Page 3 of Bound to Two Bears

“Another couple of weeks like this and we’ll have to either let Paul go or find some other work for him,” Jared added.

Royce took his glasses off and tossed them onto the desk. He scrubbed his face and then looked up at Jared. “We’re fully booked through the end of the year. I’m sure we can find something for him to do.”

“He knows this mountain better than anyone. For a human, that’s saying a lot.”

“Hewasraised by bears,” Royce said with a wry grin.

“My point is, what do we get him to do? He’s not going to be happy cleaning up cabins or playing servant to these folks. I’m barely tolerating them myself. Maybe we need to start shooing away this new brand of guest. They’re bad for business.”

“And just how do we determine which guests are which? It’s not like we can demand they tell us why they’re coming when they make reservations.”

Jared shrugged. “Well, we don’t take online reservations for a reason. We could slip it into the conversation, right?”

“This is a momentary blip. Soon, they’ll forget all about us, and we’ll get back to business as usual. We just need to get through it for now.”

“Have you seen our reviews? They’re all prattling on about this place like it’s Relationship Mecca. I don’t think it’s going to die down as quickly as you think. Plus, they’re too fucking close to the valley. It’s got everyone on edge. The entire den is afraid to shift.” Jared chuckled, a wicked glint in his eyes. “Maybe weneed to treat a few like shit and get some bad reviews in the mix. A few of these assholes deserve to be taken down a peg or two anyway.”

“No,” Royce said forcefully. “I’ll do nothing to destroy the reputation of my grandparents’ business. I can’t believe you’d suggest that.”

Jared rolled his eyes. “I waskidding.”

Royce glared at him.

He lifted his hands. “Okay,halfkidding.”

“The influx of cash isn’t hurting us right now. There are some renovations and upgrades we’ve wanted to do since we took over and this windfall might just about cover it. I say we let it roll for a little while longer—eventually, they’ll forget. They always do.”

The magic of the mountain usually kept humans away—those who didn’t have a drop of bear blood in their veins, at least. That magic was failing them thanks to social media. It never forgot. If only they could wipe all that shit off the internet.

“In the meantime, Paul can be put to work doing whatever’s needed,” Royce continued. “I noticed some dead limbs near a couple of the cabins that need to be removed before they cause any damage. I noticed them on my way in this morning.”

“I’ve got them on my to-do list. Property maintenance ismyjob,” Jared snarled.

“Then do it,”Royce snapped back.

“What the fuck is up your ass?” Jared asked.

“I handle the front office shit and guests. You’re supposed to maintain the grounds. If it’s too much work, then use Paul to get it up to snuff.”

Jared let out a low growl.

Royce tried to reel himself in.

Jared’s jaw was set. “We’re equal partners in this business.”

Royce felt his chest puff.

“Then act like it,”he all but roared.

As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he wanted to reel them back in, especially seeing the hurt in Jared’s eyes.

Jared crossed his arms over his broad chest. “I’ve been covering all the shit you’re missinganddoing the day-to-day shit. I’m so sorry I can’t be in three places at once.”

Royce clutched his hands at his sides.

One of the side effects of their place being overrun by humans was they’d been unable to shift in weeks.Thatmade them both grumpy. As time wore on, it was becoming harder and harder to keep his animal side at bay. The arguments between him and Jared had escalated, too.

You always hurt the ones you love.

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