Total pages in book: 23
Estimated words: 21482 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 107(@200wpm)___ 86(@250wpm)___ 72(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 21482 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 107(@200wpm)___ 86(@250wpm)___ 72(@300wpm)
“Not much.” His foot nudges my boot. “Are worried that you’ll be hit while on patrol?”
“Not specifically. I mean, not obsessing about it or anything. Though of course there’s a whole lot of shit that could happen while I’m on duty.”
“A whole lot of shit can happen to any human.”
“True.” I sigh and finally glance over at him. Whether it’s the bear or the moonlight, I don’t know, but at times his dark brown eyes take on an amber glow, like a flashlight shining through a jar of honey. Alicia’s shine bright green when she’s emotional or when her beast comes out to play. “I was just thinking there are benefits to being a superhero.”
“Then ask my brother to bite you.”
That surprises a laugh from me. “Yeah, no thanks. That”—I point to the nearly full moon overhead—“is why it would be a really bad idea. I saw what happened to Alicia while she was cursed.”
When she had no control over her transformation into a werewolf, which was utterly fucking horrifying. Bones splitting, flesh ripping—and Alicia screaming in agony. I’ll never forget that, or what happened after. She never had any memory of what she did the nights of the full moon. Sometimes she’d run hundreds of miles and wake up naked and covered in blood…and I was the one who tracked her and came after her. Who found her in the morning and tried to help her through her terror and despair. But there was no way of helping her, not really.
Not until Ranger showed up and helped her tame the beast inside herself. But that’s the thing. There’s only one way to break that curse: to love someone—and be loved and accepted in return. Completely accepted, for everything you are.
Yeah, so. Obviously not an option for me.
But I’d rather not dwell on how quick every guy I’ve been with has run away. “Besides, I’d rather be a happy, rolly bear. It’s too bad berserkers are only born.”
A familiar glint shines in his eyes. “I—”
“Nope.”
Not sure if that was going to be an offer to try biting me all over to see if something would happen, or an offer to show me how baby berserkers are made. Either way, the answer has to be the same.
He just grins, and my stomach does a hot little flip. It’s stupid how much I like his face. His brother is all raw, jagged intensity—and maybe that’s the werewolf in Ranger, I don’t know. Because his and Brandon’s features aren’t much different, bold and rugged, with heavy brows and dark eyes. Side by side, there’s no question that they’re brothers. But Brandon doesn’t have so many sharp edges.
At least, no sharp edges that I’ve seen. But there must be some. I doubt he spent his time in the military baking cakes and picking flowers.
And like a werewolf, bears have a curse of sorts, too. It just isn’t controlled by a full moon. “Have you ever gone berserk?”
“I have,” he says in that easy, rumbling way of his. Then doesn’t say anything else until a few seconds later, when he asks, “You all right with me staying here now that your folks and Alicia are gone?”
“Of course I’m all right with it.” I don’t mistake the deliberate change of subject. So he doesn’t want to talk about any time he went berserk. Fair enough. A raging warrior isn’t likely to hulk out when everything around him is all sunshine and roses. Probably pain and blood, instead.
“I don’t see how ‘of course’ comes in.”
“You’re a friend. And family, now. Plus you don’t leave your shit everywhere and I haven’t had to mow the lawn or cook a meal since you moved in. So, yeah. I’m good with you staying here.”
“But we should talk about rent—”
“Nope.” The house has been paid off for years, and I make more than enough to cover insurance and taxes. “No mortgage, no need.”
“Then I’ll pay the utilit— Nope,” he stops me before I can stop him, the expression on his face one I’m not used to seeing. Hard as stone, deadly serious. “I will go live in the motherfucking woods before I take advantage of a friend or family. I’ve got plenty of money saved up. I barely had any expenses while the Army was shuttling me around. So you will let me share the costs here.”
“All right.”
He blinks. “That was easy.”
“Well, I figured that I was doing you a favor, knowing how much your grocery bill must be.” Because I know how much Alicia’s was after she was cursed, and Brandon’s must triple hers. At least. “But if you’re so loaded that you can pay for both food and electricity, then by all means.”
“All right. Good.” His easygoing expression returns. “And if I run out of groceries in the fridge, I can always eat—”