Bearing It All Read online

  Bearing It All

  TL Reeve and Michele Ryan

  2018 Copyright All Rights Reserved TL Reeve and Michele Ryan

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  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  All Rights Reserved.

  Dedication:

  To Michelle, thank you for being our editor on this book. We appreciate your help! To our families, thank you for being so supporting and putting up with our hectic writing schedule. To you, dear reader, thank you for continuing to read this series. Michele and I love writing them.

  ~ TL and Michele

  Author Note:

  Hi all! I thought I would let you know what will be coming soon for TSU universe! We have several books in the works with Utah and Terri’s books up next. For now, we would like to introduce you to Emma and Bodhi. Of course, you know Bodhi is Hayden’s twin and Emma is the shy, self-conscious bear who was viciously picked on by Laney and her little henchwomen.

  We wanted to change up the series a little. We’ve taken control of it and right now, we’re going to be expanding this universe. Michele and I are hoping you’ve picked up a copy of Kalkin, and you’re learning about where Bodhi and Hayden came from. So, we’re going home. Everything in Bearing It All will take place in Window Rock, Arizona. We’ll be showing you the Raferty and Dryer families and include you in on their shenanigans. We hope you enjoy this story and we hope you will continue to join us on this wild journey!

  Glossary of Names

  Hayden Raferty: (Wolf) Vice President of Sigma Epsilon Xi. Daughter to Jace, Loraine, and Blake. Bodhi’s twin. Mated to Nico Lopez.

  Nico Lopez: (Wolf) Hayden’s Mate. Bad boy in his youth.

  Bell Dryer: (Lion) President of Sigma Epsilon Xi. Her mates are Christoph and Jackson and she is Hayden’s cousin and Zoe’s sister.

  Zoe Dryer: (Panther) President of Xi Beta Xi. She’s a handful, a lot like her father. Her mate is Rocky, a falcon.

  Christoph St. John: (Lion) Young alpha. Bell is his mate.

  Jackson Dalco: (Dragon) Mate to both Bell and Christoph.

  Utah Blake: (Tiger) Son to Osirus Blake and Jenna Blake. Member of the Dryer pride. Deaf. Works construction. Older brother to Rosie and Ramsey Blake.

  Raquel Leon: (Human) Newest member of Sigma Epsilon Xi. Interpreter for Utah when need be. Also, has a deaf brother at home. Genius level student, who doesn’t look the part.

  Victor Lorenz: (Horse, Andalusian) Thespian, lover, not a fighter. He’s wounded, but strong, and wants to change the world, starting with Sigma Epsilon Xi. He’s creative and funny, and suave. Also, the first openly gay member of Bell’s sorority.

  Shelly O’Rourke: (Unicorn) Shy, funky, loves 80’s things and a new member of Sigma Epsilon Xi. Favorite movie is Legend (Yes, the one with Tom Cruise). She’s a little disheveled, but she does that on purpose. All of her family except for a few are dead. She is that fabled “rare” unicorn.

  Joy Hrid: (Water element) Bubbly personality. New member of Sigma Epsilon Xi. She’s spunky and fun and always wants to help. Has a positive ‘can do’ personality.

  Emma Monte: (Bear) College Sophomore is best friends with Bell, Terri, and Hayden. Adopted her younger sister after she matured out of the foster care system and now attends TSU. Her mate is Bodhi Raferty.

  Cassidy Monte: (Bear) 16 and a junior in high school. She loves her sister even when she doesn’t show it. She talks a good game, but she’s almost afraid of people due to how she was treated in the system.

  Henry Dryer: (Wolf) Rapier picked him up as an orphan. He loves the guy, even though they’re not blood related and when he was younger followed Rapier around learning everything he could from the man. Is excited to be at TSU with his family.

  Tate Dryer: (Panther) Also picked up and cared for by Rapier. Even though they’re not blood related, like Henry, he considers Rapier his father and owes him everything. He is gay, and hasn’t come out to his family yet. He’s afraid Rapier will be disappointed. He is a star soccer player for TSU and his mate is, Victor Lorenz.

  Kalkin Raferty: (Wolf shifter) Alpha, Identical twin to Caden. Older by a minute. Slightly bigger than his twin. Black hair, ice-blue eyes. Mated to Keeley.

