ROMANCE: Awakened by the Alpha Bear (Werebear Fantasy Billionaire Romance) (New Adult Contemporary Alpha Male Bear Shapeshifter Paranormal Romance Short Stories)) (24 page)

Chapter 2

The
next morning was a hectic one. When Selena arrived at the clinic, there were
already three customers waiting, and two were already being assisted by her
trainees and other employees. As a registered veterinarian, Selena always loved
taking her time in checking her patients and that is why the people of
Alexander loved her. She was caring and sincere with the welfare of her animal
patients and even goes the extra mile of teaching pet owners how to properly
care for their pets, including how to check them for the usual illnesses and
spotting early signs of other diseases.

She
spent the rest of the day in the clinic office, going over the numbers and
cross-checking her past inventories for comparison of the things that best suit
their needs in the clinic.

“Ah,
Dr. Madison, there’s another patient for you.” Her intern, Martha, said after
knocking at her door. Martha was smiling, and usually, if she smiles like that,
she was telling Selena a concealed message of delight or something exciting,
but cannot say it out loud.

“Please
tell them I’ll be right there, Martha. Thank you.” She went back to closing her
files and standing up to meet the late patient.

“Hello,
Doctor.” Jack, her former high school classmate was sitting on the clinic
chair, with his pet terrier, sitting on his lap.

“Oh, hi
Jack. What brings you here? What’s this cutie’s name?” she petted the dog and
smiled at Jack. Jack was looking at her and smiled back. Selena has always been
friends with Jack ever since they were in high school. He was a dorky kid who
loved science, and she was the fatty who loved animals. They were the perfectly
odd friends who grew to like each other’s quirkiness, but it never went beyond
that. Selena treated him like a brother and she was grateful that, aside from
Charlotte, he helped tide her through the most awkward years of her life.

“His
name’s Perry. I’m great! I just saw this clinic and saw your name, so I was
curious how you were doing.” Jack said.

“Is he
sick? Oh, yes, I just opened this a little close to a year ago. I’m glad you
dropped by” she immediately took the dog and placed him on the table,
inspecting him for any signs or symptoms of any illness.

“No,
he’s fine. I just swung by to ask if you already had dinner?” he smiled that
dorky smile that she loved and was glad that he was there for company.

“Nope.
I was just about to close up when you arrived. Martha is already on her way
home as well. I was just going to double-check the locks before leaving. I’d love
to grab a bite with you and Perry. Just give me a few minutes, okay?” Selena
said goodbye to Martha who winked at her and gave her the thumbs up. Selena was
sure that Martha was thinking that she and Jack were going on a date, which
they were not. They’re just going to get food before going home, she explained
to Martha. Martha waved goodbye and went home.

“I’m
ready!” she announced as she, Jack, and Perry went out the door. She lived
near, so she didn’t have a need to drive herself to work. She just walks the
four blocks from her home to the clinic. Besides, it was a great exercise for
her.

They
talked as they walked and caught up with what each other was doing at the
moment. Jack was teaching at a University in the city and has been coming home
during the weekends to take care of his mother. Selena told Jack about her
clinic and about her mother’s passing. Jack was sorry for her loss and wished
he could have been there for her. They grabbed some food, and he took her home.

When
Selena got home, she was beat but was grateful she had the chance to chat with
Jack. She opened her laptop and checked her emails when she saw a message from
Dylan Jones. Her heart skipped a beat. She totally forgot all about him. She
just assumed that once he sees her picture and her size, he would not be
interested anymore with talking further to her.

She
clicked on the message to open it. Dylan was grateful she responded, that she
took the time to complete her profile, and that he does want to get to know her
even more!

“Oh, my
gosh! He still wants to talk to me. I can’t believe this!” she said to herself
feeling more excited as she came up with a worthy response. She told him that
she’s glad he liked her profile and would be happy to know more about him too.
She then started asking him basic personal questions, like where he works,
where did he study, is Dallas his hometown, etc. She clicked send and patiently
waited for him to get back to her.

In just
less than ten minutes, he replied back. As it turns out, Houston was not his
hometown, his family was originally from France, and they migrated to the US
after the Second World War. He is a businessman who owns a farm out in the
outskirts of the city that stretches out to acres of land. He hopes that she
could visit his home someday, so he could show her around. She then talked
about herself as well and a few of her plans in the future.

They
talked for about an hour. Emails were flying back and forth and the longer they
talked, the more Selena liked Dylan. He had a sense of humor, a humble way of
telling more about himself, and he seemed very interested about her. Selena
finally told him she had to go because she had an early morning ahead. Dylan
said his goodbyes and hopes to talk to her some more soon.

Selena
couldn’t sleep. She kept going back to their conversation, and she was glad
that she took a chance and found him. It didn’t take long for her apprehensions
to take over, though. She thought that it might be fun and exciting during the
early parts of the “getting to know you” stage, but it could easily turn boring
and repetitive if they found out more about each other and realize that they
have nothing in common. With that thought, Selena finally slept.

The
next few days were the same when it comes to Selena’s work schedule and her
afternoon chats with Charlotte, who is, by the way, out of the country because
of work. Selena envies Charlotte for being a risk-taker and takes everything
one day at a time. Her carefree attitude landed her the job of traveling to all
sorts of places to help out some of their satellite offices improve their
customer service department. She told Charlotte about Dylan and was rewarded
with a high-pitched scream from the other end of the phone. Selena was so
amused by her best friend that she thought of actually taking her advice and
ask Dylan out. She’s never been one to make the first move because she’s not
that confident in doing so, especially since being plus-sized and all, she
never really had that much of an experience to be alluring and irresistible to
men. However, the longer she thought about it, the more she liked the idea of
possibly going on an actual date with Dylan.

