Read Bear Down: BBW Paranormal Shape Shifter Romance for Free Online Page A

recover her breath, the little bell tied to the front door jingled lightly, signaling the arrival of a customer. With another swift hug, Angela straightened her uniform out, brushed off the tears and bustled out to help them. She did her best to keep a smile on her face for the day, but her tips were an accurate reflection of her mood. It was obvious to most of her customers that she was not on top of her game.
    Finally, with approximately an hour before the end of her shift, the diner empty and everything caught up, Mia told her to go home.
    "Thank you again, Mia. I'll work an extra hour next week or something to help out."
    "Nonsense dear, just get your things sorted out. I've not seen you so upset. You should talk to him, clear things up."
    "Not today, I just can't today. If he has something important to say, he'll call me and leave a message." She ignored the slightly disapproving look of her boss and friend and rushed out the back door of the diner, hurrying to catch the next bus. She had to make a transfer from that to make it home, and if she caught this one, it would be a much quicker trip.
    She did her best to keep Philip out of her mind and calm the reactions from her body that came every time she did think of him.
    ***
    Ten minutes after her shift was supposed to end, Philip got out of his car and went inside to see what the holdup was. Normally Mia let her go right on time, especially if she was being picked up by him. He pushed inside the doors, his senses already telling him something was amiss, but he couldn't quite pick it up.
    "Hello Mia, Angel in the back?" he queried as her boss walked into view, cutlery and napkins in hand.
    "No, I'm sorry, I let her go early today, about an hour ago. We're pretty slow, as you can see," she said, indicating the empty seats with a wave of her hand.
    "Do you know where she went?" He dreaded the answer she was going to give, his brain already planning out his next steps.
    "Why, I'm assuming she went home. She didn't have a change of clothes or anything with her."
    Fuck!
    With a snarl, Philip turned on his heels and raced out of the diner. The bus trip was roughly an hour he knew, for she had told him before about the long commute to her workplace. That meant by the time he got there she would have already been home for fifteen or twenty minutes.
    Fearing for his mates safety, Philip ignored as many rules of the road as he felt he could safely get away with, flying through the city at a breakneck pace. His temper was flaring, blood rushing to his muscles as he prepared himself for what was likely to come.
    He slammed on the brakes just around the corner from her apartment, not wanting to leave his car in view. He began to run towards her building, wondering when it would happen. They appeared from seemingly nowhere when he got within fifty feet of the dilapidated front door. There was five of them, variously armed with bats or wooden sticks. Thankfully no guns he noted, though he wasn't overly worried. It took a lot to harm a shifter, and they were practically invincible to normal human weapons.
    "Listen, I don't have time for your bullshit. Put the shit down and walk away now." His voice was a deep, intimidating rumble. His arms flexed as he readied himself for the denial he knew was coming.
    "Oh yeah, old man? Well, I'm going to give you to the count of five to leave," said one of the particularly brash teenagers in front of him.
    "I'll give you to a count of three," he challenged menacingly without missing a beat, taking a step forward to back up his words.
    "There's five of us, in case you can't count." There was a note of uncertainty in the youth's voice, but he wasn't ready to back down.
    There was no time to waste, so Philip rolled his eyes and reached deep within himself. It had been a long time, but the ever familiar power of his bear was eager to protect its mate. The change flooded through him, shifting his body in the blink of an eye from tall, muscular human, to