Bear's Baby (Bear Heat Book 4) by Natalie Kristen

CHAPTER
ONE

    Baxter Sadowski totally owned
the dance floor. He was spinning and twirling with two beautiful
brides, showing off all his fancy footwork and expertly fending off
challenges to his dance crown. He was the king of the ballroom, the
bestest of the best men.
    All the males in the Black
Bears clan were Caleb and Thor's best men and all the females had
been given the coveted role of bridesmaid. This was the first double
wedding in the clan, and everyone wanted the biggest role they could
land their paws on in the celebrations.
    The two lovely brides, Prisha
and Aubrey, laughed and squealed in delight as they boogied with him.
They gamely went along with his outlandish moves and antics, and
worked with him to sidestep and exasperate their grinning, hapless
grooms. Caleb and Thor tried their darnest to wrest their brides
back from Baxter's arms, but they were no match for the King of Rock
and Roll!
    The entire clan had crowded
round to watch the show and they hooted and cheered Baxter and his
two lively, playful dance partners on. Caleb and Thor began to
co-ordinate their attempts to retrieve their brides, but Prisha and
Aubrey seemed to take great pleasure in dancing circles around their
grooms. They shrieked and giggled as they spun their way out of
their husbands' reach and gleefully into Baxter's arms.
    The Black Bears cheered and
clapped as they teased the two grooms mercilessly. Caleb and Thor
threw up their hands in defeat and shook their heads laughing. They
were good sports. They had been outdanced by Baxter, and they knew
it.
    Baxter crowed his victory and
took a deep bow with Prisha and Aubrey. The entire Black Bears clan
broke out in raucous applause.
    “Thank you, thank you!”
Baxter shouted as Aubrey and Prisha blew kisses to their clan
members. “I am the champion! I rock! Now where's my prize?”
    Aubrey and Prisha giggled,
then leaned in to give him two big, loud kisses on the cheek. Baxter
pretended to swoon. He closed his eyes with a blissful, goofy grin
on his face, placed his hands over his heart and simply fell
backwards. He just rocked back on his heels and let himself fall.
He didn't even glance back to check. He had complete trust in his
clan members. They would catch him.
    Sure enough, they did.
    Big, strong hands formed a
safety net behind him and caught him neatly before he hit the floor.
Baxter opened his eyes and beamed at Dylan and Luke.
    “Thanks, guys.”
He winked as they set him on his feet. “I knew I could count
on you!”
    He saw Dylan give Luke a
quick nod of approval. Luke Keller was the newest member of the
Black Bears clan, and Dylan had been assigned to mentor and train the
young man. It seemed that trainer and trainee had already
established a good rapport and could read and anticipate each other's
moves. They had acted in concert, in a heartbeat, and had caught
Baxter together in a swift, seamless move. They would make a good
team, and Baxter had no doubt that Luke would make a great Black
Bear. Their Alpha, Ethan, had chosen Dylan over Baxter to be Luke's
mentor. It was the right choice. Baxter could see that, but he just
liked to yank Dylan's chain now and then.
    “Great catch,”
Baxter said, clapping Luke on the back. “One second later and
I'd have ended up with a big bump on my head.”
    Dylan massaged his wrist and
grimaced. “Have you put on weight again, Bax? You almost
broke my wrist.”
    Baxter turned up his nose
haughtily at Dylan. “It's all muscle. Every pound, every
inch.”
    “Yeah, yeah.”
    Luke chuckled as he headed
off towards the long buffet table with his mentor. Baxter turned to
see his clan members taking to the dance floor as the ballroom lights
dimmed and a romantic ballad started. Couples slow-danced to the
music and Baxter saw Thor and Caleb leading their brides to the
middle of the dance floor. Thor held Aubrey close to him, and Baxter
could see the joy and love glowing in their eyes as they gazed at
each other. Caleb was holding