Sneak Peek: Lure of the Bear
Aloha Shifters: Jewels of the Heart, Book 3
There’s not much that can get this grizzly shifter worked up — except a threat to the woman he’s secretly loved for years. Then all bets are off, and he’s willing to risk anything — including the most closely guarded secret of his lonely shifter soul.
Read on for a sneak peek of Hunter’s story, or order today!
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A beep sounded, making everyone at the Kapa’akea resort look up, and Hunter caught a flash of red racing in from the main road.
“Him again,” the security guard muttered at the sight of Boone zipping up in the Ferrari.
The wolf shifter flashed one of his winning grins as he pulled up. “Hop in.”
“Hop?” Hunter sighed as he squeezed into the low-slung car. “Couldn’t you have driven the Land Rover?”
“No time to waste,” Boone said as he raced back to the highway and made the left turn for home. “My errands took forever. I need to get back to my mate and—” He cut himself off there. “Oh. I mean…”
Hunter looked at his feet as an awkward silence fell over the car — silence broken a few minutes later when the car swerved, and another beeped.
“Oops,” Boone murmured, unfazed.
“Keep your eyes on the road,” Hunter muttered as the Ferrari’s speed inched up.
“No problem.” Boone shrugged, jerking the wheel to straighten out.
“You need to slow down, too.”
“Nah. Like I said, no time to waste.”
Hunter braced his arms on the dashboard as the scenery flashed by. “Boone…”
“I got this, man. We’re nearly there.”
They were nearly to the curve staked out by Officer Dawn Meli off the Maui Police, too. If she was on duty, she was bound to pull them over, and Hunter wasn’t ready to face her yet.
“Boone…”
“Live a little, man,” Boone said, racing around the corner.
Hunter peeked right, and his heart pounded at the sight of Dawn’s white-and-blue cruiser.
She’s back! his bear practically leaped for joy. She’s back! Maybe she’ll pull us over.
The Ferrari raced on, and Hunter kept his eyes glued to the side mirror, waiting for the flash of police lights.
“Hey,” Boone murmured, slowing down. “She’s not pulling me over?”
The joy that had burst into Hunter’s soul slowly seeped out. Dawn wasn’t pulling them over. She was avoiding him, just as he’d been avoiding her ever since the shifter battle that had revealed his animal side.
Boone slowed even more, then signaled a left turn into a private drive.
Hunter made a face. “Wait. What are you doing? This isn’t the driveway to Koa Point.”
Boone put the Ferrari into reverse, scattering gravel as he headed back the way they’d come. “I’m going back.”
Hunter dug his nails into the dashboard. “Whoa. What?”
“I have a right be pulled over, damn it,” Boone said with a sly look on his face.
“I thought you were in a rush to get back to your mate.”
“I am, but this is important, too.”
“Boone,” Hunter growled, to no avail. He sank as low in his seat as he could when Boone drove past the squad car again, but damn it, the Ferrari didn’t offer much space to hide a bear shifter of his size. “Don’t do this, Boone.”
“Time to man up, bear.” Boone chuckled as he turned the car yet again. He drove right up to the pullout and parked next to the squad car, putting Hunter window-to-window with a wide-eyed Officer Meli.
His breath caught, and his blood warmed.
Mate, his bear hummed. My perfect mate.
She was perfect in every possible way. Her fine features, her glossy black hair, her dark, searching eyes. Back in high school, there’d been people who talked about Dawn getting modeling contracts and hitting it big thanks to her gorgeous blend of Polynesian, Asian, and Caucasian features, but she’d shunned the suggestion and gone to law school instead. And after law school, she’d surprised everyone — again — by going into law enforcement.
My mate always does the unexpected, his bear said with a dreamy sigh.
“Officer Meli!” Boone called cheerily.
Hunter closed his eyes, savoring a whiff of her flowery scent.
“Mr. Hawthorne,” she said in an icy voice that warmed and wavered when she looked at Hunter. “Mr. Bjornvold.”
Hunter snapped his eyes open again. “Dawn,” he whispered.
“You didn’t pull me over,” Boone said.
“No, I didn’t.” Her dark eyes were hard and unamused, but when they strayed toward Hunter, they flickered — and not in fear. More like…recognition. Maybe even warmth.
I told you! his bear cried. I told you she loves us.
But why would she? Humans didn’t know about destined mates.
