Brody talked to John the next morning, and as he’d thought, John had only slight reservations about letting the other Baker girls in on their secret. The Alpha was more than pleased by the news that Brody had taken a mate. A big celebration was being planned to commemorate the mating, which John said he hoped was the first of many in their new community.

But first, Brody had agreed to invite Nell’s sisters to dinner at his home, to break the news of their engagement and talk to them privately about his ability to shapeshift. Brody figured a demonstration would be necessary, but he didn’t mind putting on a little show for his sisters-in-law, if it would help them accept the truth. He was a bit nervous about how they would react, frankly, and he knew Nell was even more worried.

He’d given her a key to his home and knew she was spending her afternoon, after her shift at the bakery ended, up at their house. She was getting things ready for their family dinner that night, and Brody loved the way she was making herself at home in the den he had built with his future mate in mind. That she liked the place made something inside him stretch with pride. He’d built a house, and now, the Goddess had blessed him with a mate to make it a home.

Everything was going along great until that stupid koala got drunk and started waving a gun around the local pub. Brody had to wade in and break up the standoff, taking a shot in the shoulder before he could wrestle the peashooter away from the drunkard. It wasn’t a serious wound, but dragging the koala’s drunk ass down to the station and locking him up ate up precious time.

Brody was going to be late to the very important dinner he was supposed to be hosting at his den. Nell wouldn’t be happy, and being late wasn’t a good way to impress the in-laws either.

There was only one way he’d get there on time. Straight through the forest.

Brody shrugged out of his bloody uniform and left it on the chair in the back of the jail. Shifting to his bear form, he used one paw to open the back door of the jail and made a beeline through the forest at the back of the building, running on all fours toward his den. He could cover a lot more ground a lot quicker in his fur than if he’d had to drive around the long way on the winding road.

And shifting shape had mostly healed the bullet graze across his arm. He couldn’t do much about the blood until he got a chance to clean up, but at least bleeding had stopped with his shift. The only blood left in his fur now was what had been on his body before he’d changed into his grizzly form.

He had left his watch and phone behind at the station, but he thought he might just make it before the sisters arrived. He saw his house and made for the side of it, hoping to sneak in from the deck, shapeshift, and clean up a bit before the girls arrived.

“Brody!” Nell met him in the woods a few yards from the deck, running to him and dropping to her knees to look at his shoulder. “John called and said you’d been shot in the arm. Are you okay?”

She was touching his furry front arm, her hands coming away bloody. There were tears in her eyes, and he knew he had scared her. Dammit. He hadn’t meant to worry her.

Brody shifted shape right then and there.

“I’m fine, Nell. It was only a graze, and it healed when I shifted.”

“But the blood…” She gestured with her faintly red hands.

“It stopped. Look.” He twisted to present his shoulder to her and waited while she touched him gently, probing the area around the wound, wiping away the residual blood with her fingers.

They were both still kneeling on the ground, and he urged her to her feet, taking her into his arms.

“I’m sorry you were scared. John shouldn’t have worried you like that.” He frowned. The Alpha was going to hear about making Brody’s mate cry. The tears in Nell’s eyes bothered Brody. A lot.

He rocked her gently in his arms. He was stark naked, but as a werebear, he was used to that after a shift.

“He said you were on your way, but that you’d been shot,” she said, tucking her cheek against his chest. She was trembling, so he held her closer. “I didn’t listen after that. All I could think of was that you were hurt. Thank God you’re okay.” She squeezed him tight, making his heart do a little flip at the undeniable evidence of how much she cared. She loosened her hold and moved back a little, meeting his gaze with teary eyes. “You are okay, right? You didn’t lose too much blood, did you? And the bullet didn’t go in, it just grazed your arm?” She looked at the wound again, as if making sure.

“Yes, I’m fine,” he assured her, smiling. “I didn’t lose much blood. It was just a scratch, and all evidence of it will be gone by morning. I promise.” He moved his hands to her shoulders. “I’m sorry you were worried. And I’m sorry I was almost late for the big dinner.” He lifted her off her feet and onto the deck, following close behind. “I need to get cleaned up before your sisters arrive.”

