Lumberman Werebear (Saw Bears Book 7) by T. S. Joyce Read Free Book Online Page A

couldn’t figure out if that was a good thing or a very bad thing.
    Little Wyatt slipped his hand in Cassie’s, jarring her out of her troubling thoughts. “What are you doing?” she asked, startled.
    “I want to fly, and you look strong,” the dark-headed two-year-old said. He stared up at her with serious, round, striking blue eyes, just like his alpha father’s.
    Brooke counted, “One, two…”
    “Three,” Cassie finished, banishing her wariness for the sake of the little boy who was looking at her like she wasn’t a soul-damaged freak. She and Brooke lifted him over two stairs as they climbed up toward the courthouse doors.
    Wyatt giggled and kicked his legs mid-air, drawing an involuntary smile from Cassie’s lips. The stretch felt good.
    Three more swings, and they reached the top of the stairs. Cassie was showing teeth now, she was grinning so big, and when she looked up, Haydan was watching her with an unfathomable expression. He disappeared through the double doors behind Kellen before she could take a guess at his emotions. Maybe he was just as mixed up as she felt right now.
    And suddenly, she really cared what he was feeling. She wouldn’t admit it out loud, but Haydan was important to her. For protection, obviously.
    Something shiny on the white tile floor caught her attention, and she squeezed Wyatt’s hand. “Hey, what’s that?” she asked, pointing to the penny.
    “Monies!”
    “Is it on heads?” Cassie asked, poking the toe of her sneaker at the coin.
    Wyatt squatted down and stared at it. “Yes?”
    “Then it’s good luck. A good sign for today. You want to put that in your pocket?”
    “Yes!” he said, more confident this time. “Daddy, look!”
    Wyatt blasted off toward his father, who had turned at the front of the group when his kid had called out to him.
    “You really think it’s a good sign?” Brooke said.
    Cassie smiled sympathetically. Damn, she was glad she wasn’t putting her shifter status on paper. “Are you nervous?”
    “It’s just, after we do this, there is no going back. There is no, ‘Oh, just kidding, we’re not really shifters.’” She was staring after her son as he ran into Tagan’s outstretched arms. This must be ten times scarier with a kid.
    “The Ashe Crew is strong. My brother has told me stories about you all. He doesn’t give his respect lightly, and he seems to think this crew is the best of them.”
    Brooke settled into line beside her and nodded. “You’re right. We’ve been through a lot and always stuck together. That’s what is going to get us through whatever is coming. Is that why Matt wanted Haydan to claim you?”
    Dang, word got around quickly. “I honestly don’t know why Matt chose Haydan or the Ashe Crew. He just told me it was important I be with you. Maybe because Diem and Harper are part of the crew, and Damon is willing to…you know…eat anyone who messes with his family and friends. Matt’s always been overprotective. I mean, my last crew isn’t even a match for the Ashe Crew, much less your ally dragon. He’s got his reasons, but he just gave me a bunch of half-truths when I tried to get them out of him.”
    “Curious.”
    “Indeed.” But then again, Matt had never given her answers to his actions, and she hadn’t pushed too hard. If he thought she was safest here, she was. After everything they’d been through together, Cassie trusted him.
    She waited with Danielle and Riley while the others filled out their paperwork. Shifter registration had to be done in person, notarized and signed, and pictures—or mugshots—had to be taken and placed with each registration.
    Dark tendrils of ache unfurled in her stomach as she watched her new crew emerge one by one from the room where they had their photos taken. Maybe she should be in there, registering with them.
    But no. Then Carl would know where she was. But was that really such a big deal? If she was a betting woman, which she was, she’d put money on