Bearliest Catch by Bianca D'Arc Page A

were just about finished with lunch,
when the little bell over the door to the bakery tinkled,
indicating a new arrival. The men greeted the newcomer—a powerfully
built man with an extremely commanding presence. Introductions were
made, and before she realized it, Jetty had met the Alpha bear.
    John, as the Alpha insisted she call him,
joined them at the table, and more coffee was poured and snacks
refreshed. It looked like she was about to have her meeting with
the Alpha bear right then and there, which was just as well.
Everything Jetty had seen of Grizzly Cove had impressed the hell
out of her.
    Just this one final thing to tick off her
list and she’d have made her decision—in favor of accepting the
bears’ offer of safe harbor. All she had to do was go back and tell
her hunting party, who would then send messengers to the pod. But
first, she had to lay out a few things for the bears, so they’d
understand the full meaning of their offer.
     
    Drew was listening intently as Jetty got down
to business with John. Everything that had happened so far felt
really positive. He thought the town had done its best to impress
Jetty. And he knew Grace was thrilled to have her friend here.
Grace’s enthusiasm was obvious and would go a long way toward
convincing Jetty that the offer of asylum was real and honest.
    Talking with John was the logical next step.
He was glad when the Alpha showed up. With any luck, they could get
this all wrapped up before dinner, and Jetty would be convinced to
come back and stay here while the danger lasted out in the
ocean.
    If Drew had anything to say about it, he
would do his best to convince her to stay much longer than that.
Maybe forever. And that wasn’t such a scary thought, the longer he
was in her presence.
    He almost suspected… No. It couldn’t be that
simple. Nobody found their mate so easily.
    Did they?
    “So you see, John,” Jetty was saying as the
conversation turned serious, “my hunting party is just a small part
of the larger group.” Drew noticed Grace nodding at Jetty’s side,
and he tuned into the conversation once more. “The hunting party is
one of several that guard and provide for the pod. Our pod consists
of a few dozen families. The singles of suitable age and ability
form the hunting parties. So the terms need to be made clear. Are
you offerings safe harbor to just my hunting party, or will you
extend it to the pod?”
    “When you say families, you mean children?
Mothers. Fathers. Aunts. Uncles. Right?” John seemed to be thinking
hard, a frown marring his brow.
    “Grandfathers and grandmothers, too, though
the mer population has always skewed more toward the female. Males
of any age are few and far between,” Jetty told them.
    John grunted, his bear showing through in the
sound. The idea of more females in the area would appeal to all the
single men, so that was a plus as far as Drew could see.
    “We can’t leave them out there to fend for
themselves against the leviathan,” Jack said, holding hands with
Grace. “Not when concentrating our people here is what lured it.
We’re responsible.”
    John looked at Drew, seeking his opinion
without words. Drew nodded. They’d always been about protecting the
innocent. That was their mission. Always had been. Drew knew the
rest of the unit would feel the same.
    “It’s what we do, John,” Drew said. “Our
mission has never changed. We protect. It makes our bears
happy.”
    “Yeah,” John allowed, sitting back in his
chair. “I think we won’t get any argument in extending the
invitation to the entire pod.”
    Relief flooded Grace’s expression as she put
her free hand over Jetty’s and squeezed. Jetty smiled, but still
looked cautious.
    “Thank you, Alpha. It means a lot that you
and your people would be willing to do that for us. There are just
a few details we need to work out before I can go back and give
them this great news.”
    “Details?” John asked.
    “Yeah, like what are they going