Read Online Hard (The Bear Chronicles of Willow Creek #2) by Emily Minton, Julia Keith - Free Book Online Page A

know it, the bear’s breathing slows and the same shimmer begins to spread across him.
    “What the fuck?” I whisper out as the shimmering gets brighter.
    For a few heartbeats, the massive animal’s body contorts in front of us, before his limbs begin to change right before my very eyes. In the next moment, the fur and paws are gone, and I am now staring down at Eli’s dad, who is also disturbingly naked.
    “Eli,” I whisper out in a trembling voice.
    Turning toward me, Eli has a look of utter horror on his face as he springs into action and takes the steps two at a time. Pulling me from Amelia’s arms, he cups my face in his big hands and looks me in the eyes before saying, “I’m so sorry, Angel. Please, give me a moment to explain everything to you. Please, let me fix this.”
    Unable to say anything, I just shake my head back and forth before I burst into tears.
    Crushing my head into his muscular chest, Eli says, “Please, don’t leave me, Angel. I know how this looks, but just let me explain everything to you.”
    The anguish in his voice is enough to have me pulling back from his hold. Releasing a sob, I continue to stand there shaking my head from side to side. “None of this makes any sense, Eli. This is all so fucked up, and I don’t even know where to begin with what I just saw.”
    “Shh, Angel, I promise I’ll answer any questions you have. Just please give me the chance to do that before you leave me.”
    Glancing up into his gorgeous amber eyes, I begin to feel a fog come over my body and mind. Desperate to ask the one thing at the forefront of my mind, I say, “Why the fuck is everyone naked?”
    Just as everything goes black, I hear Ethan let out a bark of laughter and say, “Only Liza would be more concerned about nudity than bears in the house.”

Chapter Eleven
    Eli
     
    CARRYING LIZA’S limp body upstairs, I take her to the room we’ve been sharing and lay her down on the bed. Brushing her hair off of her face, I lean down and place a gentle kiss on her forehead. “Come on, Angel. Wake up and talk to me,” I plead as I sit beside her on the bed.
     As I continue to run the back of my hand across her beautiful face, she begins to stir. Her eyelids flutter for a few seconds before she opens her eyes and blinks up at me with a look of confusion on her face. “Eli? What the hell is going on? Why am I in bed?”
    “You don’t remember anything that happened downstairs earlier?” I ask.
    She stops for a moment, and I can tell she’s trying to think back upon the events from earlier. In just a couple of heartbeats, a gasp leaves her mouth and she jerks out of my hold, scrambling across the bed.
    Jumping up, I place my hands in front of me and say, “It’s all right, Angel. I’m not going to hurt you, but we need to talk. Please, just let me explain everything before you freak out anymore.”
    Looking up at me, I can see the confusion over everything running amuck inside her head. She takes a moment to assess my sincerity before nodding her head once, in a move I take as her permission to continue.
    Unable to stay away from her for even a moment longer, I kneel on the bed and reach toward her slowly. Apprehension crosses her features, but when I wrap my hands around her arms, she doesn’t resist but rather comes willingly as I pull her into my lap.
    “Fine, Eli. Talk, but this better be good or my ass is out of here.” She nods, holding herself taut in my lap. 
    Trying to pick my words carefully, I start off with the most obvious. “I guess you’ve figured out that I’m a shifter.”
    “You’re a damn bear. Who ever heard of a bear shifter? I grew up with Mom and Amelia reading me stories of the big bad wolf. Sure, everyone knows about werewolves in fairy tales, but I’ve never heard of freaking were bears. Even with werewolves, it’s just made up stories. It’s not real, Eli. This whole thing is just crazy.”
    “There are wolf shifters, too, Liza, and they aren’t