Broken Bear: Unleashed Passion by Stella Bryce Read Free Book Online Page B

lived...and Jett, Jett didn’t look like a bear either, not the slightest bit.  
    Phoenix watched her try to work through the details. “Lily,” he reached out to take her hand. She took it, and then came into his arms in an embrace. “I will never hurt you. You’re safe with me.”
    “Bear?” She scrunched up her nose and looked up at Phoenix. “I just don’t...I didn’t think shape-shifters were real. I mean, I heard about them, but…” She stopped talking.
    “I can show you, but I’m afraid it will scare you. I don’t think you’re ready to see me as a bear yet.” His voice lowered. He meant business.
    “Can he change too?” She pointed to Jett.
    “Yes.”
    “What if he did it, so I could just sort of see what it means?” She still didn’t believe it was true. She heard the words, but her brain couldn’t make rhyme or reason of the entire thing.  
    “Jett?” Phoenix asked if he’d be willing.
    “Yeah, sure.” He turned to Lily. “Even as a bear, I won’t hurt you. I’ll protect you. That’s my job. I keep most of my human thoughts when I’m in bear form.”
    “Are you ready?” Phoenix looked at Lily.
    “No, wait!” She panicked. “I don’t think I am.” She sat back down. If she saw it with her own eyes, would it forever change what she thought of these men? “You mean this? You’re not pulling my leg?”
    Phoenix was dead serious. “Lily, it’s okay to be nervous. You just need to trust me. If you trust me, you’ll know I’d never let anything happen to you. I’m here. I’ll protect you.”
    Lily’s heart wedged in her throat. “It’s just...I’ve never…”
    “We don’t wear it on our sleeves,” he said. “And most of us stick to Mountain View Crest. That’s where you are now. You’re safe here.”
    She’d heard of the town, but because it was a few over, never paid much attention to it. And with it being in another county, it rarely made her own news. Sure, rumors...but she figured it was a hoax. Or...maybe she pretended it wasn’t real because it was easier to accept.
    “Are you ready?” He nudged her. “You need to understand my truth.”
    “I’m scared,” she whispered.
    “I know, baby. But you have nothing to be afraid of. Jett is your protector, the same way that I am.” He stroked his hand through her hair. “It’s going to be okay.”
    She nodded.
    “Jett,” Phoenix said, and then asked him to show his bear.
    Lily scrunched up her face and squinted her eyes, as if she was watching a scary movie, almost afraid to see what was about to happen. Phoenix wrapped his arm around her, holding her close. She felt better in his arms.
    As Jett slid from his human form to his bear from, his body hair changed to a thicker, denser fur, his nose elongated, his teeth took shape as they lengthened, and his entire body filled in as he dropped down to all fours.
    Lily couldn’t breathe. All the air rushed out of her lungs. She started to hyperventilate. A real(,) live bear stood in the room before her. A bear that used to be a man. A man that guarded her first at the hospital and now here. And he said Hunter was one, too. A man that was in her hospital room night and day.  Lily’s entire body slumped into Phoenix’s arms as she fainted.  

Chapter 21 Phoenix
     
    He felt Lily’s body go limp in his arms. Shit .  
    “Do you think it was too much, too soon?” Jett asked.
    “She has to know.” He turned as she slowly stirred.
    “Did...did that just happen?” She could barely speak. She looked around the room quickly. Jett was a man. She was hallucinating. Sure, Phoenix said something, but...Phoenix stared at her.
    “Are you okay?” He knelt beside her, his hand stroking her hair. “You’re safe.”
    She looked at the men and slowly sat upright. “What just happened?” She saw it with her own two eyes, but she almost didn’t believe it.
    Phoenix stood and shoved his hands into his jean pockets. “You need to know. If you’re going to be a