Laid Bear 2: The Kodiak Clan Read Online Free PDF Page A

whispered.
    “Nah,” he said dismissively. He unwrapped his arm from her shoulder and pushed off the couch, heading to the kitchen. The distinctive sound of a cap being twisted off the top of a beer bottle reached her ears.
    “How do you know that? Didn’t you just say they killed a human mate?”
    He stepped into the hall, leaning his shoulder into the wall and crossing one foot casually across the other. “Huh?” he asked.
    Her eyes narrowed at him. With his supersonic hearing, there was no way he didn’t hear her question. He was stalling. “How do you know the Brotherhood won’t hurt us?”
    “Because.” He shrugged and tipped the bottle to his mouth.
    What kind of answer is that? “Because why?”
    He huffed in exasperation and dropped the beer from his lips. “Because I’ll be damned if some bigoted punks are gonna get anywhere near my mate and cub.”
    Bethany’s blood boiled. How dare he brush off her concerns about a marauding gang of murderous bears?! This wasn’t the type of thing that could be brushed under the rug with no consequences. If she or her baby were in danger, she had a right to know.
    “Well, doesn’t that just make me feel all safe and secure.” Sarcasm had always been one of her favorite — or at least most-used — defense mechanisms and old habits died hard.  
    Max’s tan skin began shimmering and he seemed to suddenly grow about three inches. “Don’t question me, woman!” His voice became deeper, too. All telltale signs that his inner bear was getting riled and trying to come out. But that didn’t frighten her because she knew he was still Max in shifted form and he would never hurt her, even if his bear took over. In fact, it made her even angrier that he and his damn bear were trying to intimidate her.
    Dragging herself and her mighty belly into a standing position, Bethany stuffed her fists onto her hips and glared him down, tears of anger pricking her eyes. “I am your mate , Maximilian Pearce, not your fucking subordinate! Don’t you ever talk to me like that again.”
    In a fury, she yanked open the front door but turned back before storming out. “When you’re ready to discuss this as partners , I’ll be next door.”

    ~ * ~ * ~

    As the door slammed shut, Max cursed under his breath. “Real smooth, asshole,” he mumbled to his bear…and himself. He only wanted to protect her, ease her mind. She was already worried enough about the pregnancy, she didn’t need this piled on top.  
    He raked a hand across his scruffy face. Dammit, now I need to shave again. Every time he shifted — or almost shifted — his human form was left with a scrubby chin.  
    The urge to chase after her was overpowering, but that would probably only lead to another blow-up. Better to just let her chill out for a few minutes. He took another cool swig of beer on his way to the bathroom for his second shave of the day.  
    Maybe they both needed to chill out. The pressure of their situation was really getting to them both, and maybe his latest assignment would afford them a bit of space to reflect. The harassing calls had tapered off to almost nothing, and he had to believe that Chet would step up to keep an eye on her if he left town for a few days. Plus Paul and Kimmy were right next door. She would be safe.
    Safer than where he was headed, anyway. That woman’s email indicated the Brotherhood had a strong presence in Kodiak, which was exactly where the International Council was sending him. That group of backward-thinking bigots had very strong ideas about interspecies relationships, and had been known to get violent. He didn’t want Bethany anywhere near the place, under the circumstances. He could handle whatever bullshit was thrown at him, but there was no way in hell he’d put her or their cub at risk.
    The towel was soft against his skin as he patted his face dry. He took one more bolstering swig and a big, deep breath as he headed next door to tell his angry and very