  Keeley Raferty: (Human with abilities) Mated to Kalkin. Hazel eyes, blonde hair and curvy.

  Caden Raferty: (Wolf) Identical twin to Kalkin. Younger. Black hair, ice-blue eyes.

  Danielle Raferty: (Human with abilities.) Tall, willowy blonde with blue eyes. Keeley's older sister and mate to Caden. Their children are Aiden, Nicolas, and Willow.

  Jace Raferty: (Wolf) Bodhi’s biological father. Black hair, blue eyes. Youngest Raferty Brother. Goes off pack lands during the full moon. No one questions where he goes. Deputy.

  Loraine Raferty: (Human) Chocolate-brown hair, brown eyes. Very old-fashioned. Doesn’t like technology. Dispatcher for the Sheriff’s Department. Mate to Blake and Jace Raferty.

  Blake Raferty: (wolf) His distinctive features are his pale eyes and white-blond hair. Mate to Loraine and Blake.

  Mackenzie Raferty: (Wolf) Eldest Raferty brother. Father of Royce, and mate to Holly Raferty, Hayden Raferty’s aunt. Was taken by the Quincy Pack, and rescued by Rapier Dryer. Has two children. (Royce and Liam)

  Holly Raferty: (Human) Aunt to Hayden Raferty sister to Hazel Geithner who subsequently died after kidnapping Keeley Raferty. She kept Hayden’s identity and existence a secret on Jace’s instructions. Mated to Makenzie Raferty. Has two children. (Royce and Liam 14)

  Royce Raferty: (Wolf) Son of Makenzie Raferty. Mate to Charisma Raferty. Grew up with his uncles while everyone thought his father had died. He is close with Hayden and Bodhi.

  Charisma Raferty: (Human) Met Royce at the orphanage. She is an elementary school teacher and loves kids. They have only been mated for a few months.

  Rapier Dryer: (Lion) Alpha of the Dryer Pride. Zoe and Bell’s father, and mate to Jasmine Dryer. Owner of Dryer Construction.

  Jasmine Dryer: (Panther) Mate to Rapier Dryer. She is a tattoo artist and likes to keep to herself. She is the mother of six children. (Tate and Henry, Bell and Zoe, Summer and Alex – youngest)

  Saber Dryer: (Coyote) Brother of Rapier, mated to Penelope. Is part owner of Dryer Construction and has one child. (Lynx)

  Penelope Dryer: (Human) Mate to Saber Dryer. Member of the Window Rock community. Meets Saber by chance, needing help with her house. They have one child. (Lynx)

  Wy Dryer: (Coyote) Youngest member of the Dryer brothers. He is newly mated to Allie, and they are expecting their first child.

  Allie Dryer: (Human) Happened to meet Wy at the local community college while he was getting recertified to be an electrician. (Pregnant)

  Rashid Dryer: (Coyote) Middle Dryer brother, mated for five years to Melody. They have one adopted child. (Shelby)

  Melody Dryer: (Wolf) Mated to Rashid Dryer. Didn’t think she would be mated to a coyote. One of the shyer members of the Raferty pack. One adopted daughter. (Shelby)

  Shelby Dryer: (Lion) aka: Aislinn Makino. Biological mother and father are Yakuza, and came from the Makino pride. She was smuggled away from their care by Christoph and Rapier Dryer to Window Rock, when the
y wanted her to mate with Christoph. She was adopted by Rashid and Melody Dryer.

  Cormyr Dryer: (Lion) Eldest Dryer brother. Mated to Jayde Dryer. They have one adopted daughter. (Caroline)

  Jayde Dryer: (Human) Works at the local library. She is mated to Cormyr Dryer, who is older than her ... by a lot. They’ve had many uncomfortable confrontations about their age difference. They have one child, adopted. (Caroline)

  Osirus Blake: (Lion) Works for Dryer Construction. Has been friend with Rapier for years. Utah, who is deaf, was almost killed by his mother who tried to smother him. Osirus took his boy and ran. He wouldn’t allow Utah to be treated different. Is mated to Jenna, who is also a panther, and is related to Jasmine. (Sister) They have three children. (Utah, Rosy, and Ramsey or Ra)

  Jenna Blake: (Panther) Related to Jasmine. She is mated to Osirus Blake, and they have three children together. (Utah, Rosy and Ramsey–or Ra)

  Rosy Blake: (Lion) She is the middle child of Jenna and Osirus. She has become the little interpreter for Utah. She takes her position within the family seriously and doesn’t like interlopers.

