Bad Bear: BBW Bear Shifter Paranormal Romance (BRIDES fur BEARS Book 1) by Natalie Kristen

CHAPTER
ONE

    Staci
Castillo sat at the corner of
the bar and watched two elderly ladies belt out a catchy pop song
with gusto on the stage. If not for the large karaoke screen behind
them displaying the title and lyrics of the song, Staci would never
have recognized the song. The two silver-haired ladies sang
with enthusiasm and energy,
but it was clear that they were completely and hopelessly tone-deaf. But that didn't stop
them from giving a bawdy, boisterous
booty -shaking performance.
Staci hooted and clapped
supportively. She suspected
that nothing stopped these two vivacious, bubbly elderly
ladies .
    “ Those
two, um, musical grandmothers on the stage, t hat's
Gramma and Ne-ma,” her colleag u e,
Melanie, leaned over and told
her with a grin .
    When
Staci canted her head
quizzically, Melanie went on, “They're the grandmothers of the
Gray brothers, but everyone calls them Gramma and Ne-ma. The four
Gray brothers are bear shifters, but Gramma and Ne-ma are witches.
They run the Broomstick Inn together ,
and...” Melanie lowered her voice to a dramatic whisper. “I
heard that they've been casting spells over quite a number of our
townsfolk in Shadow Point.”
    “S-spells?”
Staci's eyes widened in
alarm .
    Melanie laughed. “Don't
worry. Their spells are benign. Their spells don't always work, but
they're good witches.”
    Staci studied Melanie for a
beat and said, “You're a witch too, right?”
    “Half witch,”
Melanie answered. “But Gareth doesn't really care.”
    “ Who's
Gareth?” Staci looked around the crowded bar. The Round Table
was a really nice bar. The little bar was tucked away in a small side lane and looked like
just a hole in the wall on the outside. B ut
the inside of the bar was cleverly decorated to resemble a medieval
castle, complete with ornate
swords and daggers, flags, and even a full-sized knight's armor.
    “Gareth Knight is the
owner of The Round Table,” Melanie said, pointing to the tall,
handsome bartender. “On Witchy Wednesdays, the first twenty
witches to sing in tune will get free beer the whole night.”
    “Oh.” Staci
glanced at Gramma and Ne-ma who were twerking in time to the music on
stage. “That means Gramma and Ne-ma are out of the running...”
    Melanie chuckled. “Nah.
Gramma and Ne-ma can get free drinks anytime! They helped Gareth
find his mate. That's Tara, his mate.”
    Staci
turned and saw a pretty redhead serving drinks and chatting
animatedly with the regulars. She saw that even though Gareth and
Tara were busy the whole evening, serving their customers and
laughing and joking with almost everyone in the bar, they would
frequently sneak up to each
other to exchange a meaningful smile, a quick kiss or a whispered word. The re
was just so much love in their eyes when they looked at each other.
It made Staci sigh with both
resignation and longing .
    Once
upon a time, she too had believed in love. But...ah well. Staci
shook her head sharply and straightened up.
    She was here in Shadow Point,
and so far, she seemed to be settling into her new life in this
small, quirky town pretty well.
    In
fact, Staci was glad that she had taken up the offer to be transferred to the Shadow Point
branch.
    She had worked at the same
bank for nearly eight years, and been with the same man for almost as
long. When their relationship went belly-up, Staci had seriously
considered resigning and getting a new job. She just couldn't paste
a smile on her face and pretend she was fine when her ex-fiance and
his new girlfriend flaunted their romance and acted all lovey-dovey
right under her nose in the same office.
    But
when she walked into her bank manager's office with her resignation
letter in her hand, her manager had eyed the envelope in her fist and
asked her to sit down. Before she could say anything, her manager
asked if she would like to be transferred to a small town branch of
their bank. “Pamela, the Shadow Point branch manager, had just put in a request for a