Hard (The Bear Chronicles of Willow Creek #2) by Emily Minton, Julia Keith

as I get the words out, I slam my mouth shut and stare at the shocked faces in front of me. Before Ethan can speak up, Eli does. “I agree with my mate. I think this is something that could benefit my father greatly.”
    Turning, he smiles before throwing a wink at me.
    As soon as I see his glowing smile, the tension within me releases, and I breathe a sigh of relief.
    “Good. Then, it’s settled,” Ethan says, banging the gavel against the table. “This meeting is over.”

Chapter Fifteen
    Eli
     
    AMELIA SETS a pork roast on the table as Liza places another beside it and takes her seat. “I’m never gonna get used to cooking for you guys. The amount of food on this table is absolutely ridiculous.”
    Grabbing a few slices of meat, I smile at her. “You’re an amazing cook, so you won’t be hearing any complaints from me.”
    “It’s not the actual cooking that’s the problem. It’s trying to decide how much to cook that I’m having trouble with,” she says, pushing a stray lock behind her ear. “Amelia is constantly having to tell me to make more. I honestly don’t think I’ll ever be able to figure it out.”
    Leaning my body toward hers, I give her a quick kiss before letting my fangs descend. Letting out a growl, I smile at her. “Just remember you’re feeding a hungry bear, Angel. If you don’t feed him enough, he may just be tempted to take a bite out of something else.”
    “Two hungry bears,” Ethan says from across the table while filling his plate. “Except, I have my own tasty morsel to take a bite out of if need be.” 
    Shaking her head, Amelia doesn’t bother to smile but throws a flirty wink in Ethan’s direction, earning her a groan from her sister.
    “Could we make that three?” a voice says from the entry way.
    I turn to find Mason standing there with his hands in his pockets. “It sure smells good, but I wouldn’t want to impose.”
    I motion for him to sit down as Ethan says, “Come on in. If there’s not enough, I’ll throw some steaks on the grill.”
    As soon as Mason sits down, I can tell something is on his mind. “What are you thinking so hard about, Mase?”
    He looks between Liza and me before responding. “I heard through the grapevine that you were getting married?”
    Slinging an arm over my woman’s shoulder, I nod my head. “We sure are. I needed to stake my claim before she tried to get away from me.”
    “He never did actually ask me to marry him, but I guess I’m going to anyway. I’m fairly certain I don’t have much say in the matter,” she says, smirking at me.
    I lean down and press a hot kiss against her lips. “There was never a question, babe. You were mine the minute I laid eyes on you. I don’t need to hear the words come out of your mouth to know that you feel the exact same way.”
    She blinks her eyes and smiles up at me. “No, I think you have this backwards. You were mine the minute I laid eyes on you.”
    “Damn right,” I agree.
    Before I can say more, Mason starts talking. “That’s what I want. What you all have. I don’t want to be on my own anymore.”
    “Huh?” Ethan mumbles. “What exactly are you talking about?”
    “I want a woman of my own, someone who will look past all of my defects,” he confides, ending on a harsh whisper.
    Mason was born to a bear father and a bobcat mother. Unlike all of the other cubs born from mixed mating, he has some of his mother’s traits: blond hair, cat eyes, and it’s said they he even purrs at times. Because of this, many of our own kind look at him as a freak, not even considering mating with him. Those who have let him into their bed enjoy telling everyone what it’s like fucking a mutant. Considering that we are all different in one way or another, their attitudes piss me off. 
    “Are you asking to be the next to take a human wife?” Ethan asks, grabbing another roll. “I gotta tell you, there are quite a few shifters coming to me now that they have seen Amelia and