Curves For The Lone Alpha (A Big Girl Meets Bad Wolf Romance) (4 page)

When I tried to make a move towards him, my vision swam. I
heard a growl and turned to find the snarling head of a wolf inches from mine.
It’s breath stank of meat and decay and, in case I didn’t get the message,  it growled again.
Don’t move.
I got
it
.

“Get up Jimmy you fucking traitor or I’ll give your fat
bitch to the pack while you watch and then I’ll gut you myself.”

James pulled himself to his feet and spat something thick
and red onto the ground. That didn’t look good. That really didn’t look good.

“How dare you? How dare you take it upon yourself to
trespass on my territory and hunt one of my boys? Is there any reason I
shouldn’t rip your worthless traitor heart out right now?”

“Your boys?” There was a distinct wheezing sound when Jimmy
spoke. Something loose and rattling in his chest. He spat again. More blood on
the ground at his feet. “One of your boys took it upon themselves to wander off
the reservation and have a little fun. She was sixteen. She was just a child.”

“Mountain lions. They’ll blame it on mountain lions. They
always do. We’re hunters. We hunt. Sometimes people get in the way.”

“You don’t fucking get it do you Joseph? It’s not like that
anymore. They have satellites. They have DNA tests. They have a big computer
that keeps track of us. They know where we are. They know who we are. We
survive because they let us survive and if you can’t keep your pack in line
they send me to do your job for you.”

The old man laughed and the wolves that prowled around us
joined in with a cacophony of growls and yelps.

“And what then? Because there’s no way in hell I’m going to
let a traitorous lapdog do my job for me. What happens when I send you back to
them in pieces?” Said the old man.

Jimmy slumped as if all the fight had gone out of him.

“Then they send the helicopters to rain down fire and death
on your precious mountain and burn your pack to the fucking ground. Remember
California? They’ll blame it on wildfires. They always do.”

Jimmy’s words visibly stung the old man.

“I remember California Jimmy. I remember how my daughter
died in agony while you stood by and watched. You could have come to me. You
could have begged for forgiveness and maybe, maybe you’d have found it. But
instead you went to work for
them
. The ones that did this. You might as
well be pissing on her corpse. Every breath you take shames every one of us.
Every breath you take should be your last.”

I saw James clench his fists, the muscles beneath his arms
rippling unnaturally, as if they were about to explode.

“I’ll take care of Travis,” the old man continued, “he’s my
problem and I’ll deal with him the old way. And when I’m done I’ll send your
masters his pelt. They can wear him as a coat for all I care.”

It was James’ turn to laugh, “he’ll take you apart old man.
You’ll be dead and your sorry excuse for a pack will be his. And they’ll all
die. Every bitch. Every pup. They’ll all die because you were too proud to let
me help.”

“You’ll save them? Like you saved your own pack? Like you
saved my daughter? Go home Jimmy. Go back to your masters with your tail
between your legs. Roll over and let them tickle your belly like the dog you
are. I’ll do what needs to be done. I’ll take care of Travis. You tell them
that. And you tell them that if I ever see your face on this mountain again I’m
going to tear it off.”

James turned to face me for a second. He didn’t look well.
His face was pale and specks of blood dotted his lips. Every time he breathed
in I could see him wince in pain.

“Sure Jimmy. Take the human bitch with you. Take her back to
that nice comfy cabin, with it’s nice comfy beds. Pretend you’re people for a
while. But if you're not off my mountain tomorrow... you’re both dead.”

James sunk to his knees. His breath coming in short ragged
gasps. So much for tomorrow. I was pretty sure Jimmy wouldn’t last an hour
without some urgent medical attention.

“Oh and Jimmy... I’m taking your bike. That’s a real nice
bike.”

James didn’t resist as Joseph dug around in his pocket and
retrieved his keys. The wolves padded into the night as the old man, still
naked, kickstarted Jimmy’s bike and drove off without looking back.

- X -

I put a hand to my head and winced in pain. There was no
blood, but I was going to have a nasty bruise. I felt a little woozy, but
didn’t think I was concussed. I pulled myself to my knees and crawled over to
James who had collapsed onto the ground.

