Chapter 1

DILLON

"I'll pay you five hundred dollars to finish doing the weekly payroll?" I groan and bang my head on the scarred wood desk, hoping to guilt my older brother into helping me with this pain-in-the-ass job. I have to send this shit to the bank by four o'clock if I want paychecks to deposit on time.

Grant doesn't take the bait. "If you'd stop being a hardheaded prick and hire a new secretary, you wouldn't be up to your goddamn eyeballs in alligators right now." No shit, Sherlock . I've told myself the same damn thing thousands of times since my secretary stabbed me in the back. It's hard to find someone I can trust with my business after the last one sold my secret bids to my asshole competition.

"I've got someone coming in to interview next week," I growl and sit back in my chair. "But I'm not holding out any hope." It's been a fucking nightmare since I discovered Rhoda was financing her gambling habit by stealing my bids and selling them to Harold Helson, the biggest lying, cheating prick in town. "So far, I haven't found anyone my bear doesn't want to rip to shreds."

I'd been friends with Rhoda since preschool, and my inner bear took her betrayal to heart. He's determined to protect me at all costs, even if that means throwing a big old monkey wrench into the process of hiring a new employee.

"Stop being so freaking negative." Gianna, my older sister, comes breezing in the office door holding two cups of coffee, interrupting my poor me moment.

"I'm going to start locking my front door," I grumble, but we all know I'm blowing smoke. Having my business located at my home means my family members stop by any time the mood strikes them.

"Like that will stop me." Gianna throws her long icy blonde hair over her shoulder. "I'd just use my key. Duh."

"She has you there." Grant's arrogant smirk is a family trait.

I flip the fucker off before turning back to my sister. "Is there a reason for your unannounced visit?"

"Nope." She smiles widely. "I just wanted to stop by and bug my baby brother."

"Lucky me."

"You are so lucky." She ignores my true meaning. "I searched high and low and found the best candidate for your office manager position. I've heard Emilia Golden is a doll."

"Did you have to go all the way to the East Coast to find a qualified candidate?" I grumble, mentally groaning at the thought of the huge check I wrote to pay for the prospective employee's travel and lodging.

"She's the top of her class." Gianna rolls her eyes. "And she has companies lining up to hire her. Plus, she isn't from around here so there's no way Harold Helson has any dirt on her that he can use for bribes."

"I feel so much better," I grumble, not totally convinced I'll ever find someone I can trust after Rhoda's betrayal.

"Stop being so negative," Gianna grumbles. When my mother and sister stepped in and insisted on finding me a new secretary, I didn't have a hope of stopping the determined duo, so I let them have their way. My sister put her social media savvy to work and came up with the one candidate. "Her college professor sent a glowing recommendation, and she passed a phone interview with Mom."

"That's a miracle in itself," Grant interjects. "Tilly Bearly can sniff a fraud a mile away."

"It hurts my soul to agree with Grant, but he's right so stop being a Negative Nelly." Gianna places a steaming cup with "Rise & Grind" stamped on the side of it in front of me on the desk. "And shut up and drink your double shot of espresso."

"How come you brought Grouchy McGrouchster here a cup of coffee and didn't bring one for me, Squirt?" Grant has his poor me look down to an art.

"Because I had no idea you'd be here. Duh." After growing up in a household with three polar bear shifter brothers, my grizzly shifter sister doesn't take shit from anyone. "If you promise to stop calling me Squirt, you can have my coffee." She hands the other cup to Grant, grumbling, "Or you could just stop by my coffee shop and get one for yourself."

"I was planning to stop by Rise & Grind and Honey Buns II for breakfast, but I got distracted and drove straight here." Grant shrugs. "Lucky for me, you took care of the coffee for me, Squ—" he pauses and switches direction as she glares at him, "I mean… little sister."

"Nice save," she huffs.

Our family is a mixed shifter family. When our dad, a grizzly shifter from Honey Pot Hollow, came to town years ago for work, he met our polar bear shifter mother and fell head over heels. Or in shifter talk, his inner bear roared "mine" and it was a done deal. Since polar bear DNA is stronger than grizzly DNA, there's a greater chance of having polar bear cubs. My parents ended up with three male polar bear cubs and one female grizzly cub. First, they had my twin brothers, Gabe and Grant, and then Gianna came along two years later. They saved the best for last and had me a year and a half after my sister.

