A Promise on White Wings (Wiccan-Were-Bear) by R. E. Butler Page A

and Kajika’s den?”
    Adriel shrugged.  “I don’t know.  Kajika is hardheaded.  But the alliance with the nest and pride are more important to me than an alliance with a den that is not from this area.  Whatever comes, we will handle it.”
    “We need to get you home,” she said to Jes and he nodded.  She thanked Adriel and his mate and the other bears who had been on hand in case the events turned ugly.  The nest and pride had come in several vehicles, and she and her mates got into an SUV driven by Pyre.  Tonik sat in the passenger seat.  The two males talked quietly, but Danika didn’t care what their conversation was about, she only cared about getting home and taking care of Jes.
    “I’m fine, little bird,” Jes said.
    “I know, but you’re still injured.”
    “You’re worth every drop of blood that was shed.”
    Her heart melted.  She was falling hard for her mates.  And no wonder.  They were everything she’d ever imagined when she pictured herself mated, except there were two of them. 
    Jes healed quickly thanks to his falcon nature, but that didn’t mean that he wasn’t in pain.  By the time they reached the house and she stripped him of his clothes and put him to bed, the cuts on his face had mostly healed and the bruising around his eyes had faded.  She asked him if he would shift and heal his injuries quicker, because they healed even faster in shifted form, but he said that he wanted his wounds to heal naturally because they were badges of honor.
    With a damp cloth, she cleaned the blood from his face and kissed his lips gently.  “You’re my mate, Jes.”
    He smiled.  “You’re mine, Danika.  Mine to protect.”  He glanced over her shoulder to where Chance sat on the edge of the bed.  “Mine to share.”
    His eyes heated and she laughed, rolling her eyes.  “You’re still injured.”
    “I’m not that injured.”
    He rolled her over with a wicked smile and then grunted as his torso twisted.  Before she could protest that he was too injured to make love, his lips landed on hers and Chance began to tug off her shoes and all her protests fled.  Tossing the cloth off the bed, she wrapped her arms around Jes’ neck.  Who was she to say no if Jes and Chance wanted to make love to her?
    As she was stripped of her clothes and her body set on fire with tender touches and searing kisses, she sent a silent prayer of thanks heavenward to whoever had watched over her mate as he fought for her and their future.
     
     
     

 
     
     
     
    Chapter 10
     
     
    Chance straightened from where he’d been nailing a piece of trim for the newly installed hardwood floor in the home that his dad was going to live in.  It had been a week since Jes had fought and won the right to mate Danika.  After spending a day celebrating, life had returned to normal.  Jes spent his days in the office either dealing with nest issues or company business, and Chance had started on the remodeling efforts for the pride’s new homes in a small cul-de-sac along the east side of their territory.  The nest seemed to be growing accustomed to the pride’s appearance, and after knowing that Jes had fought for Danika – that she was important enough to him to be willing to die – they were accepting her as his mate and grudgingly accepting Chance as well.
    Danika seemed very fond of the garden, and after Chance and Jes had encouraged her, she had taken to tending it.  Although they were not officially mated yet, all of the members of the nest called her Miss , and the older falcons who normally tended the garden seemed happy to have someone take over.  When Chance had seen her at lunch, she had been smiling and scrubbing the marble altar with a brush.  He’d never seen anyone look so happy to be doing manual labor.  But like him, Danika just wanted to figure out where she belonged in their new home.
    A shadow slipped over him and he looked up, purring when he saw Danika.
    “Hi,” she said as she