Page 25 of Hers to Call
She shrugged. “I mean, as slow as bears are, that’s funny.”
H laughed. “Don’t mistake our easygoing manner. The saying that the only way you can escape a bear is by tripping your friend still applies.”
She snickered. “How was your day?”
“Not much happening.” He smiled at the young bear who brought up his dinner. He leaned down and inhaled. He loved the curry at Selena’s. He held up a spoonful for her to try.
She waved away the offer with a smile.
“I know I spoke with you the night after your encounter with the cub, but I wanted to apologize again for how I treated you.” He lifted his spoon and moaned at the first bite.
They talked every day since they slept together, and while he loved hearing her voice, he wanted to be with her.
“It’s…” she shook her head and wound her fingers into the hand he was not using to eat. “It’s settled. We discussed it.”
“What made you step in to help?” He’d been curious about that.
Calita worried her bottom lip with her teeth, her brows pulling down as she thought about her answer. “It was almost a compulsion, if that makes sense.” She wiped a hand over her face.
He hummed, because he knew what she meant, but of course she wouldn’t yet understand the alpha female position.
“You been sleeping okay?” He changed the subject.
She smiled and avoided answering his question. “How did it go with the cub today?”
He sighed. He’d spent some time with the teenager, coaxing him through bonding with his emerging bear. “Cole’s transitioning earlier than normal. He’ll be a strong shifter. He has you to thank for him not losing it in the middle of downtown. If a bear changes in a chaotic episode like that, they could get trapped in their skin. Especially with him being so young. It’s important to have family around during that first change.”
She touched her chest. “I probably won’t be doing that again.”
“That would be a relief.” He smiled and she returned his smile.
He dropped her hand and picked up his fork. “This is one of my favorites.” He had a feeling she knew that.
“I heard a rumor it was.”
He liked the smug look on her face. It was full of confidence and he was glad to see her opening up more.
She took a small sip of her wine. “What does being an alpha require?”
He shrugged and swallowed his food. “With these bears, not much. We have a great clan. We gather together most weekends and spend time together bonding. Our territory covers Clarke county, so it’s mostly keeping out troublemakers and making sure my clan has what they need to be happy. Keeping the oversight committee away from our town is my main focus aside from that.”
She nodded. “Sounds like a lot. What’s the oversight committee do? I read about it online, but there’s not much information about it.”
He sighed, “When shifters first came out, if you remember, they separated us, put us on Sanctuaries and kept us from intermingling with humans.”
“I read that you all had shifters in the government long before you came out.” She sipped from her glass.
He nodded. “According to our history, we’d prepared to come out, but knew we’d need to have enough power amassed.”
“They passed the apartheid laws anyway,” she stated.
“Yes, and they lasted a decade before we could get them overturned. The negotiated truce included the oversight committee. Supposedly to keep both sides honest.”
She snorted. “There’s nothing honest about government.”
He tipped his glass to her. “You are correct. Which is why I never want the greedy bastards near my county picking through our land like a toddler in a toy store.” He’d seen more than his fair share of towns raided by the committee and he refused to let his clan fall victim to their greed.
“And how would you do that?”
