Bear Naked Truth (Southern Shifters Book 7) Read Online Free PDF Page B

bear roared in his head.
    I know. I don't like it either.
    But he wasn't giving up. A mate was far too precious.
    "What do you say? How about we start over?"
    She looked hesitant as her body swayed between him and the exit.
    "I can promise you one thing," he said. "I won't ever hurt you and I won't let anyone else either. You'll be safe with me."
    "That's a pretty big promise. Something you probably shouldn't do at this point. You do seem like a nice enough guy, I mean shifter, err—whatever. You know what I mean."
    He nodded his head. Her knowledge of shifters disturbed him. There were laws about what a shifter could and could not divulge and while the clans and packs fought tooth and nail over everything else. This they did not.
    Humans were not supposed to know about shifters except under extreme circumstances such as a mating. There were consequences for that kind of knowledge.
    "Why not stay a little longer?" he asked. "But rest assured this is not an interrogation and you are not here against your will. If at any time you want to leave, you can."
    "Not until someone tells me what the hell is going on and why she is back here she doesn't."
    They both turned at the dark, rumbly voice.
    Shit. Bhric.
    Calder had a feeling things were about to go sideways.

5
    J essa stared into the dark shadows at the end of the hall trying to see the owner of the scary deep voice. The dark timbre had made the fine hairs on her arms stand on end and now her flight response was in high gear.
    Except she had nowhere to go. In front of her stood Calder and behind her in the shadows was a voice that automatically made her fear the shifter it belonged to.
    "Hey, boss," Calder greeted.
    Slowly a large man walked from the dark corner. Jessa's eyes grew wide and she audibly gasped. He was big. At least the size of Calder. But he was different.
    Menacing. And the control emanating from him... She felt it clear to her bones. This had to be the man she was sent to see.
    Well, fuck. Someone call a doctor because she was definitely certifiable for coming here for help. This giant of a man didn't give off an ounce of friendly vibe.
    "What's going on here?" the man demanded, his voice rumbling through the room. She tried to place the emotion coming from him and couldn't quite figure it out. Not really anger. Something else.
    When she took a step backward as he approached, he finally stopped moving several feet in front of her, giving her the first full look at the leader of this group.
    Calder had called him boss and that seemed so banal of a term for the man standing in front of her. Alpha? Yes, he was certainly alpha. But she'd met the Alpha of the Blackwood pack and he'd not turned her to jelly with just a look.
    "This is Jessa. She just moved here. Rented out old man Jack's cabin up on Shy hill."
    "Why?" the menacing mountain asked.
    "Uhm—uhh." Apparently she couldn't string words together with his stare unnerving her.
    To her surprise Calder came up behind her and wrapped his arm around her, tucking her under his right shoulder.
    Bhric raised a dark eyebrow.
    "She came here for help. In fact, she was just about to sit down with Gage and me to discuss the situation."
    "Actually, I came to see you. I've been told that if I wanted to gain my freedom from the Blackwood pack then I was to come here and immediately find you."
    Jessa swore the air in the room stilled. Bhric's expression didn't change, but the muscle in his jaw flexed several times. For whatever reason he didn't seem to like what she'd said.
    "Who told you to come here?"
    "The doctor there. Simon. He was certain you would want to help. I didn't believe him, but I didn't have anywhere else to go."
    "What?" Calder turned her in his arms and grabbed her shoulders to face him. "You talked to Simon. Where is he? Is he okay?" He looked at Bhric. "Fuck. We need to call Rafe."
    Jessa didn't know who Rafe was, but the dark cloud across the alpha's face had darkened.
    He pointed to Calder. "Clear