Polar Bear's Heart Read online

  Shea prepared for impact, but at the last moment, nothing happened. She looked up to see Logan holding the cub by the scruff of his neck. The two bears seemed to let out a collective sigh. Logan set Hudson gently on the ground, as Sasha, still in lynx form, walked up and brushed against Shea.

  Shea smiled at the kit and reached out, petting her head. Sasha pressed into Shea’s hand and relished the affection. Looking to her right, Shea saw that Logan had sat down and was watching her. Shea smiled and thought that he looked kind of grumpy at not getting any attention.

  As Sasha and Hudson walked toward the changing area together, Shea stood and stepped up to Logan. In his shifted form, Logan was huge. His head was above her head, and his paws were massive. His eyes were arctic blue, and his fur was the faint yellow of his kind. She stepped close enough to reach out and slide her hand along the fur at the side of his neck. Logan sat perfectly still while she explored his bear.

  When she reached up to pet his head, Logan bent to give her better access. Shea couldn’t contain the giggle that slipped out when his big bear head nuzzled into her chest. Some of the other shifters around her heard it and stopped to look at her. She stepped back and looked down at Logan.

  “We should probably go.” Logan’s bear looked into her eyes and then nodded his agreement. Logan went over to the changing area and came out a few minutes after the kids. They all made their way out to Logan’s truck, looking very much like a family, and Shea couldn’t stop the rightness that engulfed her. But she couldn’t let her emotions overtake her. She had to think about Hudson and the baby growing inside her, as well as Sasha, now.

  Chapter 5

  Logan drove back to Shea’s house after their adventure at the pool. He was very glad that Shea hadn’t been frightened of his bear, but he also knew that she wasn’t ready to just accept his claim.

  When they arrived at the house, Shea invited them in for dinner, and they all made their way inside. Logan was going over all of the ways to get her to them stay in the house, as the kids went upstairs to play and Shea went into the kitchen.

  Now that Shea was carrying his cub, there was no way he could be apart from her. His bear was calm in her presence, but it didn’t sit well with him or Logan that their mate did not carry their mark or scent. If a shifter got close enough and took in Shea’s scent, they could scent the relationship of the cub to Logan. But that made him angry, furious even to think of some male trying to get close enough to his mate to scent the cub’s lineage. Not to mention that Logan wasn’t too well known in this area, and others might not recognize his scent. So, he paced, trying to think of a way to claim her without scarring her.

  Logan decided that, for now, he was going to spend as much time as possible with his mate. He walked into the kitchen to see her taking things from the refrigerator and placing them on the counter. The kitchen was clean and looked nice enough, but it wasn’t very large. If his mate wanted to make their permanent home in this house, then he was going to have to remodel it and make it larger. Between himself, Hudson, and the cub, they would need much larger rooms. Especially when Hudson and the cub got to their teenage years when they shifted under extreme emotions before they learned to control it again.

  “What can I do?” Logan asked his mate, who was clearly surprised at his being there, because she jumped and screamed. She turned to him, and he stepped toward her, happy when she didn’t flinch or try to back away. He wasn’t sure exactly why, but his mate was very unsure of him.

  “I’m sorry,” he said as he pulled her into his arms gently, making sure to hold her loosely, so she didn’t feel trapped. “I didn’t mean to frighten you.” Shea let out a breath and stepped back from his embrace. His nearly chuffed in annoyance, but knew that it was necessary right now.

  “It’s all right. I just wasn’t thinking and forgot you were here. I’m not usually so jumpy.” She seemed embarrassed at her reaction, so Logan took that moment to reassure her.

  “No need to apologize. You’re not used to having people around.” He smiled at her, and she returned his smile. “What can I do to help with dinner?” Logan asked again.

  “Would you grab two pans from that cabinet and preheat the oven to 400 please?” She asked and directed him to the cabinet with the things he needed.

  Logan did as he was asked, and they got into a rhythm together. They continued to work together to prepare a very large amount of seafood and vegetables. Luckily, Shea was a fan of seafood also, so she didn’t have to cook something separate. Considering Hudson, Logan, and Sasha were all big on seafood, it worked out well.

