Lucky Bear - Wild Bear 01 by Ruby Shae

Chapter One
     
    Finnegan “Lucky” Davis pulled his truck into the parking lot of the Wild Bear and glanced at the open cuts on his knuckles. Even though he healed fast, the cuts had been deep and blood still seeped through two of them. He didn’t have to look to know that the cut under his eye was also red.
    He shook his head and climbed out of his truck. All five of his attackers looked a lot worse, but it still pissed him off that one had landed a good shot to his face. He hadn’t wanted to show up in Liberty looking like a bloody mess, but some things never changed.
    Except he was tired.
    Spending most of his life in the mountains had taken its toll, and he longed for a change. He wanted a place to call home, but more importantly, he wanted someone to come home to. He knew the latter might never happen for him, but he was pushing forty and tired of the solitude the wilderness granted.
    Up until twelve months ago, he’d been a park ranger for nearly fifteen years. He’d taken the job right out of college, and at the time it had been perfect. Even though full humans knew about bear shifters, some cities and towns were more welcoming than others. After growing up in a large city, he’d craved the isolation of the forest.
    The job placed him far enough from civilization that his bear had finally felt free, but he’d still been close enough to several small towns that he could visit the locals when he felt like socializing. Over time, his visits into town satisfied him less and less until he gave up everything to search for a permanent place to call home.
    Over the past year, he’d visited nearly every inch of the country, but this was the first time he’d been smack dab in the middle. He’d decided to check it out Liberty on the recommendation of a friend, but the brawl on the edge of town had made him wary. So far, he wasn’t impressed.
    He entered the establishment and worked his way through the crowd to the bar, dismissing all the stares.
    Grizzly bear shifters were taller and bigger than most humans, but at six feet, seven inches tall, he was taller and bigger than everyone. The stares didn’t bother him, but the attention he usually received, from both women and men, had earned him the name Lucky a long time ago.
    He sat down at the counter and surveyed the room. Almost everyone had returned to their activities, but two men in the corner still watched him. They could be a problem, especially if they’d downed all the empty bottles on the table in front of them. Shifters tended to get rowdy with a good buzz, but they had a high tolerance for alcohol. Most humans did not. When the two species mixed with alcohol present, trouble was nearly guaranteed.
    He was surprised to see only two waitresses working the floor, one of them a full human. There didn’t seem to be a bouncer present, and he wondered how they kept the crowd under control as the night wore on.
    The human waitress sidled up next to him and placed her tray on the counter. She gifted him with a sweet smile, and then easily dismissed him as she yelled her drink order across the counter. He wasn’t offended. Though she was pretty with auburn hair, deep green eyes, and sexy curves, she wasn’t his type.
    He wanted someone…
    “You’re bleeding all over my counter,” a woman said, slamming a first aid kit down in front of him. “Are you ordering, or just sitting there making a mess?”
    He looked up and, for a moment, lost the ability to speak. His dick hardened to the point of pain and he turned in his chair to face the bar completely.
    She was tall, nearly six feet if he had to guess, with long, dark blond hair that was pulled back into a pony-tail. The wavy locks looked soft and thick and he longed to run his hands through them. Deep, chocolate brown eyes bored into him as she waited for a response to his question, but his throat muscles wouldn’t cooperate.
    Her body was thick and curvy, but also muscular and powerful. She was soft in all