Elianna brushed her damp hair back, yanking each stroke with vengeance until she caught a tangle. “Ouch.”

She put the brush down on the hotel bathroom sink.  “Hair did not insult you, foolish woman,” she told the mirror. 

That arrogant bear shifter had been the one to tell her she needed to take more time.

Did he think scrubbing harder and washing longer would wipe away her natural look and turn her into some hidden beauty?

Staring at her reflection didn’t improve her mood. If she could be honest, he had a point, and that annoyed her even more.

She had fine hair in an unfortunate reddish, pale-brown color, plus her face was too long.  She might improve her looks with makeup, but she’d never had money for frivolous things back home, and makeup would not hide her greatest flaw of being an ursid hybrid.

She hated those words.

Now would be an even worse time to waste money on her appearance with so little in hand until Alexandre sent her the money he promised for when she arrived.  Then he would send more later. In Russia, she’d saved every bit of money to put toward an apartment for her and Nico, but extra rubles hadn’t come along often.

With one last look in the mirror, she scoffed. 

Mascara would not change her pale blue eyes.

She stood out like a lost grizzly on fresh snow.

Justin’s eyes should have been dark chocolate, too, but his were more like dark syrup that caught the light and brightened to gold at times.

Take at a least an hour.

Why would his words not leave her alone? 

Slapping the brush down, she said, “I can not fix face or body. I do not care, grizzly.”

But, sadly, she did and being told she needed to spend more time primping stung.  It felt like a rejection.

It should not matter. She must worry about what she had to do, not about making any grizzly shifter happy. Like her father, who had smiled and acted as if she should be thankful he had given her a great opportunity.

He was as dense as every other man she’d ever met.

Men would never understand her, because they thought only of their own needs and assumed she would, too.  He probably also thought she’d arrive in this country and be so intimidated she would do what every man told her.

Alexandre had lived a long time and everyone around him probably changed to suit his needs. She’d learned to adapt at an early age, which had not been fun, but because she was flexible, she feared nothing except losing Nico.

Not a new land. Not the unknown. Not a man.

She made a grinding sound of disgust. She had only one thing on her mind and that was to prepare for Nico’s future with her.  The Boudreaux Clan alpha had to carry out his end of the deal, because no bear clan wanted a Romanov for an enemy.

She would fulfill her part as well, but on her terms. 

Men lied to her all the time.

She owed the full truth only to Nico.

With her usual efficiency, she dressed in her jeans again, but feeling cleaner this time. She pulled on a lightweight shirt with long sleeves, then tied her hair back into a ponytail at her neck.  Glancing at the digital clock on the nightstand, she scowled.  She had taken her time and still there were forty-eight minutes until her keeper returned.

Sitting hard on the edge of the bed, she slapped it.

Go out. Play. Go out. Play.

Her silly bear had risen from its rest.

Elianna spoke to her bear telepathically.  Cannot go out.

Why?  Bad air. Go out.

I am tired of being in boats and buildings, too, she replied.

Go out. Now, now, now.

No, I must wait for guard, Elianna explained.

Why?

She didn’t have an answer this time. She had no reason to fear humans who would not know she was a shifter. If she didn’t appease her bear in some way after the animal had rested so long, Elianna would not hear the end of complaining for hours.

Maybe all night.

Maybe tomorrow when they were stuck inside a vehicle.

Elianna told her bear, We will go out, but no shift.

She expected the animal to sulk, but instead heard, Yes. Out.

Now she felt bad. Her bear rarely went along without griping, which meant the poor animal needed to get out soon and run. That would not happen for at least a week, maybe longer, until Elianna could find a place where no one would see her bear.

Pulling out a scarf from her case, she wrapped it around her neck. She would not allow this Justin to treat her as a prisoner. He was her escort. 

It was time to begin learning this new land.

Justin had said the local shifters would not bother her, just as it was in her father’s country when he gave permission for another shifter to visit. 

She left the room, feeling lighter of heart than she had in days.  By the time Justin came for her, she would be back.