Page 11 of Shielded By My Mate

I blink, tearing my eyes away from his naked body to meet his golden gaze. “Huh?”

“Watch,” he instructs.

I keep my eyes locked on his face, or I try to, anyway. When I see his body starting to change, I gasp, my eyes widening as fur, teeth, and nails all grow in the blink of an eye. Within a few seconds, Ansel transforms into a beast.

I freeze in shock, unable to move or think as I stare at the giant bear with the same light brown eyes as Ansel. Knowing it’s him is the only thing preventing me from running away, though I wouldn’t get far on my injured ankle. Not that I could outrun a bear even if I wasn’t injured.

When the bear takes a step toward me, I leap to my feet, yelping as I put weight on my ankle.

Instantly, Ansel shifts back, grabbing the brace off the coffee table and kneeling to wrap it around my ankle. “Sit down. I won’t hurt you.”

I plop back down on the couch. “It’s a shock to see a bear coming at you.”

He smiles slightly. “It’s still me.”

“I’ll try to remember that,” I mumble as he steps back.

This time, I watch more closely as he shifts into his bear form. Like the first time, the whole process only takes seconds to complete.

“I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to that,” I admit.

The bear grumbles, stepping toward me slowly. I know he’s giving me time to calm down, and I appreciate it. This whole situation is so surreal. I always thought I’d run if a bear got within a hundred feet of me. Instead, I find myself reaching out with shaky fingers to pet his head.

“Soft,” I murmur, letting my fingers sink into his thick fur.

The bear rumbles happily, tilting his head so I can scratch his ears and run my hands over his back.

I lean against the couch cushions as my pain meds kick in, fighting my heavy eyelids as Ansel’s bear lumbers around the coffee table and shifts back to his human form.

“Okay.” I say, laughing softly. “Either you’re telling the truth and that just happened, or the doctor gave me some really strong drugs.”

“It happened. It’s true,” Ansel says urgently.

I manage a nod before my eyes close and I drift off to sleep.

5

Ansel

“How did my life go from boring to filled with so many problems just like that?” I ask Russo, snapping my fingers.

He grins. “I know, it’s great, right?”

I glare at him as I lean against the porch railing.

Russo came over after dinner to see how things were going and to give me a rundown on what they’ve found out about the men chasing my mate. I filled him in on what’s been happening here. He had a good long laugh when I told him that my mate still doesn’t believe me and thinks she’s hallucinating on the pain medicine.

“How can I convince Mira that I’m a shifter and that we’re meant to be together?” I ask him.

“Maybe try having the conversation when she’s not about to pass out from the medicine,” he suggests.

I flip him off. “Yeah, I got that. Do I just shift for her again?”

“Yeah, you’ll have to. She needs to see you when she can’t blame the pain medicine or exhaustion.”

My bear paws at me. Wake her up, and I’ll shift right now.

No, she needs her rest. And we need to talk to Russo about what he’s found on those men.