Chapter 3

A few
weeks went by and Selena and Dylan were still talking through emails and chats.
But that Friday, after three weeks of email exchanges, there was another
development in their so-called “budding relationship”. Dylan asked if he could
call her. Selena was so happy by his suggestion that she agreed right away. Of
course, she wanted to prepare herself for their actual phone call, so she asked
if he could call her at night so she would be at home and not busy with any
work stuff. He agreed and set up a phone call at around seven o’clock that
night.

Selena
rushed home from work that afternoon and started to prepare what she would say
to Dylan. She was glad that her house was just a few blocks from her clinic,
which means she had plenty of time to ask Charlotte some advice.

After
eating her salad greens and taking a shower, Selena settled into her favorite
chair and called Charlotte. It was only five in the afternoon, so she had a
whole 2-hour prep time before Dylan calls. She chatted with Charlotte and
laughed so hard at some of her suggestions, like purring like a kitten whenever
she hears something sexy or giving a little sexy “Oh…” when he tells her about
himself.

“That
is absolutely ridiculous Charlotte! I don’t want to sound like a slut on the
phone.” She said while laughing at the absurdness of her best friend’s
suggestions.

“No,
you’re not. Just try it. Believe me, it has gotten me quite a few compliments
and ended in actual dates.” Even if Charlotte was thousands of miles away, she
still managed to make Selena feel better and got her to relax before her phone
call with Dylan.

Selena
checked her clock and smacked her forehead. It was five minutes to seven.

“Oh no!
Charlotte I have to go. I didn’t realize the time. It’s nearly seven. Wish me
luck, honey. Love you and please be careful out there!” Charlotte wished her
luck and had her promise to call her back as soon as she finished talking to
Dylan. “Yes, I promise. I really have to go. Talk to you later babe!”

Selena
clicked off and got herself a bottle of water. As she was sitting back down,
her phone rang again. It was Dylan. He had a very sexy, deep bedroom voice.. Selena
had to stop herself from being so giddy and tried to calm herself. She felt
like a school girl all over again crushing on the quarterback of her school.

“Hi
Selena, its Dylan. I hope I didn’t catch you in a bad time.” He started.

“Hi,
Dylan. No, your timing is perfect. It’s actually right on the dot,” she glanced
at the clock again, and it was exactly seven o’clock.

“Ha-ha,”
even his laugh was sexy! He had a hint of a southern accent mixed with some
other sexy texture of his voice. Selena couldn’t get enough of his voice.

They
talked for a long time. Dylan had Selena in a fit of giggles at one point when
he was telling her a story about a horse he was trying to ride on. He loved
animals too, and he specifically loved riding untrained horses. He loves the
thrill and excitement of having a powerful beast underneath him and trying to
bend it to his will.

Selena
also told him about her insecurities which sprung from her childhood and for
not having a father figure to turn to. She told him about her struggle with
maintaining a healthy size and being a bit overweight. She was surprised that
Dylan didn’t give a care about being overweight because he said he also had his
battles against his body, and it’s just right to let your body naturally take
its shape. Selena was taken aback by his love of literature too. He shared some
of his favorite books and authors, and to her delight, most of them were her
favorites as well. After about two hours of talking with Dylan, Selena was
becoming hopeful that this guy is the real thing, although she couldn’t really
tell unless they meet face-to-face.

Over
the next couple of months, they talked almost every day, but hey never ran out
of things to tell each other. He was always amused by her meanderings about
what she does all day and her passion for saving animals, not only those in her
charge, but to actually make a difference and save animals around the world.
Apart from being a veterinarian, Selena dreamed of becoming a marine biologist
and to study animals. He told her more about his business which turned out to
be a family enterprise and has been handed down to him. He didn’t have time for
a family of his own since he was busy with his company and other things. But
now that he turned 30, he’s beginning to think of settling down.

“I know
it looks and sounds silly to go to an online dating site to find a mate, but I
like the thrill of knowing someone completely new and not because of family or
work connections. Just someone from afar whom I could connect with on another
level. Like you…” he let his voice trail off as Selena was completely
enthralled by what he was saying.

“Ah,
yes. That is true” she mumbled. “I like the mystery of it all as well and not
be judged right away because of your looks, and I’m glad that you feel the same
way.” They continued talking, and Dylan didn’t push the idea of finally meeting
each other until it was nearly three months that they’ve been talking on the
phone, exchanging emails, and talking via video calls as well.

 “Selena?”
he asked in a low voice, suddenly turning serious after making her laugh again
for about the tenth time since they talked that day.

“Yes?”
she said, still recovering from the last funny story he told.

“Do you
think you could ever agree to go on a date with me? I mean, yes, we met online,
specifically in one of mail-order bride websites, but do you want to meet me in
person?” Selena was silent for a minute, not because she didn’t want to go out
with him but because she couldn’t contain her excitement and joy over that one
question and, at the same time, trying to crush her low self-esteem to overcome
the urge to say “No”.

Before
she could even think of anything else to say, she blurted out, “Yes! I would
love to”.

“Great!
It’s a good thing you answered. I was worried there for a little when you
didn’t say anything for a while” she chuckled, and he said he’d let her know
about his schedule and how they can go about their meeting. He was very willing
to fly out there and meet her, but she said that she might have a thing coming
up which might take her to Austin, which was closer.

Selena
had to go to a conference out in Austin the following weekend, which was
perfect because he could take her to his farm and show her around. That excited
them both, and she was already planning her itinerary. Dylan said that he’ll
arrange everything for her and just to let him know where she was staying in
Austin. She gave her the details and promised to meet her out there.

After
their goodbyes, Selena replaced the phone’s receiver and was surprised to feel
her ears burning a little bit. She had been talking to him for three hours, but
there was never a dull moment between them. She slept with a smile that night
and was looking forward to the following week.