  Before the meal was completely done, Shea called up to the kids and had them set the table. Logan was impressed and surprised that his mate wasn’t asking him all kinds of questions or giving him a hard time about being gone. He knew they would have to talk about a lot of things, but right now she seemed content to just be in the moment. He felt himself fall a little more under her spell at that. Logan needed someone calm and accepting like that to keep his bear calm. He wasn’t ashamed to admit that, before raising Sasha, he had had a very short temper, like many polar bears. However, when a polar bear found its mate they usually calmed enough to keep control.

  “Are you going to go to my school, Sasha?” Hudson asked as they sat, eating.

  “Am I, Dad?” Sasha asked, and Logan looked at Shea.

  “Are you going to be in kindergarten, Sasha?” Shea asked her. Sasha nodded her head.

  “For now. But eventually I’ll be too smart for regular grades.” Sasha went on eating, and Logan saw Shea smile.

  “I am very sure of that. Hudson goes to the only school we have in Wild for shifters and humans from age three to age eleven. After age eleven, they usually go to the second school until finishing state requirements for high school. Most shifters are highly intelligent and finish quickly. But I can see that you will probably be one of the few to be done with high school requirements quite early.” After Shea finished, Logan was about to speak when Hudson did first.

  “That means that you’re really smart. Mom makes sure that I have enough to keep me interested at school. The teachers all know that Mom won’t take any of their crap.” At Hudson’s words, Shea’s eyes widened.

  “Hudson Miles Tierney! Where did you hear that?” Shea asked, causing Hudson to wince at her tone and the use of his full name, the sign that any mother was displeased. Logan bit back a smile as he remembered his mother calling him by his full name many times as a child. Hudson let out a sigh before answering his mother.

  “One of the other parents was talking about it one day after you went in and spoke to Ms. Mills about not giving me challenging enough work. They said that even though you were human, it didn’t seem to bother you to stand up to a female leopard shifter.”

  “That’s very true. I think your mother would stand up to anyone for you, Hudson. You should be proud to have such a mother,” Logan jumped in, before Shea could reprimand the boy. After all, it wasn’t exactly his fault, and the conversation he had overheard made Logan smile. He knew that underneath the polite, kind exterior of his mate, she was fierce. Especially when it concerned her cub. She would be that way with all of their children, and he was very happy about that.

  “Oh, I am. My mom’s the best.” Hudson was very serious when he looked into Logan’s eyes and said those worlds. Logan smiled at the boy and then turned to look sharply at his daughter when she joined the conversation.

  “Will you be my mom, too?” At Sasha’s quiet question, Shea smiled beautifully at the lynx.

  “Sasha, now isn’t the time to…” Logan began, and his mate turned a fierce look on him, silencing him. Shea turned her attention back to Sasha, who was looking very vulnerable at the moment.

  “I like you very much, Sasha, and your father and I have a lot to discuss. For now, I would very much like to be your friend, and we can work into the mom and daughter role. Does that sound okay to you?” Shea continued smiling, and suddenly Sasha was out of her chair
and flung herself into Shea’s arms.

  “Sasha, be careful,” Logan said, but the look he got over his daughter’s head silenced him. Shea mouthed that she was fine to him and held his daughter so completely in her arms that his heart squeezed. After a long hug Sasha stood up next to Shea’s chair and smiled.

  “Thanks, Mom.” With the parting comment, Sasha and Hudson put their plates in the kitchen and ran back upstairs.

  “Sasha is a little different. She can see the future, but she still hasn’t mastered the ability to not blurt things out at many different inopportune times,” Logan tried to explain, but Shea didn’t seem upset at the girl’s comments. She stood and collected her plate and glass and turned to walk into the kitchen. Logan picked up his things and followed.

  “Sasha is a very kind child. She seems very intelligent, and it’s just a part of her to know things that haven’t happened yet. That makes her unique. Maybe in time she will learn to control the outbursts of information, but if someone gets offended, then it’s their problem. Besides, she has you to protect her.” Shea bent down to open the dishwasher, and Logan was immediately by her side, standing her back up. Shea looked at him curiously.

