Billionaire Bear Shifters A Paranormal Romance Complete Series Boxset - Brittany White Page 0,5

wood paneling gave the place a mid-century feel and the oil paintings of bears on the walls had been custom painted, all depicting scenes of Nathan and his brothers in their bear forms, some based on photographs from their childhood. Nothing was old at Black Bear Lodge, all the furniture new and sturdy and at once classic and modern. But the place had an old feel to it so that when guests visited they felt at home, as if visiting some rich uncle’s mansion instead of just feeling as if they were in a hotel. Cody had taken on that idea and run with it in his menus for the dining hall, creating twists on comfort food like macaroni and cheese with gruyere or grilled salmon pizza.

In Room 27, Nathan headed straight to the bathroom sink and hummed to himself as he tested the water and found that it was draining slow. It took him just a half-hour to bring in some boiling water and run it through until the pipes had cleared. When he was done, he mopped up the water he’d spilled on the floor, made sure everything was immaculate for the new guests and that he’d left no boot prints on the carpet, and made his way out again.

As he headed downstairs, nodding at passing guests and rambunctious children, he got a strange feeling. It felt like an itch he couldn’t scratch as if something new had just wormed its way into his head. It wasn’t a bad feeling necessarily, almost like a dizzying kind of buzz. The spark of instinct, Connor would say.

He couldn’t tell what the feeling meant as he reached the bottom of the stairs and walked into the sprawling front lobby with its burgundy carpet and wide oak counter where a huge man in a grey sweater was checking in alongside a young woman who looked like she’d been run through the wringer. They were both bear shifters. Nathan could smell it on them quickly and he flushed at the scent of a lady bear shifter. Just the scent of vaguely attractive women bear shifters always aroused him a little. He ducked his head and walked around the counter behind Eric, who was checking them in, keeping his hands busy as he wiped them on a rag from his back pocket.

There shouldn’t have been anything unusual about the two guests, except that the young woman, who stood with her head bowed so that he couldn’t see her face, had lank and greasy brown hair and Nathan spotted a couple of twigs sticking out of it. She had a faint bruise on her jaw and her clothes were dirty. She stood stiffly, her arms crossed, and strangest of all, she carried no baggage. At a cheap roadside motel, it might have seemed normal. But it seemed odd to see a character like that at Black Bear Lodge, especially since the man with her looked so well put-together.

“Welcome to the lodge,” Nathan said, stopping for a moment to greet the two guests.

It wasn’t a habit of his. But he had the strangest urge to get a closer look.

The man glared at him and said, “Yeah. Thanks.”

The woman ducked her head and didn’t say a thing.

Something seemed just a little bit off about it all and it bothered him. But he had work to do and Connor’s #1 rule at the lodge as he’d said several times was do not get involved with the lodge’s guests!

He was usually shouting when he said it.

Nathan ignored the strange feeling, headed down the hall behind the lobby, and snuck into the kitchen to scare himself up some lunch. Minutes later, Nathan was halfway through a turkey sandwich when his phone buzzed. The task app he used for work order notifications told him the bathroom sink up in 27 was still backed up.

Goddammit.

He wrapped his sandwich in some Saran wrap and shoved the plate back in a fridge even as Cody appeared to purse his lips and glare at him.

“Don’t just leave that in the big fridge—”

“I’ll be right back!” Nathan said, still chewing. He swallowed and clapped his brother on the back.

Cody was just as broad and muscular as Nathan. To new people, he always looked a little goofy in his apron and chef’s hat, like a bodybuilder playing dress-up. He growled under his breath at Nathan. “I swear!”

He should have double-checked, he thought now. He should have gone into the pipes and checked for a blockage. It didn’t