Chasing His Polar Bear: Big Bad Bunnies, #4

By Golden Angel

Once upon a time, when she was betrothed and in love, Sheila Slater believed in fated mates, fairy tales, and happy endings. Now, one big heartbreak later, she's a self-rescuing princess, kick butt fighter, and undercover extraordinaire. 

But to save the shifter world from the evil designs of Aiden Mansfield, she'll be forced to reunite with her ex-fiance: Aiden's twin brother, Eli. 

And when Sheila appears in Eli's office, as stunning as ever and with all of the information needed to take down Aiden, Eli can barely control himself. She's gorgeous, determined, and deadly. Her very presence tempts his bear, and he can't stop thinking about finally taking a big, sensuous bite out of her.

What happens when these two put aside their past for the benefit of everyone's future? 

This novella is part of the Big Bad Bunnies Series but may be enjoyed as a standalone. The timeline of Sheila & Eli's story runs concurrently with Chasing His Honey Badger. 

Big Bad Bunnies Series
1. Chasing His Bunny
2. Chasing His Squirrel
3. Chasing His Puma
4. Chasing His Polar Bear 
5. Chasing His Honey Badger (coming April 1, 2019)

• Language: English
• Publisher: Golden Angel
• Release date: Mar 1, 2019
• ISBN: 9781386756217

Golden Angel

Golden Angel is a USA Today best-selling author, Amazon Top 50 bestselling author, and self-described bibliophile with a "kinky" bent who loves to write stories for the characters in her head. If she didn't get them out, she's pretty sure she'd go just a little crazy.She is happily married, old enough to know better but still too young to care, and a big fan of happily-ever-afters, strong heroes and heroines, and sizzling chemistry.She believes the world is a better place when there's a little magic in it.Sign up to be part of the Golden Angel Legion newsletter and receive a free story, exclusive to newsletter subscribers - https://www.subscribepage.com/goldenangelromanceFind Her Online!Newsletter → https://www.subscribepage.com/goldenangelromanceBookBub → http://bit.ly/2G68e3OFacebook → http://bit.ly/2Ds7c0eGoodreads → http://bit.ly/2rt4rdLInstagram → http://bit.ly/2CkqiqZTwitter → https://bit.ly/38ImcYkWebsite → http://www.goldenangelromance.com

Book preview

Prologue

12 Years Ago

H appy Birthday, Sheila!

Happy Birthday!

Smiling and nodding, Sheila waved as she hurried down the hallway, feeling a little thrill burst in her chest every time someone called out to her. Today she was eighteen years old, the birthday she’d been looking forward to, the birthday she’d been training for, ever since she was a little girl.

She couldn’t actually remember when her parents had made the arrangements for her to be married to Eli Mansfield; it felt like things had always been that way. As a little girl, she hero-worshipped him, as a teenager, she had a massive crush that left her a bit heartbroken when he’d gone to England for college, and as an adult, all of her dreams were finally going to come true.

Arranged marriages were becoming less common in their shifter clan, but they were still widely accepted. Part of her realized that she should probably be furious that her parents had presumed to decide such an important part of her future, and maybe she would have been if they’d chosen someone else. But they’d engaged her to Eli.

All of the young women in the clan wanted him. Sheila was going to have him.

Handsome. Charismatic. A gentleman. He’d even come home from England with a slight English accent that made them all swoon. The last time he’d been home he hadn’t been romantic with her, but he had been kind. Attentive. He’d taken the time to speak with her, which he hadn’t had to do. She’d only been sixteen, and she’d done everything she could to impress him with the poise, manners, and social graces her mother had been drilling into her head. Her bear had been taken with him too, just as infatuated with his shifter side as she was with his human.

As the Alpha’s mate, she knew she wouldn’t have the same level of power within the clan as him, but she would be his helpmeet, his shoulder to lean on, and she was ready for it.

At the same time, Sheila had been reading the books she’s been borrowing from her mother’s private bookshelf, and she was ready for everything she’d been reading about in those, too.

Kissing.

Touching.

Caressing.

And more.

It hadn’t exactly been easy, being a teenager and knowing she was already claimed. All her friends had had their first kiss years ago. Most of them had done quite a bit more since then. They had experiences that she didn’t… But she was going to have Eli, and he would be her first and only for all of those things. She’d decided it was a fair trade.

She would have her romance eventually. Seeing the envious looks of the other female bear shifters her age, she knew they would have been willing to make the trade too.

Now, it was finally her birthday, the day when she was ready to be married to him, and he was here.

Which was why she was speed-walking—far faster than was ladylike—down the hallway of the Clan Lodge to the conference room where her friend Brandi had said she’d seen Eli going with Neal, their current alpha, and the other Clan elders. She wondered why her father hadn’t called her to come, since he was one of the elders. Hopefully, something wasn’t wrong. Her bear rolled inside of her, sleepily sending a wave of reassurance to her, but her animal didn’t understand everything that was happening.