  “No. You made dinner, and it was fantastic. Please sit down, and we can talk while I clean up,” Logan insisted and was surprised when Shea agreed, but he could tell that she was tired. He pulled a chair over for her to sit in while he cleaned.

  “Are you supposed to work tonight?” Logan asked her and hoped she wouldn’t be mad at his next statement. “I don’t think that’s such a good idea anymore. The doctor said you should rest, and being on your feet for so long could hurt you,” Logan explained as he cleaned the dinner dishes. He heard Shea let out a sigh, and he chanced looking at her. She was looking out the window and rubbing the bump that was protruding slightly from her abdomen. She wasn’t very big, but for only three months along, she was more noticeable than a human would have been.

  “I’m not on shift for tonight, but I know that I’m going to have to tell Mike that I can’t be on my feet as much. But I still need to work Logan. I have Hudson to think of. And now the baby too.” Shea looked down at her stomach and continued rubbing it as she spoke of the child within her.

  “No, you don’t.” At his comment, Shea looked at him, waiting patiently for him to explain. After a few moments, he let out a breath and walked over to the chair she was sitting in. He knelt in front of her and looked into her eyes. After kneeling, he was at eye level with her. “You don’t need to work. I have enough money to take care of all of us. We need to talk about a lot of things, but I don’t want you to worry about how Hudson is going to eat and have a home. I want to help, Shea. I feel like such a bastard for the way we met and made our cub.” Logan settled his hand on her stomach, where their cub lay, as he commented, “If I had known, I would have come back sooner. I had things to do, but I shouldn’t have been gone so long.” Logan had bent his head to watch his hand caress his mate’s stomach, and he felt her hand on his head.

  Logan looked up into his mate’s exceedingly kind eyes. She smoothed her hand along his hair and to the side of his face. She smiled beautifully at him, and his bear lay down in his mind at their mate’s attention.

  “You had to go. I understand it had to do with Sasha, and we can also talk about it more later. I didn’t complain about what happened between us, and I never will. We are going to have a child because of it, and I don’t regret that. As far as you helping, I don’t know that I have much of a choice. But you are right. We have many things to talk about.”

  After that, they just sat with their hands on her stomach and absorbed what was happening. Logan was beyond happy that his mate was going to allow him to help. This was only the beginning, but he was glad for the chance.

  Chapter 6

  Shea heard a loud noise, and she rolled herself out of bed and waddled over to the window. There was more construction going on every day. She was now six and a half months along, and the baby was going to show up any time, according to the doctor. She and Logan had talked about everything after he had arrived a few months prior. He and Sasha had moved in, and he had almost immediately started plans to renovate the house. The house wasn’t big enough for a full-grown polar bear shifter, let alone two cubs, and then there was Sasha. The girl wasn’t particularly big when she shifted yet, but everyone would need some space.

  Logan hadn’t tried anything beyond a couple of chaste kisses and that was starting to get on Shea’s nerves. She still wasn’t sure about mating with Logan, and she hadn’t told him about Hudson’s father yet. He knew that Hudson had been her sister’s son, but she hadn’t mentioned the way that his father had killed Anna. Her hormones were surging, and she was very horny most of the time, but it didn’t seem like something she could just come out and say to Logan.

  So, when she had the time, she thought back to the one time that Logan had given her everything in him and created their cub.

  Shea gasped for breath as she leaned up against the back of the Wild Animal Diner. The name was appropriate, she thought out of nowhere. The diner and even the town were almost 100 percent shifter. No one ever came out and told her except the owner, Mike, about his animal. He was an eagle and absolutely beautiful when he changed. She was sure he wouldn’t appreciate being called beautiful, but that was what she thought nonetheless. She was letting her thoughts wander to unimportant things, because she couldn’t think about what had just happened.

