Read The Write Bear (Highland Brothers 1) for Free Online Page A

clearly around the trees and along the trails he had explored since he was a child. He ran over the roots and muddy parts of the trail, letting his claws sink into the dirt. His bear needed to emerge. Riley’s scent and taste had stirred the beast beyond control. He needed a chance to get out and run.
    Hudson stopped on the trail, his nose lifting in the wind. His family had owned the acres around Highland House for well over a hundred years. It had passed down to the alpha of the family. Once his father died, he and his brothers decided to share the family home.
    There were laws of nature they couldn’t ignore, but when they found a way to tap into the human side of themselves, they tried. Sharing wasn’t a bear trait, but the Highland brothers had found a way to make it work.
    There were bear traits he enjoyed. Nights like this one, when he could use his physical form to burn energy. To explore the world through primitive eyes. Everything smelled sweeter. Colors were more vibrant. The tastes of the woods spicier and more savory. He loved being a protector, knowing he was always the strongest man in a room. Knowing he would always have the upper hand. His bear gave him that.
    But Hudson was thirty. He had no mate. No cubs. So far he had managed to date women for the sake of publicity without his bear wanting to claim one. But, things were changing. The drive for cubs was strong.
    He had always been careful with women. Sex was something he enjoyed—he fucking loved it, but he never claimed a woman with his release. He swore he never would.
    If he could make it to thirty-one without finding his mate, there was a chance the clan would brand him. A branded bear was like a hermit. A man no woman would want to father her cubs.
    His brothers thought he was crazy. He thought it was the sanest thing he could do. How could he pass this life on to his offspring? They grow up trying to balance a shifter and human life. No. He didn’t want that, no matter how much his bear did.
    He stopped again. There was a strange scent coming off the trees. He looked up. The branches were empty, but he climbed, pulling the limbs under his massive paws to take in the smell.
    “Wolf,” he muttered. Damn it.
    The wolves had been warned. They weren’t welcome on Highland lands. But one had crept his way here. Hudson leapt from the tree, tracking the scent as far as he could, until it disappeared at the edge of the lake. The water’s edge washed the scent from his nose. It was gone. Probably just someone trying to stir up trouble. He shook his head.
    The lake looked serene and peaceful under the night’s sky. Hudson felt his bear withdraw, allowing the man in him to re-emerge. He leaned his back against a tree, sliding his body to the ground.
    “She’s gone,” he whispered. “It’s better for her this way.” He looked at the high moon, and heard the sounds of the brook, lapping over the stones.
    Riley was special. His bear knew it. He knew it. But forcing her to return to Atlanta was the hardest thing he had ever done. No matter how much he wanted her, she would never want his bear.
    He waited until the moon began to lower in the sky. It wouldn’t be long before the sun would start to rise. He walked through the woods, his naked body carrying him closer home. He reached beneath a tree stump and retrieved the pair of jeans and white T-shirt he had been wearing earlier.
    Seclusion had his benefits, but he wasn’t about to start living like he was in a damn nudist colony. He had to keep the human parts of him in the front of his mind. As he approached the house he saw something that wasn’t supposed to be there.
    “What the fuck?” he glowered.
    Riley’s rental car was exactly where she had left it. It sat parked next to the house. It was almost dawn. He wondered for a second if she had car trouble again, but he knew after inspecting the engine it was fine.
    He stormed past the car and jogged up the front steps. He opened the door and his