Read Online Bearly Holding On by Danielle Foxton - Free Book Online

us!”
    “I can’t die!” He wrenched the Jeep into fifth.
    “I can!”
    Mati slammed on the brakes, coming to a lurching stop in the middle of the road. Thankfully there was no one around.
    “Look at me,” Awen said softly.
    He was still breathing deeply, practically panting. He stared straight ahead. “He hurt that girl and god knows how many others. He threatened you. And I let him live.”
    His suddenly morose tone broke Awen’s heart. She could hear the guilt that clearly resonated deeply inside of him. She couldn’t tell whether it was from the night before or much, much earlier. “Look at me,” she demanded again, stronger now.
    He tore his eyes from the road in front of him and landed his gaze on her face. She had never seen him look so broken.
    “Mati, this is my job,” she explained softly, reaching a hand out to his face. “It’s actually my job to protect people. It’s what I signed up for...but even I know you can’t save everyone. You can’t catch every bad guy. We can do our best to catch him, and I’m resolved that we will, but you can’t hold yourself responsible for the actions of other men.”
    Mati inhaled deeply and she watched the glow in his eyes fade. He captured her hand and kissed it softly, lovingly. “I’m sorry.”
    “I understand.” Awen smiled. “Let’s get back to Nez Perce. I want to gather as much evidence as I can on that dirtbag in case he does decide to be an idiot.”
    Mati gave her a sly grin and popped the car into first, cruising away at a slower pace.

CHAPTER FIVE
     
    Two relatively uneventful weeks passed by. Though Awen had taken photographs of the marks on the woman’s throat, not much more had developed in the case. It was a waiting game—the wheels of justice never did spin quickly.
    Awen had been spending more and more time with her family. She would go for dinner most nights during the week at her parents’ house, and on the weekends she would hike out to Mati’s cabin. They spent most of their time outside, enjoying the balmy springtime weather of the Pacific Northwest, hiking in the woods and swimming in the rivers. Mati would occasionally let her ride on his back in his bear form, and they would lumber through the forest while she told him about all the things that had happened since he first began to shy away from society. He couldn’t talk back of course, but he would interject her ramblings with a “hrmf” or a growl, depending on what he thought of the newest in technology and politics.
    Things remained relatively peaceful until Awen’s mother invited the two of them over for a family dinner. This set Mati, and his inner beast, invariably on edge.
    “Mati!” Awen called into the bathroom. “You look fine! You’ve been primping for hours!”
    Mati stuck his head out of the doorway and narrowed his eyes at her. “I do not... primp .”
    Awen put a hand on her hip. “Then what do you call buying the most expensive body wash in the store and dousing yourself in it before scrubbing your skin raw?”
    He considered that for a moment. “Being meticulous,” he decided finally. He popped out of her view again. He had put on his best shirt, a black button up, and had chosen the only pair of pants he owned that didn’t have holes. Staring at himself in the mirror, he decided he looked presentable.
    When they arrived at the house he and her father shared a solemn handshake before he was welcomed in.
    “It smells great,” Mati said politely as Awen’s mother scurried out from the kitchen to greet him.
    “We weren’t sure if you wanted the meat raw or not,” Keme confessed. “You know—you being a were-bear and all.”
    “Dad!” Awen scolded. “He prefers shifter.”
    Mati seemed unfazed. Instead, he pulled a bouquet of flowers from behind his back, handing it to Awen’s mother. She squealed.
    Awen had told her parents about Mati’s past almost immediately. She hadn’t had a choice—her father had known something was off the