  The man, no, shifter, that Shea had been dreaming of for months was here. He walked right into the diner and saw her. She had seen his eyes turn that arctic blue color when his bear had scented her, and she had panicked and run. She was actually quite surprised that he hadn’t chased her. Shea knew better than to run from a shifter, especially one whose animal was so close to the surface. The way he had looked at her, she had no doubt that her mate knew who and what she was to him. She had no idea what to do and couldn’t seem to move from the spot she was standing in.

  Shea jumped when she heard a voice clear from the entrance to the alley she stood in. She looked at the giant of a man and swallowed in nervousness. The man had to be six foot eight with broad shoulders and shoulder-length blond, almost white hair. The hair, she knew, would be the same as his coat when he shifted. Even without his bear being close to the surface, his eyes were blue. She wasn’t close enough to see that, but she knew.

  “You don’t need to be afraid of me,” the man said to her. Shea tried to speak and couldn’t, but stood up and forced herself to speak.

  “I–I know.” And she did. This man and animal would never hurt her, but she still wasn’t about to fall into his arms.

  “What’s your name?” He asked.

  “Shea,” She answered, and the man smiled and caused her insides to melt.

  “I’m Logan. It’s nice to meet you.” Logan had made his way closer to Shea and now stood before her. She licked her lips nervously and looked up into his eyes. “You know what I am?” He asked.

  “Yes.”

  “Say it.” Shea couldn’t believe this was happening and hesitated. “Say it.” He put a little growl into it this time, and Shea jumped, but not in fear. She could feel herself moisten and knew that he would soon smell it.

  “Polar bear,” she finally answered, and he chuffed at her. When his breath hit her lips, she closed her eyes.

  “You’re mine. I will be back.” He turned and walked out of the alley, and Shea leaned up against the wall again so she didn’t fall. But just as suddenly he was back.

  “I can’t wait,” was all he said when he lifted her up and slammed his lips to hers. He devoured her and had her moaning for everything he could give her. All thought left her as the man, her mate, touched her in a way she had never been touched before, and she let herself go. The rational part of her that said to stop dissolved as his attentions became more and more intense.

  This was what she wanted, and for once she wasn’t going to question it. As Logan’s tongue d
uelled with hers, she felt him shred the panties she was wearing. She knew she was already soaking wet, and she couldn’t begin to mind what he was doing to her. Her entire body was hot. She needed something, and she couldn’t name what it was.

  “You’re mine. I will be the only one to have you ever again,” Logan growled in her ear, causing her to moan in pleasure. His words thrilled her so much that her body shook with desire. Then she felt his hand between them as he unbuttoned his jeans. Shea felt the heat and length of his erection slide against her pussy, and she began panting. She wasn’t sure exactly what was wrong with her, but she wanted him in a way she had never experienced before. Not that she was experienced. With the exception of the one time when she was sixteen and too stupid to mind, she had never shared her body with anyone.

  “Please, please.” Shea almost didn’t realize that it was her voice she was hearing. Logan growled and continued rubbing his hard cock against her pussy and bumping her clit. The sparks of pleasure from the contact only got higher with each thrust of his hips.

  “Are you sure?” Logan forced her to make eye contact with him and held her stare. “You have to be sure. I would never take you against your will, but I’m hanging by a thread, sweetheart. Be sure. And I need you to say the words.” Logan’s eyes had gone from his deep blue to a cool arctic blue, and Shea knew that his bear was very close to the surface. It surprisingly didn’t scare her or make her desire for him any less.

  “I’m sure. Please, Logan, take me.” That was all Shea got out, before Logan adjusted her ass in his grip and started to slowly push into her. She was grateful that he was taking his time, because he was very large and she was not. They both breathed a sigh of relief when he was all the way in.

  Logan’s arms went behind her to prevent her back from rubbing against the wall, and then he was moving. He started out by slowly moving his hips back and forward a little at a time. Shea could tell that he was holding himself back, but she couldn’t say anything, because he was stealing her breath with every move he made. As she became accustomed to his size, he began to move faster and then, eventually, harder, until he was bouncing her up and down on his cock as he met her thrust for thrust.