Billionaire Bear Shifters A Paranormal Romance Complete Series Boxset - Brittany White Page 0,36

dress. She’d grown up a little wild with parents who generally preferred to live as bears a lot of the time even before she’d ended up drifting with Alex. But Alanna rather liked her human side too. Unfortunately, it was fragile as hell.

But Alanna’s desire to know about Nathan was strong and on impulse, she shifted.

“Oh, hello there!” the woman said. She laughed brightly and stuck out her hand for Alanna to shake. “I’m Daisy. Nice to meet you, honey.”

“Hi.” Alanna’s voice came out soft and timid and she cleared her throat and said more firmly, “I have to be getting on in a minute. I’m trying to make it over the mountain before dawn.” She straightened her sweater and shivered, though she wasn’t nearly as cold in her human skin as she thought she’d be. She folded up her legs and frowned down at the trout she’d torn apart.

“That will be quite a feat,” Daisy said knowingly. “But you look young and formidable. Especially your bear.”

“Before I go, I was wondering if you knew any more about the Strauss brothers. Do you know them well?”

“Oh yes.” She smiled fondly, the corner of her eye crinkling up. “They made a point of making sure that all the neighbors around here felt good about the new ownership. They’re very sweet boys. Not many businessmen like them would take the trouble. But I think they didn’t want to be thought of as interlopers. There are a few other resorts around this mountain and sometimes things can get testy with the townies who have been here a very long time. But the Strauss brothers are good men. Good bears. I’ve had them over to my cabin and they were very kind about it. My place is small, just a humble little spot for me to hole away. But they told me I’m always welcome to lunch at the lodge and the one who works as the handyman, Nathan, he comes by a few times every winter to make sure I’m getting on alright.”

“That’s right,” Alanna said softly. “He told me about that.” Alanna’s voice shook and she felt tears on her icy cold cheeks. “He’s a good guy. The best kind of guy.” She began to cry and covered her face, embarrassed and angry at herself for getting so emotional in front of a stranger.

“Oh honey, oh dear…” Daisy went right into comfort mode and took Alanna in her arms and patted her back. It felt nice to be embraced by a sweet, motherly type. In fact, it was the first time someone had whispered “oh honey” and hugged her and cooed sweet words about how everything would be okay since her parents had died. Alex had always been a rock and she did feel close to her brother. But like so many other male shifters, he wasn’t always the most open with his feelings. She knew he loved her, but even if she had wanted comfort from him, she was the older sister. She had always been the one to look after him. “What’s the matter, dear?”

“Nothing I’d want you to worry about,” Alanna said. “You’re so kind. I wouldn’t want…” She sniffed and took a breath, watching it steam in the chill. “I just wanted to hear about Nathan. I got to know him a little bit, but I have to be moving on. It makes me sad. He seems…like such a good man.”

“He is,” Daisy said simply, patting her back. “The best kind. Not bad looking either!”

“No,” Alanna said, chuckling through her tears. “No, he’s not.”

“Oh, you poor thing,” Daisy murmured. “I don’t know your story, sweetheart. But I hope if you have to leave like this, you’ll be able to visit perhaps?”

She laughed at that, a humorless crack that made her stomach hurt. She would always be on the run. Rawley was everywhere. And if Alex never found her, she would always be alone.

“Maybe he’ll come find you.” Daisy didn’t break her gaze and Alanna felt as if she were seeing more than she let on. “If it’s meant to be, say if he’s your mate? He’ll come find you, honey. They always do. I had a mate myself. Lloyd. I met him when we were just cubs. We were together fifty years before he passed. But we always found each other. Maybe you two will.”

“Maybe,” Alanna whispered.

Her bear was telling her to go. It was time to run. She had a couple of hours of a headstart, but