Clay, our grizzly shifter cousin from Honey Pot Hollow, moved to Glacier Pass with Bethany, his wife, a few months ago. Bethany opened a little bakery called Honey Buns II, and the entire town has been going crazy over her delicious treats.

"I don't like chocolate in my coffee." Grant drags my attention back to his distress as he flashes his version of hurt puppy dog eyes that usually ensure he gets his way.

"Suck it up and drink it or drag your rear end down to Rise & Grind and get what you want." Grant's fake ass gesture is wasted on Gianna. She's my mother's mini-me.

I swear Grant's bottom lip wobbles as he grabs the cup from Gianna and mutters, "Thanks," before dropping down onto the brown leather sofa.

"You're welcome." Gianna rolls her eyes and comes over to stand next to my desk. "Now, how can I help you out?" I glance up at my sister and swear I can see a bright halo shining above her blonde head.

"Can you finish up this payroll for me?"

She pulls out the big guns. "If you promise me you'll be on your best behavior for the interview and actually give Emilia a chance."

"Deal." Right now, desperation leads me to agree to just about anything.

Several long and frustrating hours later, I turn off the computer after completing the work assignments for the rest of the week. Winter is coming to an end and the snow has tapered off, so it's going to be a light week for my company, Bearly Frosty Snow Removal.

Glacier Pass usually gets snow eight out of twelve months, but this year has been one of the snowiest in recent history. I've had to hire two new part-time employees to keep up with demand, especially after Harold Helson's shady company went under.

The fucking little weasel who scams his way through life thought he could easily steal all my customers and run me out of business. When he suddenly started undercutting me on bids, I knew the fucker was playing dirty. I hired my cousin to investigate how the badger shifter was managing to steal my clients.

It didn't take Clay long to figure out Rhoda's betrayal, and I fired my longtime friend before her duplicity cost me my business.

I tell myself to forget about the betrayal as I lock up the shop and head out for the night. Luckily, my business is attached to my home, so my after-work commute takes exactly two minutes.

As I walk down my garage stairs, I realize I can't stomach the thought of spending the evening alone and find myself heading straight to my truck. Before giving myself a chance to think better of it, I drive the five miles to Glacier Pass and pull into the parking lot at The Grizzly Bar & Grill.

After shutting off my truck, I walk through the busy parking lot and notice Gabe's black truck parked a few spots down. At least I won't have to drink alone, I tell myself as I push open the heavy wood door.

Loud music slaps me in the face as a rotten odor reaches my sensitive nose. Fucking hell. I'd know that weasel bastard's sent anywhere. My human side wants to turn around and avoid confrontation, but my inner polar bear is hungry for a fight. Glancing around, I see several of my employees and other friends and tell myself the badger would be an idiot to start something with me tonight.

As I head to the bar, I see my other brother's dark head bent over, reading something on his phone. "What are you doing?" I sit on the barstool next to Gabe and glance over his shoulder.

"I just got a notification telling me you're close." He glances up and smirks. "I was wondering if I had time to hide before you saw me."

I rub my middle finger up the side of my head. "Asshole."

When Gianna insisted on placing the family tracking app on all our phones, I should've stuck to my guns and refused. Now, every fucking member of my family can find me no matter where I go.

"Harold is sitting in the corner plotting world domination and your demise." Gabe laughs and points over my shoulder. Glancing over, I see the weaselly little fuck staring at me, and it takes everything in me not to wave at him.

Turning back to my brother, I grumble, "I'm not too worried about the little fucker. Let him try something. I'll kick his ass up one side of Main Street and down the other."

"God, I'd pay good money to see that." Harold has been a royal pain in the ass since grade school. The fucking badger shifter has a chip on his shoulder the size of Canada, and he lives to make everyone else as miserable as he is.

The bartender brings me a beer and Gabe another whiskey. "Most of the town would pay good money to see Harold get what he has coming to him." Robby shrugs.

"I'll drink to that." Gabe laughs and reaches for his drink.

I guess Harold thinks better of starting any shit with me and ends up storming out of the bar a few minutes later.