Free Bearly a Chance: A Second Chances Romance by Alana Hart, Sophia Barron Page B

threw a desperate glance at Victoria and Delilah, then bolted out the front door as quietly as Bear would let him. He paused on the front steps and looked back. Bear raised his nose and sniffed, checking on Faith. The babe had the sweet warm smell of peaceful sleep. Comforted a bit, Ben loosed the chains he held on bear. He felt his body tingle, and then bear burst through his skin with a roar, and Ben was just a passenger in an overly large, ponderous body. They trotted down the street, bear sniffing the wind and the ground, confirming Ben's suspicion that Aria had gone looking for trouble. Bear was delighted in his mate's courage and affronted by her duplicity.
    Ben agreed with bear in this instance, which was a rare treat. They trotted down the middle of Main Street, watching the shadows and snuffling. Based on the scent it hadn't even been ten minutes since Aria had left. Bear didn't smell anything unusual, just his mate, determined to protect them. Determined to sacrifice herself to keep them all safe. Damn head strong woman.
    ***
    Aria arrived at the front door of Delilah's shop out of breath. She'd sprinted the whole way without a thought of how she was going to get in the door until she was standing on the sidewalk looking in. Despite the chaos the hidden door had engendered in her life so far, the shop looked deceptively calm and normal. Aria didn't trust calm or normal any more. She pulled gently on the door handle. Nothing. Damn door was locked tight. Cursing, she looked around for something to knock the shattered glass out of the frame with. But the city council hired enough city workers to keep the place looking pristine. So Aria started pacing deliberately around the store, searching for a dumpster or a trash can or something that would protect her when she broke into the shop. She didn't dare consider what types of magical wards Delilah might have set. Besides, they ought to be somewhat friendly to her, since Gran and Delilah seemed to be on rather familiar terms. At least Del hadn't turned a hair at all the carved wards in Gran's house. Then again, the actual purpose of the carvings hadn't come up.
    Aria struggled to focus her thoughts. She stumbled down past the side of the shop, into a little alley. No dumpsters. The alley was clean and well kept. Sometimes, Espen was too nice for its own good. Then her foot hit something sharp and hard in the dark. Since the trash can she'd checked was empty, Aria bent down to pick up the mystery object. It had the look of one of Delilah’s gemstones, only much larger, and unpolished. She shrugged and headed back to the front door. From the weight and heft of the stone, it ought to be enough to do the trick. If not, Aria would just improvise some again. She wasn't leaving until she got some answers, and talked the Gods and their soul-sucking door into leaving her babe alone.
    Aria rounded the corner of the alley. She strode, head down towards the lighted area above the front door. It almost seemed a shame to use such a pretty, raw stone to break into the shop but she didn't see any alternatives. A low rumble caught her attention. What the hell? She looked up, suppressed a gasp at the giant white grizzly standing in front of Del's shop. Was that Ben? Her Ben. Aria felt her eyes widen, and fear surged in her chest. But she tamped it down, as the bear continued to stand stock still. He watched every move she made, but the rumbly growl had stopped. Now he seemed almost curious to her. Screw it, back up would be a damn fine thing, even if that back up came in angry bear form. Hell, maybe especially if back up came in angry bear form.
    "Ben? That you?" Aria whispered. She dared a glance around, but surprisingly enough the streets were still empty. Apparently the tiny town was used to all kinds of critters wandering through after dark. In Aurora the cops would have been surrounding the place shotguns at the ready in case tranqs didn't work. Aria was shocked when her eyes met the