  Playlist courtesy of Spotify

  White Wedding – Billy Idol

  Hungry Eyes – Eric Carmen

  I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For – U2

  Girls Just Wanna Have Fun – Cyndi Lauper

  Leather and Lace (Don Henley) Stevie Knicks

  Living On a Prayer – Bon Jovi

  I’m On Fire – Bruce Springsteen

  Pretty In Pink – The Psyched

  I Want To Break Free – Queen

  Under Pressure – David Bowie and Freddie Mercury

  Don’t Stop Me Now – Queen

  Fat Bottom Girls – Queen

  In Your Eyes – Peter Gabriel

  She’s A Beauty – The Tubes

  You’ll Accompany Me – Bob Seger

  Hungry Like the Wolf – Duran Duran

  Take On Me – Ah Ha

  Don’t You (Forget about me) – Simple Minds

  Every Breath You Take – Police

  Tainted Love – Soft Cell

  Time After Time – Cyndi Lauper

  Each title can be purchased on Itunes or you can join us at Bearing It All’s Spotify channel!

  Chapter One

  “I know you wanted to spend spring break with your friends at the lake, but I promise, you will like everyone.” Emma frowned. Since they’d packed up their car earlier that morning and left their apartment, her sister hadn’t said a word. “Please talk to me.” She hated when Cassidy shut her out, especially when they were both doing something new, like taking a trip with someone else’s family.

  They'd grown up together for a short time, at least. Emma had raised her sister from the minute she'd been born, literally. Their mother died in childbirth, and their father, bless his soul, had passed within days of their mother. The powerful connection between mates left an indelible mark on his soul. The doctor called it a broken heart. She believed it. They'd been together for twenty years before she'd been born. When she was six, Cassidy had been born—all chubby and pink. Emma still liked to tease her about it every so often.

  Thankfully, her parents had left them with enough—everything—to survive. Emma and Cassidy both had trust funds, their educations had been provided for, and their clan had made sure they had somewhere to call home ... until the new alpha arrived. Then, they ended up in the human foster-care system with only the clothes on their backs and two bottles of formula for her sister. She realized, even at a young age, the alpha had done it in spite.

  It pissed Ulric off when he couldn't touch their money, and for that, she'd been grateful to her parents. It came in handy when she matured out of the foster-care system and decided to adopt her sister. Spending twelve years in the human system and trying desperately not to shift, even though some humans knew of their existence, had been the hardest thing Emma or Cassidy had ever done.

  When they arrived at Turnskin University, the first thing they’d done together was run through the hills as bears. It was the first time in many years that she heard her sister laugh. Emma promised herself, from that day on, she’d make sure she heard it every day, no matter what.

  “They’re all older,” Cassidy whined. “What am I supposed to talk about with any of them?”

  “Everything,” Emma answered. “They’re going to love you. I think once you get to know them, you’ll like them, too. From what I understand, Bell and Hayden have cousins ... younger ones, your age, I think. They’ll all be there.”

  Her sister still didn’t look convinced. “We’ll see.” Cassidy crossed her arms as they pulled into the small parking lot of Sigma Epsilon Xi that Mr. Dryer, and his brothers, built for Bell, when they added onto the house.

  Since the third week of September, the house had been a flurry of action, becoming a renovation dream and nightmare. Between Bell having to submit blueprints to the college, to her father adding onto the house, it sometimes seemed like an uphill process. The one saving grace; Mr. Dryer had ordered prefabricated house frames. In three days’ time, he had the whole new section of the sorority house assembled. From there, it had taken a few more months to finish building the rest of the house.

  By January, people were moving in, while others were finding their mates, and she sat on the outside looking in. Not because she didn’t have a special someone she wanted to spend the rest of her life with, she did.

