Crush on the Alpha Bear (Alpha Bears Book 4) Read online

  Table of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Epilogue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  CHAPTER 1

  CHAPTER 2

  CHAPTER 3

  CHAPTER 4

  CHAPTER 5

  CHAPTER 6

  CHAPTER 7

  CHAPTER 8

  CHAPTER 9

  CHAPTER 10

  CHAPTER 11

  CHAPTER 12

  CHAPTER 13

  CHAPTER 14

  CHAPTER 15

  CHAPTER 16

  CHAPTER 17

  CHAPTER 18

  CHAPTER 19

  CHAPTER 1

  CHAPTER 2

  CHAPTER 3

  CHAPTER 4

  CHAPTER 5

  CHAPTER 6

  CHAPTER 7

  CHAPTER 8

  CHAPTER 9

  CHAPTER 10

  CHAPTER 11

  CHAPTER 12

  CHAPTER 13

  CHAPTER 14

  CHAPTER 15

  CHAPTER 16

  CHAPTER 17

  CHAPTER 18

  CHAPTER 19

  CHAPTER 1

  CHAPTER 2

  CHAPTER 3

  CHAPTER 4

  CHAPTER 5

  CHAPTER 6

  CHAPTER 7

  CHAPTER 8

  CHAPTER 9

  CHAPTER 10

  CHAPTER 11

  CHAPTER 12

  CHAPTER 13

  CHAPTER 14

  EPILOGUE

  CHAPTER 1

  CHAPTER 2

  CHAPTER 3

  CHAPTER 4

  CHAPTER 5

  CHAPTER 6

  CHAPTER 7

  CHAPTER 8

  CHAPTER 9

  CHAPTER 10

  CHAPTER 11

  CHAPTER 12

  CHAPTER 13

  CHAPTER 14

  CHAPTER 15

  CHAPTER 16

  CHAPTER 17

  EPILOGUE

  Crush on the Alpha Bear

  Alpha Bears Book 4

  Emilia Hartley

  © Copyright 2017 by 9591451 CANADA INC. - All rights reserved.

  The contents of this book may not be reproduced, duplicated or transmitted without direct written permission from the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

  Legal Notice:

  This book is copyright protected. This is only for personal use. No part of this book may be scanned, uploaded or distributed via the Internet or any other means, electronic or print, without the author’s permission.

  NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR: This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental. The author does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for third-party websites or their content.

  Crush on the Alpha Bear

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Thank you!

  Mated to the Dragon

  Freed by the Dragon

  Seduced by the Dragon

  Protected by the Mountain Wolf

  Adored by the Mountain Wolf

  Mated to the Mountain Wolf

  Alpha Wolf Protector

  Alpha Wolf Guardian

  Alpha Wolf Champion

  The Timeless Curse of Lord Dabney

  AUTHORS NOTES

  Chapter One

  “Are you sure we’re going the right way?” Emily asked, turning her gaze out over the flat farmlands as the man in the passenger seat glanced back at her.

  “Absolutely sure,” he answered with a confident smirk playing on his lips. “I have the m
ap.”

  The girl sitting next to Emily jabbed her lightly in the side with a snort. “As if that’s ever stopped you from getting us lost before, Adam,” she rebutted.

  Adam sneered back at the girl, opening his mouth to retort as the older man in the driver’s seat let out a dry chuckle. “You two argue like you’re still kids. Kelly, mind your brother. He has the map, after all. If he says we’re headed in the right direction, trust that we are.” He glanced at her briefly in the rear-view mirror. “After all, he’s going to be your—”

  “Future pack leader when you’re gone,” Kelly finished with a petulant scowl. “I know, Dad. I know.”

  The man narrowed his eyes at her, but Emily could see a glint of mirth within his gaze. “You’re going to miss me when I’m dead, girlie.”

  “Yeah, yeah, old-timer,” Kelly muttered. “I can’t miss you when you’re always around.” Emily couldn’t tell entirely if she was joking or not, but the man only chuckled once more before returning his eyes to the road.

  “Emily I thought having you around would teach my daughter some manners,” he joked, making Emily smile.

