Southern Shifters: Inked By The Bear (Kindle Worlds Novella) (Black & White Series Book 2) Read Online Free

a shifter?” She heard the panic in her voice and the tightening of Gus’s fingers on her shoulder told her he heard it too. “No. No. I can’t be. I just…” She shook her head. “No.”
    “I know it’s hard, but it is possible. The reaction you had before tells me something about being in the proximity of a wolf, an enemy, so to speak, changes you, makes some part of you sit up and take notice.”
    “I don’t want you.”
    Luke chuckled. “Believe me, I got that message loud and clear.”
    “Then… What?”
    “Just tell her, Blackwood.”
    “Just tell me what?”
    “The bear who assaulted her, wasn’t the only rogue shifter roaming the mountains back then. There was also a wolf. It’s how I got involved in all this. I wanted to know what had happened to him.”
    “How do you know that?”
    “Because he was from my pack. We heard stories about a wolf and a bear taking off on their own in search of new blood. It was an uneasy partnership and I think you are part bear. Part that bear. And the lust that took hold of you a bit ago? It was likely blood lust and because your body doesn’t know how to process the change, it took the form of sexual arousal.”
    “What happened to the wolf and the bear?”
    “Rumors were death. Poachers, most likely.”
    “God…”
    “Which brings me to the second part of this tale.” Luke leveled a pointed look at Gus. “And it involves you.”
    “Then let’s hear it.”
    “The bear was said to be from the mountains to the east of Gatlinburg. He —”
    “Wait a second. What are you telling me?”
    “The bear who raped her mother… I think it was a member of the family who raised you. A brother, a cousin, nephew, someone. I know the scent. I know…” Luke growled in frustration. “I just know.”
    Gus was off the swing so fast, Bex had to grab hold of the arm rest to keep her balance. She kept one eye on him and one on the wolf as best she could. She was struggling to process everything. If Luke Blackwood was telling the truth… Did she even want to imagine that? “Gus?”
    “I don’t know, Bex. I don’t know.”
    “I know it’s a lot to take in,” Luke added, standing. He looked uncomfortable. They were now, all three of them, uncomfortable.
    “You said the rumors were that they were dead? Both of them?” Bex asked. She was searching for clarification. Maybe. She really wasn’t sure she wanted to know. She’d like to go back to yesterday. Hell, go back to earlier in the day. Noon at work. Any time other than the present because the present moment pretty much sucked.
    “Dead, yes.”
    “How old are you, pretty girl?” Gus was leaning against one of the porch railings, booted feet crossed at the ankles. His knuckles were white, his grip on the railing was so tight. His voice was soft, tender, and she knew he was trying to make this easier for her, less jarring. He was forever trying to keep her sadness and pain at bay.
    “Twenty-four.”
    “I’m twenty-eight.” He looked away, toward the end of the street, which led to a smaller street, which led to the lake. Did he wish to escape? If so, she couldn’t blame him. She wanted to escape, too. She also wanted to protect him, but how could she?
    What could she do to protect him against what Luke had said, what his words implied? How could she protect either of them? How could she protect their relationship, new as it was? They were sleeping together, living together. She hardly knew him and he hardly knew her, but they fit. She didn’t doubt that. People would call it moving too fast, insta-love or maybe insta-lust. She understood that because there were times she thought that very same thing. But maybe it was okay for two souls who didn’t know exactly where they fit in the world because when they were together, she fit him and he fit her.
    “So, you’d been living with your new family for a couple of years when this took place.”
    “This?” Bex stood and stepped into Luke Blackwood’s