Free Fascination: BBW Paranormal Shape Shifter Romance (Shifters Forever After Book 2) by Elle Thorne

couldn’t do it. He couldn’t arrest the woman he loved, the panther his bear called mate.
    He’d gone to visit Uncle Mikhail, laid out the barest of facts. Told his uncle he was in love with a woman who’d done the wrong thing for all the right reason.
    Aunt Miriam had stepped into Mikhail’s study, and found the two of them deep in conversation, then slipped out.
    “You’re like a son to me,” Uncle Mikhail had said.
    “And you like a father to all of us.”
    Mikhail tapped on the dark wood desk top in his office.
    “What does your bear say?”
    Isaac toyed with a paperweight on his uncle’s desk.
    “You didn’t give the bear a voice? Look, Isaac, I’ve never counseled you on how you treat your bear. I know it hasn’t been an easy time for you and you’ve clashed over the years, but your bear is a part of you. You should let the bear have a say.”
    My bear wants her. My bear calls her his mate already.
    Ky didn’t need to ask the bear, the bear would tell him to forget everything, to cast aside his ethics.
    “My bear’s advice is tainted.”
    Mikhail’s eyes narrowed. “I don’t think you meant that the way it sounded.”
    “My bear’s opinion is jaded. Is that better?”
    In Isaac’s mind, his bear growled.
    “What does your heart say?”
    “That’s where things get tricky. My heart agrees with my bear.”
    The doorbell rang.
    “I think you need to sort this out on your own.” Mikhail stood and walked toward the office door. “I’ll get the door.”
    So basically I have the same dilemma I had when I walked in.
    His bear snarled.
    He had to pick up Cadence, and he needed to figure out what he would do.
    He stepped out of his uncle’s office and almost ran into Laken.
    “Hey.” He looked around. “Where’s Ky?”
    “He’s at home.”
    She looked so much like Cadence it made his heart ache to think of what was expected of him.
    She leaned against the door, her face pale.
    “Are you okay?” Isaac took her by the arm, leading her toward a chair. Her limp, normally barely noticeable, was pronounced.
    “I’m fine.” She dabbed at her temple, where she had a light sheen of perspiration.
    “I don’t think you are.”
    “I can’t discuss it with you. Not right now.”
    Shit. She knows. Cadence must have told her. “Does this involve Cadence?”
    She gave him a look. “No. Why would it? What’s wrong with Cade?”
    “Nothing. I—” Now what the hell was he supposed to say. He spied Aunt Miriam approaching, his perfect chance to escape. “I have to go. See you Christmas day.”
    She gave him an odd look as he slipped off.

----
    I saac paced the lobby of Cadence’s apartment. He was going to pick her up but he hadn’t told her what they were doing and he hadn’t told her his decision about arresting her.
    Or not arresting her.
    “Why didn’t you come up?” Cadence’s voice came from behind him.
    “I haven’t been here long.”
    “Long enough to wear a pattern in the flooring.” She planted hands on hips. “I’ve been watching you.”
    Shit. She’d been watching him pace.

----
    C ade felt bad for Isaac . She knew she’d put him in an uncomfortable position.
    What about my position.
    True. She was facing incarceration, but that was her choice. Isaac hadn’t done anything to deserve being in this situation.
    She let him help her into the car without asking where they were going. She’d already asked him for enough. He was funding Ignacio’s Place.
    A bit later Isaac surprised her by parking in an area that was dilapidated and of questionable safety. Cade cast him a sideways glance, burning to ask why he’d brought her here. The stoops were occupied by discarded furniture pieces and denizens whose breath frosted in the cold air.
    Every other streetlight was out, and as luck would have it, the one near them was out. Not that it mattered, thank goodness for shifter vision.
    Isaac exited and opened the door for her. He led her to the back of his sedan and popped the