Taming the Bear Collection Read Free Page A

distant. It was a whirlwind few days as she realized how much he cared for her and how attracted to her he actually was. She returned the feelings and realized she had nothing left at home, especially after an eye-opening conversation with her father where he didn't show any love to her at all. But the thing that made the transition to living amongst wolves the easiest was her immediate friendship with Rain. It had only been a week since she'd ended up in Bucklin, but she felt like the young wolf had been her friend for years.
           It hurt Eva to see Rain so upset and embarrassed in front of so many important people. She had by all accounts made a complete ass of herself, but at the same time she was just trying to protect Eva.
           Eva wasn't much older than Rain and she still made impulsive and stupid decisions. It had been ten times worse when she was eighteen, so she understood where Rain was coming from.
           There was no answer as Eva began to beat on the door. Rain was probably holed up in her room, trying to shut everyone else out.
           "Come on, Rain!" Eva shouted. "Answer the door!"
           She glanced back across the street. Everyone was looking at her as if she was on some kind of hidden camera show.
           "Go back to what you were doing," she muttered, turning back to the door. She reached down and grabbed the doorknob, turning it slightly. It wasn't locked and it swung open with ease.
           Eva stepped into Rain's front room to immediately be met by the smell of days-old pizza and dirty laundry. It was actually the first time she'd ever entered Rain's home and it was an eye-opening experience.
           "I was never this much of a slob when I was eighteen," Eva muttered, trying not to inhale as she looked around the house.
           There were old clothes strewn about the living room, haphazardly lying wherever they had been thrown when Rain took them off. Beside the couch was a stack of old pizza boxes with flies buzzing close by.
           "Maybe it's not such a good thing wolves have tried human life," Eva said.
           She wasn't sure how a wolf's digestive system could handle that much pizza. In the wild they wouldn't have to worry about clothes or cleaning up after themselves, but Rain had lived within a city her entire life. She was part of a new generation of wolf, one who had never felt the kiss of the night air or the taste of a fresh kill as you sunk your teeth into it. At least that's how Rowan had put it to her, despite the fact that he had grown up in Bucklin himself. But his parents had spent a good bit of his childhood teaching him to respect his roots and taking him on hunts. That was slowly being phased out as the wolves became more and more domesticated. Eva wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not. She had warned Rowan about denying his inner wolf, afraid the beast would eventually take control. She felt that way for all the wolves; without the call of the wild they were basically just large humans who could transform into a wolf if they felt like it.
           "What do you want?" Rain called from her bedroom, her voice racked with emotion.
           "I'm just here to talk to you," Eva called to her.
           The house was set up much like Rowan's, without a lot to it. She was shocked Rain could smell her all the way in the living room amid the haze of funk that seemed to settle in the air. Eva could almost see a green cloud hanging above all the furniture.
           She shuddered before heading for the bedroom while making a mental note to come back later with heavy-duty cleaning gear. It would take all of her effort, but she would have this place spotless before too long.
           She walked into Rain's bedroom, which was surprisingly clean compared to the living room. Maybe Rain just liked to nest in front of the TV, creating a special little den in that area. It made Eva shudder again to