Alpha Bear Detective: BBW Bear Shifter Paranormal Romance by Zoe Chant

like most of my siblings.”
    “Is it really just like a bolt from the blue?” She bit her lip. “That probably is too personal.”
    “Well, it hasn’t happened to me yet, so I can’t say from experience.” Levi shrugged. “But people say different things—some people knew instantly, the second they met, that they were destined for each other, and some other people just felt a really strong attraction that deepened as they got to know each other. So I guess it depends. My siblings mostly ended up mated to locals, people they’d known in school.”
    “But that wasn’t for you, huh?”
    He shook his head. “I want a woman who’s out there in the world, getting things done, not staying home with the shifter clan. It doesn’t even matter to me whether she’s a shifter or not.” He’d never mentioned that to his parents—his father would probably have a heart attack.
    “Can that happen?” she asked.
    He nodded. “It’s not common, but it happens. It’s probably good for us not to be marrying each other all the time, anyway.”
    “Makes sense.” She turned a bit on the couch, facing more toward him, and their thighs almost brushed. He realized that they were much closer than they’d been when they sat down—they must have been inching toward each other while they talked. He could feel the warmth of her thigh, almost close enough to touch.
    To distract himself from how close she was, he said, “Any other questions about shifter life? You must know a lot already, working for the senator.”
    “Not about the big predators.” Maria’s mouth quirked. “They tend to be very—insular, like you said. I completely understand, because they’re the ones people are most likely to decide are dangerous, but it means that we hardly ever meet any of them. And Laura didn’t grow up knowing any large predators—apparently sparrows and bears don’t socialize much.”
    “Not much,” Levi agreed. “That’s another thing that’s too bad—shifter types tend to keep to themselves. We’re pretty much all bears, back home. It makes running in the woods together really fun, but it keeps us isolated.”
    “Do you all have—instincts? Enhanced senses? Is it hard, living on top of each other all together?”
    “Sometimes. That’s why we’re way out in the middle of nowhere—I say, ‘my hometown,’ but what I really mean is a bunch of loosely connected clans out in the woods. You’re right—alpha instincts are a pain when you have too many of them in one room. You should see my brothers fight sometime.”
    Maria shook her head. “No, thank you.”
    “It’s a sight.”
    That was another part of why he’d left home—he had never wanted his alpha instincts to overrun him with his family. With non-shifters, or even just with non-predators, he was much more likely to feel protective than combative.
    Most humans, anyway. If he found that shooter, for example…
    Time to change the subject. “The enhanced senses aren’t really a problem, though—family smells good.”
    “Oh.” Maria blushed a little. “I’m always worried around shifters—I know most of them have very good senses of smell and I don’t want to smell bad.”
    “You smell great.” Oh. He probably should have thought before he spoke—that was suggestive. “I mean, your—perfume, or whatever it is. It’s very nice.” Was that better, or worse?
    “Thanks.” She was blushing more now. “I would’ve thought that after a night of running away from bullets, it would’ve worn off.”
    “You don’t smell scared anymore,” he said. “You just smell—like you. It’s nice.”
    “Thanks,” she said again, and shifted a tiny bit closer on the couch. Now their thighs really were brushing, and it felt like all he could smell was her.
    She leaned in a little closer. Levi reached up and touched her shoulder, and her lips parted.
    Before he could apply any rational thoughts to the situation, he was leaning in. She was warm and sweet