What a Bear Wants Read Online Free PDF Page B

stopped passing around plates at dinner to focus on Fallon who sat at one end of the table.
              Taking a deep breath, Fallon answered, “I invited Mr. McKenna to come for a week=long stay at the lodge.”
              The staring commenced. It was starting to make that small tick above her left eye twitch. “What?”
              Anoki leaned towards her. “Is this a ploy to lure him on to your territory, kill him, bury him and salt the earth where his remains lay?”
              Fallon rubbed that tic. “No.”
              “So then you wouldn’t mind if someone were to say...take Gladys from you for that week, would you?” Makya asked.
              She sat back in her chair, eyeing the main players of her pack. “You really don’t think I have any self-control do you?”
              “It’s not that...” Cree hedged.
              “But it kind of is.” Cade finished.
              Fallon’s eyes narrowed and Anoki said, “We trust you with our lives, Fal.”
              “But we don’t necessarily trust you with that bear’s life.” Makya added.
              She threw up her hands. “I invited him here!”
              “Which could possibly result in his untimely demise.” Cade pointed out.
              “And we like to avoid untimely demises.” Cree stated.
              “Where’s the loyalty?!”
              She tried really hard not to knock Anoki unconscious when he muttered, “Locked in the same case where Gladys will be when that bear gets here.”
     
    ***
     
              Restlessness had Fallon up late, shifting and running through the surrounding trees of Wilder Lodge, her mind racing along with her paws as they pushed into the soft ground. She didn’t think she’d been that off earlier when she said she was losing it. She had to be to have invited that bear onto her territory, into what was essentially her pack’s home. What was it about Ransom McKenna that just...pushed her buttons?
              Perhaps it was the fact that he didn’t know her but he spoke to her as if he did; the fact that he didn’t seem to be too concerned about all her snarling and snapping. Maybe his nonchalance to her threats was what mildly piqued her interest. Fallon knew she was by no means an easy female. Add that to the fact that she was one of the most temperamental   shifters on the planet and one pretty much had a recipe for disaster if they didn’t step lightly around her. She was aware of this, her pack was aware of this, and even her guests were aware of this. Yet, Ransom really didn’t seem to give a fuck. She wasn’t sure if she should admire that fearless quality or tear his Achilles tendons out with her fangs just to prove a point.
              Cree seemed to think the grizzly was after way more than her land but Fallon wasn’t so sure about that. She knew enough about Ransom to know that the man had an extensive list of women that he could pick and choose from and none of them even remotely resembled Fallon in any way, shape or form. It wasn’t that she considered herself unattractive but she was realistic. She’d never walk anyone’s runway or be on the cover of a magazine...unless of course it was for fitness or involved hunting. She was capable of being sexy in her own quirky, awkward way but she highly doubted that any male would immediately associate her with lit candles and soft silken sheets. A rough ride on the forest floor with the moon overhead and nothing but the echoes of growls and snarls? Now that was more her speed.  
              Ransom, however, had been on more than one magazine cover and seemed to be the type that liked lit candles and soft three hundred count sheets. Or at least that’s what Fallon saw when she looked at him and...wait...why was she even having this mental debate? Why was she thinking of this