Page 21 of Bear with Me

“I think Muriel’s a little irritated with the male in question. He seems to rub her the wrong way,” Jemma admitted.

“Then why has she spent so much time with him?”

“Did you know Muriel’s father was a doctor? She grew up following him everywhere. Judging by some of the things I’ve seen her help with, she learned a lot from him.”

“Interesting.” He glanced around. “Where’s my brother?"

“Resting, I hope. I’m worried about him.”

“I knew he was stressed, but…” He paused. “Do you know why he became a doctor?”

Jemma shook her head.

“When our mother got sick, no one knew what was wrong with her. A virus of some sort they hadn’t ever seen. It started suddenly, with her feeling nauseous. Then she couldn’t keep anything down. It attacked both sides of her, human and animal, and her bear wasn’t able to help her heal. We were helpless to do anything but watch her waste away. Jensen left soon after. He’d already applied to college but changed to pre-med. When he graduated as Dr. Holloway, he turned to learning everything he could about shifters in general, bears especially. He’s made it his mission to learn everything he can. Then our father was brought back, and the only thing we could do was bury his body. Then the attacks. Every time, Jensen has responded by learning more, doing more, researching more.”

“Everyone has a breaking point, Brock,” she reminded him.

“I think I just saw my brother reach his,” Brock admitted. “It’s funny. All our lives, we’ve been taught to play to our strengths. Laramie was always going to step in as alpha. Not just because he’s the oldest brother but because he has the Kodiak in him, just like our father. Koby was always going to be his right hand. Jensen was the one with his nose in a book. We always knew whatever he decided to do, he’d be the best. Declan’s the cool head, always logical. Slade can fix anything, and Matheus has always been the peacekeeper.”

“And you?”

“I have an affinity for math. Laramie is fond of saying my brain is like a computer.”

“Logical like Declan then,” Jemma mused.

Brock laughed. “No, I let my emotions rule too much to be the logical one. Look how I behaved with you.”

“The fact you couldn’t stand to be in the same room with me?”

He pulled her close and dropped another kiss on her lips. “I couldn’t think. All I could do was feel. I let my emotions rule me.”

“Then why did you hate me?”

“Jemma, I never hated you. I’ve wanted you from the moment Fletch showed up with you.”

“Then why did you constantly push me away?” she demanded, needing the answer to that question more than she wanted to admit.

Chapter Ten

“Fear,” Brock admitted.

“Of what?” Jemma demanded, not backing down an inch.

“Myself. You. Looking like a fool. What if you did want Laramie?” Those had been the thoughts rolling through his head, and he’d let his fear lead to anger. Anger he’d taken out on Jemma by constantly snapping at her and pushing her away even as he sought her out at every turn.

“Bullshit!” she yelled. “You’re not afraid of anything. Least of all me. If you’d wanted me, you would have taken me. Instead, you walked away at every turn.”

“Is that what you think?”

“That’s what I know,” she countered. “Every encounter turned into an argument. Every time I stepped outside, you were there trying to shove me back into the house.”

“I just want to protect you.”

“Not by suffocating me. My parents were murdered, and before I could even begin to process that, I was taken, handed off to another, and caged for five years. Five years! Do you know what it’s like to be locked away? To escape one prison only to have the next person try to shove you into a different cage?”

“Christ, Jemma! I don’t want to cage you.” He didn’t know what to say. She’d never once mentioned her parents or what had happened.

“Then don’t!”

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