Read Online Eventide of the Bear (The Wild Hunt Legacy #3) by Cherise Sinclair - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Cherise Sinclair
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without screwing up. The Mother didn’t make us perfect. All a bear can do after busting something is to try to make amends, much as he can. Even if you can’t fix the damage”—like broken hearts—“you move on, living best as possible.”
She dropped her gaze, staring at where his big hand engulfed hers.
The gigantic bear had gigantic hands. His fingers were callused to the roughness of tree bark yet, despite their strength, held hers gently. The muscles on his forearms were thick, even his wrist bones were huge. He made her feel…little.
Cared for.
He’d stopped talking, letting her turn his words over the way she’d turn over logs to see what rewards were beneath. Was he right?
He said everyone screwed up. Truth.
Bears blundered. Everyone knew that. And she hadn’t deliberately hurt anyone. She’d never had the heart to be cruel. Truth .
“I don’t think the Mother approves of shifters throwing away her gift of life.” She flinched internally at his accuracy. She wouldn’t deliberately harm herself, but trying to survive when each movement still hurt and her bones weren’t melded together would achieve nearly the same thing.
She hadn’t been thinking, just reacting.
With each trawsfur , the Mother’s love would fill her, letting her know she was cherished. To be careless with this gift of life would be wrong. Hurtful to the Goddess. I’m sorry, Mother of All.
Ben said to make amends. If only she could. Gladly, she would have made apologies and stayed, and tried to be daughter to the grieving families, but the Cosantir had banished her. To return now would…would accomplish nothing except resurrect the pain of the bereaved.
Perhaps, she could give of herself here, instead?
As for the rest of Ben’s advice: …you move on, living best as possible. What if people found out what she’d done? “They won’t want me here,” she whispered to herself. “I…”
A snort reminded her someone else was in the room—a pissed-off bear. She looked up.
At the campground, he’d calmly shifted to a grizzly—the most terrifying of animals. Now, in the same way, his easygoing expression had transformed to unyielding strength.
“You gonna let others dictate what you do with your life?” His Texas drawl had thickened with his annoyance.
“I—”
“Are these others your mates? Your Cosantir?”
He obviously thought she’d meant someone specific, not an entire town. But she shook her head.
“A bear doesn’t answer to anyone else. We’re not wolves who need someone handing us orders.” He paused before prompting, “Yeah?”
He had no understanding of the reaction of his clan, and yet… Again, he had a point. She was being a coward, running rather than sticking it out. Could she manage to show this territory she had something to offer?
“You’re stuck here for a while, li’l bear. Don’t worry about the bedroom situation. We got it covered,” Ben said. “But while you’re here, you can work this—whatever it is—out and move past it.” He aimed an uncompromising look at her.
As she nodded, a different kind of guilt washed over her. She’d caused trouble, had hit him, had taken his time. What a sad repayment of his generosity. “I’m sorry, Ben,” she said softly. “I won’t try to run again, at least not until I can do it on four legs.”
His face softened. “That’s a good bear.”
A good bear . The same words master bard had used.
When she smiled at the memory, the look in Ben’s eyes changed to…to something she didn’t quite recognize. And then she did. It was a male’s lazy appreciation of a female.
He ran his knuckles down her cheek.
With his controlled caress and his heated gaze, she was suddenly far too aware of her unclothed state. Of the way the sheet curved over her breasts. Of his strength when he had yanked her back onto the bed despite her pounding fists. Of the warmth of his fingers on her face and the stern line of his jaw.
His head tilted, and
She dropped her gaze, staring at where his big hand engulfed hers.
The gigantic bear had gigantic hands. His fingers were callused to the roughness of tree bark yet, despite their strength, held hers gently. The muscles on his forearms were thick, even his wrist bones were huge. He made her feel…little.
Cared for.
He’d stopped talking, letting her turn his words over the way she’d turn over logs to see what rewards were beneath. Was he right?
He said everyone screwed up. Truth.
Bears blundered. Everyone knew that. And she hadn’t deliberately hurt anyone. She’d never had the heart to be cruel. Truth .
“I don’t think the Mother approves of shifters throwing away her gift of life.” She flinched internally at his accuracy. She wouldn’t deliberately harm herself, but trying to survive when each movement still hurt and her bones weren’t melded together would achieve nearly the same thing.
She hadn’t been thinking, just reacting.
With each trawsfur , the Mother’s love would fill her, letting her know she was cherished. To be careless with this gift of life would be wrong. Hurtful to the Goddess. I’m sorry, Mother of All.
Ben said to make amends. If only she could. Gladly, she would have made apologies and stayed, and tried to be daughter to the grieving families, but the Cosantir had banished her. To return now would…would accomplish nothing except resurrect the pain of the bereaved.
Perhaps, she could give of herself here, instead?
As for the rest of Ben’s advice: …you move on, living best as possible. What if people found out what she’d done? “They won’t want me here,” she whispered to herself. “I…”
A snort reminded her someone else was in the room—a pissed-off bear. She looked up.
At the campground, he’d calmly shifted to a grizzly—the most terrifying of animals. Now, in the same way, his easygoing expression had transformed to unyielding strength.
“You gonna let others dictate what you do with your life?” His Texas drawl had thickened with his annoyance.
“I—”
“Are these others your mates? Your Cosantir?”
He obviously thought she’d meant someone specific, not an entire town. But she shook her head.
“A bear doesn’t answer to anyone else. We’re not wolves who need someone handing us orders.” He paused before prompting, “Yeah?”
He had no understanding of the reaction of his clan, and yet… Again, he had a point. She was being a coward, running rather than sticking it out. Could she manage to show this territory she had something to offer?
“You’re stuck here for a while, li’l bear. Don’t worry about the bedroom situation. We got it covered,” Ben said. “But while you’re here, you can work this—whatever it is—out and move past it.” He aimed an uncompromising look at her.
As she nodded, a different kind of guilt washed over her. She’d caused trouble, had hit him, had taken his time. What a sad repayment of his generosity. “I’m sorry, Ben,” she said softly. “I won’t try to run again, at least not until I can do it on four legs.”
His face softened. “That’s a good bear.”
A good bear . The same words master bard had used.
When she smiled at the memory, the look in Ben’s eyes changed to…to something she didn’t quite recognize. And then she did. It was a male’s lazy appreciation of a female.
He ran his knuckles down her cheek.
With his controlled caress and his heated gaze, she was suddenly far too aware of her unclothed state. Of the way the sheet curved over her breasts. Of his strength when he had yanked her back onto the bed despite her pounding fists. Of the warmth of his fingers on her face and the stern line of his jaw.
His head tilted, and
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