Fated To Her Bear Read Online Free PDF Page A

freedom.
    Ciara was filled with wonder, having forgotten how good it felt to be like this. It was an immense feeling of liberty she had never encountered anywhere else in her life. She had forgotten this and shut it away, hoping to be able to control the other facets of this gift by ignoring the one she loved the most. Being a horse, with four feet that propelled her along so fast, the air made her eyes stream.
    A sadness crept in; she had shunned her horse for nothing. Because she had still found her mate. The thing she had hoped to avoid by moving away from her family and her herd.
    With laboured breathing, she dropped back to a canter and then slowed to a trot. It was time to go down the mountain towards the ranch. She had it all planned in her head. She would follow the track down to the ranch, stopping before she came into earshot. Her hooves would make a louder noise than her human feet, and she needed to factor this in. Changing would be quick and then she could sneak down to the barn, go inside, and then change once more into her horse and talk to Sapphire.
    When she reached the spot where she knew she had to change, she encountered a problem. Her horse didn’t want to let go. She had to assure it she would never shut it away again, never deprive either of them of the freedom they had just experienced. Only then, was she able to change back into her human form. A scary moment, for sure. What if she had been unable to change back? She needed to get in as much practice as possible, until she could change in a split second, as she used to be able to when she was younger.
    With no time to lose, she jogged down the track. The night was at its darkest, she imagined it must be around midnight and only hoped Ryan would be asleep by now. He was a rancher; he must get up early, so he must go to bed early. Mustn’t he?
    Too late now, she was committed to her plan. The only worry she had was the light tingling sensation down her neck. As if she were being watched. Stopping, she listened to the darkness; it was silent, and nothing stirred except the leaves in the wood behind the barn. It must be her imagination, or perhaps it was just the closeness of Ryan, all snuggled up unsuspecting in his bed.
    She sighed inwardly at that thought. She longed to knock on the door of the ranch and be invited in. Taken by the hand and led to his bedroom, where she would lie on the bed while he undressed her.
    “Sapphire,” she reminded herself and headed out across the open area that stood between her and the barn. She would be safe. No one would see her. Unless they happened to be looking out of the window at that exact same time.
    Which, of course, Ryan was...
     

Chapter Eight – Ryan
    Usually he slept soundly through the night, but not tonight. He had tossed and turned for more than an hour. First hot and then cold. The only thing he could blame it on was his encounter with Ciara earlier in the day. If he was honest, it had upset him more than he thought. All day he had been consumed with a need to track her down. Tonight he had been forced to mentally chain his bear up, because it wanted to go out there and find her.
    He knew he couldn’t force her to do anything. No matter how much the bear wanted to bend her to his will, that would never work with a woman like Ciara. But he did want to get to know her, find out why she ran from him. Most females embraced the mating bond. Usually they had been searching for it their whole lives, in the same way he had. But for some reason, not Ciara.
    With his temper rising, his anger directed at himself, not Ciara, he got up out of bed. If it was anyone’s fault, it must be his. Maybe she didn’t like the thought of living on a ranch like this. It was a hard life, especially in the winter. As he splashed water on his face, he wondered if he would give it up for her. Could he live any other kind of life?
    The more he thought about it, the more he perhaps understood why she might have run. If his way