Grayslake: More than Mated: PAWS & Surrender (Kindle Worlds Novella) (Bear Allegiance Series Book 1) Read Online Free Page B

we’re going shopping!”
    ***
    And so began one of the best days of her life… so long as she didn’t dwell on the whole being held hostage aspect. It was pretty hard to reconcile the fact that yesterday she’d been starving, homeless, and jobless with the fact that she was experiencing her first ever shopping spree. She didn’t know how they’d done it, but the women had actually found a store with clothing that fit her ample curves.
    “With clothes like this I can almost believe that I look kind of pretty,” Michelle remarked as she modeled yet another dress for the women.
    “You are a knockout,” Sophia said. “So stop being modest already. It doesn’t suit you.”
    She’d made it very clear that she didn’t have any money, but Mia had insisted that this was her treat since her son had essentially forced her into the world of shifters. At some point she’d actually stopped looking at the price tags, which wasn’t easy for a woman used to scouring clearance racks and picked over goods at thrift stores.
    She wondered if these pretty clothes were just a sparkly distraction set to lure her in like a fly to a web. Too bad it wasn’t going to work. It seemed almost wrong to accept extravagant gifts like these when she had no intention of marrying anyone, ever. But it wasn’t her fault if they refused to be reasonable, and she certainly couldn’t walk around naked... or worse... wearing her work clothes.
    Regardless, her new wardrobe didn’t change anything. The first opportunity she saw she was out of here. However, she couldn’t help but wonder to herself if it would be so bad to be taken care of. She pushed down those dangerous thoughts fast, shelving them back in her subconscious where they belonged.
    Michelle had learned the hard way that trust was dangerous, that people would ALWAYS let her down. Marriage was a risk she would never willingly take. But she’d recently hit rock bottom, and these people were offering her free food and shelter. Thanks to those murderous tiger shifters she was fresh out of viable alternatives. If she could just keep her mouth shut and pretend to play along, maybe even go on a few dates to keep everyone happy, she could buy herself some more time to find another job. As for right now, she wouldn’t have to worry about scraping together enough money to pay the rent.
    “Here, let me,” Parker offered, taking the bags from her as they exited the store. He’d started off inside the building, but the women had quickly shooed him outside, claiming that his hovering made them nervous.
    “Um, thanks,” Michelle replied. She relinquished the bags readily enough, but the whole interaction made her feel uncomfortable. She wasn’t used to people being nice to her. Yet, here was a family that had just blown hundreds of dollars on her. She felt conflicted about the whole situation.
    Deep down she felt like the women were being too nice. Paranoia began to set in and she kept waiting for the other shoe to drop. Was this some kind of freaky cult? Were they preparing some sort of Silence Of The Lambs skin slicing bit? If they really did have something horrible planned for her, she couldn’t for the life of her figure out what it was they were waiting for.
    “So are you a tiger too?” she asked Sophia as they drove back to the family’s house, or as they called it the “Clan Den.”
    “No way,” Sophia snorted. “Tiger’s are puny and weak.”
    “They didn’t look all that weak to me,” Michelle replied defensively.
    “We’re bears,” Parker interjected when he saw Michelle’s escalating frustration.
    And suddenly the decor in the room she was staying in made complete sense. It was a tacky tribute to their inner animals. She was surprised that the kitchen hadn’t been decked out with Fozzy Bear dishes or something equally as cheesy.
    “Is that why you’re so UNBEARABLE to be around?” she asked, knowing it was a terrible pun, but unable to resist the play on