Read Online Bear King's Curves: A BBW Werebear Shifter Romance by A.T. Mitchell - Free Book Online Page A

few scraps with those in their inner circle. Hardly
anything with bears even lower down the line. Very hierarchical.
Everything we do is based on power and ritual.”
    “ I know all about that. You were training to be an
Alpha, weren't you?”
    The words stung. After this, speaking in the past tense
was more than appropriate.
    “ Yeah. Branson trusted me until he found your car
on our property. That's why he sent me to do the job, and not some
asshole like Victor. I've always been the strongest among the younger
bears. Last Alpha we had died up north five years ago...a little
known shoot out.”
    “ Shoot out?” It was her turn to look
surprised.
    “ Short lived gun running operation for this human
group based out of Redding. Another one of Branson's stupid ideas.
That's how he lost his eye.”
    “ Shame,” she sneered. I practically shared
the bitter taste of Lyla's sarcasm.
    I drove on several more minutes in silence. Out here in
the boonies, dead of night, it was like we were the only man and
woman on earth.
    Something calming about that. Or maybe we were both
satisfied that we'd laid our cards out on the table without laying
claws into each other.
    “ Well, what now?” She said, lightening her
grip on my hand and stroking the muscular sides. “Your buddies
will come looking for us. If they aren't already. Can't keep driving
forever.”
    She glanced in the side mirror. I'd checked carefully
for any familiar vehicles behind us on the road every time we filled
up. By now, someone had probably discovered Victor's corpse and our
hasty departure, but I was sure we'd gotten at least a hundred mile
head start.
    “ We'll find some place to settle. Get our shit
together while we plan our next move. It'll take them forever to find
us in the next state over.”
    “ I thought bears were supposed to be awesome at
tracking their prey?”
    “ Then you forget we're half human too,” I
said, managing a small smile. “Let's get ourselves across the
border and find some place to rest. They'll have to fan out, slow and
confused. The few clans we've had contact with are really spread
across the country, and the Klamath bears have never been on the best
terms with our kinsmen.”
    “ Not surprising with who you've got in charge.”
    We drove on. The darkness wasn't so claustrophobic now.
More like a dark soft sea gliding us to safety.

    I was finishing my steak and eggs, staring up at a huge
stuffed elk's head on the wall. The lodge we'd found across the Idaho
border was good enough. For now.
    “ How do the rates look?” I asked.
    Lyla studied the booklet the old Indian owner at the
front desk had given us. It was a breakdown of rates by the day,
week, and month. She had her phone out, crunching numbers on its
calculator.
    “ If we go with the weekly, we can hide out here
for quite awhile. More with the monthly discount, but I thought you
might want to move on at some point.”
    “ At some point,” I repeated.
    I looked at her plate. She'd only eaten half her spiced
oatmeal and toast with jam. The tea next to her was untouched.
    “ You should really eat more.” She looked up,
a suspicious twinkle in her eyes. “I'm serious. It's been a
long journey and I know you haven't had much for a few days.”
    She flashed a slow smile, and then went for her tea,
stirring in extra sugar. Her pale cheeks turned slightly red. Plush,
rosy, and beautiful like ripe apples.
    “ What's up?”
    “ It's nice to be around a man who's concerned
about what I eat for real reasons. Not because he wants to change my
figure.”
    “ Hell no,”
I growled the words so there would be no doubt. “You're fine,
Lyla. And I do mean fine ,
just the way you are.”
    Our eyes met. For the first time since my cabin, we
allowed our lust to frolic, insistent and on the rise.
    After all this, I couldn't imagine anything better than
getting her alone in one of these big lodge rooms. I gulped down the
rest of my coffee and squeezed her hand.
    “ Hold on. I'll