Total pages in book: 18
Estimated words: 16534 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 83(@200wpm)___ 66(@250wpm)___ 55(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 16534 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 83(@200wpm)___ 66(@250wpm)___ 55(@300wpm)
“Everything,” he mumbles under his breath then shrugs. “Well, you’ve met my two older asshole brothers. Clay is eleven months older than me, and Thorne is two years older than Clay.” Wow. I had no idea the three of them are that close in age. “Clay owns his own IT support company, and you know Thorne owns Bearly Construction. I decided to combine my business degree with the construction knowledge I acquired working summers for Thorne’s company. I own several rental properties.” Wilder shrugs like it’s no big deal to be so successful in his late twenties. “We have a large timber mill in Rodin Ridge, a small town a few miles south of here. They employ tons of seasonal workers who are willing to pay top dollar for decent rentals.” I listen to him explain his business and realize how smart my soon-to-be mate is. “Every time a small house comes on the market for a reasonable price, I buy and remodel it. It usually takes me a month or so to get each house ready.”
“So, you basically flip these houses?”
“Not exactly.” Wilder lifts my hand to his lips and places a soft kiss across my knuckles. “I don’t ever sell them. I can make way more money keeping them as rental properties.”
“And you work from home?” I ask, trying to understand his job. I guess he’s had the time to hang out at the bakery with me for the last week since he’s the boss.
“Most of the time. Except when I’m remodeling a house. I usually do most of the work myself. At least, I did until I met you.” Wilder’s smile melts something deep within my soul. “Thorne is making a killing off me right now. I hired one of his crews to remodel my latest acquisition, so I’d have the time to woo you.”
“I hope I haven’t put you behind.”
“I’m right on schedule,” Wilder reassures me. “And it wouldn’t matter anyway. You’re more important to me than any fucking house.”
He’s pretty freaking important to me, too, but I’m not ready to admit it out loud.
“Explain bear shifter mating to me.” Mabel has dropped hints here and there, but I still have tons of questions on the subject.
“Okay.” Wilder takes a deep breath. “I’ll start at the beginning. All bear shifters have an inner animal, and while we share characteristics with wild bears, we still maintain all our human traits, too. My human side usually controls me unless some traumatic event causes my inner bear to take over.”
“So, you’re mostly human?” I’ve been reading up on bears since we met the Bearly brothers, but finding accurate information on shifters is hard.
“I’m a combination of bear and human genes.” Wilder hugs me close to his warm, muscular body. “I shift to bear on demand, and I maintain full control of my bear, no matter what form I’m in unless something causes him to override my human side. For the most part, he listens to my commands and pouts when he doesn’t get his way.”
“So, you’re two separate beings in one body?” I’m really confused now.
“No.” Wilder runs his fingers over my knee, and I almost forget the subject of our conversation. “One being with two sides. Think of me as a human with dual personalities.” I’m not sure I like that explanation, but it makes sense.
“Online it says bears are solitary creatures, but you live in a bear shifter community and have a close family.” I might’ve stolen my oldest sister’s bear research.
“We avoid large human crowds and gatherings, but most shifters tend to live in a community of their own kind. Shifters can blend in, and most humans aren’t even able to tell when shifters are around.”
“Do many bear shifters mate with humans?” I knew a few wolf shifters back home, but they were very anti-social.
“It happens.” Wilder kisses the side of my neck, attempting to distract me, but I hold strong. I have many more questions. “And bears are the most open-minded of shifters. Cat shifters usually don’t mate for life. They’re the horndogs of the shifter world, and wolves are stuck-up bastards who value pedigree above all else so they tend to mate with other wolf shifters.”
“So, wolves can choose their own mates, but bears have fated mates?”
“Not exactly.” The doorbell rings, interrupting us. “I’ll explain when I get back.”
As I watch Wilder hobble to the door, I realize his feet must be hurting him pretty badly. After he grabs our pizza, I pour us each a glass of iced tea while he plates our food.
I sit at the breakfast bar next to Wilder, and we eat in silence for a few minutes before he turns to me.
“Some wolf shifters find another wolf they think will benefit them and mate them before their intended mate comes into their lives. Once they’re joined with a mate for life, the bond never forms between them and their fated mates. Sometimes it works out, but a lot of the time it causes issues. Wolves are the only shifters who occasionally divorce.” That surprises me. In my research, I never found any information on shifter divorces.