Read Brave Bear: BBW Bear Shifter Paranormal Romance (BRIDES fur BEARS Book 2) for Free Online Page A

said.
    “We are?” Ashley
said, looking surprised and delighted.
    “Yes.”
    “What happened after
you ran away from the circus?” Ashley asked curiously.
    “Well, we came to
Shadow Point, and Joshua and I went to school here. At first, we
were suspicious of everyone and we were unfriendly and surly. The
other kids made fun of me because I couldn't hear very well. I
didn't tell anyone that I was deaf in one ear so they thought I was
either slow and stupid or ignoring them on purpose. Uncle Joshua got
mad and I cried a lot. That didn't help, so we decided to stop being
mad and stop crying.”
    “What did you do then?”
Ashley prompted.
    “We decided to stop
being so suspicious and hostile. And I decided to tell the other
kids and the teachers that I was deaf in one ear. Finally they
understood and some of the kids actually came up to me to apologize
for being mean. I shouldn't have been ashamed of my disability. If
I had just told them the truth, they would have understood and helped
me instead of hurting me.”
    “So—if I tell my
teachers the truth...” Ashley began tentatively.
    “They'll help you, and
they'll explain to the other kids what you are,” Jax said.
    Serena and Ashley were silent
for a long while. Finally, Ashley spoke up, “I want to do what
Uncle Jax did. I think he's very brave. I want to be like him,
Mummy.”

CHAPTER
FOURTEEN

    Serena knelt down and tucked
Ashley's hair behind her ear. She adjusted her daughter's coat again
and kissed her twice. “Are you sure you're okay with this?
Mummy won't be coming with you,” Serena said.
    “Mummy! You've asked
me this like a million times. I'm not a baby,” Ashley
protested, squirming.
    “You're my baby,”
she said just as the doorbell rang.
    “They're here, they're
here!” Ashley squealed, bouncing on the balls of her feet.
    Jax went to open the door,
and Gramma and Ne-ma bounded into the house. There was a lion cub
perched on Gramma's shoulder.
    “Are you ready to go,
Ashley?” Gramma asked excitedly.
    When the lion cub growled at
Ashley, Ne-ma glared at him and scolded, “Jeremy! Behave
yourself!”
    Ne-ma was sporting a chic
pixie cut, and she looked stylish and elegant. “You look
great, Ne-ma!” Serena blurted out.
    “I know.” Ne-ma
beamed and patted her hair.
    “I told her to change
her hairstyle eons ago,” Gramma said rolling her eyes. “How
do you like my new highlights?” Gramma asked, showing off the
pink and blue streaks in her hair.
    “They're very groovy.”
Jax grinned.
    The two witches grinned back
and went to Ashley. “This is our great-grandson, Jeremy,”
Gramma said, putting the lion cub down on the floor. “He's
really excited to meet you, but he's being very naughty. He refuses
to change back into human form.”
    “H-hi, Jeremy,”
Ashley stammered.
    Jeremy growled and sniffed at
Ashley. With another growl, he shifted to human form. A young boy
with light brown hair and an impish face stood in front of Ashley.
He was about Ashley's age but he was a little shorter than her.
“What are you?” he demanded. “You smell funny.”
    “Jeremy!” Gramma
and Ne-ma snapped at him.
    But Ashley didn't back away.
Instead, she kicked her chin up and said, “I'm a fire demon.”
    The little boy's eyes
rounded. “You are?” He flashed a grin suddenly.
“Cool!”
    Ashley turned to smile
happily at her mother and Serena exhaled a shaky breath as she smiled
back. Her little girl was going on her first play date. Gramma and
Ne-ma told her that their great-grandson, Jeremy was attending
kindergarten and it might be good if Ashley had a friend in school.
Jeremy's parents, Jackson and Harper Gray, had agreed to the play
date and they had dropped by the day before to introduce themselves
to Serena and Ashley.
    They were a wonderful couple.
Jackson was a bear shifter, but he had adopted Harper's son and it
was obvious that Jackson adored his wife and son.
    “Come on,” Gramma
said, holding out her hand to