Forbidden Love: A BBW, BWWM Paranormal Romance (4 page)

“
Ok, Dad, I see your point. I’m sorry. As
soon as Mom is done dressing her wound, I’ll take her to her
car.”

“
Too late for that. Your mother insists that she
stay the night.”

“
That’s right, John, and no bitching about
it,” Shara teased, easing the sting of her words with a peck on
the cheeks. “Removing the bullet was too much for her. She lost
some more blood and needs to rest, not trudge through the forest to
Alex’s truck.”

“
I want her gone as soon as she wakes in the
morning,” John commanded, looking from Alex to Shara and back.
“She’s dangerous as long as she’s here.”

“
I agree, John. As soon as she’s up, we’ll
send her on her way,” Shara said. “Come on, Alex. I know
she’ll feel better if you’re close by.”

“
She can have my tent for the night, Mom, so she’s
not in your way,” Alex offered. His mother gave him a
questioning look. “What?”

“
Where will you sleep, dear?” she asked
teasingly.

“
On the ground outside, Mother,” he replied.

“
Humph. Ok, sweetheart.” Shara watched him
walk to her tent.
Dangerous thoughts, my sweet
boy
, she thought and sighed.

*****

Alex pulled the tent flap back and entered, moving
directly to Alice’s side. A cool, wet cloth lay on her
forehead, but her color looked better in the weak lantern light. He
touched her cheek, causing her to stir. She pushed her cheek into his
hand and lifted her own to hold his to her face. She smiled in her
half dream state before opening her eyes to look at him. His heart
dropped and his stomach jumped when their eyes met.
Uh
oh
, he thought.

“
How are you feeling, Alice?” he asked, and
she smiled at him. More stomach clenching.

“
Well, I’ve felt better. Did you find the
poachers?”

“
No, they’re long gone. Listen, I’m
going to move you to my tent. It’s right next door. This is my
parents’ tent,” he told her.

Her eyes widened. “Please move me! I don’t
want to sleep next to your dad!!” Alex laughed and nodded, not
at all surprised by her reaction. “Where will you sleep? I
don’t want to put you out.”

“
Right next to you?” he teased with a wink.
She stared balefully at him. “Ok, ok, I’ll sleep on the
floor, or if that’s too weird, I’ll sleep outside.”

“
On the floor is fine. I’d feel guilty if
you slept outside.”

“
Ready?”

“
Yes, Alex,” she answered. “And thank
you.”

Alex smiled at her and lifted her in his arms as if she
weighed nothing. Alice wrapped her arms around his neck and laid her
head on his shoulder. He moved quietly from one tent to the next,
hoping not to draw attention to them, but he knew several pairs of
eyes followed them.

Up in the mountains, the werebear camp was abuzz with
the news that Alice had yet to return. She’d left that morning,
claiming she needed some time in the forest. Having her alone time
had always been important to her, so when she hadn’t returned
by lunch, no one noticed except her mother, who didn’t really
question it. But when the sun lowered in the west and she still
hadn’t come home, the clan began to worry.

“
It’s getting dark and she isn’t home
yet,” Cammie, Alice’s mother, told her other two
children.

“
I noticed, but she’s a grown woman and has
proved many times that she can take care of herself,” Alice’s
sister commented. “Besides, you know how pissy she gets if we
interrupt her alone time.” Susan had used the finger quotes
around “alone time,” something she found unnecessary. She
preferred to be surrounded by people at all times.

“
Thank you for your opinion, Susan,” Cammie
replied blandly. “Riley, what do you think?”

“
I always err on the side of caution, you know
that,” Riley answered. As the oldest, he was the most
responsible and on the track to follow in his mother’s
footsteps to lead their clan. “If I had my way, I’d track
her to see if I could find her.”

Cammie smiled. Her children were her everything since
her husband, their father, had died fifteen years ago and left her to
lead the clan. She’d taken the responsibility so that her son
could have his birthright, but every member of the clan, even the
die-hard manly werebears, agreed that she had been one of the best
leaders of the century.

“
Susan, you’ll go with him and find your
sister.”

“
Mother, she’s fine. I bet you anything
she’s by the river eating salmon, completely unaware of the
time,” Susan argued.

Typical
, Riley thought. “Mom,
I’d rather go by myself anyway. Let the brat stay here.”

Susan punched his arm and said, “I’m not a
brat! I just think tracking her would be a big waste of time! She’d
be back by the time we found her scent.”

“
Then we’ll all be happy. Stop whining and
go with your brother. You need the exercise anyway,” Cammie
ordered her daughter with a swat on her butt. Both of her children
sighed heavily, showing their similarities in the simple gesture. She
smiled as she watched them leave in the direction Alice had taken
that morning, proud of her children even when they drove her crazy.

*****

“
Do you really think something happened to her?
Because I don’t,” Susan griped as she followed her
brother through the brush.

“
No, I don’t, but I also know there have
been some poachers in the area and we shouldn’t take chances.”

“
Poachers? I haven’t heard that rumor,”
Susan retorted. “Who told you that?”

“
I have my sources.” Riley meandered through
the trees, looking for signs of a large animal passing through. “Keep
your eyes open, please. The faster we find her trail, the faster we
can find her and get back.”

“
I can’t see a thing. Where did someone see
poachers?” Susan asked, increasing her stride so as not to fall
behind her brother. She peered into the shadows of the forest,
praying nothing watched them.

Riley rolled his eyes when his sister stepped on the
back of his boot for the third time. He’d told her about the
poachers to scare her, although Susan didn’t wander far from
camp like Alice did. But Alice was sensible; Susan was seventeen. Why
his parents had waited almost thirteen years before having their last
daughter was beyond his comprehension. But he wouldn’t know
what to do without his younger sisters.

