Romance: Stranded With The Alpha Bear: BBW Paranormal Shapeshifter Romance (Werebear, BBW, Bear Shifter Romance) (Sweet Shifters Book 1) (5 page)

              “Veronica, this is my tribe. We have some discussions we have to make, so do you mind giving us the space?” Christian asked, the men standing behind him and whispering amongst themselves.

              “Of course,” I stood. “It’s nice to meet all of you.”

              “It’s nice to meet you too, pretty lady,” one of them said, giving me a winning smile.

              Christian gave a deep frown as the others chuckled. I gave them a slight smile and rushed to my room. Their voices rose from the living room, but it only sounded like a cacophony of sound. I laid back down on the bed and stared at the ceiling, fantasizing about what it would’ve been like if Christian’s tribe hadn’t knocked on the door. I imagine his lips will be soft and warm, and his embrace would be both protective and sexy.

I’m going to need a moment to let these fantasies go.

VII.

A door slammed downstairs, stirring me out of sleep. I looked around the room, noticing how dark it had become. I didn’t even realize I’d fallen asleep. I dreamt I was allowed to go outside, so I sat out there and watched people walk by. Some of them waved to me and I waved back to some as well. It was so boring, I felt like I was still awake the whole time.

My chest feels sticky. I should probably be a responsible human being and wash this off. I quietly escaped from my room to the bathroom - for some reason, I didn’t want him to hear me, as if I’m a magic person who never has to shower. Showering isn’t attractive, I guess (I don’t even know where I’m going with this.)

I stood under the hot water just letting the steam consume me. Mom used to say that the steam can clean out all the impurities in the body. That didn’t seem to work with cancer, but she kept believing it. She’d drag Kevin and I to saunas and say, “I’m feeling so much better. Don’t you guys?” Kevin would play along, but I usually would lay on the floor near the door to hope for cool air. Sometimes I’d hope for death; it came in a different way than expected.

I got out and dried myself off. I looked at myself in the steamed up mirror. The details of my figure looked clouded, but my shape could still be seen. Though I’m comfortable with myself now, part of the reason I never had sex was out of fear. I thought men would see me naked, laugh, and leave.

Suddenly, the door opened, and Christian stood there shirtless, both of us just staring at each other for a second. We both seemed frozen in place, though I did notice his eyes examine my body before he turned around and handed me a towel, shielding his eyes. His skin brightened to a dull red. I couldn’t help but examine his strong shoulders as well as the skin reddened.

“I’m sorry, I thought you were asleep,” he said. “I checked on you not that long ago and…”

“I snuck out of my room,” I replied, wrapping myself in the towel. “I wanted you to think I’m a magical creature who doesn’t have to shower. Why aren’t you wearing a shirt.”

“I was also going to take a shower.”

“So you started undressing in the hall?”

He paused before speaking, “I’m feeling really uncomfortable and embarrassed right now. I can’t imagine how you feel. I’ll just let you finish.”

I tucked in the towel so it wouldn’t fall and walked by him, my arm touching his bare chest as I went. “You didn’t laugh and run, so it’s okay.”

“Why would I do that?” I could tell he consciously tried to only look at my eyes.

“Well, I’m not the skinniest girl so…”

He shook his head, touching my face, “Don’t ever say something like that. You’re beautiful, inside and out.”

I opened and closed my mouth, lost in his eyes and unsure what to say. I mumbled some kind of exit strategy and hurried to my room. I leaned against the closed door, my chest rising and falling with nervousness. I feel like a teenage girl who just had a close interaction with her crush. I need to come down from this before I go out and face him. I need to get control of myself.

I got dressed in pajamas and sat back on the bed. Maybe now I’m hiding from him just as he hid from me. I can’t understand all these thoughts and emotions that are burning through my veins like a tingling, warm virus. The thing that bothers me about it is I thought he was such a jerk before, and, really, he
has
been a jerk this whole time.

