Read Bearly Living: Foxhollow Den #1 (Alaskan Den Men) for Free Online Page B

companion for years, yet it was more than the hunger for his touch. This new feeling was a hunger for his approval of her bear abilities. The true reason she couldn’t tell him no. And that was not what she’d signed up for.
     
    ∞∞∞
     
    Not willing to explore any deeper meaning to their relationship, Bobbie threaded her fingers through Grants as they trekked through the woods to a peaceful looking pond. Since they hadn’t brought any fishing poles or bait, she assumed they’d be whittling sticks and throwing them at the fish cavewoman style.
    After Grant pulled away from her hand and walked into the water up to his waist, she realized it was much, much worse. “I’m not getting in the water with these boots on. I just bought them.”
    “Take them off then, but you will be getting into the water for this lesson.”
    The bushes shook to her left, and she expected any number of critters to jump out at her feet. “It looks cold. And we’re probably disturbing the local wildlife. They might be thirsty.”
    “Sweetheart, we are the local wildlife.” He splashed water in her direction. “If you focus on your bear, then your body will adjust to the temperature. Don’t think human, think bear.”
    “I think I’ll watch from here.” Aggressive suited her style, but she could muster an amazing amount of stubborn if the situation called for it. This one did. She dropped down to sit criss-crossed on the bank.
    “Okay, fine. Watch me first, and once you see how fun it is, you’ll be begging to come in.” Grant moved forward and stood thigh deep.
    When his arms began to change into a weird half-human, half-bear shape, Bobbie’s instincts told her to get the hell out of there.
    “Shhh.” The warmth in Grant’s eyes let her know he was in control of his half-shift. His focus went back to the water beneath him and with a quick jab of his bear claw he tossed a fish onto the bank near her.
    The fish flopped, and she gasped at the size. “What is it? Holy crap, it has teeth, Grant.”
    “That’s a Northern Pike. Not the friendliest or tastiest of fish. Toss it back in.”
    “I hope it bites you,” she murmured, mostly to herself. Before she tossed the fish back in, she mumbled an apology for his out-of-water experience.
    After she wiped her hands over Grant’s flannel shirt, she paused to inhale deeply. A strange odor filled the air around them. Grant must have smelled it too as he lifted his nose in the air.
    “What is that?” she asked.
    “People.” The tone of his voice suggested they weren’t welcomed people.
    Quick pops echoed through the trees almost like firecrackers, but followed with little clicks. “Is that gunfire?”
    Grant rushed forward out of the water. “It shouldn’t be. Firearms are off-limits up here, and right now we don’t have any visitors on the land. Could be the twins messing around, but we’d have heard their four-wheelers.” He shook off the water like a dog after a bath. “Do you want to check it out with me?”
    “Not really.”
    “We won’t get too close. I need to be able to warn the rest of the family if it’s someone who shouldn’t be here. It’s my job to keep an eye on all of this for them.”
    She nodded in agreement. Apprehension filled her, and tension seeped into her body making it difficult to walk. She followed along directly behind Grant, mimicking his careful steps. They’d only gone a few hundred yards when he motioned for her to stop.
    He inhaled deeply and tilted his head. “It’s the same group from before. I don’t need to see them to know what they are doing.”
    “What are they doing?”
    “Trapping on private property.”
    A guttural and pain-infused growlish moan filled the air. She could be sure it was a bear of some type. “Oh no. What if that’s a shifter?”
    Grant intertwined his fingers through hers and pulled her in the direction of his cabin. “Definitely a bear, but usually if a shifter gets wounded, they go back to human.