“Too late.” It was Ashley’s voice, coming to him from the far end of the deck.

Looking up quickly, he saw both Ashley and Tina seated at the table with half-full glasses of wine in front of them. They’d been there for some time already.

Dammit. He really was late, after all.

And naked.

Though that didn’t bother him as much as it seemed to bother Nell. She’d placed herself strategically in front of him, blocking the sisters’ view of his privates, for the most part.

Surprisingly, the sisters didn’t look all that alarmed. They had to have seen him shift. He hadn’t been all that far away from the deck when he’d changed.

Leaning down beside Nell’s ear as she stood with her back to his front, Brody asked, “Do they already know?”

“Oh, you’re going to love this,” Nell said, turning to face him. The expression on her face was a strange one. She looked sort of angry, but not at him, thank the Goddess. “Apparently, I’m the last one in the family to figure out the big secret of Grizzly Cove. They’ve known for weeks!” she said in an accusatory tone.

“How?” Brody frowned. Everyone in the cove knew to keep things quiet. If someone had been blabbing, he’d have to have words with them.

“Oh, come on,” Tina said, lifting her glass and taking a swallow of the wine. “You guys are terrible at keeping secrets. I saw your brother strip and shift the second day I was in town.”

“He shifted in front of you?” Brody was shocked.

“Hello? Roof garden,” she sing-songed, rolling her eyes. “We have a hell of a vantage point from up there. I was up there putting the planters together when I saw him getting naked in the woods behind our building. He’s kinda hot, so of course I watched. And then, he turned into a freaking bear.” Tina downed the rest of the wine and reached for the bottle to refill her glass.

“And he’s not the only one we saw from up there,” Ashley chimed in. “Nell, did you know that Dr. Olafsson can become a polar bear? He likes to skinny dip, then come up as a bear. And hubba hubba. Doc is built.”

“I had no idea you two were such voyeurs,” Nell said over her shoulder. She seemed more hurt than mad. Brody put his hands on her shoulders, stroking gently, hoping to soothe his mate. He didn’t like seeing her upset.

“See?” Tina said in an accusing tone. “That’s exactly why we didn’t tell you.” Tina drank more wine. “You would have totally spoiled our fun.”

“Can you believe them?” Nell said, moving more into Brody’s arms. “And here I was all worried about how we were going to tell them. I agonized over this big revelation, and it turns out I’m the only one who was in the dark.”

Brody tried to think of the best response. “Well, at least now you know they’re not going to run screaming into the night at the idea there are shapeshifters in the world.”

He tried giving her a lopsided smile, and she responded with a faint one of her own. He felt relief flow through him. She was recovering from both the shock of hearing he’d been shot and from learning that her sisters had known about the town’s secret all along and neglected to tell her.

“Ashley, Tina, we wanted to tell you that we’re getting married.” He let that announcement fall without waiting for a response. There would be time for congratulations later. First, he had to get some pants on and comfort his mate—not necessarily in that order. “Now, if you’ll please excuse us for a few minutes, we’ll be right back,” he said firmly, as he walked slowly backwards into the house, Nell still in his arms. The sisters watched but didn’t move from their seats on the deck.

Once inside, he couldn’t wait. He had to take her into his arms. He had to comfort her and hold her. The bear inside him demanded he make her happy again, and Brody could do no less than agree.

He dipped his head and claimed her lips in a gentle kiss that quickly turned into something much hotter.

“Way to go, sis,” Ashley called from the other side of the screen door while Tina let out a wolf whistle. Brody paid them no heed. He was way too busy kissing his mate.

Thanks for reading All About the Bear (Grizzly Cove #1). If you enjoyed this book, please consider leaving a review.

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The next Grizzly Cove story is called Mating Dance. Scroll down for a sneak peek…