The Clan was on the verge of breaking up, that she knew. Neal was getting closer and closer to stepping down, and the only person the Clan had ever been able to agree on replacing him was Eli. He was a natural leader and always had been, as well as being a powerful shifter, and had what her father called ‘the right temperament.’

Unlike some shifters whose alpha leadership was hereditary, bear shifters chose their alphas. Without one, they wouldn’t remain a clan and would scatter. Eventually, they might unite with a different clan or reunite if a leader came out and brought them back together, but bears weren’t willing to follow just anyone. Eli had a twin, Aiden, who looked almost exactly like him, but somehow didn’t have quite the same impact, the same aura of power… Or the right temperament. He’d left the Clan already, going to work with humans in the city, rather than staying in a clan his twin would lead. No one had been overly surprised—it wasn’t unusual for an alpha’s siblings to go off on their own or to choose a different clan.

Sheila hoped that some of the elders hadn’t changed their mind about Eli. After so many years of grooming him for the position it would be shocking if they had, but she supposed it was possible.

Her steps slowed as she approached the closed door and she realized she hadn’t quite thought through what she would do when she arrived. Even though she was going to be the Alpha’s Mate, she wasn’t yet, and she couldn’t just walk right in. She could hang around the hall though, waiting for them to finish…

Waiting to see Eli.

The door opened as if in response to her thoughts, and Sheila brightened before she registered the angry shouting that was now spilling into the hallway. She skidded to a halt, blinking in confusion, suddenly unsure about how to move forward. The voices in the room merged together, a cacophony of upset and accusations, although it was impossible to make out the specifics of why everyone was so angry.

What is going on?

Eli stepped into the hall, taking her breath away, and not just because of his movie star good looks. He was wearing a suit, his fingers tugging at the sleeves with jerky motions, as if he was annoyed, and his blond hair looked slightly rumpled rather than perfectly in place the way it normally was. Bright blue eyes flashed with annoyance as he turned back to face Elder Wayne, who was following behind him, his lips set in an uncommonly thin line.

Think about what you’re doing, Elder Wayne practically shouted, although Sheila barely blinked at his volume. He was constantly irate and shouting; while the Clan gave him the respect his age demanded, they were all also aware that he was one seriously crotchety old man.

I have thought about it, Eli responded, his words clipped and sharp as he glared down at the shorter man. Sheila’s breath caught in her throat as the air seemed to thicken with Eli’s power, and she took an involuntary step back. Even Elder Wayne was affected, his head jerking upwards and his mouth shutting with a click of his teeth. I have thought about little else for the past year. My decision is final. This clan… His voice trailed off for a moment, and he sighed before continuing, his tone even firmer than before. The direction the Elders believe we should move is not the same as the direction I would lead to.

That’s because you won’t listen to reason, Elder Wayne said, gathering his strength and drawing himself up, his stubborn chin jutting into the air. He might be shorter than Eli, weaker in power, and have lost much of his muscle mass due to age, but he was still a shifter. What you want is impossible—

Not in the rest of the world, Eli said, interrupting Elder Wayne, and making Sheila gasp. No one ever interrupted the Elders.

She clapped her hand over her mouth as both men turned to look at her, only now registering her presence. The arguing in the room behind them had begun to slow, becoming just quiet enough that they’d heard her. Sheila wanted to sink in the floor as she was pinned by two powerful gazes. Inside of her, her bear finally started to stir, responding to her distress.

Male is here. The happy anticipation in her bear’s thought made her want to kick the animal. Yes, it was the middle of winter, and her bear was more interested in sleeping and eating than anything else, but Sheila needed her to be less slow on the uptake.

Yes, Eli was here, and her bear was happy to see him—great. Now if the animal had some way to make Sheila invisible, that would actually be helpful.

The hard look in Eli’s eyes softened, and Sheila stared back at him, her mouth dry, barely aware of the sneering expression on Elder Wayne’s face.

"Why don’t you tell her? Elder Wayne demanded. See what she thinks since you’re so interested in having females make decisions for us."

Ignoring him, Eli strode forward as Sheila tried to figure out what Elder Wayne was talking about. Females making decisions for him? For the Elders? There weren’t any female Elders. It was something that irked her and the other young women in the clan, but it was also just the way things had always been done. None of them had been brave enough to bring it up to anyone who could do anything about it, but…

Eli had.

Sheila swore she could feel herself falling even more in love with him right then and there.

But the look of adoration she sent toward him was not returned. If anything, he looked grimmer than ever as he faced her, and her happy little heart felt like it tripped over itself as she realized he must have set himself completely at odds with the Elders. And it didn’t look like either of them was going to be giving in any time soon.

What did that mean for the clan?

Eli pushed forward, his expression remaining grim, but Sheila reacted to his nearness anyway. Her heart beat faster in her chest, her breath coming more shallowly, and she felt her body flush all over. The anxiety she had started to feel was nothing compared to her other senses as her bear immediately relaxed in his presence.

Sheila, he said in greeting, his voice gentle. She smiled up at him. He was standing so close to her that it was hard not to reach out and touch him, but she wasn’t sure if she should or not. This was one of those times when having