Bear My Soul (Fire Bears Book 1) Read Online Free PDF Page B

wouldn’t blame him if he ran.
    She deserved nothing less.

Chapter Four
     
    Cody fingered the tiny paperclip Aaron had given him and tried to tune out the droning weatherman on the television above the bar.
    Five fucking years, and she just now came back? And with a kid—his kid. The strawberry-shaped mark on his shoulder blade was the freaking Keller crest. There was no denying Aaron was his.
    He’d been sitting here for two hours trying to wrap his head around the reasons she’d kept Aaron a secret. Human or no, Rory had protective momma bear written all over her. It was clear she’d been trying to keep her boy safe in case Cody wasn’t a shifter like Aaron, but it still stung something fierce to be left out of the kid’s entire life. He’d missed everything. Every milestone. Every late night feeding and scraped knee. First steps, first words, first tooth…
    Her supernatural question at the pizzeria had thrown him hard. Of all the times he’d imagined running into her again, he hadn’t ever fantasized about her asking if he was harboring a damned grizzly in his gut. He would’ve broken that little gem to her gently if she’d have stuck around long enough the first time.
    He’d liked her. More than liked her, but now things were different. He’d changed in the years they’d spent apart and now wanted no part of any kind of relationship with a woman. Taking Shayna out had been a way to get Ma off his back about moving on from the broken bond with Sarah.
    He tilted the bottle and took a long swig. Up to his eyeballs in women problems, and he hadn’t dated a damned one in years.
    A familiar scent hit his nose, and he slid a nonplussed glare at the door where his older brother, Gage, stood. He got his height and blond hair from Ma’s side of the family, but Gage’s coffee dark eyes were all Dad’s. Cody shoved the paperclip deep in his pocket. Maybe if he ignored Gage, his brother would get the hint and shove off. He wasn’t in the mood to talk right now.
    Gage took the bar seat next to him. “Shayna’s worried.”
    “Yeah, I could tell from the thirty-seven calls I’ve ignored from her. Piss off, Gage. I have some shit to sort out.”
    “Yeah, and you also have a forty-eight hour shift starting in the morning, and you’re at a bar drinking by yourself, which I’ve seen you do exactly zero times before now.” He jerked his chin at Cody’s beverage and told the bartender he’d “have one of those.”
    Cody leaned back in the bar chair, growing more irritated by the moment. “What do you want?”
    “That was her, wasn’t it? At the pizzeria. That was Rory.”
    “You want a detective’s badge?”
    “Ma sent me. That’s why I’m here.”
    “You told Ma?” Prick.
    “You can’t blame me for that one. Boone called her before we even left the restaurant. You know, the timing on this sucks.”
    “You don’t know the half of it.”
    “Well then explain it, brother. Because I’ve never seen you get worked up over a woman like this. Not since Sarah. And you finally asked Shayna out—”
    “Hold on, now that’s not fair. Shayna’s been relentless for two years, and you boys weren’t helping. And Ma… Look, I’m not interested in another bond. I don’t get why you don’t understand that. Boone and Dade don’t want a bond, and no one gives them shit over it. But with me, you push and push until I take a girl out I’m not interested in. Even if it was a group thing, I don’t like being forced into a pairing.”
    Gage thanked the bartender when he set the beer in front of him and took a long pull of his drink. “We push you because it’s different for you. You’re the alpha. You should be paired up. You’re twenty-eight now, Cody. I get that you were burned by Sarah, but fate got you out of that. Fate and Rory. You have a second chance to find someone worth the risk.”
    “It’s different for you, Gage. You found Leah. Your bond has always been healthy. Both of you are devoted.