Free Bear Mechanic: BBW Paranormal Bear Shifter Romance by Zoe Chant

finally, relenting. “And if everyone else is all right with it.”
    There were nods all around, though the Graysons looked more reluctant than anyone else.
    “She’s your—she’s important to you.” That was Will, speaking softly. Elise wondered what he had been going to say first.
    Cam gave a curt nod.
    Then Noah turned to Elise, and the room fell silent.
    “There’s a reason the Wild Dogs are so dangerous,” began Noah. “And it’s not because they’re bikers. The regular police can’t handle them.”
    This alarmed Elise. She looked around the table, where every face was set in grim determination. “I don’t want to be rude, but if the police can’t handle them, then what makes you think you can? And what makes them so special?”
    “The same thing that makes us special.” There was a pause while Noah took a breath. “We’re shifters. We can turn into animals. In our case, powerful predators.”
    A few beats of silence passed as Elise took in this information.
    “You’re kidding, right? This is like the hitman thing.” Her voice was flat. They couldn’t be trying to punk her, could they? When the situation was so serious?
    But no one seemed amused, or looked like they were making fun of her at all. In fact, at her words, Noah looked hurt.
    “It’s better to just show her,” said a voice from the other end of the table. Will stood up.
    His skin shimmered, moving in a way Elise had never seen before. But before her eyes could adjust to the strangeness, Will was no longer there. A wolf stood in his place.
    Elise gasped. She couldn’t believe her eyes.
    The wolf was huge. His shiny, thick coat was deep gray, the same color as Will's eyes. He trotted over to her side, panting a little. A lifetime of conditioning around dogs took over, and she held out her hand for the wolf to sniff, which he did promptly.
    “Are you…” Elise couldn’t believe she was going to ask this question, feeling supremely silly. “Are you Will?”
    The wolf nodded.
    “Can I scratch you?” she asked, her voice faint.
    Was it her imagination, or did the wolf look amused? But he nodded and bowed his head. Elise ran her fingers through the silky hair on the wolf’s—Will’s—head, and scratched him lightly behind the ears.
    There was a cough from the other end of the table. Elise looked up to see Noah, who looked amused and maybe a little bit jealous. She pulled her hand away and looked around, regarding everyone in a new light.
    “Are you all werewolves, then? Like a… pack?”
    “No, Will is the only wolf. We’re all different animals. A motley crew, you might say.” Noah gave her a brief, but sincere, smile.
    While he spoke, Will-the-wolf returned to his chair and rippled back into his human form.
    “So what are you?” she asked.
    “I’m a bear,” replied Noah.
    Elise could see it. He was tall and broad and exuded a certain protectiveness.
    “Really?” she asked, delighted. “A brown bear, or a grizzly, or…?”
    “A grizzly.”
    “I’m a tiger,” Tyler broke in with a grin.
    “Panther,” said Oliver. His long fingers drummed on the table—elegant.
    “I’m a dragon,” said Gabe.
    “You’re pulling my leg. Dragons aren’t real,” said Elise.
    But then again, her sense of what was possible had been greatly expanded in the last few minutes.
    He gave her a small smile. “I’ll show you sometime.”
    That left Cameron. “I’m a fox shifter,” she said finally, settling back in her seat. Then she turned her gaze to Noah. “So are we going to save this kid, or what?”
    Elise’s mind had already turned back to what Noah had been saying before. “You’re saying the Wild Dogs can turn into animals, too?”
    Noah nodded. “They’re a pack of hyenas. They’re highly territorial. They’ve ruled this area for a while now.”
    “Do they know about you guys?”
    He hesitated. “It’s hard to tell, but I don’t think so. We’ve kept it very quiet, and we try not to draw attention to