The rise and fall of his chest indicated he was still alive
and I was surprised to hear that his breathing sounded a little clearer. As I
approached he pulled himself up and turned to face me.

“Are you alright?” He asked.

“Am
I
alright? You sounded like you were dying five
minutes ago.”

He brought his hand to his chest and winced as he probed at
his ribs. And then he grinned.

“I’m a tough cookie. I heal fast.”

“Sure, whatever you say.” I sat back down as I tried to
process everything that had just happened. “What the hell is going on? Who was
that man? He was a wolf. A white wolf. That’s not possible. And the one from
earlier? The black one. Was that this Travis guy everyone was talking about?”

“You had a pretty hard knock there. You’re probably seeing
all sorts of stuff. He wasn’t a wolf. Just a crazy old man.”

It was a weak attempt at protest. He didn’t sound like he
had the energy to convince himself, let alone me.

“I know what I saw. And what was with that dream? You were a
wolf too.”

“That… I can’t explain that. You shouldn’t have been there.
You can’t go there. It doesn’t make any sense.”

“And why was I naked?”

“That one’s on you. You choose your own form in the dream
and you chose to be naked.” He was grinning again and despite all that had just
happened I found myself blushing furiously.

“And yeah… yeah I think they’re probably going to take the
door out of your deposit.”

- X -

We supported each other as we made our way through the
splintered door and back into the cabin. James was looking healthier by the
minute. He wasn’t kidding when he said he healed fast.

“There’s probably a first aid kit in here somewhere. I
really have no idea what to do with a first aid kit but it really feels like I
should be doing something,” I said.

“I’m OK. Really. It probably looked worse than it was… and
like I said. I heal fast. I could do with a shower though.”

Bullshit
. No one heals that fast. No one human
anyway.

“You’re like him aren’t you? Like them. You’re a…” I couldn’t
say it. It was crazy and I refused to say that word out loud.

“I’m like them. But I’m nothing like them. But right now I’m
tired and I’m filthy and I still have a lot to do. So first I’m going to have a
long hot shower. And then we’re going to get you all packed up and you’ll drive
back down the mountain. Back to civilization where you’ll be safe and sound and
you can forget you ever met me.”

He turned and headed towards the bedroom and I just stood
there watching as I tried to figure out if there was any way I could ever
forget this man. And then I remembered that my suitcase was still open on the
bed. My suitcase overflowing with tricks and treats for a dirty weekend. Sure
he’d already seen it, but it was still embarrassing and I really didn’t want him
to take a closer look.

But it was too late. As I entered the room he stood looking
at the contents with a raised eyebrow and an infuriating smirk.

“Yeah, that’s ah… an interesting collection of… stuff you’ve
brought along. I can’t help wondering how you planned to, well, I mean the
lingerie sure,” he glanced at me then back at the suitcase, “I guess sometimes
you just want to look… and I’m sure you would. But those handcuffs? Kind of
kinky, and I’m down with that, but how were you planning on…”

He was teasing me and I really wasn’t in the mood. I stormed
over to the bed and clumsily closed the suitcase.

“I wasn’t planning on coming alone OK? I wasn’t planning on
it, but that’s how it ended up. I wasn’t planning on coming alone, but I did
because my fiance, my ex-fiance, is an asshole OK? And now you’re being an
asshole. Maybe
all
men are assholes, I’ve yet to see much evidence to
the contrary. Except I’m pretty sure you’re not a man. You’re not a man and
that scares the hell out of me. And you know what else scares the hell out of
me?”

I didn’t give him a chance to reply. So much had happened so
fast and I was scared and confused and even though the tears were streaming
down my face I couldn’t stop.

“Crazy old men with their wangs hanging out scare me and all
this talk about California and fires and death scare me. And… and stupid dreams
where everything smelled weird and I wanted to get it on with a wolf. But
that’s not the worst part.”

My breath was coming in gasping sobs now as I struggled to
get the words out.

