Free Woodcutter Werebear (Saw Bears Book 2) by T. S. Joyce Page B

Bruiser straightened their arms.
    “Two.”
    “Three.”
    “Four.”
    Kellen crouched in front of her with a curious smile on his face. “Good,” he said. “You can do this.”
    And suddenly, she felt like she could. Or at least she could give this all she had and be proud of her effort. Tagan was trying to push her off and weed her out, but she didn’t have to make it easy for him.
    The crew counted, “Five.”
    “Six.”
    Tagan was crouching now. “All the way down. Good girl. Bruiser, you too.”
    “Seven.”
    “Eight.”
    A slow smile was creeping over Tagan’s face, one that matched Kellen’s. If she didn’t know any better, she would’ve called it pride that she saw there.
    “Come on, Skyler,” Brooke said as she hit fifteen.
    When she and Bruiser hit twenty, the rest of the crew began chanting her name, softly at first, then louder with clapping. Brooke dropped down beside her and began to do pushups, too. Skyler’s adrenaline surged again with the urge to please Brooke. Arms shaking, muscles burning, Skyler gritted her teeth and struggled to push herself up. She was slowing now, unable to keep up with Bruiser. He watched her carefully and slowed, too.
    “Brighton,” Tagan said.
    Brighton sat next to Drew on Bruiser’s back, and the giant man grunted. A drop of sweat dripped down his nose as they hit thirty.
    “Don’t give up now, Beautiful. You’re damned inspiring to watch,” Kellen said, eyes intense as he watched her push up on trembling arms.
    Her body was on fire. Abs working, body tight, shoulders straining. She couldn’t do this.
    “You can,” Kellen murmured, as if he could see the defeat on her face and read her quitter thoughts.
    Bruiser was struggling, and Tagan gestured Denison onto his back, bless that man.
    “Fucking do this,” Brooke said, lowering herself down beside Skyler for another rep. “Prove him wrong.”
    “Tagan?” she rasped.
    “No,” Brooke said, panting. “Prove Roger wrong.”
    Roger. That was enough to get her blood boiling. He didn’t believe she was capable of anything. When she sang, he told her to “cut that shit out.” When she cooked, he called it disgusting. He had thrown a full plate at her once! He’d never said a single nice thing to her since the day she met him.
    Skyler didn’t know why Tagan was testing her limits, but as she grunted and pushed herself up again, she knew it was for a reason. And not some domineering test to embarrass her in front of everyone. He was challenging her to be better than she thought she could be.
    Bruiser’s arms strained and twitched, and he cursed as he lowered himself again. Except this time he pitched forward and landed with his hands on either side of his massive chest.
    Panting, she lifted her steady gaze to Kellen’s proud face, then to Tagan’s, and with the last bit of strength she had left in her body, she pushed herself up one last time and fell over.
    The crew erupted into cheers, and Brooke massaged Skyler’s cramping arms, then pulled her upward. She settled her in front of Tagan.
    The alpha’s eyes sparked with something she couldn’t understand. “Be ready by six in the morning,” he said. “Probation starts now.”
    As she watched him walk away, she wanted to please him. Not because she needed his blessing to stay here, but for Kellen, who’d been in trouble with his alpha since she’d arrived. She wanted life to be easier for him, and if she could win his alpha’s approval, Kellen could be happier.
    Kellen wrapped her up in a hug. “You did so good,” he whispered against her ear before passing her to Denison for a ridiculously rough hug.
    Bruiser patted her on the back hard enough to rattle her ribs, and Drew squeezed her shoulder so hard that she winced, but she felt good and happy receiving their congratulations. These stranger bears were proud of her for winning a simple pushup contest that was obviously swayed in her favor. They seemed to care if she was inducted into