The Witness and the Bear: (Werebear Shifter Romance) by T. S. Joyce Read Free Book Online Page B

scene.”
    She laughed thickly and pulled away, dashing the back of her hand over her tear stained cheeks. “You’re looking at a bonafide mob hit survivor. Daria just came to wrap me up and she put all this chemical smelling stuff on my injuries. It’s making me dizzy.”
    “You know what else I smell?”
    “Toothpaste?” Hannah asked hopefully.
    “Riker. Not as much as I should after last night, but he’s there.”
    “I did use his shower,” she said with a suspicious frown as yet another thing didn’t add up. “But I get the feeling that’s not what you mean.”
    “I have something to show you,” Jenny said with a sunny grin. “You have questi ons and they’ll be answered when Riker’s ready. Until then, he’s busy doing alpha stuff and us girls have some time to do some bonding. You up for it?”
    She had planned on waiting around all day for Riker like a pathetic school girl, knowing he had to come home sometime, but Jenny’s offer intrigued her more. It was beautiful out here and the offer to go exploring with her own personal and knowledgeable tour guide was irresistible.
    “Okay, as long as you aren’t going to lead me into the woods and haze me or anything.”
    “Ha! No hazing, but you do need more durable shoes than flip flops. Do you have any?”
    “I have sneakers.”
    “Go put them on and meet me on the porch.”
    Jenny, bless that woman, held two disposable cups of coffee when she stepped onto the porch. Fragrant steam drifted from the tiny lid holes and she took hers, grateful for something to warm her hands.
    Leading Hannah down a trail behind the house, Jenny asked, “What do you think this place is?”
    “A commune.”
    Jenny snorted. “Wrong. Wait, what do you define as a commune?”
    “I don’t know. Like a group of people who go off the grid and live outside of society for religious reasons?”
    “Okay, yes to everything but the religious gloop. We are off the grid, mostly. Look.” She pointed to rows of solar panels set up over a square building with stone trim. “Our electricity comes from there. Our water comes from the mountains and we grow and raise most of what we need to survive.” She climbed a rough wooden fence and Hannah followed. Leaning into the breeze, Jenny pointed with her chin. “Meat.”
    A huge herd of cattle in every color imaginable milled inside of the giant enclosure.
    “How many people live here?”
    “A hundred and fourteen. Next week it’ll be a hundred and fifteen. Got a baby on the way for one of our families.” She beamed like she was the one expecting, and Hannah dropped an accidental gaze to her midsection. “Not me, Hannah, but every birth is a big deal for the people here. It’s a promise that we’ll continue.”
    “Oh.” Embarrassed, heat flushed her cheeks.
    Jenny rested her chin on her arms and watched the bellowing cows. “We’re allowed to leave you know. Some of us even keep jobs in the closest town. It’s not like any of us are trapped here. We’re here because it’s safe. We’re here because we want to be.”
    Jenny eventually led her through a wheat field that stretched as far as Hannah could see. A thin trail wound through the middle, and they walked, brushing the tops of the swaying waves of grass with the palms of their free hands.
    “I married someone like you,” Jenny said. “Blaine. We were married two summers ago.”
    “Will I meet him?”
    “Yes. You can come over for dinner tonight if you want. Riker’s usually busy until sundown, but I’ll ask him as well.”
    “I doubt he’ll come. He’s really pissed at me.”
    “All be—all boys have tempers. He’ll come around.”
    Hannah shook her head and took a sip of coffee, now cool enough to drink without setting her mouth on fire. “Where is everyone?”
    “ At their jobs. A lot of them are probably near the corn fields. You want to see them?”
    “Sure.”
    A mile of beautiful land stretched between the fields and the walk was relaxing. It had