Free The Bear's Reluctant Wolf by Jenika Snow Page A

apologize for Karla’s
behavior. I don’t have to tell you she is unstable and an all-around mega
bitch.” He glanced over at her, but he looked detached, phlegmatic. He faced
forward again and crossed his arms, staring at the picturesque scene before
him.
    “You don’t need to explain anything to
me, Trace.” Of course she was curious, but that didn’t mean she wanted to put
him in a position to relive something that was clearly very hard for him.
    “You deserve to know, not only because
you had to witness her crazy ass, but because you’re my mate, and I will not
hide anything from you.” The way he said the last part was as if it was set in
stone.
    “Okay.” That lone word was soft,
hesitant, but accepting. He turned around, and she waited for whatever it was
he was going to tell her, because she knew it would change how she felt for
him. Hell, she was already feeling the weakening of her resolve to keep her
distance from the male that was destined to be her mate, because she had sensed
his true and agonizingly real emotions. This was going to be one hell of a ride.

Chapter Six
     
    “I have a son, obviously as Karla had
thrust it in your face.” Trace looked at the ground and rubbed the back of his
neck with his hand. “I was going to tell you everything because I have nothing
to hide, but then that shit had gone down…” Breathing out roughly he still felt
his blood boiling with rage from when he had seen Karla stop right behind
Candace. Not only had she fucked up their almost kiss, she had also been a
bitch, put his mate down, and insulted him. Trace could handle a lot of
bullshit, but his ex-wife was insane in more ways than one, and had showed a
very small sample of that to Candace today. He glanced up at his mate, and even
if she fought him, showed her strength and willpower, she was sweet and gentle,
and a true submissive in every sense of the word. “I certainly didn’t plan on
airing everything out like this, but it is what it is.” She nodded once, and so
he continued. “I had no intentions of marrying Karla, because I knew the two of
us were just too toxic together. We were oil and water, gasoline and fire, and
the violence that came from her when things didn’t go her way rivaled some of
the meanest shifters I have met, me included.” No way was he going to sugarcoat
any of this for Candace.
    “You included?” She stood still, not
showing her emotions on her face, but she couldn’t hide the scent of her
uncertainty from him.
    “I like to fight, Candace, to release
all this anger I have inside of me. I have always been this way, but when I
found Karla in our bed with Dale, the male I considered a very close friend,
something inside of me snapped, and I know I will always be like this. I may
not have loved her, and may have only stayed with her, married her even because
she was pregnant with my kid, but I was loyal to her, and expected the same
fucking thing in return.” He started pacing and could feel rage climb higher
inside of him like a tornado getting ready to touch down.
    “I’m sorry.” Her voice was soft, and it
broke his fucking heart. He didn’t want her feeling those things for him. He
had done a lot of bad shit in his lifetime: hurt a lot of fucking people, slept
with random and faceless women, and had a total disregard for everything and
everyone. He was a fucker in the worst kind of way. But Trace prided himself on
his loyalty, on the fact he had never screwed a friend over, and that he
protected what was his.
    “You have nothing to apologize for,
Candace. You got stuck with an asshole for a mate.” He swallowed roughly and
took a step closer to her. The scent of peaches filled his nose, and he inhaled
deeply, wanting to have it seep into his very cells.
    “Maybe.” She licked her lips, but he forced himself to stare into her eyes. “But you’re
a pretty protective and honest mate at that.” His heart was pounding fast and
hard in his chest. And her words