Bearly a Chance: A Second Chances Romance by Alana Hart, Sophia Barron Read Free Book Online

that it wasn’t the babe bleeding, worry that whatever had harmed Victoria was still a danger. He stalked to the front door and kicked it open so hard the door flew past the stops on the hinges The tempered glass spider-webbed on impact, but didn’t fall. Crap, that’s going to be expensive. Still, Bear was just grateful it wasn’t his cub’s blood being spilled. Ben agreed. There was no chance in hell they’d retain any semblance of control when a cub was hurt, much less their cub. He could hear Aria and Delilah scampering behind him. At least his mate and cub were safe, for now.
    “Is it safe?” Aria’s question made him hesitate before stepping through the exit. Safe? He looked at her, felt his brows furrow in confusion. It was almost like old times, with her picking up on his unspoken thoughts. He didn’t dare speak, though. Bear had too much control of their body for words.
    “Is it safe to take her outside in her other shape?” Aria’s stubborn chin gestured toward the cub cradled gently in Victoria’s arms.
    Ben’s gaze followed her motion. Damn, from the looks of Tori’s legs, the cub had gotten a hell of a mouthful or two trying to escape. Aria’s comment about the cub’s other shape floored him. Strange magic threatened her grandmother and child but she was worried about what form they wore? Bear snarled his frustration and drove them through doorway. Ben wrested control back from the beast, took three giant steps, then stopped and settled Tori and the babe gently on the ground. He pointedly ignored the whimper Tori made when her damaged legs made contact with the cement. Despite the tang of iron in the air, there wasn’t enough there to indicate a mortal wound. Pain sucked, but Ben and bear both accepted it as a part of life.
    His cub wasn’t so discrete. Her brilliant blue-eyed gaze met Tori’s green pain-filled one. The cub’s eyes grew round and wide. Her pupils shrunk and silver flooded in, obscuring that gorgeous baby blue. Ben’s heart was lost when the cub shivered twice, then flowed smoothly from bear to tot without a single cry of pain. Ben was impressed with the ease of that shift. It had taken him a year to become that proficient and smooth. Bear was even more impressed. Ben got a vague impression of great age and wisdom from bear, but that didn’t make a lick of sense. Faith was just a baby, after all. Bear huffed his annoyance, but subsided when the scent of salt-water tinged the air.
    Tears streamed down the girl’s face. She kept repeating one word over and over. Ben couldn’t quite make it out, but it sounded a bit like “sident.” He shook his head, trying to figure out what that meant in baby speak, but before he could make a guess Faith threw herself into Tori’s outstretched arms and wailed ”sorry” at the top of her little lungs. Ben’s heart thudded in his chest. She was going to be magnificent when she was grown. Assuming he could protect her long enough to grow up. Bear had no such doubts, and as far as he was concerned his cub was more than magnificent now. If Bears’ instincts were right, then Faith would be downright terrifying as an adult. Bear’s gentle hum indicated satisfied agreement with that assessment, but Ben refused to believe. That angelic little girl would never be terrifying. Never. That was his baby.
    Tori’s faded blue eyes met his gaze, sharp and direct. He could sense a question hovering behind that look, but from the tense lines around her mouth, Tori wasn’t speaking until she could do so without causing the child further worry. Even Bear was impressed.
    Tough old vixen, Bear huffed proudly. It seemed his bear was more than happy to claim Victoria Fox as family, too. Ben wasn’t so sure that would go well. The deadly glances Aria was sending his way from behind Tori suggested that his bears’ hopes were way too high. They’d be lucky to even claim their mate at this rate. He had no idea where to even begin explaining