Obeying the Bear: BBW Paranormal Shapeshifter Romance (The Callaghan Clan Book 1) Read Online Free

the north edge. I used to sit outside and let the bubbling water ease me into a trance whenever my bear was acting up. And as though she remembered, I felt her settle even deeper into her cave. She wasn’t threatened here.
    At least not anymore.
    Trying to stall, I continued the conversation with Bo. “So, what have you been up to?”
    He stopped walking and smiled, knowing exactly what I was doing. “Well, we fought off some rogue vampires in New York recently, so that was fun. And then I spent a few weeks in Florida with…someone.” Bo hung his head and I swear I saw him flush.
    “You haven’t changed at all, have you?” I laughed. “Every day for you is a new adventure, am I right?”
    Bo kissed my cheek. We had grown up together and he’d always felt like a little brother to me. I only had three years on him, but sometimes that was enough to make him seem like he needed my protection. “Life would be way too boring if it wasn’t.”
    “So, you were with a girl in Florida? A shifter?”
    Biting his lip, Bo stared off at the mountains over my head. “No. She’s not a shifter. I’m not really a fan.”
    “Of women?” I teased.
    “Of shifter women,” he replied with a smirk. Bo would never give up his love of women. “It’s too…complicated. With the bear and all.”
    I knew exactly what he meant. The bear would choose for you when it came to finding a mate. All of the time. And if the bear wasn’t happy, it would exhaust us until we finally gave in. My bear had chosen many years ago, despite my human need to be on my own.
    “You’re stalling,” he said, pulling me back to the present.
    “Yes.”
    “Why?”
    I looked up at him. “Seriously?”
    “I know you think everyone is mad at you, but you’re here now and that’s all that matters.” He reached for my hand but I pulled back.
    “Does he hate me?” I whispered, tears building in my eyes.
    Bo knew I was asking about his brother. He shrugged. “He could never hate you, Emma. He’s loved you forever. He was mad. Hurt, really. He didn’t understand why you left.” Bo held up a hand to stop my words. “And you don’t need to tell me the reason, but that is a conversation the two of you should have while you’re here.”
    I liked that Bo didn’t assume I was staying for good. That’s why we’d always gotten along so well. No drama and simple straight talking. I smiled at him. “Thanks, Bo. I did miss you.”
    He reached forward and wrapped his arms around me again, squeezing hard enough to break a normal human. “I missed you too. We all did.”
    My stomach clenched, birds clawing around inside like caged beasts. The guilt I’d felt the first few months on my own came rushing back in a wave of pain. The Callaghan clan had always been there for me. Blaze taught me how to be a female grizzly. And Brandt had given me his heart. I left all of that behind because I’d felt trapped. But now that I thought about the reasons why I ran away, it all seemed so trivial.
    “Come on,” Bo said, finally letting me go. “We can’t stay out here forever.”
    “We can’t?” I asked with a sad smile.
    “Let’s go.”
    Bo held open the door, allowing several humans to leave before we stepped inside. The smell of fresh bread, roasted chicken, and a plethora of other scents assaulted my nose. My stomach was way too upset to even think about eating but my bear perked up when she recognized the room. It was the largest open living area I’d ever seen in a house. Reminding me of a ski lodge, the second and third floors had decks that overlooked the space and a grand stone fireplace stretched up and out of the cathedral ceilings. Most of the furniture had been moved to the sides of the space to allow for several tables of food and drinks to be displayed down the center of the room.
    And the place itself was crowded with people. Both human and shifters, although mostly just humans. This was the show for them. I imagined the private shifter funeral