Southern Shifters: Bearly Dreaming (Kindle Worlds Novella) by Ellis Leigh

find the mate of my dreams. I wanted him, and I
would
figure out a way to have him.
    Dawn had bathed the little valley where my house stood in a peach light that matched my happy mood. There would be no more sleeping for me, not after that dream. Not after the way Kian had made me feel. I hopped out of bed and headed to the shower instead, ready to start the day. I didn’t have long to plan. I needed to figure out a way to tell him everything. The mating call, the shadow of insanity hanging over me, exactly how to find me along the Dragon. Deals Gap was a small town, and the clans who lived in the area were secretive and insular. Getting to me without invoking the rage of the MacDonald clan elders would not be an easy feat. But it would be worth it. As long as we ended up together, the means didn’t matter.
    Antsy after my shower, I grabbed my running shoes and took off into the woods. I needed to burn off some energy. I also needed to stop thinking about the way my mate made me quiver with his mouth. We weren’t safe yet. Already, flashes of the distorted night before clouded my memories. Pictures of him turning me away. Of a fight that never happened between us. Of mistake after mistake made by me, ruining my chance with him.
    But I pushed through them, my body still tingling with the aftereffects of our night together. A happy sort of soreness between my legs. I could not give in, could not doubt him or us. We had possibility. And yet, our time was short. If he didn’t claim me soon, I’d be lost. I should have told him my situation already, should have done it the night before when he could hear me in his mind, but it’d felt so good to be in his arms. I hadn’t wanted to spoil that.
    A man stepped out onto the trail in front of me without warning. I skidded to a stop, twisting my ankle, scraping my hands when I clutched a tree to keep from falling. A chill ran down my spine even as I glared at him. This man was not unknown to me. He was also dangerous.
    “You’re up early,” Secor signed, watching me. Evaluating. As he was one of the elders of the MacDonald Council, it had always surprised me that he’d taken the time to learn sign language. No one but my mother had bothered, the clan expecting instead that I would learn to read lips and communicate through the written word. But Secor had learned and learned well, and I had never understood why. He hated me, was disgusted by me, and yet he used my language.
    I shrugged, going against my own habits and avoiding his eyes. “Couldn’t sleep any more.”
    He nodded and looked up into the trees as I stood, my stomach in knots, waiting for the blow I knew was to come. I’d never left a conversation with Secor without a scar or two, whether physical or mental.
    “Your mating call has begun.”
    I opened my mouth to protest, but he silenced me with nothing more than a look.
    “It has come, and you tried to keep it a secret from the Council. You and your mother both.”
    “My mother is not at fault.” My fingers shook, my nerves showing, but I kept my head up and locked eyes with him. “It was my decision to withhold the information. I have control of it and am not a danger to the clan or the secret.”
    Stoic and emotionless, Secor stared me down. “Liam has come to inquire about becoming a secondary mate for you, did you know that?”
    I nodded, my head jerking and my stomach churning.
    “He’s weak, but he would make a good match for someone like you.”
    I bristled but kept the words I wanted to sign to myself.
He’s weak
…meaning the other women in the clan would be too much for him. The Tallan could wipe out a woman’s mind if uncontrolled, which was the purpose of the true mate, to help share the power load and balance the psychic energy. When the true mate couldn’t be found, to survive, a woman would take a secondary mate. A man from within the clan, preferably someone a bit stronger than her, someone with a powerful personality to compete with