But something has softened with him. He’s being flirtier and kinder, and… and I simply can’t process it. He’s so handsome that I can’t resist him, but it feels dangerous. He is a bear-shifter after all. Still, he kept his sister’s room untouched all this time. We share a weird sentimentality for the people we’ve lost. And, for whatever morbid reason, that’s appealing to me about him.

My stomach cried out to me, pleading for some food and maybe a drink. I guess I should brave the downstairs world. Maybe he’s asleep. He’s had a long day (I think… I don’t know. That’s what I’m going with.) I crept out, hoping to not to wake him if he happened to be asleep. As I came down the stairs, I noticed the top of his head on the couch. I tried not to just turn around and run, to be an adult about this, but it proved incredibly difficult.

“Looking for dinner?” Christian called from his reclined position.

I sighed, my secret retreat realized, “You caught me.”

“I’m heating up something in the oven. I think it’s lasagna.”

“I thought you might be asleep.”
Hoped, more like.

“I’m staying up to wait for news.”

“News about what?”

“The tribe is going out on a mission to find Marilyn and the other girls, if there are any. I’m stressed about it.”

I nodded, moving into the kitchen without anything to say and checking on the lasagna in the oven.

“I thought you might be asleep yourself since you were in your room for a while.”

“Yeah, I was just taking a break.” I came back and sat next to him on the couch. A photo album sat in his lap. “Is that your family?”

“It is. I haven’t looked at this in years. I didn’t want to.”

Now what do I say?
“Are you glad you are now?”

He shrugged, “I don’t know. She might not even be found, so it might not be worth it, you know?”

“Right.”

“I keep a picture of her and my mom and dad on my dresser, and sometimes I wish I didn’t.”

He set the album aside and looked at me. “I wanted to talk to you, so I’m glad you came down.”

My heart sped up. “What about?”

“I have to be honest with you about something.”

“All right. I think the lasagna is almost done though.”

He gave his slight smile, “It has a little bit. I’ve made these things enough to know.”

I shrugged, my hopes dashed to get out of the conversation. “All right, if you want to eat burned lasagna, that’s fine.”

He chuckled, then grabbed my hand. “Veronica, I need to admit something to you.”

“Okay.”

“When I met you, I was wandering through the forest transformed.”

“Like, you were a bear?”

“Yes. I smelled you, and… this feels awkward to say… my mating urges kicked in.”

“What?”

“I’m the alpha bear shifter, and I have mating urges as well, just like the wolves. When I saw you, I could tell you were vulnerable, and you had to be a virgin if they were chasing you. I felt my animal instincts kick in, so I transformed back into a human before you saw me.”

“Um… okay.”
That’s kind of scary.

“When I started talking to you, I realized how beautiful you are. I… completely closed off because I felt just like them. You’re the first woman I’ve ever had those wild feelings for, and it felt wrong.”

“So, you’ve been stoic and cold because you felt more instinctual when you met me?”

“Exactly.”

“Okay.”
I don’t know how to respond to that.

“I felt like I was betraying Marilyn by acting the way the wolves did. So, I tried to avoid you, I tried to fight my urges but….” A beeping noise came from the kitchen, interrupting him. He followed the noise. “Lasagna is served, if you want it.”

I chuckled, “Good change of pace, Christian.”

He laughed, “I wanted to break the ice a little from that very serious conversation.”

“I admit, I don’t really know what to say,” I smiled, watching him cut the lasagna. “I’ve never had an attractive man say such nice things to me before.”

“I can’t imagine why,” he shrugged. “You’re not only beautiful, but you are a strong woman. You don’t take any crap. I find that very attractive.”

“Who are you, and where did you take the real Christian?”

“I’m trying to be more open with you.”

“You’re doing a pretty good job. You learned how to make coffee, you made lasagna by hand, and you said I’m…. You said very nice things about me.”

He slid a plate forward to me. I smiled at him, looking into those beautiful dark eyes of his. Before I could thank him, he stepped forward, wrapped one arm around me to bring me close, and kissed me. His lips felt as soft and warm as I had imagined. His other hand held my chin, curving it up toward him. I threw my arms around him, both of us bringing each other closer.

