Free To Love a Bear by Kay Perry Page B

There’s plenty of food.”
     
    Andrew was almost starting to look panicked as he backed away towards the woods. Before he could reach his target, my cousin stepped up and shoved a plate full of food into his stomach and dragged him over to the tables with the help of my other cousins.
     
    “We appreciate you helping us with the heavy lifting.” My cousins bodily pushed him onto the bench next to me. “I know Lily really appreciated it.” They smirked and walked away, ignoring my warning growl.
     
    Andrew sat stiff as a rod next to me. I could see the wheels turning as he planned his escape from the pack gathered around us. Then his stomach rumbled loudly, making me snort a laugh as I took another bite.
     
    “Eat. It’s pretty good fare.”
     
    He looked skeptically down at the food in front of him before looking longingly at the forest in the distance.
     
    “You’ll never make it,” I teased.
     
    “What?”
     
    “If my dad wants to thank you for helping, the pack will make sure you are thanked properly.”
     
    “Why?” he asked with apparent disgust.
     
    “He was the CEO of our pack’s company before he retired and moved here.”
     
    “Your dad is the alpha?”
     
    “You don’t get out much, do you?” I gave him a sideways glance.
     
    Andrew pushed his food away and stood up, pinning me with a fierce glower. “I’m done.”
     
    “You haven’t eaten anything.”
     
    “I’m not going to stick around so that you can call me stupid.”
     
    “I’m not calling you stupid!” I slammed my hands on the table, turning every head in our direction. With an embarrassed blush, I gripped his arm and pulled him away from the party and into the trees. “I’m asking you if you ever leave this forest and see how other packs live.”
     
    “Great, so now I’m some backcountry hick.”
     
    “Can the hostility, will you?” I shoved at his chest, not even moving him an inch “If you actually cared about things outside of this retirement facility, you would know that the pack’s alpha is in charge of the protection and the well-being of the pack. He has no time for other things like running a business and earning money for the pack. That’s why he assigns people like my father to run successful businesses for the pack so that they have adequate financial support. That’s how packs work—we support each other.”
     
    “Well if you cared about your inner animal and learning about other species, you would know that bears don’t have packs. The only time I ever spend time with other bears is when I’m mating with them or fighting them for territory.  The only person I ever have to depend on is myself.”
     
    “Must be a pretty fucking lonely life.”
     
    I almost missed the flash of vulnerability in his eyes before they hardened and he roared, “Go to hell.” Without missing a beat, he immediately shifted, leaving his clothes in tatters on the ground.
     
    Watching him go, I swore loudly, realizing I had messed up again. Turning and walking through the clearing I ignored the silent stares, shrugging away from my father as he tried to capture my arm, and headed into the lodge. Sniffing out his room, I picked the lock and collected the closes set of clothing I could find, careful to touch as little as possible when I recalled how possessive he was of his things.
     
    Exiting the lodge again, I shook off my father’s hold with an “I’ll fix it.” With that, I strode off into the woods.
     
    I found Andrew at the river, swiping angrily at the fish below him. I cleared my throat delicately, capturing his attention away from the massacre at his feet. Without warning, he charged full speed at me, stopping a hairsbreadth away and roaring loudly in my face. My heart pounded loudly in my chest but I held my ground, waiting for him to finish venting his anger.
     
    When he realized he wasn’t going to scare me away with his bad temper, he lumbered back to the river and dug into the fish pulp