Lord of the Bears (Wild Ridge Bears Book 1) Read Online Free PDF Page B

surrounding woods, “how are things with your sister?”
    My sister, Olivia. She was the reason I’d left Wild Ridge last year.
She’d gotten into some trouble with a wolf pack further south. She’d run off
with one of them, as a matter of fact. It had taken me, my father, and a few
members of the other families to deal with it. It had also almost cost me my
life. Dragging the other bears into it kind of skirted on violating our code of
staying under the radar with outsiders. Nothing more outside than werewolves. I
knew there might be a few who’d hold it against me.
    “Olivia’s good,” I said. “That’s all settled now.” I knew Cullen would
want more details. No doubt the rumors the other bears brought back were a hell
of a lot wilder than the truth. But, I wanted to put it behind me. I’d gotten
hurt so badly I couldn’t shift for weeks. Now, I was fully healed. I just
wanted to get my own life back.
    Cullen nodded, but his eyes still looked troubled. “Well, let’s just
say it’s mostly settled. A lot went down after the others came back. Haven’t
you talked to Caleb?”
    I shrugged. My father hadn’t handled the knowledge of having a daughter
off with a wolf very well. “Not yet. And I don’t expect I will for a long time.
He headed up to the Yukon after we handled things with Olivia. He wanted to clear
his head and see some old friends there. I don’t think he’s much in the mood to
answer questions about shit that’s nobody else’s business.”
    “Right. He told us he was leaving. Some of the old timers weren’t too
happy about it. There was a vote, Jax.”
    My heart dropped. A vote. I knew my father would face ramifications for
dragging some of the bear families into our mess. I should have stayed by his
side, but after my fight with the wolf pack, I would have died without
hibernating first. I didn’t think I wanted to know the outcome of that vote.
    “It was close,” Cullen said. “A few of the families thought Caleb
should forfeit his rights to the mine and wanted to drive him off the ridge
altogether. And you with him.”
    “Families? Let me guess. Simon Marshall was the ringleader.” I choked
back the bile rising in my throat. Those fuckers actually thought banishing my
father would have been justified?
    Cullen let out a breath that told me all I needed to know. Simon was
the head of the Marshall family crew. “He was in the minority, but yes. Everyone
calmed the hell down after a while. Caleb pissed a few people off, but he’s
still Caleb. Nobody can forget that your grandfather’s the one responsible for
settling this land and founding the mining operation for all of us in the first
place, and that Caleb helped grow it to what we are today. The Lord name still
carries a lot of weight around here.”
    “Right. But I’m guessing you’re about to tell me whatever chips my
family name held, this last drama cashed them all in.”
    Cullen hung his head then finally nodded. “Pretty much, Jax. Pretty
much. But who cares? You’re back now. Things can start getting back to normal.”
    “I surely fucking hope so. And thank you, man. I know you’re the one
who looked after my place while I was gone. I won’t forget it. So, is that all,
or are there any other surprises I need to look forward to? What about you? Is
Hank still hanging around, or has he finally let you take over your family’s
crew outright?
    The grim set to Cullen’s mouth told me the answer. Old Hank James was
still hanging on. Cullen put an arm around me as we started walking back toward
the company store. “Hank is Hank. And, well, Simon’s still the asshole he’s
always been. Unfortunately, there are enough of them like him, so I’m not going
to lie and tell you re-entry is going to be smooth for you. I did what I could,
but Simon’s poached quite a bit of your crew in your absence.”
    Fucking Simon. Except, with my father gone and me with him, there
probably wasn’t a damn thing I could do about any of