Page 1 of Bear It All (Bears in Love Duet Book 2)

Four years ago, Remy Ibhere met his fated mate.

At least, he thought he had.

Except they’d ultimately gone their separate ways without acknowledging that rather important bit of information.

His body, his mind—really, his bear was insisting it was time to figure it out. The idea of seeing her again, of making that connection, it was like a tick digging under his skin and refusing to let go. An uncomfortable analogy, yet accurate.

Maybe even more accurate was the sense that her bear was calling to him. Which also made no real sense because they hadn’t spoken at all in those four years. Not once. Not a text or a follow on social media. Not an unannounced visit—and he’d told her where he lived; hell, he’d invited her to move to south Louisiana with him.

Instead, she’d said she had unfinished business to take care of, and truly, neither of them had been in the right headspace to deal with the monumental changes that came with accepting another person into their lives for the long haul.

He still wasn’t sure he was prepared, but his bear was, and he was sick of fighting with the animal. They were supposed to be of one mind, yet the damn animal in his head refused to let him have his way.

He’d met Mallory, his potential mate, under extenuating circumstances. And she’d told him something she probably didn’t share with many people.

She’d been abused as a teen. A young girl on the verge of becoming a woman, who had just experienced her first shift, which tended to happen when shifters reached thirteen or fourteen years of age.

Her pack leader’s brother. Fucking prick.

Remy had no idea how old the man was, only that he’d been an adult and he’d taken liberties Mallory hadn’t wanted him to take.

Remy had no other information about the man. Not his name, what he looked like, not even the specifics about where her pack was located.

All he knew was the man had violated Mallory and her pack was somewhere in northern Minnesota.

And Remy’s bear had insisted they come up here, to the wilds of the north, to find this man and exact revenge on Mallory’s behalf.

While his moral compass was admittedly gray, the needle had never drifted into murder territory.

First time for everything, he supposed.

He shivered, leaning against a tree on the edge of a beach that rolled out to Lake Superior. This downy coat was hardly making a difference against that wind whipping his shaggy hair into a frenzy.

He should’ve waited until summer to start this journey. By the time June hit, it was so freaking hot and humid in southern Louisiana, Remy would’ve been damn near ecstatic to take off on this mission.

His bear hadn’t been willing to wait. The beast had decided enough was enough. It was time to find their mate. To avenge the wrongs that had been done against her.

Cold-ass weather be damned.

He watched the figure standing on the beach, huddled inside her own thick winter coat, staring out over the churning water.

It wasn’t Mallory. This woman was much older than Remy or Mallory. A couple of decades older.

She was also a Kermode bear. He’d seen her in her bear form, with her pale, cream-colored fur.

Just like him when he shifted.

Kermodes were rare; in fact, there were probably less than five hundred in existence, and of those, probably less than fifty were shifters.

His friend Peter’s mother was a Kermode bear. Peter’s bastard father—now dead, and not even a little missed—had exiled her from his pack when Peter was a kid, too young to understand what was happening. Peter’s pack was in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, just across the bay from here.

It wasn’t too much of a stretch to think this lonely looking woman, who was staring wistfully out over the waves, might be Peter’s estranged mother.

This wasn’t the reason Remy had traveled all the way across the country, but maybe doing this good deed would offset the very bad one he planned to do as soon as he found Mallory’s pack.

Pushing away from the tree, he stepped onto the sand and called out a hello. She whipped around, immediately taking a step away, definitely leery of his presence.

Understandable, since they were alone on a remote bit of beach, tucked away from any other civilization by a wide swath of trees. Except she was a bear shifter, which made her pretty badass, even in her human form. He suspected it was Peter’s father who had put that fear in the depths of her dark eyes.

“My name is Remy,” he said in greeting, letting his Southern drawl come out in full force so she’d know he wasn’t from around here. “I’m not with his pack.”

There it was, the flicker of relief in her eyes.

“He’s dead,” Remy said shortly.

She shook her head. “Who?”

“Arthur Karhu. He’s dead. Winona Orzo is the pack leader now.”

“Winona…I don’t know that name.”

“She’s younger than your son, maybe five years.”

Her eyes widened. “My son. How do you know?”

“I met him. Both of them. Good people.” Although he’d not had that opinion when he first met Peter, but things changed. “She’ll be good for the pack.”

“My son?” she said again, sounding as if she didn’t quite believe this conversation was happening. If she didn’t know Winona, she’d been ousted from the pack a long-ass time ago. Remy could see where she’d be unsure.

“I think he’d like to see you. He doesn’t blame you for what happened. He knows it was all on Arthur.”

She pressed a hand to her chest. “This doesn’t feel like a trap. I mean, it’s been years, decades, since Arthur’s guard dogs have come sniffing around.”

“Not a trap,” Remy assured her, not that his assurances really mattered. She’d need to ultimately make the choice herself. She had no reason whatsoever to trust him.

“Thank you,” she finally said, glancing out over the water again, her eyes now filled with hope.

“Maybe you can help me,” Remy suggested. “I’m looking for a bear shifter pack. All I know about them is that they’re located in northern Minnesota. And the pack leader is an asshole who lets his brother get away with some bad shit.”

Her eyes widened again. “Weirdly, with only that little bit to go on, I think I know who you’re looking for. The pack lives near Island Lake. It’s north of Duluth.”

He’d passed through Duluth, had continued along the shore of Lake Superior instead of heading inland. So close. And yet, if he hadn’t made his way up here, he’d never have met Peter’s mom, possibly set up a reunion that was long overdue.

“They aren’t good people,” Peter’s mom added. “They shouldn’t be running that pack. Or any pack.”

As if he needed the confirmation. Still, it was reassuring to know he wasn’t heading off to kill a good man.

“Thanks for the warning.”

She nodded.

It was about to get awkward, so Remy lifted his hand in farewell and good luck—to both of them, really.

And then he turned away and headed back toward his old pickup truck.

Time to get a move on with this mission.

And then it would be time to find his mate.