Idle Bear: BBW Paranormal Shape Shifter Romance (Bear Mountain Book 4) by Ruby Shae Read Free Book Online

suggested the outing. Hanging out with the girls would be the perfect distraction to keep her from thinking about Aaron. She couldn’t wait until eleven.
     
    ***
     
    Aaron stood on Main Street and surveyed the town.
    It had been a week since he’d left Bear Mountain, but he’d needed the time to work through his issues. Waking up in the cave in bear form had been an experience, and so had hunting for breakfast.
    He’d opted for fish almost every day, because chasing down the rabbit his bear wanted had made him queasy. When he’d finally given in and agreed to find something red-blooded, he immediately decided he didn’t want to do it again. He still preferred his meat cooked medium well.
    His bear had only let him shift twice, once to pick up some human food, and another to test their newfound compromise in a crowded mall.
    He agreed to accept his bear, and shift and run at least once a week, and his bear agreed not to randomly shift—even if their mate were in danger. The human form controlled all of the shifts, as it should be, but the bear wouldn’t be hidden anymore.
    The second half of their compromise included claiming their mate and becoming part of the clan. Bears were mostly solitary creatures, except when a shifter mate became pregnant. The energies from the cubs caused the bears to congregate and surround the expectant couple. With other bears around, it would be easier to embrace everything his animal had to offer. 
    Gage had tried to help him in the past, and he hoped the invitation still existed, but his mate came first. When he embraced his full self, everything became crystal clear.
    Sara had been the missing piece all along.
    A mate soothed a shifter in several ways, but the most important involved balance. A mate would complete him, keep him grounded, and never let him turn his back on his bear again. All of the knowledge he’d gained over the past week proved how much he needed her, but they weren’t the reasons he came back.
    He came back because he loved her, and the thought of living one more day without her nearly drove him insane. He’d never met anyone he’d wanted as much, not even his ex all those years ago. Sara was kind, smart, beautiful and most importantly, she loved all of him. She’d been honest about her feelings in the hotel room. He had to be honest about his.
    He knew he had a lot to make up for, and a large amount of groveling would be in order, but he’d never give up. Now that he’d found his mate, he’d never let her go.

Chapter Six
     
    Sara woke when the sun leaked through a crack in the dark shed, signaling another morning. She tried to adjust her hands, but the knot the hunters made wouldn’t budge. The rope dug into her skin and she could see where the rough binding had broken through. Dried blood colored the rope and her dirty wrists.
    The smell of the dirty bandana between her teeth made her want to gag, and it was tied so tight it cut into the corners of her mouth. Her stomach rumbled and her throat was on fire. She needed water, though she knew she would never get it.
    Dried tears lay in rows down her face, but she had no more tears left. She’d been missing for three days, and she knew no one would ever find her. The hunters waited for the bear to save her, but she knew he wouldn’t come. How much longer would they wait before they killed her?
    She closed her eyes and thought back to a week ago, the day she went out with the girls. They drove into the next town over for the huge craft fair, and there she’d seen the table of bear paraphernalia. Tucked in between the coloring books and figurines, lay containers of bear claws and bear teeth. She’d picked up a business card right before the hunter who shot her returned to the table.
    He’d recognized her immediately.
    “Hey, it’s the bear whisperer,” he sneered. “You cost me money that day, sweetheart.”
    “Grizzlies are a threatened species. It’s illegal to hunt them,” she