  “Trust me, David, I’ve tried,” she replied, grinning at the look Kelly shot her. “I think it’s just how long we’ve been driving. It has been a while since we stretched our legs.”

  “Yeah, my bear has been itching for a run for hours,” Adam chimed in, tossing an easy grin back at Emily. It made something in her stomach flip-flop.

  “It won’t be long now,” David said. “We should be entering town limits any moment now.”

  As he spoke, the beginnings of forestry began cropping up amidst the farmlands, signaling the major landmark of the town called Woodhaven. The huge expanse of trees was one of the things that had sold Emily on joining the rest of her surrogate pack on a quest to aid old friends. The small forest back home on the farm was much too predictable after all the hours she’d spent lumbering through it.

  That wasn’t to say she wasn’t nervous about meeting new shifters. David, Adam, and Kelly were all she knew of the shifter world. David had said they were alphas, like him and Adam. She wasn’t sure if that made her less nervous or more.

  She could have stayed back to help the farm sitters tend to the animals, but a part of her was just too curious to pass up the invitation.

  “Now, kids, I know you all are grown up enough to skip the lectures, but this here’s a special case, so listen closely,” David spoke, his voice losing all earlier trace of laughter.

  “I know you all don’t get out much. Travelling from the farm is a sparse activity we could rarely afford, and I get that,” he began. “And I know that here, in a fancy new town, you’ll feel the urge to cut loose and have a bit of fun. I’m sure you’ll have your chance for all of that stuff, but that’s not why we’re here.”

  His eyes brushed over the girls in the back seat from the rear-view mirror, and Emily could feel that telltale alpha sensation tingle across her skin that meant David was all business. “I haven’t seen Nick since he was just a cub, but if he’s anything like his old man, then the way he practically begged for our help is telling enough about the mess we’ve let ourselves in for.

  “This is not a vacation,” he concluded. “I don’t want you all to see the huge forest or a shiny town fair and forget why we came here.”

  The lot nodded their heads in unison and David grunted appreciatively. “And for heaven’s sake, don’t say anything weird about the human! We already have enough on our plate without you all going and making a spectacle of non-tradition.”

  Adam shot a sly glare at Kelly. “You know he means you, right?”

  Kelly glared at her brother. “What the hell, Adam!”

  Adam grinned over the back seat, and Emily couldn’t help but smile in return. “Don’t worry. You’ll do great.”

  Kelly scoffed. “Of course I will!”

  “I was talking to Emily,” he rebutted dismissively, his eyes flashing wickedly as he shared a look with her. She felt the heat rushing to her face. She hastily averted her gaze back out the window before any of her embarrassment could show.

  “Why are you so annoying?” Kelly groaned in a frustrated tone.

  Emily let a small chuckle fall from her lips as they bickered back and forth, finding solace in their easy-going banter. They’d always been like this since she’d met them five years ago, and like wine, they’d only gotten better at arguing with age. It comforted her to know that no matter what changed, they wouldn’t. When things got too quiet, their raised voices would always fill the void. When thought strayed to darker places, they’d always be there to ask her who’s the most right.

  To be honest, their squabbles were one of the few good things left in her life after that car crash took her family away.

  Like clockwork, Kelly nudged Emily’s shoulder. “Tell Adam I can run laps around his sorry ass any time I want to.”

  “Language, Kelly-Anne Darlene Bradley,” David muttered.

  “How you can you be twenty-two and still getting full-named by Dad?” Adam asked, smirking.

  “You, too, Adam Bellamy Bradley,” David added purposefully, making Kelly snicker. “It’s unbecoming for a future leader to be so antagonistic. And to family no less.” He shot Emily a look of mock exasperation. “Just like children, these two.”

  Emily giggled as the first house peeked out at them from deep inside the woods. “I don’t mind it much. I’m so used to the noise that silence would make me nervous.” She shrugged. “Plus, farm life can get pretty boring without the occasional sibling brawl, don’t you think?”

  “Oh, please,” Kelly spoke. “Calling it a brawl implies I see him as equal.”

  “You’re right,” Adam retorted. “We can’t have you thinking I’m your equal. Considering I’m your future leader, you’re actually beneath me.”

