Jade Crew: Forgotten Bear (A BBW Paranormal Shape Shifter Romance) (Ridgeback Bears Book 3) Read Online Free

out.
    “You’re a bear shifter right?” she asked, having given up trying to hear what her friend was saying into the phone.
    “Everyone but you, Emma, and Ferro are bear shifters,” he said, motioning to every other person in the bar.
    “That’s just great,” she said, her current biggest fear confirmed. “And just how likely are they,” she said, nodding her head in a particular direction, “to listen to his rules about no fighting, and no bears?”
    “Uh, I have no idea,” he said with a shrug of his shoulders. “I have no idea who they are. In fact, I don’t think anyone here knows. But they’re breaking a lot of rules, and Ajax is getting pretty close to having to do something or risk losing face.”
    “Ajax?” she said dumbly.
    “The big one over there. The Alpha of that crew,” Russell told her, turning to glance over at the smaller group of bears.
    The smaller crew . They call themselves crews, she corrected internally, trying to get the terminology right.
    “Is he... are you... on my side?” she asked all of a sudden.
    “This time he is, yes,” Russell said with a soft snort as if he couldn’t believe what he was saying. “As for me, I’m always going to be on your side. Cheesy line or not,” he finished with a smile.
    She loved the ways his cheeks dimpled when he let the smile flare fully into existence. It lent him such an air of roguish charm that she felt he didn’t know he had. On top of that, like every other aspect of him, his teeth were perfectly straight. Bear shifters had all the luck when it came to genetics.
    “So, Gwen, how long are you in town for?” Russell asked, not backing down.
    “Well, if this is the sort of thing I can expect on a daily basis, then not very long,” she shot back, though part of her recognized what Russell was doing.
    He was flirting shamelessly, and she knew it, but he was also distracting her, allowing her mind to start working at full capacity again. It was appreciated, and she hoped to tell him that later when nobody was looking to turn into an animal and destroy everything around her.
    “What? This? This is just a little bit of bear shifter hospitality!” he said ruefully.
    Abruptly his face lost its humor as he heard Emma clear her throat behind him.
    Gwen watched as the entire room turned to look at Emma. She was in awe at the way her friend commanded the situation, if not complete respect, from the room. Even the unknowns—the Opal Crew she thought they had said—were paying her attention. That was not the Emma Labelle that Gwen knew. This was a newer, stronger version of her friend.
    Part of her liked what she saw, wanting that confidence for herself. Gwen was no pushover, and she wasn’t afraid to give as good as she got. But there was a command presence about Emma now, like a captain on his ship. Some people had it naturally, and others acquired it through life experiences. Her friend, it seemed, had followed the latter path. It truly was a remarkable change, and one she made a note to ask about.
    “Okay, so LMC says you’re actually a crew,” Emma said, using the acronym for the mining company that owned practically all of Genesis Valley, and employed the various crews.
    “Well we could have told you that, pretty lady,” one of them said lazily, twitching his eyebrows at her suggestively.
    “Stop it. You look like an imbecile,” Emma said calmly. “That being said, you are no longer welcome at The Tongue & Flame. Leave now, by order of the LMC.”
    “According to whom?” the leader spat, standing up and taking a few steps toward Emma.
    The Silvertips, already on their feet, growled uneasily and took a few steps closer.
    “According to me,” Emma snarled back at them, giving no ground, showing no fear.
    “Ah, fuck you,” one of them said, clearly not impressed.
    “Maybe in a bit!” another responded. Emma turned bright red at the suggestion, but she still stood her ground.
    “You heard the lady,” the shifter