Bear's Heart: BBW Paranormal Shifter Romance (Bear Heat Book 5) by Natalie Kristen

other
always.
    “I love you, Dylan,”
she whispered.
    Forever.

CHAPTER
TWENTY-EIGHT

    Dylan watched Jade laugh and
joke with the Black Bears as she bustled around Curry Corner. The
Black Bears were always trooping down to Curry Corner for long
lunches, dinners and celebrations. The cozy little restaurant was
owned by Prisha, Caleb's mate. It seemed the Black Bears just
couldn't get enough of Prisha's famous Devil's Curry.
    Jade came down to Curry
Corner at least thrice a week to help Prisha in her restaurant.
Prisha wanted to offer her a permanent position, but Jade declined.
Curry Corner was a small restaurant, and while business was good,
overheads were still high. “You have to keep your expenses
low,” Jade told Prisha. “Paying me a salary will just
eat into your profits. I'm happy to just help out as and when I
can.”
    Dylan was glad to see that
Jade had grown really close to his clan members. She would
frequently drop by the office with freshly baked cakes and pastries.
Jade could bake really well and she seemed to enjoy experimenting in
their kitchen and creating all kinds of delicious, beautiful cakes.
    Tonight, Curry Corner was
closed. At least that was what the sign at the door said. Closed
for a private function, the sign declared.
    Inside the restaurant, a
party was in full swing.
    This was a farewell party for
two of their members. Aidan and Mason were leaving the Black Bears
Group to return to their hometown. Their grandmother had summoned
them home, and it seemed that Gramma's word was law for the Gray
bears. Aidan and Mason Gray had traveled to the city from their
little town and happily gotten jobs at the Black Bears Group some
years back.
    Well, time really flies when
you're having fun.
    According to Mason, their
Gramma had agreed to let them have their fun and freedom for a few
years. But it seemed Gramma Gray had decided that their time was up.
They were to go home and fulfill their family obligations. When
Ethan asked them what those family obligations were, the two brothers
had shrugged and scratched their heads. “We'll have to ask
Tristan when we get home,” Aidan had sputtered at last,
referring to their eldest brother.
    Well, family was family. And
when family called, you answered. If Aidan and Mason Gray had to go
home, then the Black Bears would send them off in style.
    Prisha and Jade came out of
the kitchen, bearing a big cake with the logo of the Black Bears
Group in the middle. The logo featured a ferocious black bear
rearing up on its hind legs with the city skyline in the background.
The two blazing candles on the cake had been shaped into names: Aidan
and Mason.
    They placed the huge cake
carefully on the table and stepped back. As the clan complimented
Prisha and Jade on the cake, Prisha shook her head and laughed. “Oh,
I had no hand in this. Jade baked this all by herself. I'm hopeless
with cakes! I'm only good with curries.”
    “Wow, Jade, this is
amazing! Yum!” Aidan and Mason gushed, grinning at her and
salivating all over the cake.
    “This seriously looks
too good to eat. I don't think I can bear to eat it!” Thor
said.
    “Speak for yourself,”
Baxter scoffed. “I'm definitely eating the cake. It looks
super yummy!”
    The whole clan gathered
around the table. Aidan and Mason stood in front of the cake, and
looked round at all the smiling faces. They had been with the Black
Bears Group for a few short years, but they had made some deep, solid
friendships. Aidan and Mason were Gray Bears, but Ethan had made it
clear when they joined the Group that they were part of the Black
Bears clan. Not officially, but in every way that mattered. The
Black Bears would always have their backs. “If you ever need
us, just give us a shout,” Ethan and Caleb told them. “The
Black Bears will always come for you.”
    The Black Bears pressed in
closer and pounded the two brothers on their backs. “Once a
Black Bear, always a Black Bear!” someone yelled. The clan
took up the