Commander Bear (Bear Shifter Paranormal Romance) (Bear Patrol Book 1) Read Online Free PDF Page A

walked into a bar?” Willow asked.
    “I haven’t heard that one,” Zoe said.
    “Excellent, let’s make it a thing,” Willow said leading them both out through the bright open mezzanine at the front of the Institute.
    The group made their way down the front steps and into the parking lot of the Bright Institute where Willow unlocked the doors to her SUV and everyone climbed inside. She drove down the road, around the lake, and up into Fate Mountain Village where Fate Mountain brewery was located on Main Street. It was late afternoon and there were already a dozen cars parked in the parking lot in front of the tasting room.
    Heath, Willow, and Zoe piled out of the car and pushed open the door into the brewery. Classic rock music played on the jukebox and a group of loggers in red flannel shirts were sitting at the bar chatting up a group of what appeared to be college sorority sisters. The sorority girls giggled at the bearded shifters flirtatiously. Ever since shifters had come back from the war, the media had completely rebranded them as heroes. And now, girls like that were all over every shifter they could find.
    Before the war, shifters were bad news as far as humans were concerned. Now, every early morning talk show and women’s magazine had some kind of news article about how shifters were the most eligible bachelors in the country. Human women clambered to get a chance to mate with one. Being a rare shifter female herself, Zoe was less than impressed with the turn of events.
    Not that she begrudged male shifters their human mates, but the way human women had changed their opinions so quickly about shifters made Zoe feel a little ill. It was girls like the ones at the bar who gave all human women a bad name, in Zoe’s opinion.
    Not that she was one to talk. She was a jewel thief, in debt to a dangerous criminal. She hadn’t fought in the war to defend her country, and she hadn’t been involved in the heroic actions that had brought about the government’s decision to instate the Shifter Equality Act.
    While the male shifters who had been drafted into the military had completely turned around the state of affairs for the entire shifter community, Zoe had been dancing at nightclubs and getting involved with the worst possible people. The shame of it still dug at her soul.
    Willow, Zoe, and Heath all sat down at a table and a waitress came over to ask them what they wanted. Willow ordered a pitcher of Fate Mountain lager. A few minutes later, a waitress brought them a cold pitcher and three chilled pint glasses. Zoe poured her pint and took a sip, sitting back in her chair, listening to the music. She sniffed the air, making out the faint scent of anticipation rolling off of Willow. She could tell Willow was up to something other than sharing a congratulatory pint with Heath.
    “What are your plans now that you’ve graduated, Zoe?” Willow asked.
    “I haven’t decided yet.”
    “She wants to apprentice with Angus Grant at his woodshop,” Heath said, selling her out.
    “Have you asked him? I’m sure he would love to have you as his apprentice,” Willow said.
    “No, I haven’t asked yet,” Zoe muttered.
    “Well, why don’t you ask him now?” Willow said, waving towards the front door.
    Angus Grant, otherwise known as Big Bear to the Rescue Bears, because he was huge, walked in the front door of the brewery with his bespectacled mate Poppy. Zoe had met both Angus and Poppy several times over the last six months at various social events.
    She didn’t know either of them all that well but she did know that they were both good people. She also knew that Angus Grant was one of the most talented woodworkers on the West Coast. If she was really serious about her craft, he was exactly the person that she should apprentice with.
    Angus and Poppy smiled at Willow as they approached the table, pulling up two more chairs to sit down.
    “What are you all doing here?” Angus asked, his massive arms bulging as