Billionaire Bear Shifters A Paranormal Romance Complete Series Boxset - Brittany White Page 0,46

were worried about the bookings slowing down after…”

“Well, we had to make so many cancellations,” he sighed and Nathan nodded along.

It had been hard going after the Dining Hall Brawl, as Eric had taken to calling it. The official story was that wild bears had destroyed the place and only the shifters who worked at the lodge or had been guests at the time knew the truth. The humans didn’t hold it against the lodge, as shocked as they had been when Connor was forced to visit each guest’s room individually, doling out a painful amount in refunds and incentives for them to come back someday. Then they’d had to shut down while the dining hall was renovated and that had taken three weeks.

“I gotta admit, I’m going to miss the lodge being closed,” Nathan said, leaning on the counter. “Gave me some time to relax.”

He had been laid up for a week with his injuries and was told he was lucky not to have been killed with the way Rawley’s claws had ripped through him. But he was a strong shifter and he had healed well, even if the cold weather made his side ache just a little now, reminding him of the fight. It had been worth it all in the end.

“Relax, huh?” Alanna winked at her mate and plowed through her pancakes and sausage, eyeing the coffee warily.

“I did relax,” he said, but the way he grinned, she knew they were thinking the same thing.

It hadn’t all been “relaxing.” At one point, they’d broken the bed.

“Wow, you finished those pancakes already.” Cody laughed and she blushed. “Do you want some more?”

She felt like a glutton but she knew something that Nathan and his brothers didn’t know and nodded mutely. “Sure thing!” Cody said.

“Can I have some milk too, please?” she asked and Cody shot her a thumbs up.

Nathan stared at her and Alanna bit back her smile. She hoped he wouldn’t guess before she told him, but he could be more intuitive than he seemed.

“Alanna,” Nathan murmured. He nodded at her still full cup of coffee. “What’s going on?”

“Nothing,” she said, shrugging and batting her eyes.

“Do we need to talk later?” he said quietly enough that Connor and Cody wouldn’t hear.

“After breakfast,” she said. But she couldn’t contain her smile.

“Huh.” Eric strode into the kitchen, frowning at his phone. He seemed a little edgy and Nathan nudged him, raising an eyebrow in question. “It’s nothing really,” he said with a shrug. “Do you remember Tamara?”

“Do we remember Tamara?” Connor blurted out, his coffee sloshing slightly. “The love of your life? The one that got away? I think we all remember Tamara.”

“She’s not the love of my life,” Eric grumbled, but Alanna didn’t miss the way he looked down at his shoes when he said it. She couldn’t help but think there was a story there and it made her curious.

“But she was the one that got away?” Cody said, and for Cody, it sounded gentle. “I always felt like you were in love with her.”

“Well, anyway,” he said, rolling his eyes. “She emailed me out of the blue and I haven’t heard from her in years. She’s asking about a room. Sounds kinda…. she sounds kinda freaked out. Hope everything’s okay. Be nice to see her again, though.”

“I bet it will,” Nathan said nudging him.

“Shut up,” Eric looked around as if searching for a change of subject, finally settling back on Alanna. “Alanna, how are you doing? Settling in okay at Nathan’s place? Even when he’s human, he lives like a bear.”

“Yeah, thank goodness for the maid service,” Alanna said, laughing.

“What’re you gonna tell me after breakfast?” Nathan said.

He was like a dog with a bone and Alanna sighed, sure that the news was going to break before she finished her second round of pancakes whether she liked it or not.

She had been scared when she had first discovered she was pregnant. Her period had run late and she’d dutifully run down to the drugstore on the lodge’s promenade and bought a test. Back in Nathan’s penthouse residence where she was living now, she’d hidden away in the bathroom. When the test had come up positive, she’d cried, uncertain if she was happy or scared. But then she found herself smiling.

Nathan was practically vibrating in his seat and Alanna tried to contain herself as she chowed down on her second plate of pancakes. Bear shifter women got notoriously hungry while pregnant. It made it difficult to hide