Read Online Rough (The Bear Chronicles of Willow Creek Book 1) by Emily Minton, Julia Keith - Free Book Online

and connects with the side of the other animal’s head, causing it to flip over onto its side, where it lays unmoving.
    Rearing onto its hind legs, the giant bear let’s out another horrendous roar, causing me to scream out in fear.  No longer caring about making myself appear as small as possible, I scramble up onto my hands and knees and push myself up onto my feet.  Lunging towards the doorway closest to me, I take off with as much speed as I can muster.
    At this point, I no longer care if the damn thing comes after me next I just need to get the hell out of there.  Running as fast as I can, I don’t dare stop even when I’m outside of the house and entering the forest that lies on the perimeter of Ethan’s property.
    I am so focused on getting as far away from this nightmare as humanly possible, I don’t even notice my legs begin to burn with exhaustion, until they suddenly give out on me.  Glancing over my shoulder to make sure that nothing is following me, I let out a sigh of relief and begin to crawl towards a cluster of fallen trees.
    I can barely catch my breath.  The adrenaline coursing through my veins is causing me to shake so bad, I’m positive if anyone saw me they would fear I was having a seizure. 
    Attempting to calm my breathing, I close my eyes and try to make sense of what the hell just happened.  None of what I just saw makes any damn sense to me.  How the hell did a bear even get into the house, let alone two bears? 
    As my breathing begins to slow a thought finally flashes through my mind.  I can’t believe that I’m just realizing this now, but not one of the guests bothered to try to get away.  Hell, come to think of it, they didn’t even look scared.
    Taking a second to go over the events of the past few hours, and attempting to make sense of what just happened, causes me to have a pounding headache.  None of it makes even a lick of sense and no matter what way I try to spin it I just continue to sit here confused as all hell.
    Deciding that there may not be a way to explain what just happened, I settle for taking a moment to think about Ethan.  Inhaling deeply, I picture his handsome face, and feel tears beginning to pool in my eyes.  I didn’t even know him, but the thought of never seeing him again leaves me feeling absolutely empty.  We didn’t even get one day together.
    As thoughts of Ethan flitter through my mind, something suddenly jumps to the forefront of my thoughts.  Where Ethan was standing, there was suddenly a bear.  Where Marissa was, there was also a bear.  Closing my eyes again, I try to picture the two animals that were standing in front of me just moments before. 
    There is something going on here that just doesn’t make sense, a piece of the puzzle that I have to be missing. Straining to put the pieces together, a gasp escapes me as they all begin to come together. 
    The bear’s big golden eyes flash in my mind.  I may have only spent moments gazing into those eyes, but I would never be able to forget them.  The bear had Ethan’s eyes.
    Slapping my hand to my mouth to smother the scream attempting to make its way out of me, I focus on what I now know has been right in front of me this entire time.
    Son of a bitch.  My husband is a bear.

CHAPTER ELEVEN
    Ethan
     
    LOOKING AROUND the room, my bear seems satisfied that he’s put a stop to any threat and he slowly allows me to gain control again.  As soon as I shift back, I yell out.  “Amelia.”
    Swinging my head around, it takes me only a moment to realize she isn’t here.  Looking towards Eli, a shoot him a questioning glance, but all the fucker does is shrug his shoulders.  I should have known better than to trust him to keep her safe.
    Standing naked in front of everyone, I point to Marissa.  “Take her to the cell below town hall.  I’ll deal with her as soon as I find my mate.”
    Not waiting for a reply, I run out the door and use my heightened senses to follow Amelia.  It