Free Catching the Bear: BBW Paranormal Shapeshifter Romance (The Callaghan Clan Book 3) by Meredith Clarke, Ashlee Sinn Page A

family of voodoo priestesses and the coyotes have a…a certain kind of respect for witches,” Kenzie clarified.
    I sat still, stewing over this information. And then I thought about what I just saw. “Wait! You can become a cat? Like I can become a grizzly?”
    Kenzie reached up and brushed her fingers over my lips. “I could only wish to be a shifter like you,” she said. “It’s just a spell I’ve been working on.”
    “It’s a very complicated spell,” Calvin said and when I gave him another glare, he raised his hands. “All I’m saying is that your mate is very powerful.”
    Mate?
    “Mate?” Kenzie asked, sitting up straight and dropping her jaw.
    “Calvin,” I groaned. “Now is not the time for that.”
    “For what?” she asked.
    Shaking my head, I pulled her under my arm again. “We’ll talk about that later. But for now,” I kissed the top of her crazy red hair, “tell me about being a witch.”
    She giggled and took a bite of her meat patty. “Oh my gosh, Calvin. This is actually really good.”
    I let the fact that she hadn’t answered my question slide and started in on my breakfast as well. Calvin enjoyed watching us and I secretly wondered if he loved entertaining people—the few times in his life that he’d had visitors.
    Once Kenzie finished eating a couple more bites, she set the plate in her lap and looked up at me. “I was born into it.”
    “Being a witch?”
    “Yeah. It’s in both my mother and father’s family line. The Parker name goes all the way back to the Salem witch trails.”
    “Really?” Calvin asked through a full mouth.
    She nodded. “My parents and grandparents all worked with the ISC and other organizations. I guess I never really had much of a choice as to what my career would be.”
    “Wait a minute,” I said, “did you have anything to do with the…” I looked at Calvin and chose my words carefully, “the uprising in New York a few months ago.”
    With a big sigh, she smiled as though thankful she could share that information. “The cleanup only. I had nothing to do with actual events.”
    “What events?” Calvin asked in his deep voice.
    “Stuff you wouldn’t want to know about,” she said. “Trust me.” Then she glanced up at me. “How do you know about that?”
    I cleared my throat and debated what to say. The truth sounded about right. “Brandt had us help Viktor and his people.”
    “Oh,” she said with a gasp.
    “But we left as soon as we could.”
    With another nod, she took a bite of potatoes. “It was a mess.”
    “I know.”
    “Well, I don’t but I guess that doesn’t matter,” Calvin said. He stood quickly and stomped into his den. I thought he was simply throwing a tantrum until he returned with something rectangular in his hand. As large as a classroom book, the brown leather cover had faded but hadn’t lost its distinctive smell. “I want you to have this,” he said to Kenzie. “It belonged to my grandmother.”
    She handed me her plate and stood. With arms extended, she let him gently lay the tome in her hands. “What is it?” she asked.
    “Her spellbook.”
    Kenzie gasped and I jumped up to help her stay standing. “Oh Calvin, I can’t take this, it should be in your family.”
    Calvin hung his head for a brief moment before returning her gaze with a sad smile. “I have no family, Kenzie.”
    His confession saddened me and I could smell the way it made Kenzie feel. Guilt and pity and gratefulness. Calvin Baptiste had always been a bit of mystery to me and my brothers, but after these last few hours with him, I had a newfound respect for him and the type of life he led.
    “I’m so sorry, Calvin,” Kenzie whispered. Hugging the book to her chest, her eyes suddenly brightened. “I tell you what,” she said to Calvin, “I’ll make you a deal.”
    “A deal?”
    “Yep. I’ll hold on to this book for safekeeping until you find your mate and have a child you’d like to pass it along to.”
    Something