“
The poachers were miles from here, but you know
how Alice is. She probably walked that far to find her alone time.”
Riley also said “alone time” sarcastically. Werebears
were by nature social creatures. Alice was a rare one who enjoyed
being alone from time to time.

“
You know what I heard?” She waited for him
to say what, but he stared at the ground, searching for clues. She
rolled her eyes and continued. “I heard the wolf pack has been
patrolling more, and closer to our camp.”

“
Where did you hear that nonsense?” he
asked. He’d stopped and was kneeling next to a tree trunk,
picking at the bark. “Look, some of her fur. She must have been
scratching her back.”

“
Feels good against a big tree like that. And it’s
not nonsense. Tina told me,” Susan replied, looking at the
bark.

“
Tina is an idiot. The wolf pack has been
patrolling more, but only in their own area. They don’t want to
come up here any more than we want to go down there.”

“
Tina isn’t an idiot! That’s mean,”
Susan defended the dubious intelligence of her friend. “Hey,
why aren’t we in our bear forms. This would be way easier if we
were. Faster too.”

“
I wanted to get a direction before turning. And
now I have it. Let’s go.”

They transformed simultaneously, Riley’s form much
larger than his sister’s. He snuffled at her and butt her with
his head to indicate direction, and they ran.

*****

Inside Alex’s tent, Alice realized her family must
be worried about her. She could do nothing about it right now, and
she sincerely hoped they wouldn’t send out a search party. Her
scent would lead them here.
Good lord, the
problems that would cause
, she mused to
herself.

Alex had gone to the kitchen area to get some food. He
and his mother had agreed that she did not need to eat at the tables
with the pack. She was grateful they hadn’t asked or expected
her to.
Grossly uncomfortable
,
she thought. She hoped he brought her some kind of protein; she still
felt weak from the loss of blood and needed to replenish.

While she was alone, she looked around Alex’s
space. Organized like the rest of the camp, she wondered if all
werewolves were so anal about their living quarters. The tent was
large enough to stand in, walk around in, like the tents generals
used on the battlefield. Alex had the bed on which he’d placed
her, a table with two chairs, and shelves neatly organized: towels on
the top shelf, clothes neatly folded on the next, and books on the
bottom. Lanterns lit the space with a yellow glow. Overall, the space
was cozy.

Alice pulled one of the pillows, on which she was
reclining, out from underneath her and smelled it.
Oh
my god, it smells just like him
, she thought,
and buried her nose in it.
What is wrong with
me?
she asked herself, sniffing the pillow.
She knew she shouldn’t like Alex, but he was such a sweet man.
And gorgeous!

She jerked the pillow away from her face when the tent
flap was pulled aside. Alex walked in with a tray laden with food,
and Alice’s mouth began to water at the tempting smells
drifting to her nostrils. Her stomach gurgled loudly; she hadn’t
eaten since she’d left her camp that morning.

“
Wow, you must be starving,” Alex commented
with a chuckle.

Alice’s face grew hot with embarrassment, but she
laughed. “Good lord, that was loud! I haven’t eaten since
this morning.”

“
I would have already succumbed to the weakness
and died in the forest if I hadn’t eaten in so long,”
Alex joked, making a plate for her. “You like steak?”

“
Yes, please! And anything else you have over
there. I’m starving!” she exclaimed.

“
Steak and mashed potatoes. I have some brownies
for dessert.”

“
Yes!! Thank you so much!” Alice reached for
the plate and waited for him to get his and sit down. When he didn’t,
just watched her, she asked, “Aren’t you going to eat?”

“
Yes, but you don’t have to wait for me. Go
on and eat,” he replied. “Are you comfortable enough to
eat there?”

“
I am, thank you,” she responded, still not
eating. Her manners refused to allow her to eat while he made his
plate. So she hurried him along. “I’d like to eat
sometime this century, so make your plate, sit down, and eat with
me.”

He laughed at her not-so-subtle nudge and quickly made
his plate. “Yes, ma’am!”

She laughed too and waited for him to get seated before
cutting into her steak. She ate three large bites before looking up
again. He was watching her, smiling. “What?”

“
You’re really pretty,” he told her.
She stared at him without replying. “I’m sorry, that’s
inappropriate. I won’t say it again.”

Alice looked back at her plate, scooping up some
potatoes, putting them in her mouth, and savoring them.
So
the attraction is mutual
, she thought.
But
we can’t act on it, so get it out of your mind!

“
Thank you for the compliment. You’re damn
handsome, if I do say so,” she answered. “Tell me about
your life.”

He smiled at her, chewing his steak thoroughly and
swallowing before answering. “What do you want to know?”

“
I want to know if wolf life is like bear life.
Our camps are similar, from what I saw when we came in. We have a
leader with lieutenants, for lack of a better word. Everybody has
their place.”

“
It’s pretty much the same here. I think
your clan and my pack are probably a lot alike. I have no idea why we
hate each other so much.”

“
You know, I don’t either. I guess my mom
might know.” Alice paused to take a sip of the water he’d
handed her. She handed it back. “Thank you. Mom is our clan
leader.”

“
A woman? Really?”

“
Why are you surprised? Women are fantastic
leaders,” Alice defended. “My father died and Mom took
over, and to hear it from the others, she’s a greater leader
than he was. Fairer in her judgments and more thoughtful in her
decisions.”

“
I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to sound
rude. Women don’t lead in the wolf pack. If our leader dies,
his son takes over.”

“
My brother was too young to take over. He will
soon,” Alice told him. “But what happens here if there is
no son?”

“
Leadership goes to the closest male relative.”