Free For Shift's Sake: Paranormal shapeshifter alpha werebear soldier BBW romance by Mina Carter Page A

of minutes later, coffee mug in hand, he strolled into the main room. Last night had been a bit of a blur, so he hadn’t taken in any details. Now he paid attention, looking for clues into his little mate’s character.
    The room was light and airy, despite its smaller size, and decorated in welcoming earthy tones. Warm creams and beiges, plus all the different textures, pleased his bear. It seemed den-like, the perfect place to snuggle down with his mate for the evening.
    There. Were. Bears. Everywhere.
    Standing in the middle of the room, Reese did a slow three-sixty, his eyes widening as he did so. Then he grinned. Bobbi Bradbury had a serious thing for teddy bears. There were bear ornaments, bear vases, bear Santas, Pooh Bear, bear stockings, stuffed bears in every shade of brown--one purple, bear light switch, bear bookends, bear lamps…even bears on the cushions.
    Framed photos on the opposite wall caught his eye and he walked across the carpet. His heart, the little left of it, melted. Two baby bears cuddled each other in one picture, and played happily in the other. They were real bears, not shapeshifters, but he couldn’t help feeling a kinship with them. He looked at the certificate in the middle. Bobbi had adopted Arthur and Merlin, two bears at the Wild Pines Bear Sanctuary. More than that, there was a personal note attached to the bottom of the frame…
    Thank you so much for your continued support. Your donation has allowed us to purchase most of the veterinary supplies we need for the winter. We truly couldn’t do this without you. Trudy xoxo
    Reese folded his arms. She loved bears. Was it possible…could she accept that part of his nature? Then he remembered the way she’d reacted to him not telling her about Danny and his hopes crumbled. If she reacted that badly, then there was no way she’d take something as big as him being a totally different species in stride. Dismay filled him. They were doomed before they began.
    Crap crap crap . Unable to do anything about the situation, Reese defaulted to standard operating procedure. Draining his mug of coffee, he headed to take a shower and dress. He’d just pulled his T-shirt over his head when his cell rang.
    “Hey, Danny, what’s up?” he answered as he walked into the main room, looking out the window into the parking lot. Bobbi still wasn’t back.
    “Has she calmed down yet?”
    There was no need to ask who Danny was talking about. Reese sighed heavily. “No idea, bro. She was pretty pissed when she stormed out of here a while back.”
    “How long ago?”
    Reese checked the time. “Has to be just over an hour now. Why?”
    “Hmmm. And she’s not back yet? That’s not like her.” Danny sounded worried. “What did you say to her?”
    He replayed the conversation in his mind. “Not much, just tried to apologize for not telling her about us.”
    It was testament to how worried Danny was about his sister when he didn’t make a crack about the ‘us’ part. “That shouldn’t have had her in more than half an hour snit. There has to be something else.”
    Reese’s stomach sank. Time to come clean.
    “Well, she also accused me of seeing her as an easy lay. That might not have helped.”
    Silence filled the line, but Reese braced himself for the storm. Sure enough, half a second later Danny’s intake of breath warned him. He held the phone at arm’s length as Danny shouted.
    “What the fuck! Easy lay?! Connor, if you’ve touched my baby sister, I’ll cut off your fucking balls and feed the—”
    “Danny. She’s my mate.”
    The shouting stopped like a recording had been put on pause.
    “What? Say again?” Like most soldiers when stressed, Danny fell back into military parlance.
    “Your sister is my mate.”
    “She can’t be. She’s human.” Danny laughed, but there was a little note in his voice that said he wasn’t sure.
    “She is,” Reese agreed. There was no arguing about that. “But she’s still my mate. My bear…it