Outlaw Bear (A Paranormal BBW Shape Shifter Romance) by Terra Wolf, Amelia Jade Page B
Authors: Terra Wolf, Amelia Jade
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wasn't going to do the same thing in a second city. No wonder she had been so reluctant to allow him in closer. She was afraid that he would be the same as the last man in her life. His knuckles were going white as he squeezed his fists closed, trying to keep his anger at whatever this man had done to her in check.
She paused for a moment of retrospection, her mind shifting into the past so clearly he could see it written on her face. Several emotions flashed across her face, none of them happy ones. The final grimace lingered there for some time until she began to speak again.
"It started out fine, the courtship, the engagement, the wedding. All of it was perfectly enjoyable. Then one night he came home drunk. Said he needed money. It turned out he'd had a gambling problem, which he'd managed to hide from me somehow. I still to this day have no idea, despite trying to look over our entire life with a fine toothcomb."
"Anyways, this got worse. He started to take out his anger on me, no matter how much I gave him. He also began to do things that were illegal. He would often come home with things that weren't his," she winced at her own memories as the words came out. He wanted to hold her and promise to never do those things, but it wasn't the right time. For now he needed to be understanding and to appreciate the fact that she was opening up like to him like this at all. That in and of itself was a huge victory, something he had not been able to achieve the entire previous week.
"Finally, I woke up one day with bruises and a black eye and realized I needed to get the hell out. I was tired of the city life, I was losing touch with my bear by the day, and I decided to try a shifter community. The Bluff's ended up being the place I chose."
Something in her voice told him there was more to that last sentence than she was letting on. He wondered if perhaps it was her father's hand that was evident in her decision process. Either way, no matter how he felt about her, he needed to figure out if this was all one giant coincidence, or if Occam's Razor applied to the situation.
Occam's Razor was the theory that generally the simplest explanation was the one that applied. In this case, that meant that One Eyed Jack had, in one way or another, influenced Kailee's decision to move to Bear Bluff's. In reality, that meant that he was coming after Jet and his intentions were hardly likely to be pure.
"So now," Kailee was saying as he focused on her once more, "I'm just out here to relax, rediscover my bear, and see whatever life sends my way."
"Well, hopefully it's nothing but relaxation and upstanding men," he replied, doing his best to make it light-hearted and not hint at himself.
"I certainly hope so. I'm not interested in any disreputable men. I was so disappointed when I found out that Donald, my ex-husband, had succumbed to the criminal way of life. It's so pathetic, really. There are so many other avenues of leading your life, that to descend to those levels is sad."
He was caught off guard by the anger in her voice and the unshakeable attitude she seemed to have regarding those that crossed paths with law enforcement. Jet contemplated asking a question, something to do with those who have erred, but now recognize their mistakes and are making an attempt to rectify it. In the end, however, he decided he wasn't sure he was ready to hear the answer. She seemed rather unwavering in her disdain of people like him.
Her entire attitude about it was going to be a problem. Jet didn't see an immediate way around the issue, but perhaps if he didn't mention his own past for a while long, she might build up enough of an image of him as the person he was now, to realize that leopards can change their stripes.
Then he was hit with a startling realization. She was either an astoundingly good actress, or she had no idea what her father did for a living. Jet, having spent a number of years around people who lied and acted for a living,
She paused for a moment of retrospection, her mind shifting into the past so clearly he could see it written on her face. Several emotions flashed across her face, none of them happy ones. The final grimace lingered there for some time until she began to speak again.
"It started out fine, the courtship, the engagement, the wedding. All of it was perfectly enjoyable. Then one night he came home drunk. Said he needed money. It turned out he'd had a gambling problem, which he'd managed to hide from me somehow. I still to this day have no idea, despite trying to look over our entire life with a fine toothcomb."
"Anyways, this got worse. He started to take out his anger on me, no matter how much I gave him. He also began to do things that were illegal. He would often come home with things that weren't his," she winced at her own memories as the words came out. He wanted to hold her and promise to never do those things, but it wasn't the right time. For now he needed to be understanding and to appreciate the fact that she was opening up like to him like this at all. That in and of itself was a huge victory, something he had not been able to achieve the entire previous week.
"Finally, I woke up one day with bruises and a black eye and realized I needed to get the hell out. I was tired of the city life, I was losing touch with my bear by the day, and I decided to try a shifter community. The Bluff's ended up being the place I chose."
Something in her voice told him there was more to that last sentence than she was letting on. He wondered if perhaps it was her father's hand that was evident in her decision process. Either way, no matter how he felt about her, he needed to figure out if this was all one giant coincidence, or if Occam's Razor applied to the situation.
Occam's Razor was the theory that generally the simplest explanation was the one that applied. In this case, that meant that One Eyed Jack had, in one way or another, influenced Kailee's decision to move to Bear Bluff's. In reality, that meant that he was coming after Jet and his intentions were hardly likely to be pure.
"So now," Kailee was saying as he focused on her once more, "I'm just out here to relax, rediscover my bear, and see whatever life sends my way."
"Well, hopefully it's nothing but relaxation and upstanding men," he replied, doing his best to make it light-hearted and not hint at himself.
"I certainly hope so. I'm not interested in any disreputable men. I was so disappointed when I found out that Donald, my ex-husband, had succumbed to the criminal way of life. It's so pathetic, really. There are so many other avenues of leading your life, that to descend to those levels is sad."
He was caught off guard by the anger in her voice and the unshakeable attitude she seemed to have regarding those that crossed paths with law enforcement. Jet contemplated asking a question, something to do with those who have erred, but now recognize their mistakes and are making an attempt to rectify it. In the end, however, he decided he wasn't sure he was ready to hear the answer. She seemed rather unwavering in her disdain of people like him.
Her entire attitude about it was going to be a problem. Jet didn't see an immediate way around the issue, but perhaps if he didn't mention his own past for a while long, she might build up enough of an image of him as the person he was now, to realize that leopards can change their stripes.
Then he was hit with a startling realization. She was either an astoundingly good actress, or she had no idea what her father did for a living. Jet, having spent a number of years around people who lied and acted for a living,
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