Bear Meets Bride (R) - Amy Star Page 0,3

appreciate the good cooking. Tell you what, come down to the creek tomorrow… and on the weekend I’ll stick around here, help you with the cabin. The roof needs a replacement, I think.”

“Sure does,” Chris said, “although we haven’t had rain in a few weeks.”

“There’s some fallen cedars down toward the beach. Whaddya think? Strip the bark?”

Chris pondered. “Not exactly tin roofing but it should do the trick. At least until we’re ready to head back to the mansion.”

The mention of the mansion caused a lull, which was interrupted only by the slurping of both men as they dove into the soup. Both of them understood that their time together alone on the island would soon be coming to an end, and it was bittersweet.

“Which reminds me,” Chris continued, “there’s something I need to talk to you about.”

Dylan looked up from his bowl and wiped at his mouth, his green eyes scanning his best friend. There was something imminent and ominous, quite unlike Chris, and he couldn’t help but feel the bottom of his stomach drop out. What now, he wondered.

It had never occurred to him – and he felt foolish because of it – that his training would invariably include a matching. It was how Chris had met Suzy, more than six years earlier. It was how all shifters ended up meeting their mate. But Dylan still felt unprepared by the news, and stood up angrily on the cabins’ porch and began to pace back and forth, his bare feet creaking over the planks. The sky had darkened, and the first hints of stars were beginning to blink into existence.

“So how does this work?” he asked quickly.

Chris shrugged his massive shoulders and walked into the cabin and returned a moment later with a small folder that was shrink-wrapped. He tossed it to Dylan, who opened it. There was several laminated pages, each with a different face and a listing of information next to it, like a profile. He gave Chris a screwy look and the big man shrugged again, like it was second nature.

“This is how it works. You have to make a decision in the next few days though so arrangements can be made,” he suddenly had a very officious look on his face.

“Who are they all?” Dylan asked, without looking up as he flipped through the booklet.

“All candidates that the elders have selected based on a number of factors, including political vantage, caste, personality profiles. I’m sure they’re all lovely,” he remarked.

“Indeed… how did you make your decision?” Dylan queried.

“I didn’t know a lot… the elders didn’t give me much information. I think they do it that way on purpose… don’t want you to have any preconceived notions, sort of thing. But I knew that she was from one of the other houses. All those women will be, as well.”

That fit. The clans tried to intermarry as much as possible to keep the blood fresh. It also helped to maintain political ties and family names, and kept the power struggles between the clans balanced.

“Great, so I’m supposed to marry a girl I’ve never even met.”

“This is the way of things,” Chris said, raising his flat palms again sagely, as if there was nothing more to do about it. I wish I saw the world as simply as you do, old friend, Dylan wanted to say. “Besides, you forget, the same thing happened with me and Suzy… and, you know…”

“You two were amazing,” Dylan said, finishing the sentence, not just for Chris’ benefit. He didn’t want to bring up Suzy again twice in the same day if it was at all possible. “Okay, fine… so… when is she supposed to get here? Are they flying her in?”

Chris merely nodded. “I’ll give you one day to decide. Then, I’ll call it in with the satellite phone.”

They were isolated enough on the small island that it was impossible to try and swim back to the mainland. During some of the summer months, the two of them had made bets to see how far the other could swim out in the strait before they were forced back to the island either by the waves, or the peril of exhaustion. The only way on and off the island was by boat or float plane, and neither was available to them, not until the training was complete.

The catch was, it wasn’t up to him to determine when his training was finished. That was under the sole purview of the patron. And, Chris was