Read Online A Bride For The Bear (Bear Brides #1) by Natalie Kristen - Free Book Online
Authors: Natalie Kristen
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shifter world. Debts were paid in
blood, and families and clans could be wiped out in one fell swoop.
His entire clan had been brutally, mercilessly slaughtered. Young,
old, women, children, none were spared. Only the four of them
survived.
Abby didn't rush him, but she
sensed his discomfort and hesitation. Taking his hand, she kissed
him and said, “I know you won't lie to me, and I don't want you
to hide from me either. I don't have a censor button in my brain.
Some people don't like it. They can't take it. They prefer their
world to be polite and pretty, all tied up in a bow. I lost my
parents at a young age. My grandmother did her best by me, but
still, I had to grow up fast. The bow had come undone for me a long
time ago. I've learned that things aren't shiny and sparkly, but
still I wished for a fairy-tale ending for myself. Luck and fate
hadn't been that kind to me, but I guess that was to toughen me up
and prepare me...for you,” she whispered, touching his face.
“I found you, Cole,”
she smiled down at him. “You said it yourself. I wasn't
scared to come out here to Moonstone Creek all by myself to look for
you. Do you think I'll be scared by the truth, by your past?”
Cole held her warm hand
against his cheek.
“Abby,” he said
with fierce love and conviction. “I must have been a real good
cub to deserve a mate like you. My Ma was right.” Cole
laughed. “She told me that my mate would be a beautiful,
strong, dauntless female, a true Alpha's mate. She would have loved
you, Abby.”
Abby smiled. “Tell me
about her.”
Cole pulled her to him and
lay back on the grass. Staring up at the stars, he began to talk.
He hadn't talked about his family in such a long time, but the
memories and images came easily. He saw them all, and he saw himself
as a young, carefree, daring cub. He shared all his memories with
her, happy ones, sad ones, long-buried, painful ones.
They talked through the
night, telling each other everything, sharing all their hopes and
fears, and laughing as they revealed tiny tidbits about themselves.
Abby listened quietly as he
told her about his clan, and her comments revealed just how
perceptive and intuitive she was. “Nightfire,” she
whispered. “The name of your clan is a reminder of that night.
The night you lost your family.”
“Yes.” Cole
closed his eyes, forcing away the image of the burning houses and
bodies. “One night. One fire. And everything was destroyed.
I have to remind myself, control myself, discipline myself. I don't
want to make a mistake that will cause my clan to be razed to the
ground in a night fire.”
As the stars gradually faded
from the sky, so did their whispers and murmurs. The sky had turned
a deep, impenetrable black by the time his mate finally fell asleep
in his arms.
CHAPTER
TEN
Cole carried Abby to his bed
and dragged the covers up over her flushed, sated body. The sight of
her naked body made him rock hard again, but he forced himself to
step away from the bed. He had taken her so hard, man and bear
claiming and marking their mate with a primal, possessive ferocity.
When she murmured his name in her sleep, his heart swelled with pride
and love.
“My mate,” he
growled low and kissed her soft, brown hair.
His phone beeped on his
bedside table. Cole frowned at it but answered immediately. Dalton
wouldn't call him at this hour unless it was an emergency.
“Graig is leading a
bunch of Blood Shadow bears into our territory,” his Beta said
without preamble.
“How many?” Cole
said tersely.
“I reckon Graig had
around fifty bears with him.”
“That's about half of
the Blood Shadow clan.” Cole narrowed his eyes. “Mobilize
our people. The entire clan.”
“Yes, Alpha.”
Cole clicked off. Even with
the entire Nightfire clan behind him, they were outnumbered. But
Graig had just declared war by invading their territory with fifty
Blood Shadow bears. Cole suspected that Haluddin, the Blood Shadow
Alpha,
blood, and families and clans could be wiped out in one fell swoop.
His entire clan had been brutally, mercilessly slaughtered. Young,
old, women, children, none were spared. Only the four of them
survived.
Abby didn't rush him, but she
sensed his discomfort and hesitation. Taking his hand, she kissed
him and said, “I know you won't lie to me, and I don't want you
to hide from me either. I don't have a censor button in my brain.
Some people don't like it. They can't take it. They prefer their
world to be polite and pretty, all tied up in a bow. I lost my
parents at a young age. My grandmother did her best by me, but
still, I had to grow up fast. The bow had come undone for me a long
time ago. I've learned that things aren't shiny and sparkly, but
still I wished for a fairy-tale ending for myself. Luck and fate
hadn't been that kind to me, but I guess that was to toughen me up
and prepare me...for you,” she whispered, touching his face.
“I found you, Cole,”
she smiled down at him. “You said it yourself. I wasn't
scared to come out here to Moonstone Creek all by myself to look for
you. Do you think I'll be scared by the truth, by your past?”
Cole held her warm hand
against his cheek.
“Abby,” he said
with fierce love and conviction. “I must have been a real good
cub to deserve a mate like you. My Ma was right.” Cole
laughed. “She told me that my mate would be a beautiful,
strong, dauntless female, a true Alpha's mate. She would have loved
you, Abby.”
Abby smiled. “Tell me
about her.”
Cole pulled her to him and
lay back on the grass. Staring up at the stars, he began to talk.
He hadn't talked about his family in such a long time, but the
memories and images came easily. He saw them all, and he saw himself
as a young, carefree, daring cub. He shared all his memories with
her, happy ones, sad ones, long-buried, painful ones.
They talked through the
night, telling each other everything, sharing all their hopes and
fears, and laughing as they revealed tiny tidbits about themselves.
Abby listened quietly as he
told her about his clan, and her comments revealed just how
perceptive and intuitive she was. “Nightfire,” she
whispered. “The name of your clan is a reminder of that night.
The night you lost your family.”
“Yes.” Cole
closed his eyes, forcing away the image of the burning houses and
bodies. “One night. One fire. And everything was destroyed.
I have to remind myself, control myself, discipline myself. I don't
want to make a mistake that will cause my clan to be razed to the
ground in a night fire.”
As the stars gradually faded
from the sky, so did their whispers and murmurs. The sky had turned
a deep, impenetrable black by the time his mate finally fell asleep
in his arms.
CHAPTER
TEN
Cole carried Abby to his bed
and dragged the covers up over her flushed, sated body. The sight of
her naked body made him rock hard again, but he forced himself to
step away from the bed. He had taken her so hard, man and bear
claiming and marking their mate with a primal, possessive ferocity.
When she murmured his name in her sleep, his heart swelled with pride
and love.
“My mate,” he
growled low and kissed her soft, brown hair.
His phone beeped on his
bedside table. Cole frowned at it but answered immediately. Dalton
wouldn't call him at this hour unless it was an emergency.
“Graig is leading a
bunch of Blood Shadow bears into our territory,” his Beta said
without preamble.
“How many?” Cole
said tersely.
“I reckon Graig had
around fifty bears with him.”
“That's about half of
the Blood Shadow clan.” Cole narrowed his eyes. “Mobilize
our people. The entire clan.”
“Yes, Alpha.”
Cole clicked off. Even with
the entire Nightfire clan behind him, they were outnumbered. But
Graig had just declared war by invading their territory with fifty
Blood Shadow bears. Cole suspected that Haluddin, the Blood Shadow
Alpha,
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