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

I knew what attraction smelled like and I knew my bear was giving off the pheromones as freely as she had in the past. “Yeah,” he said with a small cough to hide his laugh, “you definitely need to stay longer.”
    I wanted to argue with him, but I couldn’t. The pull I felt right now had never been so intense. My bear growled, low and controlled. She wanted her mate back. And she wanted him now.
    “Easy there,” Dixon said, a command in his throat that my bear understood.
    I hadn’t looked at him yet—I couldn’t tear my eyes away from Brandt. I felt the wetness in them, threatening to run down my cheeks. I didn’t care. He tried to walk away from the woman, but she was persistent, touching and prodding to see just how far she could take it. As though she’d forgotten we were at a funeral, she took every opportunity she had to get Brandt’s attention focused on her. And when she reached up to hug him, I made a small noise in the back of my throat.
    At that instant, Brandt looked up and met my gaze. His eyes widened at first and then went back to their regular state of curiosity. My heart pounded against my ribs and as he gently pushed the woman away and started walking toward me, my knees threatened to give out.
    “I’ll give you two some space,” Dixon said and turned on his heel. But he stopped his departure and shot a nasty glare at me. “Don’t run away again.”
    Between Brandt’s impending approach and Dixon’s obvious doubt of my character, I felt as big as an ant right now. I knew I’d messed things up and now I had to face the truth. And that truth was encompassed by a six foot five grizzly shifter whom I’d never stopped loving and who had almost reached my side.

I ’d known she was here the moment she arrived. Her scent called to me like no other yet I’d hid in the hallway for as long as I could, waiting to decide how to handle it. Emma was here. My Emma.
    And I had no idea how I felt about that.
    When I finally saw her up on the landing, time stopped. The sounds of condolences, laughter, and memories of those who knew my father disappeared into a background hum. The pathetic human woman trying to get me to go out for coffee was nothing more than a nuance. Almost a year had passed, yet Emma could still stop my heart. Deep inside, my bear came alive again. Not because I’d given him time to hunt the other night, but because his mate had returned.
    We’d both sensed her arousal before our eyes met. She may have run away from her obligations, but time and distance couldn’t stop nature. Since we’d acknowledged each other as mates ten years earlier at seventeen, the human in us had no choice but to accept each other. Had Emma come to this realization? Is that why she was here now? Did she know how much I needed her?
    I walked around those wanting to pay their respects, although I’d only met most of them once or twice in my life. One of the faults of my father was that he kept his alpha affairs only between him and a small group of insiders. Me and my brothers were not part of that, and now I was paying the price by trying to sort out several family business and dozens of clan investments.
    Emma stood still, lips parted, eyes wet, and pheromones wafting through the room. Thankfully there were only a handful of shifters here right now and I assumed they’d all have enough respect to stay silent about our reunion. Everyone knew that Emma had crushed me when she left. She’d hurt us all. But I could feel the stares as they watched and waited to see how I was going to handle it.
    The dark blue dress highlighted her auburn hair and light blue eyes. Damn if she didn’t look even more beautiful today than the day she left. My bear rumbled in content, letting me know that he was happy again. I tried to shut him up, understanding that just because she was here now, didn’t mean she was going to stay.
    Plus, I was still angry with her.
    She’d given me no reason for her sudden departure and