Love is Always Write Anthology Volume 1

paws. He face flattened and soon his lake blue eyes gazed at me.
    I pushed through my family, wrapped my arms around Kyle, and held him tight. You came for me. Joy warred with fear. We were together, but could we stop the council?
    Of course. His arms tightened around me.
    I'm so sorry. Would I ever get through a day without owing him an apology?
    It's not your fault. He smoothed the hair out of my eyes.
    What are we gonna do?
    His mental voice filled with resolve. You are part of our pack. We will fight for you.
    Horror filled me. No, wolves will be hurt, killed.
    He didn't falter in his resolve. Mates are sacred. We will defend that.
    "What's going on here?" my dad asked.
    "Dad, Mom, this is Kyle. My mate. And this is Rupert Aragon, the Alpha of my pack."
    My mother's voice rose. "Pack? You're a bear, not a wolf."
    This was it. The true moment of choice. I looked at my mother and willed my love for her to show in my eyes. "I'm mated to a wolf. They accept me for who I am. They are my pack."
    A chorus of roars filled the air as the Sleuth of bears surrounded the pack. The wolves turned snarling, preparing to defend us as the bears surrounded them. I could see it clearly. Blood would be shed. Wolves would die. Bears would die. How could I have that on my conscience?
    "Wait!" Kyle called out. I stared at him open-mouthed, hearing through the bond what he intended to say a moment before he said it. "There is another way."
    My heart leapt into my throat as Kyle walked out among the bears. Each member of my sleuth, when shifted, weighed around one thousand pounds. Seeing my mate among them, human and vulnerable, made my stomach flip. I walked behind him, ready to shift and defend him. My ears were full of snarling wolves and growling bears. I couldn't deal with it if anything happened to him.
    Baby, shift and get out of here.
    No, Dev. Not without you.
    I tried again. If they kill you, then the whole bond is moot.
    But he had already made up his mind.
    "Listen to me. It doesn't have to be like this. Devlin can still have bear offspring."
    My father spoke. "What are you talking about?"
    "Devlin told me these laws came into effect three generations ago. But medical technology has come a long way since then. You don't need to tie having children to mating." My heart filled with pride as my mate fought for us not as a wolf, but as a doctor.
    Rostarin reared up, changed to human, and spoke. "Are you suggesting that mates have sex with someone other than their mate?"
    "No, look around. This is the twenty-first century," Kyle said, gesturing around as if we were in the middle of civilization instead of a forest. "We have a variety of techniques for bringing about pregnancy without sex. Artificial insemination, in vitro fertilization. And that isn't all."
    Rostarin's eyes narrowed. "How does that help Devlin?"
    Kyle smiled. "Surrogates."
    "Surrogates?" my dad asked.
    "Devlin doesn't need to be mated to a woman for her to carry a child for him… for us. As long as a bear female donates an egg, any female, human or bear, could carry it to term." Kyle's voice held a note of confidence. Then Kyle moved onto persuasion. "Just think, you could harvest eggs from all of the women of the Sleuth and fertilize them and have surrogates carry them. This would greatly increase your offspring."
    "This is crazy!" Rostarin's voice held a note of hysteria. "Who would do that for us? Who would raise all of these children?"
    "My mate would," Rupert said. "She loves being pregnant and desperately wants to do it again, but raising three wolf cubs is enough for me. Plus, Devlin is part of my pack."
    "What does that mean?" my mother asked.
    "Devlin is mated to a member of my pack. That makes him part of the pack, too." He walked up to me and put a hand on my shoulder. "We're pack animals; we work together. If this is what Devlin needs, we will help. Devlin and Kyle will be able to raise some of these children. I'm sure others would be happy to as well."
    Kyle added, "This will also let you get greater genetic diversity even when bear women are carrying. This increases chances of survival greatly. You just need to keep track of the lineage of each child."
    My mate made sense. But would the council see it that way?
    "Shift to human everyone," Rostarin ordered.
    "Kyle could you and Devlin come with us to the Council Cave. This seems… worth… discussing."
    I took Kyle's hand in mine. You're amazing baby.
    Anything for you.
    ****
    Three Years Later
    I