His tongue parted my lips as we closed all space between us. We started to kiss harder, our tongues darting, weaving, and dancing in each other’s mouths. He pushed me against the island, his hand now trailing lower down my back to my hip under the pajama bottoms. His lips traced down my neck, leaving a trail of fire behind it.

I felt heat at the spot in my back he’d been holding before his hand moved downward. His fingers touched my inner thigh, sending tingles through my whole body, but my back still felt hot. Burning even.

“The lasagna!” I screamed. “It’s burning me!”

“Oh no!” he pulled me away, then checked my back where I’d been touching the hot casserole dish. “I didn’t really think about that.”

“I didn’t either,” I replied, turning toward him and grabbing his shirt. “Wrapped up in the moment, I guess.”

“Let’s move somewhere safer,” he responded, closing the space between us and giving a sexy smirk.

Before he could kiss me again, a pounding, urgent knock came at the door. We gave each other a look, then he rushed to the door. He took a moment, trying to shake out the excitement in his pants.

“This better be important,” he grumbled before opening the door.

A few of the men from his tribe rushed in carrying another, bloody wounded man with them. The energy in the room switched from a passionate red light to a flashing siren.

VIII.

“They attacked us,” one with red hair said as they rushed to the couch.

Christian quickly grabbed a stained sheet from a closet near the door and rushed to the couch.

“Ben and Jake are dead,” the other with blonde hair added. “We got here to help Rick, but I think he might be a goner.”

“Do you have any medical supplies?” I asked Christian.

“In the bathroom upstairs,” he answered as he swiftly moved to the couch with the men.

I ran up the stairs and searched for some kind of first aid kit. Under the sink, I found a pretty thorough box of supplies and ran back down. Christian had torn his shirt as a kind of tourniquet for the wound, but it didn’t seem to be working.

“Where is Jimmy?” Christian snapped.

The blonde man looked to the redhead. The redhead gave a sad shrug and said, “The last time I saw him, it wasn’t looking good.”

I pushed Christian aside and started to treat the wounds. “My mom wanted to be a nurse before she had us. She liked to practice on us and teach us things.”

He gave me a smile, while the others gave grim nods.

“What happened?” Christian asked.

“We actually saw Marilyn and followed her,” the blonde answered. “What we found was a whole stronghold of them. They weren’t about to give anything up.”

“It was awful,” the redhead shook his head. “We came straight here. We didn’t know what else to do.”

“Is the leader there?” Christian asked gravely.

“We think so,” the redhead answered.

“I have to go then. I can’t let you guys do this on your own.”

“What about her?”

“I’m going too,” I answered as I finished wrapping up the wound.

“Someone needs to stay with him,” Christian answered. “I don’t want you to go out there if something happens to me. Arlo, you stay here with her.”

The blonde nodded.

I stood, “I can help the wounded. Let me come and help.”

“No, I won’t have you harmed. Arlo will keep you safe.”

“But Christian.”

“I will not argue. We have to go now.”

With that, he and the redhead flew out the door. Arlo locked the door behind them and slid down the door with a weary, sad exhale. He put his face in his hands and sat there frozen for a long moment. He didn’t cry, but he looked exhausted and overwhelmed. Perhaps he wasn’t the best choice to protect me.

“Do you want some lasagna?” I queried. “We just made it. Still hot.”

He looked up, but didn’t move. “That’s okay. I don’t feel like eating right now.”

“Are you sure?”

“I just saw a few of my friends ripped apart. I think I’m good.”

“Okay. I guess I’ll put it away then.” I truly would like to eat some of that lasagna, but it felt untoward with the situation. Especially with a man possibly dying on the couch. I think I wrapped him up all right, but I really only know the basics.

Still, I snuck a few bites as Arlo placed his head back in his hands again. Okay, maybe more than a few. After a few minutes, he looked up again, seeming a bit calmer.

“You really are very pretty,” he said. “I thought Christian might have just been exaggerating.”