Grayslake: More than Mated: Bears Do It Better (Kindle Worlds Novella) Read Free Page A

here?”
    Misha felt as if the hackles were rising on the back of her neck. Her aunt might not be the politest person in the world, but she wasn’t going to let this man insult her family.
    “That tigress is my aunt, whom the Itan told me I could bring with me. Call her a cat again, and I will not take too kindly to it.”
    The man went to say something back, but one of the other bears stepped forward to put a hand on his shoulder. “Shut it, Jack.” Misha looked over at the man speaking and found his gaze glued to her aunt. Interesting. “Let the ladies come on inside to see the Itan. He’s waiting for them.”
    The bear named Jack shrugged off the other man’s touch. “I’m just trying to be careful. It’s bad enough hyenas got to us. I would hate to see what kind of damage a tiger could do.”
    Misha’s eyebrows shot up to her hairline. Hyenas? She had heard about them but never seen one.
    The four men didn’t give her much time to think about that as they waved for her to come up the stairs. Two of them walked ahead of her, one of those bears being the suspicious Jack. The other two waited until after both she and her aunt had crossed over the threshold to follow after them.
    They entered a common area that looked to be a living room of sorts. The house itself was massive, but the furniture made it feel cozy. Glancing around, Misha was surprised to see several other people there, quietly watching them. Discreetly scenting the air, all she could smell was bear, so she assumed these folks were bears, too. She hadn’t expected to see so many gathered in one place, though. Tigers were notorious for liking their privacy.
    “Oy,” her aunt mumbled from behind her. “Multiplying the Boo-Boos, they keep doing.”
    Misha cringed, knowing the other shifters had heard her wily relative. Only she didn’t get the outrage she expected from them. Instead, a deep rumble of a laugh sounded off behind her, and the voice of the man who had been staring at Arina like she was his personal jar of honey said, “It’s the clan den. Anyone in the clan can stop by whenever they want, plus a few of the single bears live here, too. I can show you around if you would like, pretty kitty.”
    Misha heard Arina snort as they kept walking toward what smelled like a sweet pastry. “You wish, bear.”
    Whatever the older bear said back to her aunt was lost in the talking and clamor that they walked into next.
    Looking around, Misha took note of the large kitchen with a couple of bears seated at a kitchen island topped with granite. An old sow was bustling around the stove, cooking whatever it was that smelled so good. Misha was tempted to ask if she could have one of whatever the old woman was making, but she reminded herself she was here for something much more important than sweets.
    She was there to find her family.
    The two bears sitting at the island looked over at her. They were both large men, but one was bigger than the other. There was an air of authority surrounding him that almost made Misha shiver. He had brown eyes, brown hair, wide shoulders, and a strong jaw. She would wager all the cat nip in Russia that this man was the Itan.
    He didn’t stand to greet her, but he did give her a slight nod of welcome. “My name is Ty, and I am the Grayslake Itan. You must be the Misha that requested my help?”
    Misha gave him a nod of respect back, allowing this man, and this man alone, to see she would bow to his dominance. “I am, Itan. If you have a few moments, I would like to ask a few questions about a couple of your clan members.”
    When she raised her gaze back up from the floor to meet his hard brown eyes, he rumbled back, “Because you believe you’re related to one or more of them? I’ll want to see some sort of proof before I give you any answers, Misha. I’m very protective of my bears.”
    She wasn’t surprised at this response. The Vasiliev tigers were just as protective of their own. This was why she had come