Romance: Stranded With The Alpha Bear: BBW Paranormal Shapeshifter Romance (Werebear, BBW, Bear Shifter Romance) (Sweet Shifters Book 1) (2 page)

III.

The blue sky looked back at me from a large, gorgeous cathedral window in the center of the highest ceiling I’ve ever seen.. Perhaps I’ve died and gone to heaven. It’s a beautiful house with the sun shining in and a slight smell of lavender in the air. My hands felt around me - soft couch upholstery. I would’ve assumed I was on a bed, I felt so comfortable. This had to be heaven. It didn’t seem real.

If I move, I might find I’m actually alive, and the pain would start. Maybe this beautiful place would fade away, and I’d find myself back in the woods, alone and wounded. Perhaps I wouldn’t even be able to move, so I’d have to scream and scream for someone to help me. But no one would hear me, so I’d just end up dying anyway.

I closed my eyes and opened them again. Starting to get into some crazy town thoughts there.

I rose slowly, looking around me to survey the scene. The place appeared to be a converted church with old-world charm, but still immense extravagance. The open floor plan flowed from the living room (where I laid), to the gourmet kitchen with shiny stainless steel appliances and wood cabinets, to a spiral staircase leading to some lofty place upstairs, and finally to a wall full of a mix of regular and stained glass windows with French doors leading outside.

I got up shakily, making sure the dream wouldn’t suddenly end with each movement. The immensity of the room made me feel small, like a speck of space. In that though, I feel like a displaced speck of space - a speck that didn’t belong in the luxury of this warm, sanctified home.

“Oh, you’re awake,” a male voice said from behind me.

I jumped, looking back to see the man from the night before descending the stairs. I knew it was him from the shape of his body and the pride in his stride. I hadn’t actually seen his face clearly in the dark though. His dark brown eyes seemed to dig into my soul as he met my eyes. He had a handsome, manly face with an angular jaw and high cheekbones. His full lips curled into an arrogant scowl - he gave off a pompous vibe. He knew he was always the manliest man in the room, that he could never be threatened because he’d always win. He was the quarterback of the football team and the homecoming king; he could have everything without even asking for it.

“I didn’t know what to do with you,” he commented, coming toward me but stopping at a safe distance. “I was going to carry you upstairs, but the stairs are kind of rickety, and you were a bit heavy.”

“Thanks,” I replied, folding my arms over my chest.

“I figured if you woke up in an open room, you would feel more comfortable.”

“Plus it’s easier to carry me to the couch.”

“It’s a comfy couch. I’ve slept on it many times.”

I couldn’t argue with that. “I appreciate you putting in the effort.”

He gave a slight smile and leaned back, crossing his own arms and raising an eyebrow. “That’s an awful nice way to thank the guy that saved your life.”

“I told you they weren’t going to eat me. They were just going to…” I paused, “you know, hurt me.”

“You really think that was all they were going to do? They’re wolves.”

“Yeah, well apparently you’re a bear, and I didn’t see you eating any trash.”

“No, it seems I just pick it up.”

“Okay, thanks for all your help,” I grabbed my backpack on the ground (he seemed to have picked it up) and took off toward the door. He didn’t move, but watched me go.

“If you go back out there, they’ll just keep hunting you. They have your scent now.”

“Does it smell like garbage?” I hissed, turning to him.

He rolled his eyes, “You were right. They’re after your virginity. When they smell a virgin female, they can’t control their mating instincts. Haven’t you heard about the girls that have disappeared?”

“I thought those were just stories. There’re a lot of tall tales around here.”

“They’ve been abducting and impregnating human virgins for years. You haven’t known any of them?”

“Sorry to say, but most of the women I know didn’t keep their virginity for long after reaching puberty. I think it’s mostly tourists who disappear.”

“You’re a local then?”

“Yes, I’m a local. I grew up here. My parents grew up here. Their parents before them…”

“And you don’t know about the missing women?”

“No, I don’t know about them, okay? If people disappeared, I figured they just finally got out of this dead-end town.”

He pursed his lips and nodded. I moved from foot to foot, wanting so badly to spit in his face and leave, but the fear of being hunted kept my legs from budging.

“So, they’re just going to keep chasing me then?” I finally broke the awkward silence. “What am I supposed to do? I have to go back to work in a couple days.”

“Maybe you should finally get out of this dead-end town.”

“Thanks bear man, but that’s not helpful. I mean, why didn’t they come after me when you took me here? Did you sprinkle holy water around the place?”

“They’re not vampires. They’re werewolves.” I gave a gesture of frustration. He sighed. “They aren’t coming here because I’m the alpha bear of my tribe, so they’re afraid of me. Our tribes have been rivals for… many, many,
many
years.”

“So, you guys have like rumbles in the forest? Do you like snap at each other like in
West Side Story
or what?”

He gave a slight-closed mouth smile. “Yes, because we all have opposable thumbs when we’re transformed.”

I shrugged, “I didn’t get a good look at anyone’s paws.”

“My tribe’s goal is to keep the people of the forest safe. We aren’t letting them take human women anymore.”

“But you did at one time?”

His lean lost its swagger for a brief moment, but he quickly was able to regain his composure. “You didn’t even notice anyone was gone. I don’t need to explain myself to you.”

I felt my resolve slipping for a moment as well, but I didn’t want to show weakness to him. Still, I knew this was the best situation for me. If the werewolves are afraid of him, they won’t come after me here. “What I’m getting here is that staying with you is the safest route for me?”

He narrowed his eyes, “I didn’t say that necessarily.”

“Well, they’re afraid of you, right?”

“Yes.”

“So, this is the best place to be. Unless you have some holy water…”

“That’s vampires.” I gave him an expectant look, taking a stand near the door. He gave me a tired look back, his mind going through the repercussions of a decision to kick me out. “All right, you can stay here.” I smiled wide. “But only for a couple weeks until the rest of my tribe complete their mission.”