“The worst part is that I’m pretty sure you’ve got
no plans to come back down the mountain with me. I don’t think you work that
way. I think you’re going to get yourself killed by that old man, or by this
Travis character or any of those other freakishly large wolves that are
sniffing around here. And when you do a part of me is going to die with you.
And that doesn’t make any sense because I’ve only just met you and to be honest
I’m not sure I even like you that much and… and…”

I would have thought I was all cried out by now, but it was
a flood. My face a blotchy mess of tears as I struggled to speak in complete
sentences. James wrapped his arms around me and held me tight. His body was
warm against mine. His big strong arms reassuringly protective. He smelled of
dirt and blood. He smelled familiar. He smelled as if I’d known him all my
life.

I felt his heart beat. Slow and steady. His protective
presence calmed me. I breathed slowly as the tears dried up and when I could
speak again I whispered to him, “and even though I’ve only just met you it
feels like there's some kind of freaky bond between us and I don’t want you to
die before I figure out what that means.”

He held me in silence for a few minutes more, the steady
beating of his heart continuing to calm me until I felt completely drained of
all the fear and anger and confusion.

“Yeah I know what you mean,” he released me and turned to
head for the shower, “I feel it too.”

- X -

I just want to be clear about something. I like to think I’m
a sexual person. I enjoy sex and, as the contents of my suitcase might suggest,
I’m up for a bit of an adventure. Mitch, on the other hand, was a missionary
man. He enjoyed it well enough, but for him sex was a means to an end, rather
than some kind of uncharted territory, ripe for exploration. I tried to coax
more out him, and this weekend was pretty much my last roll of the dice in that
respect.

Deep down inside I wondered if he’d done me a favor by
calling off the engagement. I thought he was everything I ever wanted and we’d
just work through our differences in this area. But ultimately would I have
been unhappy? Unfulfilled?

And despite the fact that I was trying to inject a little
adventure into our lives, I wasn’t really the adventurous type myself. I wanted
to be, but most of the time I was fairly uncomfortable in my own skin. It’s
hard to put on seductive lingerie when you bought it online from a store for
plus-size women. To put it on and stand there in all your plus-size glory. It’s
hard to find the courage to show off your body when you’ve spent most of your
life trying to hide it. It’s hard to put yourself on display when you can’t
count the number of times you’ve cried yourself to sleep wishing you were
someone else

I’m not trying to engineer a little pity party here. I just
need to make it clear that while what happened next might not be a big deal for
some people, it was for me.

When I stood alone in the bedroom and stripped out of my
clothes it was not something I did lightly. When I joined James in the shower,
it took just about all the courage I could muster.

- X -

I hadn’t realized just how big he was. Not massive like some
kind of bodybuilder. Just big. He leaned forward against the far wall of the
shower, head bowed, as the water poured over his back. His shoulders were
impossibly broad, like some kind of supporting beam, and off them, his arms and
torso knotted with lean, dense muscle.

Fresh bruises where Joseph had kicked him were already
fading, but there were other marks. Older scars that spoke of a life far
removed from the safety and comfort I was used to. The most dramatic of these,
a webbing a gnarled scar tissue that covered most of his right shoulder blade.
He had been burned, badly. He had mentioned fire. Something to do with California
and helicopters. Was that where he had been burned?

I tentatively placed the palm of one hand against the mark.
My splayed fingers didn’t even cover it. He didn’t respond. He didn’t even
move.

I wanted to know more about him. I wanted to know what he was
and where he came from. But that could wait. Right now I just wanted him to
survive whatever it was he had planned. I wanted him to survive and return to
me. I needed to give him a reason to come back. Perhaps even a reason to live.

“You don’t have to be alone.”

He grunted but didn’t reply.

“You don’t have to be alone right now.”

I placed my other hand on his other shoulder. The water, hot
enough to make me gasp, ran in streams from his body to mine. I slid my hands
downwards, slowly, feeling the shifting knots of muscle beneath the skin. As I
reached the small of his back he sighed and I felt some of the tension leave
him.