Bound To Her Bear (Bear Bluff Clan 1) by Harmony Raines Page A

he had more time to mourn his mate and more time to drink.
    She had to stop thinking about it. This was her time, and she wouldn’t taint it with thoughts of her dad, who was now snoring loudly, passed out drunk. Turning round the bend that took her out of view of the town below her, she went on a little further, holding her bear in check. It scraped at her mind, wanting to be released from the cage she had to keep it in.
    Drew always had to be in control, always had to be the grown-up. With her mom’s passing, she had been catapulted into the role of carer, sole provider, and often nurse. She cleaned and cooked, trying to keep the house up together, for no other reason than it was what her mom had done all her life. And Drew missed her, more than words could ever express. Her heart ached for the chance to be held by her again, to feel loved and secure. It was why she always forgave her dad. If she missed her mom that much, how could her dad bear the loss of his true mate?
    That was one thing she had no intention of finding out. She had enough on her plate right now, so she never actively looked for her mate. And he never looked for her. It was already obvious that none of the bears in Bear Bluff were her soul mate, and not many visitors came here. And she liked it that way. There was no more of her to go around; she spread herself thin enough already.
    Turning, she looked to see if there was anyone else nearby. Occasionally, hikers came up this way, and she couldn’t let a stranger find out about her secret. She stopped and listened, her human senses not as good as her bear’s, but she was satisfied there was no one to see her almost magical transformation. Just to make sure, she disappeared beneath a tree to give herself maximum seclusion.
    Closing her eyes, she imagined her bear, struggling to control the change. Her bear, so frantic to be released, took a run at the edges of her mind and sailed right out into the open. She hated when the change happened so fast: it left her feeling odd, like her body wasn’t quite put together right. Or that her head was on backwards. Sitting down, she tried to gather herself together. What a funny sight she must look, a bear with her head between her paws.
    Finally able to stand and walk in a straight line, she moved out from the trees and began the rest of the climb up the hill, aiming to follow the lower edge of the trees before turning to climb high up into the wild mountain. She stopped. There was someone else coming. Damn. It was Eirik and the doctor. With a great breath she leaped onto a boulder and then down into a small valley, hoping she would be able to stay out of sight. She might have been able to outrun them, but she would prefer to be on her own and amble along, enjoying the peace. These two, on the other hand, were fit and would no doubt run up the mountain in a testosterone-fuelled race. She only hoped they would be too preoccupied with outdoing each other to see her.
    Standing silently, wisps of their conversation came to her on the air. Come on, hurry up , she thought. They were checking for anyone around, luckily their human noses would not be able to scent her. She was safe for now. The two men, now satisfied they were alone, were about to go into the small wood. But before they could, the doctor’s pager began to buzz.
    “Sorry, Eirik. Have to go. A bear is about to be born and I have to help deliver it. One of the best parts of my job, seeing another of our kind being born into our clan.”
    “I’ll come back down with you,” said Eirik.
    Yes, go, go , she thought encouragingly. Leave me in peace .
    “No. I insist you go and run some of that stress off. It will do you more good than you could imagine. You need some time to yourself. Time away from the council. You will come back afterwards and get more done than if you went back to work now.”
    “I’ll make sure to blame you all the same,” Eirik said.
    “I have broad shoulders. Now run, while I go