Deep inside, our mate knows, his bear insisted. Destiny told her, too.
“I was speeding,” Boone said.
Officer Meli’s brow furrowed. “I decided to let it go this once.”
“But speeding is unlawful. I really think you ought to give me a ticket.”
She pushed the door of her squad car open and stood with her hands on her hips. “Mr. Hawthorne,” she said in a stern, policewoman’s voice. “I decide when I issue a ticket, is that clear?”
How she managed to look beautiful and menacing at the same time, Hunter didn’t know.
She’d make a great bear, his inner beast sighed.
“Yes, ma’am,” Boone said, putting on his best chagrined schoolboy look as he swung the car door open.
Officer Meli went into a defensive stance, one arm hovering over the weapon at her hip. “Hold it right there.”
Boone stood and stretched. “Sorry. An old army injury is suddenly flaring up. I need to walk it off.”
Hunter furrowed his brow. Boone had his share of war wounds, as had every member of their Special Forces unit. But as a quick-healing shifter, Boone didn’t suffer any long-term effects. What was he up to?
Old army what? Hunter demanded, stepping out of the car at the same moment Dawn asked, “Old army injury?” She arched her perfect eyebrows, then spun to face Hunter. “Whoa. You hold it, too.”
Hunter threw his hands up as Boone faked a grimace and limped up the dirt track that led from the pullout point toward the West Maui mountains. “I’ll be fine in a few minutes. Don’t worry.”
“Worry?” Dawn muttered, not sounding the least concerned. Her eyes darted from Boone’s back to Hunter’s face.
Hunter pushed the car door closed and leaned against it, keeping his hands in plain view. Damn. What had he been thinking, hopping out of the car like that?
I was thinking, get closer to my mate, his bear murmured inside.
We’ll scare her, he hissed back.
Boone’s footsteps crunched over gravel, then faded into the distance, leaving Hunter alone with Dawn. He scrubbed a hand over his jaw, wondering what to do.
Time to man up, you stupid bear. Boone’s words echoed through his mind, and a few awkward seconds later, he finally spoke. “Look—“
“Look,” Dawn said at exactly the same time.
They both stopped cold, looking at each other.
Hunter scuffed the dirt with his boot. “Ladies first.”
“No, you first,” she insisted, crossing her arms.
Right. If only he knew what to say other than, Look.
Say I love you, his bear tried.
Hunter shook his head. No way was he opening with that line.
Say, you can trust me.
Hunter shoved his hands deeper into his pockets. Damn it, why was it that a bear who didn’t fear anything had to be so scared of uttering a few words?
Then kiss her.
He gritted his teeth. Much as he’d like to, that wouldn’t work, either.
She sighed. “Tongue-tied as ever, I see.”
Hunter looked up. Another woman might have laced the words with scorn, but not Dawn. If anything, there was a hint of fondness in her voice. Or was he imagining things?
They stood facing each other for a full minute, speechless. Any second, Hunter figured, his brief stint in heaven would be over — just being close to Dawn was heaven — so he imprinted the moment into his mind. A wisp of hair had strayed out of her single braid, and the sea breeze twirled it exactly the way he fantasized about doing himself. The sun shone from high overhead, casting her face into smooth fields of shadow and light. When her eyes strayed to his chest and back to his eyes, her throat bobbed with a tiny swallow.
Hunter gulped, too, because it was happening again. That magical aura that overwhelmed him every time he came close to his mate. The sensation that rose out of nowhere and wound around the two of them, locking the outside world away. The hum of passing cars, the scratch of insects in the surrounding scrub — all sound faded until the only thing Hunter heard was the beat of his heart. All he saw was the faint rise and fall of Dawn’s shoulders with each deep breath. Her face was bright and clear, but everything else was blurry, as if the sun was slowly turning a lens and focusing all its light on her.
This is your mate, a whisper came from somewhere deep in the earth. This is your destiny.
Dawn’s eyes shone brighter than ever, and she leaned forward slightly.
She needs you as much as you need her, the voice said, coaxing him along.
A yellow butterfly fluttered between them, but even that was a blur. Nothing mattered but Dawn.
His lips moved with words he couldn’t form, and when his hand brushed hers, she didn’t jerk away.
“Hunter,” she whispered.
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That’s just a little taste of another unforgettable paranormal romance! Get your own copy of to follow all the suspense, emotion, and romance!