politely, and they all nodded and filed out. He refocused on my face. "Talk to me, Ana."

"Kier, our situation is so... complicated. We don't even know all the dangers we face yet. We know we're in for a challenge, but Erik has no idea what he is walking into." I sighed, feeling despondent. "And what if he's upset because he missed out on... well..."

"Your first time and making pups?" He queried. I leaned my head on his shoulder.

"Yeah." I whispered, as hot tears fell from my eyes. It wasn't rational, because were the situation reversed, I'd have forgiven them easily.

"Here's the thing, Ana. He's going to get his chance with you, and even though he missed the very first time, he will know you waited. Maybe he was a little late, but I doubt he will mind. I bet you he says it's a good thing because he's... bigger. Especially if he tries taking you in his beast form." I smacked his arm. "What? I've seen bear shifters and never seen one that was small in that department, okay? Did you forget he's gonna want me too? Maybe you can help me with some prep work?" He asked with a goofy grin, and just the thought had my core weeping. The thought of them together was just as delicious as anything I could imagine between the two of us. Naughty? Hell yes. But I loved it anyway. Such a hussy.

"Are you sure my heat is over?" I asked, shifting uncomfortably. I really don't think it's normal, even among shifters, to be this damn horny all the f*****g time.

"Well, Ri'dubh did say that you could get pregnant outside of your heats, maybe there's still time for Erik to put a cub in there?" My sexy-as-sin alpha just had to suggest.

"Oh. My. God. Kieran, that is just..." I stopped speaking, unable to voice another word, because damn if I didn't like what he said, even if I sort of felt that I shouldn't.

"An awesome idea, and you know it. Stop being so negative." He chastised me, kissing my cheek. "Come on, we've got a few hours before dinner. Show me how to take my second mate, mo chridhe." He waggled his brows, sliding me off his lap and pulling me to the door and upstairs to our bedroom.

Kieran POV

I never thought there would come a day when I would be asking my beautiful female mate to help me prepare to take my second male mate, but here we were. In our bedroom, on my bed, with me on my knees while Anais gently played with my ass. I know she was being far too nice. I could tell from Erik's voice he was an alpha too, and while it was likely I'd be more dominant as alpha king, the man was not going to treat me like a flower. He would save his tenderness for Anais. Probably.

Not going to pretend I was not enjoying it, though. It's probably going to throw some people for a loop, but you have to understand that when it comes to mates, shifters could care less about gender. The only thing we had to take into consideration was heirs, and there were a variety of ways to handle such a need, though clearly with Anais in the equation, heirs were not a problem. I knew in my heart, Erik was going to add to this current batch of babies. I also knew he would accept Anais with his whole heart.

My gut trusted him and the bond, already. If I'm totally honest, I loved him, already.

The only problem was getting Ana to believe it herself.

"Ohhh shittt." I moaned as she hit a good spot with her three fingers. Her other hand reached around and within two pumps on my c**k, I was thrown over the ledge as ropes of c*m tore out of me. Anais patted my bum.

"Mon coeur, I think your body knows what it was made for." She giggled, and my softening erection jumped back to life. I flipped her onto her back, nudged her knees wide, and did my very best to remind her who already put five pups in her belly. Heaven on earth, all I'm saying.

I couldn't wait for our bear to join us.