Woodcutter Werebear (Saw Bears Book 2) Read Online Free PDF Page B

you to meet her!”
    The front door banged closed, and she imagined him and Brooke running toward each other and clashing into each other’s arms.
    But she was an adult who’d only met Kellen this afternoon, and no matter what her traitorous heart was trying to tell her, she didn’t have feelings for him like that. He was an acquaintance, a friend at most—that was all.
    And as his friend, she needed to support his relationship with a woman he obviously cared for deeply. With a sigh of determination, she stood and made her way into the bathroom. Nards was nowhere to be found, so she stepped up to the sink and stifled a yelp. She looked like hell on a hot day. The make-up she’d attempted to cover the bruises with this morning had run off. Her mascara streaked down her cheeks, the oversize flannel shirt she’d been hiding from the world in made her boobs look saggy, and her nose was red. With a strangled groan, she splashed water over her face until her make-up was completely gone, then shimmied out of her red flannel button-up. Underneath, she wore a red tank top with tiny black polka dots that hugged her slim figure. Roger never would’ve let her wear something so revealing in public. He’d said he didn’t like people seeing too much of her skin, but fuck it all. She was smack dab in the middle of a trailer park overrun by badass bear shifters. If Roger had a problem with what she wore here, he could take it up with their canines.
    She knelt down, feeling the stretch of her favorite pair of black leggings, and re-tied the laces on her dark hiking boots. When she stood, she was determined to make a good impression on Brooke and the rest of the people here. She liked the Ashe crew. They didn’t know her from Eve, but they’d offered to go after Roger when they’d seen the bruises on her face. In those few minutes she’d conversed with them, they’d won her loyalty.
    Running her fingers through the soft waves of her long, gnarled hair, she rushed to the front door. With a steadying sigh, she rallied her reserve, then threw the door open wide and hustled onto the small porch.
    She’d expected Brooke to be beautiful. How could she not be to have caught the attention of a man who looked like Kellen? And she’d been right. Brooke stepped out of a silver Volvo in front of a trailer across the dirt road. It was hard to make her out through the crowd of men around her hugging her up tight. But through the shifting bodies, she could make out long, curled blond hair and animated green eyes. An easy smile and laugh lines. Kellen handed her a box of wine and the flowers, and she doubled over laughing before she side-hugged his waist.
    Their interaction lacked chemistry. Skyler frowned. She’d expected to have to witness kissing and groping, but Kellen easily passed her off to Denison for a hug. A lean man with dark hair and blue eyes she didn’t recognize sauntered around the back of a black pickup truck and clapped Kellen on the back. They murmured something much too low for her to hear and laughed.
    Then the man did something incomprehensible. He leaned over and kissed Brooke square on the lips. It was one of those tender, romantic, all-in-with-the-feels kisses that made Skyler blush for witnessing.
    Kellen jogged over to Skyler, but he stopped at the porch stairs, and his eyes went round. “You look…” He left the word unspoken as his eyes raked over the tight fit of her tank top, leggings, and her clunky boots.
    “I don’t understand,” she said on a breath. “I thought Brooke was yours.”
    Kellen angled his head and narrowed his eyes. “My what?”
    “Your mate?”
    “Brooke?” he sputtered. “She’s Tagan’s mate. She’s mate to the alpha. I care for her deeply. We all do. She’s the only female in our crew, and she’s the best of us. She’s my friend, not my mate.”
    Skyler felt stupid and tricked. “But you bought her flowers.”
    “Because she deserves them. And wine because she likes it