His to Bear Read Online Free PDF Page B

Laramie sat in
    a leather style chair to the side of a huge fireplace in a rather large sitting area. There was an empty chair beside him. Jensen, Declan and Slade sat on one of the two
    couches in the room. Matheus and Brock sat on the other. The only other piece of
    furniture was a really short couch, bigger than the chair but still not roomy enough for him and Jaeda to sit comfortably.
    He knew that was where the Holloways planned for the two of them to sit.
    Instead, he led her to the chair next to Laramie’s and pushed Jaeda to sit in it before
    leaning against the arm at her side. He let his gaze meet every single one of theirs
    except Koby, who was still pacing.
    “Are we ready?” he asked when none of them spoke. He addressed his question
    to Laramie. He knew who was in charge.
    Laramie glanced at him, and Holt knew the other man was taking his measure in
    a way he never had before. He’d been with the cat shifters before. Inconsequential in
    the long run. That had all changed with the arrival of Jaeda. There was hostility in the air Holt had never felt before. Luckily, he wasn’t a man prone to fear. Didn’t mean he
    had a death wish, either. He held his tongue and waited for Laramie to get things
    started. This wasn’t his first rodeo with a room full of shifters. He held Laramie’s
    stare until the other man finally nodded. Then he seemed to dismiss Holt in favor of
    Jaeda.
    “You have nothing to fear here, little bear,” Laramie tried to assure her.
    Her response was to curl her fingers around Holt’s wrist where it rested at his
    side. Holt watched Laramie take note of her action. Hell, every Holloway in the room
    probably noticed.
    “We’ll start with the events that brought you here then go back from there,”
    Laramie said. “We have much to discuss, and I expect you to meet my gaze, Jaeda.”
    Her head snapped up at the tone of Laramie’s voice. She glanced at Holt, but he
    refused to acknowledge her look. He wanted answers as much as the Holloways did.
    Perhaps more so considering he was the one suddenly mated to her. Besides, Laramie
    was only questioning her. Holt wouldn’t interfere unless she really needed him to. At
    the present, she didn’t.
    “Where were you staying?” Laramie asked.
    “With my Uncle Emmett.”
    “Emmett Blackstone?” Jensen wanted to know.
    Jaeda nodded.
    “Wait until we know more,” Laramie said, and Holt realized Jensen had been
    ready to leave.
    “You were attacked,” Laramie stated, and Jaeda nodded again.
    She certainly didn’t seem ready to expose the Holloways to the temper she’d
    shown him. The hellion was docile as a lamb in here. It was almost laughable how
    quickly her personality had changed.
    Laramie lifted a brow at Jaeda, waiting none too patiently until she began
    speaking.
    “We were training when we realized they were close. Uncle Emmett said it was
    important for me to know how to defend myself in case anything ever happened. We
    trained every day for six hours first thing in the morning. No exceptions. I was on my
    back, trying to catch my breath, when we first sensed them.”
    “Why were you on your back trying to catch your breath?” Holt demanded.
    “Uncle Emmett had just thrown me from him. I landed a few feet away. I curled
    to protect my head so my back took the brunt of the fall.”
    She said it so casually, as if that were normal, and the Holloways said nothing.
    Holt seethed with anger. He noticed she was still watching him and nodded for her to
    continue.
    “He ordered me to go to the den. I didn’t want to, but I knew I didn’t have a
    choice. Staying would have only gotten us both killed. I thought he might have a
    better chance if I wasn’t with him.”
    “Your uncle knew it was important for you to stay alive. You did the right thing
    by hiding,” Laramie assured her.
    Holt wondered where the den had been and how she’d remained hidden from the
    hunters.
    “I…” She stopped and swallowed.
    Laramie glanced at