  “Enough, you two,” David chastised. “It’s always the same blah blah with you both. We’re finally in town, so just… take in the sights or something. I need some peace and quiet for once.”

  Kelly grumbled, but otherwise complied. Adam shot Emily a victorious grin and a wink before turning face-forward to enjoy the view out his own window. Emily was grateful; maybe he didn’t see the way her breath caught in her throat in reaction to him.

  It had been that way between them for years now; Adam would be his dashing, outgoing self, and Emily would hide meekly in the shadows, daydreaming about what could be. He had a smile that could lift her out of a depressive funk, and a voice that wrapped around her like a warm embrace, but that was just who he was. He was kind, protective, and even authoritative if the situation warranted it, his innate alpha genetics blossoming amazingly as Emily got to know him over the years. She just knew he’d make an amazing pack leader one day.

  She almost felt selfish for feeling the way she did about him. He was amazing to everyone, even Kelly when they weren’t squabbling, so what right did she have in laying claim to everything he was? What made her think she was special?

  She didn’t think she was special, in any particular way. Five years ago, he saw a scared cub hiding behind his father in the doorway and did what any budding alpha would do. He took care of her. He likely saw her much the same now, a cherished member of the small pack he’d someday lead. Nothing more.

  Sighing to herself, she dared to wonder what might happen if she just… took the first step. What would he say if she confessed everything to him right now? How would he react if she expressed how much she wished to run her fingers through his soft, dark hair, or count the tattoos on his sleeved arms under a moonlit canopy of trees, asking him what each one meant along the way? She saw the world in the green of his eyes, and what it could be. Could she really just reach out and grab it?

  Not a chance.

  “We’re here, kids!” David announced from the front seat, turning down a small road as the mechanics sign came into view. “Brewer Mechanics.” It was the only building on the road, with a few junk cars here and there. It would
be wholly unimpressive if not for the endless sea of trees that surrounded it on all sides.

  Just seeing how the deep forest faded to black in every direction was enough to make Emily giddy. “Isn’t it amazing?” she asked, shaking Kelly’s arm excitedly.

  “Yeah,” Kelly replied without turning around, nearly hanging out the window in an effort to take in the scenery.

  “I can’t wait for my first run through that,” Adam murmured, already stretching as the car came to a stop in the parking lot.

  “I can’t get out of this car fast enough,” Kelly barked, throwing the door wide open before the wheels had fully stopped turning. Emily and Adam exited in her stead, the soft wind already replenishing the energy that the day’s long drive had sucked from their bones.

  Adam turned an easy-going gaze at her. “That was a hell of a ride. You’re not too stiff, are you?”

  Emily shook her head, shyness keeping her from speaking. Living with him as long as she had been, she’d learned early of her slow-growing attraction to him. Since coming forward about it was a non-option for her at this point and any other, she had long since mastered the art of keeping her feelings bottled up from prying eyes and sniffing noses. It was almost easy to act normal around him most times, despite her desires.

  She’d hoped to continue that effortless repartee between them, but for some reason, her true emotions kept her quiet. Fearing she might say something stupid and ruin everything, she settled for silence. Maybe one day she wouldn’t have to.

  Like sunlight breaking through the clouds, Adam smiled. “Let’s hurry and check out the forest before my dad gets all business on us again.” He held out his hand, and after a moment’s hesitation, Emily took it.

  “Remember, children!” David called from the driver’s seat. “Business, not pleasure,” he reminded, but they had already joined Kelly past the tree line before he could even exit the car.

  “It’s so huge!” Kelly shouted, grinning out into the thick darkness as her voice echoed around them.

  “I could spend days just wandering around it all,” Emily agreed happily, relishing the thought of doing just that once their business with this Forest Haven Pack was finished.

  “We need a place like this, Emmy. Just you, me, and an entire forest to ourselves where no one can bother us ever again.” Kelly shot a glare at her brother. “No boys or annoying brothers allowed.”

  “I wish you would seal yourself away in some secluded forest, honestly,” Adam retorted. “Saves me the trouble having to keep an eye on you all the time.”

  Emily smiled. “I think it would be nice for a while, but then I imagine it’d get pretty lonely, don’t you think?”