Bear The Burn (Firebear Brides 1) by Anya Nowlan

CHAPTER ONE
    Royce
     
    “This whole thing is ridiculous,” Royce commented to no one but himself, reading the letter he’d received from his uncle a month ago.
    It was at least the twentieth time he’d been reading the damn thing, and it didn’t seem to make any more sense now than it did before. The roads leading up to Shifter Grove kept getting narrower, darker, and smaller, and for the life of him, Royce Hamilton was not sure why he was making the trip up there to begin with.
    He was a city bear, through and through. The lead of one of the major fire teams of the Boston Fire Department’s Engine Company 10, he’d been doing what he loved and doing it well for a good ten years now. As far as he was concerned, he was exactly where he was supposed to be in life and nothing could sway him from that path. The sharp right turn he had to take to avoid tumbling down the side of a cliff in his big red rental Chevy reminded him that there were still things in the universe that could make him change course.
    Chuckling to himself, he tossed the letter on the passenger seat and continued driving, his hands firmly on the steering wheel. His window was rolled down, and the fresh, crisp mountain air fed his lungs, making them open wider than they had in a long time. His bear was inches from pulling a classic golden retriever move and making him stick his head out the window to whiff in the scent of the forest by the lungful. Now that would have been something new for the serious, dedicated, and always reserved Royce Hamilton, firebear extraordinaire.
    The oldest of four brothers, he’d grown up mostly in Boston and unlike the rest of his siblings, had never really wanted to leave. What could there be out there that he didn’t have in Boston? All he desired was in that city: his work, his history, his friends! But still, being in Idaho, so close to everything he’d never known but that his bear seemed to recognize instantly, the tiniest note of hesitation entered into his heart.
    Shaking his head, he pushed on the gas.
    The faster I get there, the faster I get out, he told himself.
    About an hour later, he rolled into Shifter Grove. It was a quaint little town, though he could smell the shifter populace a mile away. It wasn’t that they had much of a notable scent, though some of the wolves in the area certainly needed a good hosing, but that the sheer amount of testosterone and go-get-‘em attitude was pretty suffocating. Driving through the town with its dirt roads and brand-spanking new businesses— Who needs a lawyer in bumfuck Idaho? he had to wonder—he couldn’t help but smirk.
    Boston was so much better.
    Putting all that aside, he parked his car in front of the general goods store called Pearl’s, and climbed out. His boots hit the ground and a puff of powdery dirt rose up around his knees. Royce made a face, tucking his hands into his pockets. There was an unprecedented drought hitting the Northwest that year and if these folks weren’t careful, they were going to be dealing with a possible fire hazard soon. When he’d been driving through the forest, he’d already noticed that the ground was extremely dry. One lit match could send the whole mountainside up in flames.
    Bet they don’t even have a fire station, he thought to himself, mentally clucking his tongue. Not that you care, he added quickly, his bear grumbling deep in him like a stodgy old man.
    Royce strolled into the store and loaded up a basket with one day’s worth of food and essentials. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that at least the store had stocked some fire prevention basics, which made him breathe a little easier.
    Real Smokey Bear, aren’t you, he thought, smirking at his own cautiousness.
    Some parts of the job just ingrained themselves very deeply in a man, never mind whether he wanted it to or not.
    “Ma’am,” he started, nodding to the eye-catchingly gorgeous young woman at the counter.
    “Hey, stranger!” she greeted