Page 27 of Bear Facts

Freya’s brows went up. “Is that what caused the microburst on the porch?”

“Yep. At least he was nice enough not to teleport directly into the living room. You might have peed yourself.”

“I wouldn’t have peed myself,” Freya scoffed. “But speaking of that, can I use your bathroom?”

“Sure. First door on the right.” Shane pointed down the hall. “Don’t bother trying to climb out the window. It’s too small.”

Freya rolled her eyes as she rose to her feet and strode down the hall in indignation. The bathroom door slammed behind her.

Shane didn’t mind her derision. Better that than the absolute fear she’d exuded when he’d driven her into Shiftertown.

The pheromones in this house were calming—those of a loving mated pair and their fun-loving sons. Freya was relaxing, which meant she’d soon try to figure out a way to escape back to the wide world.

Not yet, Shane vowed. Not until he was sure Althea had no real interest in Freya, and that Graham wouldn’t try to drag her back to him as soon as Freya set foot out of this house.

Shane was right about the bathroom window, Freya saw. The horizontal slot was narrow and small, the window more for ventilation than light. A cat might slither out of it, but not an adult woman or a Shifter wolf.

Freya washed her hands and splashed water on her face, then drew a deep breath as she regarded herself in the mirror. She was wild-eyed, her hair tangled, like her wolf’s.

But her initial panic was ebbing. Shane truly believed he’d protect her from Graham, though Freya wasn’t certain how much power he’d actually have against her pack leader—Graham had always seemed unstoppable.

At any other time, Freya would be touched by Shane’s worry for her. It had been a long while since someone had wanted to take care of her. She and Rolf had always looked out for each other, but she’d had no one else to lean on.

She could hear the echo of her brother’s voice, see the warmth of his eyes. It’s you and me, sis. Our own little pack against the world.

However, there were many more Shifters in this town than Shane. There was Eric, their leader—presumably he’d been the tall Feline who’d come out to thwart Althea’s goons. Plus, the blue-eyed bear called Cormac who’d kindly given her coffee. He seemed concerned, but he wasn’t in charge here. Freya sensed that. He was a buffer zone, not a leader.

Then there was the very weird man who stank of Faerie but insisted he wasn’t Fae. Who could teleport.

This day was getting crazier by the minute.

Freya dried her face and hands on a deeply soft towel, hung it up, and left the bathroom.

A cluster of voices rumbled in the living room. Freya halted at the end of the hall, but there was nowhere for her to run or hide. Both front and back doors of this house lay beyond the voices, and she didn’t know which windows might open in the bedrooms behind her.

Drawing a resolute breath, she stepped once more into the living room.

Freya found herself facing four large bear Shifters in human form, all regarding her intently. Shane, the friendly Cormac, another who looked enough like Shane to be his brother, and a woman with a strong body and eyes that pierced Freya’s defenses.

“Welcome to our home, Freya,” the woman said, the deep timbre in her voice the female version of Shane’s. “Now, tell us everything.”

Chapter Nine

“Now I know how Goldilocks felt,” Freya said, trying to joke. There was a mama bear and a papa bear, but the two baby bears were enormous, full-grown men.

Shane stepped forward, putting himself between Freya and the stares of the others. “Come and sit down, sweetie.”

“I’d rather stand,” Freya said quickly. Easier to take on the four of them if she wasn’t sitting in a chair peering up at a circle of faces. Of course, they were all taller than she was, regardless. She already had to tilt her head back to look at them.

The woman moved past Shane. “I’m Nell, honey. I’m leader of all the bears in this Shiftertown, and no, Graham can’t come in here and take you off my territory. Trust me, he doesn’t want to go toe-to-toe with me.”

“Or me,” the brother, Brody, said. “Shane says we need to have your back, so we have your back.”

Nell slid her hand through the crook of Freya’s arm. “Brody’s right. Let’s have a seat and discuss this.”

She led Freya into the living room and a long sofa. Freya found herself powerless to resist, or maybe she simply didn’t want to expend the energy. She’d save her strength to fight or flee later.

Nell sat, pulling Freya down next to her. Cormac disappeared into the kitchen and returned with a refill of her coffee. He handed the mug to Freya, then settled himself in the chair Freya had vacated. Brody took another chair, sitting on the cushion’s edge. Shane remained standing, positioning himself near the door like a sentry.

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