Free Bear Seeking Bride: Travis: by Ruby Shae

Chapter One
    “You have got to be kidding me!”
    Travis Mallory looked up to view the crowd around the restaurant and plastered a smile on his face. As he suspected, his brother’s outburst gained the attention of everyone in the room.
    “Shhh… Keep your voice down!” he bit out through clinched teeth, still smiling.
    When everyone went back to minding their own business, he stared at his brother.
    “You really need to learn not to be such an asshole,” he said.
    “Whatever,” Trent said, “you’re insane if you go through with this.”
    Travis looked to his other brother, Tyler, for help, but realized it was useless. Tyler sat back in his chair, arms crossed over his chest, shaking his head. The man didn’t have to voice his opinion; Travis knew he agreed with their brother.
    “I know it seems crazy, but I’m tired of going out with gold diggers who only want money, or the crazies who think doing a bear is some sort of game. I want a wife and cubs, and I’m not going to find one here in Bear Canyon.”
    “You do have a point,” Tyler said. “Going into the city looking for women got old a long time ago. When I do meet someone, it’s usually through work, and I’m never sure if they’re dating me for me, or for our name.”
    “Who cares? Women can’t be trusted. We all know this. I’d rather fuck a gold digging whore than put my heart on the line again,” Trent spat.
    Travis glared at his brother, but held his tongue. His brother had a good reason for hating his plan, and women, but he wished the man would lighten up a bit. Not all women were evil, and some even liked shifters.
    “That’s not fair, Trent,” Tyler said. “Not all women are like your ex, and Travis and I would like to get married one day. I think his idea has merit.”
    “Oh, geez. How are you going to make sure the woman you chose isn’t just like all the rest of them?” Trent asked.
    “Because I’m going to ask for exactly what I want.”
    Three hours later, Travis crumpled up another piece of paper and threw it into the garbage. He probably should have opened his laptop and practiced writing in his word processing program, but he’d always preferred pencil and paper for drafting ideas.
    He thought about their latest job, and smiled. The four bedroom home had several glass windows, and a deck leading out to the canyon wall. The owners hadn’t believed he and his brothers could get their dream built, but they’d proved the family wrong. When they handed over the keys, the looks on the faces of the family were priceless.
    Mallory Building, Inc. had designed and built almost every building in Bear Canyon. When the government first deemed the land a shifter town, and approached them with the proposal, two other full human companies had also been considered. The town started with a post office, a police station and a fire station. Each company had won a bid, but Mallory Building was the only one who finished on time and under budget.
    As the town grew, their name circulated as the best until they were the only construction company considered for new homes and businesses in town. He and his brothers all had degrees in architecture and structural engineering, but as shifters, they were stronger, worked faster and needed less manpower to perform a job from beginning to end.
    After they’d won the contracts for the government buildings, they’d built a modest home for each brother and settled into the rapidly growing town. Aptly named, the nearly five-thousand residents were almost all bear shifters, most of them male.
    Female shifters were rare in any species, and the men in Bear Canyon outnumbered the women three to one. The few humans in town were mated to shifters, but no one discriminated against them. Shifters often mated with humans, and above all, they wanted peace in their communities.
    Five years ago, many people fought the government’s idea to create specific towns for shifters. Though shifters had the option of