Bearly Ever: An Alpha Werebear Shifter Paranormal Romance (Arcadia Knights Book 1) by Olivia Gayle Page B

asshole on the best of days. He was downright unbearable on his worst.
    He was seated in the chair next to Mac’s desk, but rose to his feet when Aidan and Ever entered. “Why, Sheriff Tucker,” he said, his voice oilier than snake shit. “What a pleasure to see you again.”
    Aidan wanted to knock the smirk off his face, but settled for ignoring the other man’s outstretched hand. “You said he had information,” he said to Mac.
    The female deputy shook her head. “He wouldn’t tell me anything.”
    “Oh no, I wanted to go straight to the source.” His smile had too many teeth, all straight and white. “Cut out the middle man, make sure you had all the pertinent information.”
    Aidan’s answering grin might have shown more fang than necessary, but was just as fake otherwise. This close, it would be so easy to sock the other man in the jaw. “How thoughtful,” he said instead, keeping his tone bland.
    “And this must be your new mate.” Julian turned to look at Ever, his grin widening. “I’ve heard so much about you, my dear, all good things I assure you.”
    Alarm bells went off inside Aidan’s head. He growled, stepping in front of Ever. “What do you want, Julian?” he asked, his voice low and rumbly.
    Apparently, the bear wanted a go at the other man too.
    “Why, I’m trying to be polite, Sheriff.” Julian’s face was the epitome of innocence, unless you looked at his eyes. They held a calculating light that had every muscle in Aidan’s body tightening, ready to spring.
    “Aidan.” A small voice came from behind his back, and Ever laid a hand on his arm. “What’s he talking about?”
    He looked back at her, at a loss for words. Her earlier words rang through his brain: Your mating system sucks. He couldn’t tell her like this, but he couldn’t make himself deny it either.
    Unfortunately, Julian had no such compunctions. “Why, didn’t you know, my dear? You’re his mate, tied to him for eternity.” Julian’s grin was wide like the Cheshire Cat’s, full of teeth and malice.
    “Congratulations.”

 
     
     

     
     
     

CHAPTER NINETEEN
     
     
     
    “You’re lying.”
    The words were out of Ever’s mouth before she could think about it. She turned and looked at Aidan, staring up into his face. “Tell him he’s wrong. I’m not your mate, we’re just… Tell him he’s wrong, Aidan.”
    Nearby, one of the deputies coughed at her words, but nobody else said a thing. Aidan’s mouth worked, his eyes silently pleading, and an aching revelation came to Ever.
    He believed it too.
    “I’m human,” she exclaimed, backing away from him. “I’m not like you guys, I’m…I have a choice in who I love, dammit!”
    Aidan reached out for her, but she danced away from him. “Ever, please.”
    “No.” She leveled a finger at him. “No way, you tell him he’s wrong, tell me that you don’t believe this. I get to choose who it is I love, goddammit!”
    Didn’t I?
    Something rippled across Aidan’s face, and he turned his head to look at Julian. “You son of a bitch!”
    Ever gasped, falling sideways as Aidan threw himself at the man in the suit, Changing instantly. The sheriff’s uniform tore at the seams, brown hair sprouting across his body.
    “Finally,” Julian murmured, his voice garbled as he did the same, fur erupting from his skin as he met the other man’s charge with his own. What was probably an expensive suit was shredded in an instant as a black panther, its eyes bright yellow, collided with the bear.
    Ever and the rest of the room's human occupants fell back as the two animals tore at one another. It was immediately obvious to onlookers that the strength the bear was matched by the agility of the panther: Aidan couldn't move fast enough to land a blow, but Julian's strikes didn't faze the bear.
    Ever backed up until she was at the exit. Everyone seemed to have forgotten about her, watching instead the battle that was tearing up the office. A far table all but