Free Bear Seeking Bride: Travis: by Ruby Shae Page A

whether or not to relocate, human adversaries of the project shouted about discrimination and segregation, and accused the government of forcing shifters to live in camps.
    In reality, most shifters welcomed the freedom of a pure shifter town. They walked the streets in their animal forms without the threat of being killed by a hunter, or a trigger happy, uneducated and frightened human. Their cubs could play in the park, or swim, without worrying about uncontrollable shifting.
    Adults have the ability to control their shifts easily, but cubs don’t learn to master the change until adolescence. Often times, young cubs will shift when excited and extra care must be taken to help them shift back. In a town full of shifters, parents can focus on raising their children without making excuses for their kind.
    The thought of cubs brought him back to the task in front of him. Though he had dated a few shifters in town, and a few humans in the city, none of them had been what he’d been searching for. He wanted a beautiful, curvy woman who loved him for who he was and not his money. He also needed someone shifter friendly, but not obsessed, who he could form a partnership with and love for the rest of his life. Shifters didn’t believe in divorce, so her values would have to match his for them to be compatible.
    He picked up the pencil again, and wrote out his desires.
     
    Wanted: A Bride for a Bear!
    Successfully employed bear shifter, 33, is seeking a curvy, plus-sized human woman, preferably between the ages of 25-35, to become his wife. Must be willing to live modestly in Bear Canyon, and must possess the desire to start a family. Those who are shifter obsessed, or not looking for a lifetime commitment, need not apply.
    ***
    “No way! You’re kidding, right?”
    “Caroline! Lower your voice!”
    “Sorry, everyone! Go back to your coffee!” Caroline said, waving off the onlookers.
    Sabrina Parker lowered her head and tried to stifle the laugh that threatened to erupt at her friend’s antics. Caroline had always been loud, and over the years she’d grown used to it, but at the same time, the way her friend handled a crowd still caused her to laugh uncontrollably.
    She sat in between her two best friends, Caroline and Dawn, huddled around a tiny round table in the local chain coffee shop closest to Dawn’s apartment.
    Caroline was loud and confident, but Dawn was quiet and self-conscious. Both women were smart, beautiful, successful, curvy women, but personality wise, the two were as different as night and day.
    Caroline dominated a room, but Dawn was more of a behind the scenes type person. Lately, she’d been more withdrawn than usual, and it was one of the reasons Sabrina had insisted on the coffee shop instead of hanging out in one of their apartments.
    She worried for her friend. They’d all been mistreated by men at some point, but Dawn’s wounds ran deep, and Sabrina feared the woman might never recover.
    Like her friends, Sabrina was a smart, beautiful and successful, curvy woman, but that’s where the similarities ended. Unlike the extremes of the other two women, her personality tended to settle somewhere in between them both. She was confident, without begging for attention, and if someone gave her a compliment, she could take it without turning beat red.
    She’d been on plenty of dates, and up until two months ago, she’d usually been the one to end things before they got too complicated.
    With Simon, things had been different. She’d stayed with him long past his expiration date with the hope that he’d give her a ring. Instead, she got the surprise of her life when she caught him in bed with a twenty-two year old college student.
    They didn’t live together, but they’d exchanged keys and she used hers to pick up the sweater she’d left at his place the night before. Honestly, she’d watched the show longer than what some might consider respectable, but she couldn’t help it. Simon had always