Bearing It All (Grizzly Affairs Book 1) Read Free Page B

bear charged, emitting a thunderous roar as his massive strength came down upon the helpless doe. Before she could even make the move to run, she was in his clutches.
    Moments later; he couldn’t help feeling satisfaction as he stared down at the remainder of his kill. Scavengers of the forest would work to dispose of the rest of his kill. He was always careful not to leave half eaten deer’s lying around on his property. The last thing he wanted was the police thinking they had a vicious animal on the loose.
    Lumbering away from the carcass, he slowly made his way to his cabin in the seclusion of the woods. These days this was as exciting as his life was. Hunting by night in his bear form and then returning to the solace of his cabin, deep in the woods of his pack’s territory. Barely noticing his surroundings as he trudged forward, he found himself nearly stumbling into a tree as a scent drifting on the wind quickly distracted him.
    The scent was strong and addictive. Like the sweetest of berries being held out before him, tempting him for a taste. Never in a million years did he ever smell anything so delicious.  He felt a part of his inner animal reaching out, as though it were grasping for something. There was only one thing that could smell that good and draw his animal from its hidden depths.
    Mate. His mate.
    Turning in the direction of the coming wind, he charged forward. He took in more and more of the alluring scent with every heavy step. As he followed the scent trail, he focuses on the other scents that accompanied it. The bitter taste of fear and pain filled his senses. Shaking his massive brown head, his clawed feet dug deeper into the ground beneath them.
    His bear bit back an angry rumble at the idea of someone hurting the one meant only for him. Was she injured? She wasn’t a shifter. Her scent would have told him otherwise. Did that mean she was human? No, the scent was too sweet smelling to be a human.
    A million questions filtered through his head about his mate. He didn't question what he’d done in his life to deserve to find his mate so easily, but he planned to thank God for it as soon as he got his unseen mate home.
    As the scent became stronger, his steps slowed as other scents became known as well. His wide snout cringed at the scents of humans. There were hunters in the forest. Could they be hunting his mate? He had no answers to his unending questions, but was relieved to know that scent trail of the human was leading far in the opposite direction.
    Continuing on, Doyle slowed as he came to a shadowy cave carved into a rocky foundation. As he approached the entrance, he had no idea what he would find, but nothing prepared him for what he did find.
    Entering the dark interior his sharp gaze fell on the huddled form of a young woman. Her knees were drawn up to her chest as her unprotected arms wrapped around her middle, hugging herself against the cold.  The side of her face was buried amongst the brittle dirt and leaves of the ground. She was built just like a woman should be. With soft curves meant to cradle her mate during a long night of loving and yet her limbs were shaped with feminine muscle. Her full lips and already pale skin had a blue tint to them from harsh cold temperatures. Her hair was the color of golden sunlight.
    Her thin shirt molded her breast against the soft material as her nipples stood out from the temping mounds. He wanted to change to his human form so that he may cup each full mound and weigh them with each of his hands. A groan was rumbled in the back of his throat at the image he invoked.  He didn't know wither to drool or shake his head at the craziness of gazing upon his unconscious mate. What type of man did it make him that he was tempted to touch an unconscious woman? More importantly, what type of woman went walking through the woods in winter with barely any clothes? Her shoes were no different, tossed to the side he could see they were worn and