Read Bear in the Rough: Bear Shifter Romance (Broken Hill Bears Book 1) for Free Online Page A

air.
    “O-kay!” the other two yelled. Eloise leapt out of bed.
    “Girls, I’m sorry that I’m in my nightshirt right now, but I’m going to hug you all!” she yelled running across the room and launching herself onto Freya in a giant bear hug. Marin took her cue, leaping out of bed jumping onto Freya’s bed too, and soon the three of them were bouncing on the bed and shrieking.
    “Guys, this is going to be so great!” Marin said, and Freya finally believed her.
     
    The following day dawned, a cool and bright 58 degrees. The girls ate a huge breakfast and called a taxi to take them to the trail head. They sang all the way there, excitable and full of anticipation.
    As they took a deep breath and hoisted their packs for the first of what would become hundreds of times, Marin called “selfie time!”, and they all gathered in front of the trail sign. As Freya looked at their three grinning faces in the photo, she wondered what lay ahead for the three single girls, off to spend the next few months in the wilderness. But little did she know how cataclysmic those events would be, and that in a couple of months, her life would never be the same again.
     
    *
     
    The first day was hard. Their backs ached from the unfamiliar weight of the packs, and they stopped often to readjust the straps until the weight was distributed properly. They got hot and changed their clothes before they’d walked for an hour. The miles went far more slowly than they’d expected. But Freya had prepared herself so thoroughly for all eventualities that it wasn’t as hard as she’d anticipated. Everyone applied blister band aids proactively, so no-one wound up with blisters; they conserved their water, and Freya filtered the water they collected at a refilling point exactly as she’d practiced at home.
    By the end of the first day, they’d only gone nine miles, but they all agreed it was a pretty good start. They pitched their tents, Freya helping the other two, got the stove started, and cooked beans and franks.
    “This is pretty cool,” Marin said, as they sat in a circle in between their tents. They’d lit a small fire and it kept them warm as a cool breeze rustled around. “Is this how you imagined it?” Freya gazed up at the stars blazing in an inky-black sky.
    “As a best-case scenario,” she said with a smirk.
    “Always the optimist,” Eloise said. Freya cast a sideways glance at her. She’d been complaining here and there, as they all had. Being the curviest of the three, the straps on her pack seemed to rub her flesh the worst, and she was clearly the least fit of them all. But Freya sensed that she was trying to be upbeat, and she warmed to her for her determination.
    “How was your first day, Eloise? Honestly.” Eloise bit her lip and gazed up at the stars as well.
    “Hard. I mean, some parts of my body are kind of on fire now. And I sure wish I’d done more exercise in preparation. I mean, who would’ve thought that little old pack could get so heavy when you carry it for nine miles?” They all laughed.
    “Yeah, I knew carrying the pack would be hard, but that was something else. I can’t even imagine what it’s going to be like when it gets hot out there,” Marin said.
    “Hopefully we’ll be a lot fitter by that point,” Freya said. “Just remember, all the blogs I’ve read say that the first few days are the worst, as your body adjusts, and after that, it’s all downhill.”
    “Amen to that,” Marin said. “Hey, I just remembered – I’ve got a little treat for us all, to celebrate making it through the first day.” She leapt to her feet and started rummaging around in her backpack. When she couldn’t find whatever she was looking for, she started tipping out the contents. “Got it!” she said triumphantly, grabbing a small bottle. But something else had caught Freya’s eye – a little silver packet. She snatched it up.
    “And what’s this?” she exclaimed. Eloise squealed.
    “Marin!