  He didn’t know, though.

  “Not like we can go home,” her sister sighed. “I wish we could.”

  So did Emma. “Me, too. But, hey, home is where our heart is. We’ve done well together. You’re almost a senior, and you’ve got colleges vigorously trying to recruit you. You should be so proud of yourself, Cassidy. Mom and Dad would be.”

  “Yeah, maybe.” She sat forward and looked out the windshield. “So, this is the place, huh? Pretty big.”

  “Yep.”

  Mr. Dryer tried to stay with the original look of the house. The same off-white stucco they blew onto the new sections of the house matched the front, same with the trim color. All told, they added six new bedrooms, three bathrooms, a study room, and an entertainment room, to an already four-bedroom house. Those who wanted to live there after they pledged could, and those who wanted to visit, could. With the added land Bell received after winning her case, her uncles also built them an area for picnic tables and a gazebo. It gave all of them a place to safely run and enjoy the outdoors.

  “Cool.” Cassidy popped opened the door and got out. “Where are we putting our stuff?”

  Emma glanced out into the parking lot where two SUVs and two trucks sat. “I think over there.” She pointed to the vehicles as she got out with her sister.

  “Are we going to fit?” Cassidy cocked a brow.

  “We should.” Emma closed the door to her car. “Come on, let’s go see what everyone is doing, and then, we’ll load up our stuff.”

  Three weeks ago, Hayden had come to her excited as all get out. Her stepmom, Loraine, was in the final weeks of her pregnancy, and the baby was due any day now. She wanted to go home, so she could be there for the birth and spend some time with her parents, but she also wanted to celebrate everything with her friends. So, they made a sign-up list, all of Hayden's family would be going to Window Rock, Arizona, including a few of her closest friends, like Emma and her sister.

  Emma knocked on the door and waited. When it opened, she was greeted by a very loud, very rambunctious group of people. Hayden grinned and ushered them inside. “Hey, Emma! Wait ... I don't think we've met.” Hayden's curious, blue-eyed gaze latched onto Cassidy. “I'm Hayden, and you are?”

  “Cassidy, younger sister and tag-along.” Her sister grinned, and her brown eyes glittered with mischief.

  Hayden glanced at Emma. “Dude, why didn’t you tell us?”

  She shrugged. “I guess, I got comfortable.” She hadn’t said anything because it seemed the more she talked about raising her sister, the more people
pulled away. Most of the time, they muttered about baggage and too much responsibility. She didn’t see it as such. Emma would do anything for her sister.

  “People are dip shits,” Cassidy explained. “They give Emma a hard time when she tells them about me.”

  Emma’s eyes grew round with surprise. “Cassidy!”

  “What? It’s true. You and I both know it. It’s easier to have friends when people are in the dark. I get it.” Her sister shrugged.

  “Well,” Hayden said, ushering them in. “Any sister of Emma’s is welcome here. We are, after all, a couple of misfits.”

  “Cool.” Cassidy shrugged. “So, when are we leaving?”

  Hayden glanced around. “Soon. I think everyone is here.”

  Across the way, Emma caught a glimpse of Bodhi–the reason she’d agreed to this little trip. For the last ten months, he’d been all she could think of. If he’d known how deeply she’d cared for him, he’d probably think she had psycho tendencies. He was handsome–tall, muscular with rugged, good looks. He always had a few days’ worth of scruff on his cheeks. She noticed when Hayden and Bell’s family worked on the house, they all kind of had it. He had piercing, blue eyes, a shade darker than Hayden’s, and full lips.

  He didn’t walk, either; he stalked everything. Emma sometimes wondered if he realized he did it. Probably not. He was also on TSU's football team. He caught the ball when Alex threw it, which had been the extent of her sports knowledge. And, every cheerleader, football groupie, and basic girl in college wanted him.

  Which meant, once more, Emma was on the outside looking in.

  “Bodhi’s here,” Hayden said, pulling Emma out of her thoughts. “You should go say hi to him.”

  “We’ll have plenty of time later ... on the road ... you know,” she answered, growing more bashful by the second. She questioned whether or not Hayden had read her thoughts or maybe she’d said his name out loud, again, and hadn’t realized it.