Free The Billionbear's Bride: BBW Bear Shifter BWWM Paranormal Romance by Zoe Chant Page A

smile.
    "Look at this. Bruce found himself a babe." Tom winked and gesticulated with his beer bottle. Bruce's irritation with him grew. Tom might be family, but sometimes he was a little much. And sometimes he needed to be put in his place.
    "Tom …" he said warningly, and let his rising bear flash in his eyes.
    Of course, that didn't deter Tom, who was an incorrigible flirt and self-proclaimed ladies' man. Tom gave his wife a blazing smile. "Know how to square dance?"
    Violet giggled uncertainly before glancing at Bruce. "Um, no, I don't."
    Tom held out a hand, more than a little mischief glinting in his blue gaze. "I'd be more than happy to teach you."
    Rolling her eyes and laughing, Violet accepted his cousin's hand and did a little twirl, to Tom's obvious delight.
    "Be nice," warned Bruce.
    Tom smirked. "Don't worry, I plan to be very nice."
    Tom was walking a thin line between friendly banter and a real challenge. Bruce could have ordered him to stand down—as the alpha of the clan, Tom would have to obey. But the reception had gone well so far, and he didn’t want to make things uncomfortable for Violet, or reveal their true nature as bear shifters.
    While Tom whisked Violet away for a square dancing lesson, Bruce was left alone with his mother. It was the opportunity she had been waiting for all night, he suspected.
    "You're not happy, I take it," he said before she could say anything.
    The corner of her mouth twisted. "I am happy for you."
    "But you would have been happier if we made an alliance with Whitebeam."
    She shrugged one shoulder. "Can't say I'm not disappointed. Those bears are disappointed too."
    He couldn't blame them for that, he supposed. An alliance between their two clans would have made for one very powerful bear family. Out of the corner of his eye he spotted a flash of Violet’s bright dress and had a surge of jealous irritation. He clamped down on it.
    Her voice softened. "But I know it's no good to argue with you about it. I see the way you look at her. It’s the same way I felt about your father. There's no mistaking your mate."
    This surprised Bruce, who thought she had always seemed unsentimental in her partnership with his father. He had always known she loved him, of course, but she had tended to be reserved and undemonstrative in her affection toward everyone, including Bruce. Once in a while, he had even wondered whether she and his father really were mates, or whether theirs was some kind of arranged partnership.
    This unexpected revelation led to a surge of affection for his mother. “I didn’t know what to expect at all,” he confessed. “It took me by surprise. I had no idea what it would be like, meeting my mate.”
    His mother’s eyes were suspiciously bright as she looked at him. “No one ever does. Now”—her tone was suddenly more businesslike—“it looks like you’ll have to rescue your lady.” She patted him on the arm.
    The song had ended, but Tom was still dancing with Violet—and touching her possessively, as if she were his . His hand slid into the small of Violet’s back, and Bruce’s bear took over.
    Striding across the floor, Bruce snatched back his new bride from his interloper cousin, sliding an arm around her shoulders. She smiled at him, looking more than a little relieved, and slid one of her hands into his.
    “Cut in?” he asked pleasantly, giving Tom a hard look that said back off in blinking, neon letters.
    “We were just dancing,” said Tom. He was enjoying himself. “Feeling a little jealous? Don’t trust your mate with another man?”
    That brought out Bruce’s growl—a deep rumble emanating from his chest that signified his alpha leadership. If Tom kept pushing, he would have a challenge on his hands. He knew he could win a fight against Tom; that wasn’t the problem. The problem was what Violet would think about it.
    For a moment he thought Tom would push it. There was a hard look in his eyes. But something on Bruce’s face must