Read Oriana and the Three Werebears for Free Online

do to fix it,”
Jordan
asked.
    “Nothing,” his brother replied, shrugging. “It wasn’t broken.”
    “We need to get back to the bunker.”
    “Why? The sun is already setting. We won’t make it back before dark.”
    “Because Oriana Ricci, if that’s her real name, is a very good liar and Jack’s in danger.”
    Jon shook his head. “I don’t think she’s lying. You saw her. She looked like she’d been stranded out in the wilderness for days.”
    “Could be a part of her ruse to gain our trust, thus gather information on our operation.”
    “Okay, Jack Junior,” Jon chuckled, retrieving his clothes. “Don’t you think you’re being a tad paranoid?”
    “I wasn’t until now.” Jordan flung his hand out toward the aircraft. “How do you explain the plane?”
    “Perhaps she just doesn’t know how to work it properly,” his brother offered as he dressed.
    He raised a skeptical brow. “She’s a pilot.”
    “Yes, I know. But this could be a new plane.”
    “You know as well as I do that it’s not new.”
    “I meant new to her.” Jon rolled his eyes. “Or it could be just one of those weird things. She just said her plane broke. She never told us what was wrong with it. You’ve worked with electronics long enough. You’ve seen equipment can go quirky for no reason one minute, then be fine the next.”
    “So we’re just going to camp out here for the night and leave Jack alone with her? You’re that sure she’s innocent?”
    “For one, ruse or not, Oriana is too weak to do much harm at the moment. Two, even if she was dangerous, Jack can take care of himself. Three, if Oriana is lying about who she is, Jack probably already knows. He was checking up on her when we left the bunker. Four, she’s not lying. I just know she’s not. Call it gut instinct.”
    “That last reason defies reason,” Jordan remarked dryly.
    “I know. But if you stopped being so damn reasonable , you’ll feel it too. Have a little faith.”
    Jordan didn’t want to admit it, but somehow, he knew Jon was right. “Fine,” he grumbled, moving to collect a pile of wood. “Let’s set up camp.”
    “Gladly.”
    They fell into companionable silence as they set everything up, Jordan mulling over his youngest brother’s words. It was dark by the time they completed the rest of their tasks and settled down before the fire.
    “What do you think?” Jon asked, reinitiating conversation.
    “About what?”
    “Oriana.”
    “What about her?”
    Jon sighed. “I think she might be the one. The one we’d always hoped to find, the perfect woman we described that night right after my breakup, the one that wouldn’t mind—”
    “You’re kidding, right?” Jordan tossed another log into the fire. “We just met the girl. We have no idea what she would mind.”
    “I’ve been thinking. Perhaps fate has intervened so that we could meet, and that’s why her plane came down here even though there’s nothing wrong with it. And that whole weird Goldilocks and the Three Bears recreation, that’s the universe holding up a sign saying, ‘she’s the one, so make sure you don’t let her go.’ God is hooking us up, so maybe we should be grateful for the gift and not throw it away.”
    “It’s like Jack said, just a coincidence. Fate, destiny, God… There is no scientific evidence to back up these concepts—”
    “Says the man who can shift into a Kodiak bear at will.” Jon ran his fingers through his hair. “Not everything can be explained with formulas and charts. I know you can’t help being a science geek, but try to have some faith. Some things in this world defy explanation. You, me, Jack—we’re living proof that magic exists, that extraordinary things can happen, that some things can’t be explained. Is it so hard to believe that Oriana is here because she’s meant to be here, for us, to stay with us?”
    Jordan chuckled. “You’re such a hopeless romantic. It’s sad, really.”
    “Fuck