Bearing My Soul: A Paranormal Werebear Shifter Romance (8 page)

A handful of reporters and hunters began to visit a few days later. Roanne would often take them on a tour of the area the monster was spotted, up along the trail behind my house. She would always point out the large wood carving of a gruesome bear posted near the head of the trail. She explained that the carving had ‘been there forever.’ Several stray bullet holes lodged in the wood where the hunters shot it, too.

Margaret would laugh as people asked her about the incident. She would say how she kind of liked those guys. They bought caseloads of booze from her. She didn’t recall ever seeing them sober. The local hotel rates rose dramatically to quell demand.

The three men actually did return after several weeks. They made a bunch of noise about how they weren’t drunk and that the monster was real. The sheriff arrested them for attempted rape. Now, they tell their stories to other inmates.

I quit my job and moved in with Jonathan. Tom started working at the Hall house. He eagerly watched me anytime I was outside. As with Jonathan, I wasn’t always clothed.

Together, Jonathan and I would sometimes watch from the second story window, as Roanne took the tourists down along the trail. Then, when they had gone, we’d play together.

As the chill of winter died off, so did the tourism. The town fell quiet once more.

Margaret told me that, sometime later, my mother had come to town searching for me one clear day. She had demanded to know where I was. Margaret told her I was probably off roaming through the woods with my boyfriend. My mother might have come looking for me along the trails, but growling noises were heard in the distance. For us, it’s always mating season.

Other works by Ellen Graves

Touch/Click the covers for sample!

Vance Alvarez was the kind of man who knew what he wanted.
Raised in a trailer park by an alcoholic mother, Vance learned early on that if he needed something, he would have to get it for himself. Fighting to take control of his life, he fell in with the boys of the Iron Soldiers MC, and then kept fighting to become the youngest president in club history. 
Mimi Parker knew she was flighty.
Mimi was kind but could never remain rooted in the same place for more than a few months at a time. On the road again, she stops at a restaurant in a quiet, sleepy biker town, and decides to call the place home for the next few weeks. 
He knows he has to have her.
There's something about Mimi that draws Vance in and he's determined to have her. And although Mimi is both intrigued and intimidated, she can’t find it in herself to say no to Vance. From there blossoms a passionate affair moving at the speed of light. But Mimi knows she’ll never settle down, and that’s exactly what Vance wants from her. As the urge to flee grows stronger, Mimi must decide if it’s time to run again, or if Vance is what she has been looking for all along.
 

***

Part 1 of the
 
Hell Raisers MC
 series
 
 

Trying to fight for the only family he knows,
Dex will meet his toughest adversary yet – the girl who wants to steal his heart.
Dex Thompson is ready for change. After 14 years working he way up the ranks of Hell Raisers Motorcycle Club, he’s tired of living on the wrong side of the law. As second-in-command, it’s almost his time, and he knows what he wants to do -- legitimize the businesses, start fresh, and rebuild the club through honorable means. And nothing is going to stand in his way. 
Zoe Carlisle has grown up as the princess of the Hell Raisers and is used to getting the things that she wants. Except when it comes to Dex. Zoe has always had feelings for the dark-eyed rough-rider, but as the step-daughter of Maddox “Mad Dog” Carlisle, all the boys have always known that she was off limits. Until now. 
Getting out of a toxic relationship, Zoe decides to quit ignoring her feelings and makes a play for Dex. But Dex has enough going on in his life, and he doesn’t need the daughter of the one man who could disrupt his plans, getting in the way of bringing back honor to the club that Dex has always loved. Even if she does have lips he’s dying to taste and legs he wants wrapped around his waist. 
Despite Dex’s intentions, Zoe has plans of her own, and isn’t going to be easily persuaded to give them up. In this battle of wills, will Zoe be able to convince Dex that she’s the woman he needs? Will Dex find a way to bring his dream to life and get the girl? Or will their battle of wills end in a stalemate?