She smelled of Bear. She’d been accepted. He peppered kisses across the mating mark. “You’re all right.”

She tugged his braid before stroking his back. “You’re shaking.”

He just hugged her tighter. She’d terrified him. He’d thought Bear had taken a dislike to her and ripped her soul to shreds.

“I feel like I went a few rounds with that big-ass bear. Ow.”

He flinched. “Did you?”

“Did I what?”

“Fight Bear.”

“No.” She tugged on his braid again, harder this time. “We sang the beer bottle song and had a cozy chat. All we needed were s’mores and a campfire.”

He laughed, the hysterical edge to it surprising him. “I bet he loved you.”

“Oh yeah. He invited me back for tea, once the bleeding stopped.”

Bleeding? His Bear wailed, but Julian could sense no real damage had been done to her. If there had been spiritual wounds, Bear must’ve healed them. That was beyond even Julian’s power. “Tell me everything.”

“That might take a while.”

He settled in more comfortably, cradling her close. She rested her head against his chest and he damn near howled like a wolf at the feeling of rightness. “We have time.”

“Let’s see. There was a long, dusty road with sharp, pointy rocks. I expected a Gorn to pop out any minute and challenge me to a duel. And did I mention I was naked?”

Julian chuckled. Only his Cyn would think of a classic Star Trek episode while wandering in the spirit world.

“I came to a crossroads and saw a glass of water that was half full.”

Interesting. He’d found a book on his first journey. “What did you do with it?”

“Drank it.”

He blinked. “Oh.” He shouldn’t be surprised. He’d picked the book up and tried to read it. It had surprised him when it disappeared out of his hands.

“What? I was thirsty. Anyway, one branch of the path seemed pretty much the same as the one I was already on. The other was chock full of thorns and stones.”

He winced. “Let me guess which one you took.”

“Hey, I played Dungeons & Dragons. You never take the easy path. There’s always a trap at the end of it.”

“This wasn’t a game.” If only she’d taken the other trail…

She rolled her head until they were eye to eye. “You took the easy way, didn’t you?”

“Not easy. Different.” Who the hell would willingly walk down a path full of sharp stones and thorns? It seemed like a remarkably stupid thing to do, deliberately inviting pain that way. The other path might have been longer, but it was no less challenging.

Wariness crept into her expression. “I didn’t have to go down the thorny path?”

“Nope.” First decision made, first crisis met and overcome. Something told him the outcome was going to be exactly what he’d expected. “Then what?”

“A meadow with a man standing over a crying girl, yelling at her.”

Uh-oh. Julian remembered something similar. He’d watched for a few moments to discover the problem, and then had done his best to bandage the child’s leg. “What did you do?”

“Grabbed a branch and protected the girl.”

Yes, that sounded like his Cyn. “What happened?”

“The man asked me if I was sure he was the threat and not the child. I pretty much told him to shove off, and the two pointed me toward my next path and disappeared.”

“Another thorny one, I assume.”

“And worse than the last one. I almost didn’t make it.”

He froze. Those who didn’t make it on that path… Best not think about that. He was going to have nightmares as it was.

“I got to the end and there was this table with four objects on it.”

“A book, a chalice, a healer’s kit and a dream catcher.”

She looked at him like he’d grown snakes on his head. “A sword, a shield, biker leathers and a staff.”

“Oh.” Yeah. That pretty much summed up what he’d thought would happen. No way was Cyn a Spirit Bear. Damn. He tamped down the disappointment. It wasn’t that big a deal. At least she was Bear now, rather than Puma, like she’d threatened more than once.

“I want those leathers.”

His eyebrow quirked. “Have a thing for leather, do you?”

She grinned. “You have no idea. But I took the staff.”

“Why?”

“Protection and a weapon in one convenient package.”

“Ah.” He was beginning to see the pattern, and while it wasn’t adding up to Spirit Bear, it wasn’t adding up to Black Bear, either. A Black Bear would have gone for the leathers or the shield. What was going on?

“Then BAM! I’m sitting in front of this huge white bear who’s just…staring at me. Sitting and staring. It was creepy, especially since I was naked.”

“I meditated.”

“I sang the beer song. I still had thirty-five to go when he decided I was a Chatty Cathy, unlike some people.”

From the glare she was shooting him he could guess who those people were. “So? What did he say?”

“Other than how quiet you are?” She took a deep breath. “Two becomes one, one becomes three. Bear knows the way, but Fox holds the key. Oh, and that change is coming.”

Great. Wonderful. That was three times the message had been delivered. He hoped the spirits considered it received. “What aren’t you telling me?”

Those beautiful eyes widened. Her left eyebrow twitched. “Nothing.”

He shot her a look that had gotten more than one reluctant patient to admit something they didn’t want to.

“I’m serious.” She frowned. “Okay, there is one thing.”

“Hmm?”

“He called me warrior.”

Julian stared at her. That couldn’t mean what he thought it did, could it? He buried his nose against her neck and breathed in her scent again. When he finally understood exactly what he smelled he laughed so hard he fell off the bed.

She leaned over the edge and glared at him. Then she lifted her arm and sniffed her pit. “Do I offend?”

He’d never understood the laughing-so-hard-until-you-cried thing before, but now he totally got it. Alex was going to be tickled pink.

And Eric was in for a serious shock.

Cyn woke to the feel of a heavy arm across her middle and the sensation that she’d had a really rough night. Her body ached in ways it hadn’t in a long time. She moved her leg, ready to climb out of bed and answer a rather urgent call of nature when the arm tightened.

“Don’t go.”

Damn. Julian’s sleep-roughened voice made all sorts of things quiver inside her. “I will go if you don’t let me up.”

He snorted a laugh and rolled over, releasing her to run for the bathroom like a bear was after her butt. After she was done she helped herself to his toothbrush and combed out her hair, which was sticking up in all sorts of new and interesting ways.

She took a good, long look at herself when she was done. She didn’t look any different. She certainly didn’t feel any different. Maybe it had all been a crazy, sex-induced dream?

Fingers brushed over the bite mark on her neck and she darn near fell to the floor in a puddle of goo. “Morning, Cyn.” His lips brushed the mark and her knees gave out. “Whoa!” He caught her before she fell, strong arms wrapped around her waist. “You okay?”

“What the fuck was that?” She brushed her fingertips across the mark. The sensation was still there, but not nearly as strong. It was like someone was gently stroking her clit, just enough to interest but not enough to arouse.

“Well…” Julian licked the mark, and she moaned. Now that was the touch of someone determined to arouse her. “That’s the mark you begged for last night.”

How could someone look so innocent and so evil at the same time? It seemed Glory hadn’t cornered the market on that particular look after all. “That’s it? That’s the bite?” He nodded. “Fine. How long until it fades?” There was no way she was going to be able to go through her day with that on her neck. What if someone touched her there while she was doing a tattoo? A simple pat on the shoulder from a guy with big hands could cause an accidental orgasm.