Page 47 of Bear and Book

Addie asked him the strangest item anyone had ever tried to sell him, which turned out to be an entire box of porcelain fox figurines.

He answered her with a calm patience that made me want to kiss him right there across the table. By the time we finished eating, Addie was actually laughing.

Elias had told her about the time a raccoon had gotten into the shop and knocked over a display of old encyclopaedias, and she nearly choked on her water.

“You’re kidding me,” she gasped, clutching her stomach.

“Afraid not,” Elias said, smiling a little himself. “I had to chase it out with a broom.”

Addie laughed harder, and I leaned back in my chair, warmth spreading through me. The tension from earlier had dissolved into something easy, something that felt right.

My sister was laughing with him. Elias looked comfortable, relaxed in a way I hadn’t seen often. When the plates were cleared, Addie gave me a look across the table. It was sharp, assessing, but softer now.

“He’s not what I expected,” Addie said quietly.

Elias glanced between us. “Not in a bad way, I hope.”

Addie shook her head. “Not in a bad way.”

She smiled, small but genuine, and I knew right then she’d accepted him. Maybe she wasn’t sold all the way yet, not until time proved him steady, but the wall was down.

After she left, the apartment felt strangely quiet. I turned to Elias, who was helping me stack dishes by the sink.

“You survived,” I said, bumping his shoulder gently.

Elias huffed a soft laugh. “Your sister is intense.”

“She likes you,” I said.

“Does she?” His mouth curved.

“She laughed at your raccoon story. That’s practically a declaration of love,” I informed him.

Elias chuckled again, but I didn’t miss the way his eyes softened, lingering on me a little too long. That pull between us was back, stronger than ever, humming low and steady.

I set the last glass on the counter and wiped my hands. My bear stirred inside me, restless, eager.

“Hey,” I said, catching his gaze. “Want to go for a run?”

His brow furrowed. “A run?”

“In the woods. Just us. Shifting, letting off steam. It’s a good night for it,” I said.

For a second, hesitation flickered in his eyes. His fox was cautious, wary. But then his shoulders loosened, and he nodded slowly.

“Alright,” he said.

I grinned, heart thudding. “Alright. Let’s run.”

Chapter 14

Elias

The woods were quiet that night. A soft hush clung to the trees, the kind of stillness that made every sound sharper, from the brush of branches, to the whisper of the wind, and the distant call of an owl.

I stood at the edge of the tree line with Leo beside me, his smile easy and bright, his presence grounding me even though my heart was already racing.

“Ready?” he asked.