Free Bound To Her Bear (Bear Bluff Clan 1) by Harmony Raines Page A

lives and there was nothing there before.”
    “It just does,” said her dad. “Hits you like a freight train, doesn’t it?”
    She nodded. “I’m so sorry,” she said to Marjorie.
    Marjorie came towards her. “Sorry about what, Drew?”
    “That it’s me. I mean Eirik is so important in Bear Bluff.”
    “Drew, honey, that makes no difference at all. The fates have decided you are meant to be together. There’s a reason for that. There always is.”
    “You’re sure they aren’t being cruel to him again?” she asked miserably.
    “Enough of that, Drew,” her dad said firmly. “I, for one, think he is a very fortunate young man to have my beautiful daughter as his mate.”
    “And I am thrilled to be welcoming you to our family. It’s been a long time since I saw my son so happy. These last couple of days he’s seemed like his old self. And that is down to you, Drew.”
    She blew her pent-up breath out through her lips, trying to calm herself down. “I think I might have overreacted.”
    “I think you might have, Drew. Where is this mate of yours?”
    “I left him on the mountain.”
    Marjorie and her dad looked at each other; she could imagine what they were both thinking: “Young people these days!”
     

Chapter Nineteen - Eirik
    He’d woken up to see her disappearing down the side of the mountain, taking a part of him with her. For a long moment, he had lain there, feeling odd, in a peculiar way that he couldn’t put his finger on. Then the realisation began to dawn on him. She was running from him because she was his mate and she had made it quite clear she didn’t want a mate, ever.
    Grabbing his clothes, he dressed, and then packed up the uneaten food and stowed it in the basket. Then he did something he never usually did; he walked back down the mountain in his human form. He wanted to give himself some time to get his head in the right place, something he would be unable to do in his bear form. The animal side of him would have had him hurtling down the side of the mountain full tilt to go and claim his mate. It would not end well if he forced himself upon her when she was so undecided.
    His mate.
    Those two words rattled around and around his brain but wouldn’t sink in. He had waited so long. And, just like Drew, had been undecided if it was what he really wanted. But he couldn’t think of a finer woman to be his mate. If only she would accept him. And all his flaws.
    The light began to drain from the sky; down he went on his way to the rest of his life. Would it be with Drew, or would she sentence him to a life alone?
    A vibrating in his pocket told him he had a message, he must have come into range for his phone. Taking it out, he read the message. His mom was at Drew’s house, he was being invited there to dinner.
    There was no way he could go. It would put Drew in an impossible position, especially if his mom found out. She would be ecstatic, she had been hoping Eirik would find his mate and settle down so she could have some grandchildren to keep her busy. New life, new beginnings, she had said.
    Another message. He looked at it; his heart beat faster and hope surged in his chest. Hiding the basket behind a clump of trees—he could come back for it later—he changed into his bear and took off to claim his mate.
     

Chapter Twenty - Drew
    Her dad had gone back to Marjorie’s house, and now she was waiting here alone for Eirik, hoping he would not be disappointed in his fate. She shifted nervously, refusing to stand, looking out of the window for him to arrive. The more time went on, the more she wondered if he was going to come to her. When she looked at her watch, she realised only ten minutes had gone by.
    To keep busy she went to the kitchen and filled the kettle, waiting for it to boil, and then realised she hadn’t actually switched it on. While she was waiting for it to boil, she heard a faint knock at the door. It was him; he was here at last. Damn, she felt sick.
    Trying