“Their mission?”

“We’ve been hunting the leader of the werewolf pack for a while, and we’re getting close. I got quite a few of his right hand men last night, actually.”

“And killing the leader will end all this?”

“I believe so.”

“Okay.”

“Okay.” We stared at each other in silence for a moment as if still in a stand-off. “Do you want to call your family or anything so they know where you are?”

“Oh no, they’re....” I began, but then thought better of it. He didn’t need to know I didn’t have a family. It’d be better if he thought someone would miss me being gone. “Yes. Yes, I do. My mom will be very worried. Do you have a private phone?”

“Upstairs in the guest room. It’s the middle room.”

“Thanks.” I moved quickly upstairs.

As I climbed, I noticed the stairs were a little shaky. Maybe he really just didn’t want to carry me up the stairs for safety. These stairs are sketchy. Still, he doesn’t deserve any kind of excuses made for him. I appreciate him letting me stay, but he’s still a complete jerk.

Three doors stood in a line right up the stairs. Another door stood to the right of the stairs. An ornate butterfly plaque hung on the door, which normally would have made me feel happy but I felt strangely sad looking at it. Something about the room felt abandoned and lonely. I’m not sure why such a macho man would have a room with a butterfly on the door. It must be some kind of kinky sex room or something. Maybe he likes to crossdress for kicks - a manly man wanting to feel pretty.

I sighed, walking into the middle room. It’s not fair to say mean things about him. His choice of decor is none of my business. The guest room had a sterile, hotel feel to it. A nice hotel, but a hotel all the same. The bed looked new, never slept in. The comforter still felt stiff to the touch, as if just out of the bag. I sat down on the bed, picked up the phone, and held it. I dialed slowly.

“Hello, you’ve reached the Velma family,” my mother’s voice answered after four rings. “We’re not in right now, so leave a message with your name, your number, and the time you called, and we’ll get back to you.” Kevin could be heard in the distance screaming, “Mom, what’s for dinner?” Mom’s voice sounded exasperated as she finished with, “Thanks, talk to you soon.”

“Hey, I’m not going to be home for a few weeks,” I said. “Miss you, love you.”

I hung up, then dialed Stevie’s number. I used to be friends with his sister in elementary school. Hers was the first number I ever memorized besides my own. “Hello?”

“Hey Stevie, it’s Veronica.”

“Hey, how’s it going?”

“Things are fine. I um…” what excuse would work for being out for two weeks? “I am going to be out for a while.”

“Oh yeah? Is everything okay?”

No, I’m being hunted by werewolves for my virginity, and I’m staying with a bear-shifting asshole.
“Everything’s fine. I just um… I took a shortcut to avoid the man-boys, and uh…”

He chuckled, “They really aren’t that bad. Beth used to date one of them before she ran off.”

I thought back to Beth. We hadn’t been friends since middle school - she fell into a different crowd. We started being friends again around tenth grade when Mom died. Mom’s death made her want to turn her life around.

“Which one did she date?”

“Terrell. The nice one, you know? You might think they’re all misogynistic assholes, but she said he never even pressured her into sex.”

“They didn’t have sex?” Beth never had any other boyfriends in high school after Terrell, as I recall.

“Nah, she was still under the illusion that she wanted to wait until marriage,” he was silent for a moment. “I guess that changed when she graduated, huh?”

“Who do you think she went off with?”

“I don’t know. My dad thought it was Jimmy Bishop. He left sometime near then.”

“Didn’t he go to USC?”

“I don’t know. I was never fond of him. Anyway, why are you going to be out? You took a shortcut and…?”

“Oh, yeah, I took a shortcut and thought I heard something. I started running and just… snapped my ankle. I need to be off it for a while.”

“Ah, okay. Those woods can get scary after a few drinks. Well, keep me posted, huh?”

“I will for sure.”

“See you later.”

“Bye.”

“Goodbye. Feel better.”

I hung up, worry building up in my throat as I thought about Beth. She couldn’t have run off with Jimmy Graham; I know for a fact he’d gone off to school early. And that he didn’t like women anyway. He invited me to his wedding to his husband last summer, but I couldn’t make it. I mostly was embarrassed to show up there as the same person I’ve always been and working at the bar like all the local losers.

Beth pretended she was Jimmy’s girlfriend in high school so he wouldn’t get teased. When she ran off… or, I guess, disappeared, Stevie must’ve assumed she ran off with Jimmy because of their little act. I thought she ran off because the family said she did. I hoped she had left a note that said where she was going, but they all never really talked about again. Stevie brought it up every so often, but it was only in passing. He never wanted to discuss it completely.

I walked slowly and quietly down the stairs. The bear man stood by the French doors, staring outside at nothing in particular. His shadow spread out across the shiny wood floor, making him look massive. He didn’t seem to know I was there. His shoulders had somewhat lost that prideful stance and his stare seemed sadder, more uncertain. I stepped off the last stair, causing a loud creak. He turned to me, his shoulders instantly rising and the pride returning to his dark eyes.

“Were you able to call your mother?” he asked.

I nodded, “I was. She was happy to hear from me.”

“Great.”

“I realized um… that I don’t know your name. And you don’t know mine.”

“Did she ask who you were staying with, and you didn’t know?”

“Who?”

“Your mom.”

“Oh, um…” I haven’t had a mom for so long, I forgot moms ask those things, “yeah, yeah she did. I told her I was safe.”

“Well, if she wants to talk to me, then I’ll be happy to speak with her to put her more at ease. Your dad too, if he’s around.”

“Just because you think I’m a white trash local doesn’t mean my dad left. That’s kind of insulting.”