So Much To Bear (A Werebear Erotic Romance) by Bethany Rousseau Read Free Book Online

of
course he focused more on the good things. “It wasn’t all glorious
back-to-nature revelry,” he said cautiously, peering at her from
underneath his shaggy hair. “I mean, there was in-fighting, people
disagreeing about what we should do about the humans, things like
that. But they were the only people who really knew what it was
like to be one of us. I miss it, even with the fighting and the
other stuff.”
     
    “I wish there was a way that I could
get all this down,” Jennifer said, pushing her plate from her. The
stew had been surprisingly good, and the warmth of it seemed to
creep through her extremities. “It’s always a shame when a culture
of any kind is eradicated. Your people were… well, they were
people. They had experiences and history that shouldn’t be
forgotten.” Damon smiled crookedly.
     
    “I’ve been thinking that it would be
good if I could find a way to at least continue my lineage,” he
said, looking down at the table and running his finger along the
edge of his plate. “I know there have to be other werebears in the
world, but I haven’t been able to make myself find them. I’m kind
of afraid that I might discover their ways are totally different
from mine. But at least if I could continue my own lineage, some
part of that culture… it would stay alive. At least for a while
longer.” Jennifer nodded. It was an aim that she could definitely
agree with.
     
    As they talked, it grew closer and
closer to night, and Damon cooked up the rest of the animals he had
snared, offering Jennifer a freshly-roasted morsel of squirrel.
They ate the berries, watching the sun set, and Jennifer knew that
whatever else Damon had in mind; she fully intended to stay at
least one more night with him, to make sure he was okay. “One thing
that you might find interesting about my kind,” Damon said, giving
her another crooked smile. “We heal quickly.” He untied the
makeshift bandage that Jennifer had wrapped around his arm,
ignoring her protest; Jennifer’s eyes widened at the sight of the
wound, almost totally closed, the flesh around it pink with healing
tissue.
     
    “That’s amazing,” she said, shaking her
head in disbelief. “I… if I hadn’t seen the wound for myself, I
wouldn’t believe it had been bad enough for a bandage.” Damon
shrugged.
     
    “It helps to eat regularly… the shaman
for the tribe said it had something to do with our metabolism.”
Jennifer nodded numbly, accepting the explanation that she couldn’t
entirely understand.
     
    Darkness gathered around the cave, and
Jennifer could tell that Damon was about to ask her when she
planned to leave; in spite of the rapport they had established, she
could tell that shyness around humans was deeply ingrained in
him—and probably something that he would never quite overcome, and
she could understand why. “Before you say anything, you should know
that you will have to throw me out of this cave if you want me to
leave tonight.” Damon scowled.
     
    “I’m almost completely healed!” he
said. “I can lead you through the forest and you can be back in
your town in a couple of hours, back to your own life.” Jennifer
shook her head.
     
    “You’re still weak, even if you have
mostly healed. I’m not comfortable just leaving you here. I’m
staying tonight and there’s nothing you can say to change my mind.”
Damon looked for a moment as though he would argue, but then
sighed.
     
    “Fine. But I don’t actually need you to
be here.” Jennifer rolled her eyes.
     
    “Whatever gets you through the night,
big guy,” she said, shaking her head.
     
    They ate again, finishing off the stew
with some of the greens that Jennifer had picked, and Damon pulled
her close to the fire, settling next to her as they continued to
talk into the night. Jennifer told Damon about the concerts she had
gone to, about the clubs she had visited, the different little
events of her life. Their conversation began to wind down,