Page 1 of Claimed By Her Bear

ChapterOne

“Hello, my loving sister.” Pola Prime walked into Dasha’s backyard. She knew she would find her older sibling in the yard, painting. Dasha must not have heard her. Pola smiled and stood a few feet away from her, watching her work. She was so proud of her.

Dasha was an in-demand artist with a wild following. Her primary focus was nature, and each one of her paintings were unique. Her arms moved with bold strokes while the painting came to life before her.

Pola cleared her throat again.

“Dasha,” she called out in a singsong voice.

Dasha jumped, her head spinning around. A smile came to her face when she realized who was calling her name.

“Hey, Pola.”

Dasha had always been the awkward, quiet sibling of the three of them. It was amazing how different three people who came from the same set of parents could be. Recently, there had been a change with Dasha. Her bear had recognized her mate, and she’d fallen in love.

With Pola’s best friend, Saffron.

Imagine Pola’s surprise that her sister and best friend would be fated mates. She didn’t know how that had come to be. Dasha had always been grumpy toward Saffron when they were younger. Dasha was ten years older than Saffron and Pola. She’d never wanted to be bothered by the girls, but now Pola understood. It must have been Dasha’s way of pushing Saffron away because deep down she was infatuated with the younger woman, but she didn’t know it.

At first Pola was hurt. Only for a brief moment. Who was she to go against fate? She quickly embraced her best friend as her sister-in-law. She only had one rule that she had to set with Saffron.

A shudder rippled through her body. There was one thing she didn’t need to know about Dasha, and that was how she performed in the bedroom.

“How’s work coming for you?” Pola asked, moving to stand next to Dasha. Her gaze swept the canvas, and Pola was proud of Dasha. The work was amazing. It was a picture of the lake Saffron’s house sat beside. “Are you doing this from memory?”

“Yeah. Since we decided to stay up here for a few weeks, I wanted to put some paintings of the lake up for sale. We spend enough time there that it’s easy to remember.” Dasha smiled sheepishly.

“You are amazing.” Pola leaned over and gave her a one-armed hug. She pulled back and glanced at the house. “Your mate is here, isn’t she?”

“She is. She was in the shower the last time I was indoors.” Dasha dropped her brush in a cup, cleaning it off in the solution. “How’s the new job coming along?”

“It’s amazing. I’m learning so much.” Pola smiled. She practically bounced on the heels of her feet thinking of her new place of employment. She’d been hired recently as a secretary to the alpha bear of their clan.

The Brown Claw clan was one of the oldest in Montana. Eddie Fang was a tough woman who ran the Brown Claw with an iron-clad fist. She was well respected, and it was her family who’d founded their town and clan. The Fang and Pride families were close. It was an honor to work for Eddie. Pola loved her community, and being able to serve as a secretary for their alpha and help keep her organized was a joy.

“That’s good. What did you and Saffron have planned for today?” Dasha was focused again on her painting. She was working on the sky, and if Pola wasn’t watching her, she would have sworn this was a photograph. That’s how real-life Dasha’s work was.

“We’re heading down to the shop to check on the progress.”

Saffron owned an ice cream shop, the Lick or Bite, that had burned down over six months ago. A deranged bear had been stalking Saffron, and he wouldn’t take no for an answer. He’d trapped Saffron in her freezer and set the building on fire. Luckily, that story had a happy ending.

“Hey, Pola.” Saffron bounded out of the house. She jogged down the stairs and came over to them. She and Pola shared a quick hug. “I’m ready.”

“I was wondering if I’d told you what time I’d be here. I was beginning to think you forgot.” Pola chuckled.

“Nope. I’m all ready. I was on the phone with the contractor. He says they are ahead of schedule and the shop might be done earlier than we anticipated,” Saffron said.

Her eyes drifted over to Dasha who must have felt her gaze. Their eyes connected, and a deep flush spread along Saffron’s face. Dasha set her brush down and held open her arms. Saffron flew into them immediately.

Pola groaned and rolled her eyes. One would think after being mated for six months, they could keep their hands off each other. She spun around with a laugh and moved toward the front.

“I’ll be in the car while you say goodbye,” she called out over her shoulder. She made the mistake of looking and found Saffron and Dasha in the midst of a passionate kiss.

They probably hadn’t heard her.

Pola sighed and headed to her car. She hoped fate had a plan for her. Dasha was the first of the Prime siblings to get mated. Their brother, Jaco, was happily living the single life. She doubted he was ready to settle down. Pola, on the other hand, would love to find someone to cuddle up with on cold nights and spend the warm summer evenings out in the wild—preferably naked.

It didn’t take Saffron long to join her in the car. She slid into the passenger seat, flushed, and her hair slightly askew.

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