Dare to Bear (Book 1 Trail Guardians Series) by Christine Julian Page A

the dark forest, far from the cave, he reared onto his hind legs and roared at the top of his lungs.
    When his front paws touched ground again, the woods grew deathly quiet around him. He gave himself a rough, full-body shake, and several burs flung off his thick coat.
    Being denied by his mate had wounded him more deeply than expected. And, Ancients help him, he wanted to claim her with a ferocious intensity he’d never experienced before.
    He’d always been driven—with passions that ran hot and fierce like the rest of his kind—but he’d always been the brother who maintained his cool when the fur flew. As the first-born offspring of his father’s prized Alterra bloodline, he prided himself on calculated decisions and concise action. Right now, he wanted to claw the bark off every tree in sight. His head was not in a good place.
    Twigs snapped and under his heavy strides. The cool night air felt good on his heated skin.
    It still dumbfounded him Steph had succumbed to the pheromone mating scent, letting him taste her sweet honey, only to scamper away when he was done and cover herself, telling him it meant nothing to her.
    The opposite was true for him. At first taste, he knew only she could quench his sexual desires. For life. The thought of being intimate with any woman, other than her, repulsed him. Somehow, he needed to ensnare her until she felt the same way as he did. But the path toward that end eluded him.
    The clear hoot of an owl pierced his somber mood. A whoosh of air drew his attention overhead, where the bird landed on a branch high above.
    Mason gave a sloughing sound in recognition of the creature. Then he issued a particular sound from deep in his gut, a signature only a shifter recognized.
    Before he could blink, the owl morphed into human form—or, he assumed, what owls looked like in human form. He’d only come across a few in this area since assuming his Master Guardian status. And the Ollusians, as they called themselves, hadn’t stuck around to chat.
    The man’s long, white-blond hair fluttered in the night wind, mirroring the way his white robes flowed like sheets of silk around his narrow body. His facial features were pale, small and sharply hewn, with a perpetual, self-important expression.
    “What troubles the mighty bear?” the man questioned mildly, his tone suggesting he really didn’t care.
    Mason eyed him, shifting into human form as well. “I thought Ollusians had no interest in the concerns of others.”
    “You interrupted my hunting, scared every morsel halfway to Georgia with your noisy griping. I care about that,” the man said, idly inspecting the neat crescents of his nails. “Salmon bone stuck in your craw? Or did you run out of lox for breakfast?”
    “Hilarious,” Mason muttered, not rising to the Ollusian’s bait. He’d like to talk to someone about his stale-mate situation with Steph, but not to this guy. What would an Ollusian know about taking a human mate?
    Besides, Mason needed to shelve his erratic emotions and focus the overarching event that impacted them all. Before he revealed his information about the mutated rabies strain, though, he needed the bird man to answer some questions. “I haven’t run across many owl shifters. I’m curious, how closely is your DNA tied to humans?”
    “By a thread.” The man’s lips curled with disdain. “Careless, destructive creatures. I don’t see why all our Ancestors didn’t band together to wipe them out in their infancy.”
    Mason peered at him. “How long have Ollusians existed?”
    “A bear wants to discuss my species? Most unexpected.” The man shrugged. “Very well. Here’s your history lesson. I’ll use small words. Try and keep up.”
    Mason gave a rough grunt. “First, tell me your name.”
    “Ollun,” the shifter replied. “I am to my kind what you are to yours, although we’re far too advanced for terms like Master or Alpha. But I am of similar status as yourself.”
    “So a