Releasing the Bear: BBW Paranormal Shapeshifter Romance (The Callaghan Clan Book 2) by Meredith Clarke, Ashlee Sinn Read Free Book Online Page B

Brennan huffed and tried to climb up the hill. But his large paws kept slipping in the leaves and moss littering the ground. I laughed, even though it sounded more like a grunt. Brennan looked up at me and showed his teeth. His golden-yellow eyes almost glowed in the darker part of this forest, and it surprised me to feel how much he affected me. Shivers ran through my body, my wolf shaking her ass as a tease. And when Brennan roared again, I pushed off my feet and jumped over his head.
    He didn’t swipe at me. Instead he watched in awe. Probably shocked by my boldness considering most wolves would avoid getting that close to a grizzly when alone. Brennan continued chasing me, the hot air from his breath teasing the tip of my tail. I could smell his bear filling the air around me. He was more dominant than I knew, and my wolf loved it. She was always up for a challenge, and releasing Brennan’s inner grizzly to its fullest potential seemed like the perfect task for her mate.
    I smelled the lake before I saw it. Rushing through another meadow and dodging under a downed pine, I got to the edge before Brennan did. But when he reached my side, he continued pouncing along until his whole body was splashing around in the water. I barked at him from the shore and he swatted water in my direction. Bobbing his head underneath the surface, he looked so happy playing in the shallows and rolling around like a cub. Having never seen him act so carefree, my human heart and my wolf instincts melted for him. My mate could let go, and my equal could relax every once in a while.
    Brennan shook the water from his massive neck and huffed in my direction. I replied with a bark, asking him what he wanted. But instead of a reply, he turned back toward the center of the lake and watched. Frozen and on the hunt, I admired his technique. His eyes moved back and forth, following something, but his muscles didn’t even twitch. Then, with impressive speed, he jumped forward, dove his jaws into the water, and emerged with a large fish hanging from his teeth. He blew out water from his nose and trotted over to me on the shoreline. Stopping in front of my face, he wiggled his catch proudly.
    Yes, I see you, mate . I sat on my hunches, acknowledging the gift he’d just given me.
    Brennan set the fish down, a trout I think, and in two seconds flat, he’d skinned his prey and pushed the carcass over to me. The bears liked the skin. Wolves liked to scavenge. So a red-muscled fish killed by another was certainly all right with me. I dig in, pulling off the muscle fist before chomping down on the head. Brennan simply watched me enjoy the meal. It had been a while since I’d hunted as a wolf and the burst of energy I got from the raw meat only excited her more.
    When finished, I rolled the side of my face against the fish. Back and forth. Back and forth. And then I walked over to my mate. He dwarfed my height when standing, but Brennan had relaxed onto the ground while I feasted. So I could put my face right into his. As an alpha female, I expected those in my pack to expose their necks when I did this. And even now, I wondered what Brennan would do. Had he ever dealt with pack laws before? Did the bears follow similar dominance rules?
    My questions were answered when a rough, long bear tongue licked the side of my face. My wolf growled while my human laughed. Brennan continued to surprise me. I stayed still in front of him as he cleaned the fur around my mouth, an almost purr-like sounds escaping my lips. Brennan’s giant bear paw swiped at me from the side, knocking me down beside him. He licked my jawline and then moved down to my stomach. His nose nestled against my chest and then he rolled onto his back. Snout to snout we still touched each other as we played around along the grassy shoreline. Should a human see us now, we would certainly have some explaining to do.
    As if on cue, a branch snapped in the distance and a flock of geese took off into the