Rebecca (BBW Paranormal Shapeshifter Romance) (Alpha Marked Book 4)
Read Rebecca (BBW Paranormal Shapeshifter Romance) (Alpha Marked Book 4) Online
Authors: Celia Kyle
Tags: #Romance
Chapter One
Blog post by Ruling Alpha Mate Scarlet Wickham on July 21, 8:01 a.m.…
Welcome to the Gathering!
Welcome, welcome! The Ruling Alphas and the awesomeness that is the Ruling Alpha Mate are thrilled you could be here!
This is the first year Warden Pairs will be attending the Gathering in search of their mates, and it is a momentous occasion. Please keep in mind that with the addition of Warden Pairs, the Gathering will also host women who are Warden Born. Not all ladies are hunting a hot hunk of demanding love, guys, so keep the drool in your mouths. Also, not all females are comfortable in their fur-attracting skin quite yet. Take it easy on them.
Another thing to keep in mind is that all laws in place which protect the Alpha Marked also apply to Warden Born. In the event you are not aware of the intricacies of those laws, Gabriella Wickham is more than willing to explain them to you in detail. Her very scary mates are on hand to assist her.*
Have a wonderful weekend and may you all find your mates!
Scarlet Wickham
Ruling Alpha Mate and H.B.I.C.**
*Disclaimer: Activities associated with the Gathering can at times involve substantial risk of injury, property damage, and other dangers. Dangers particular to such activities include, but are not limited to: hypothermia, drowning, broken bones, strains, sprains, bruises, concussion, heart attack, heat exhaustion, cuts, abrasions, burns, electrical shock, poisoning, and blunt trauma. By participating in and attending the Gathering, you agree not to hold the Gathering organizers or other attendants liable for such damage including, but not limited to, the above. You break it, but we still ain’t buying it.
**H.B.I.C.: Head Bitch In Charge
~~≈~~
Blog post by Ruling Alpha Mate Scarlet Wickham on July 21, 8:10 a.m.…
Welcome to the Gathering Part Two
It has been brought to my attention that not all women summoned to the Gathering have experienced orientation prior to said summoning. In the event you encounter a distressed female, please direct her to the Grand Ballroom on the third floor.* Gathering organizers (and therapists) are on hand to assist the attendees during this transitional time.
Have a wonderful weekend and may you all find your mates!
Scarlet Wickham
Ruling Alpha Mate and H.B.I.C.**
*Disclaimer: Activities associated with the Gathering can at times involve… blah, blah, blah, see all that crap in the last post.
**H.B.I.C.: Head Bitch In Charge
~~≈~~
Mass text message by Ruling Alpha Mate Scarlet Wickham on July 21, 8:23 a.m.…
There are bitches with guns. Some of them may or may not look like me. Cover your balls and hide. And text me back. They. Are. Crazy. Also, new disclaimer includes bullet wounds and human-wolf rabies. Peace out.
~~≈~~
Mass text message by Ruling Alpha Mate Scarlet Wickham on July 21, 8:37 a.m.…
Maybe you didn’t get it. Totally cray cray and they may or MAY NOT look like me. Get them. Bring them. Do not pass go, and no sniffing butts! Penises should not touch orifices prior to orientation, furballs! Also, new
new
disclaimer includes idiots getting kicked in the balls because they don’t understand simple directions. I’m out.
Dirt was the most horrible thing ever created. It smelled and got everywhere and itched when it dried—which meant Rebecca had been wet at some point—and was all around gross. She wanted a shower and a bed. Now. She glanced at the man stomping along the trail beside her, at his wide smile and the way
he
hadn’t tripped over every tree root known to man.
The bed would be empty. Very empty. The vast emptiness of the empty couldn’t even be put into words it’d be so empty.
The guy grinned at her, his brown hair flopping over his eyes. Had she thought that was adorable?
“Isn’t this
awesome
?” Tony? Timmy? Joseph! Hah! It didn’t sound anything like those “T” names, but she finally got it right. So,
Joseph
spoke.
“Oh, awesome.” She plastered a totally fake, painstakingly practiced smile on her lips. It wasn’t a happy one. No, it was the one that said “are you fucking kidding me?” It was kinda toothy and big and her eyes were open wide.
Joseph, the lovely Joseph, who apparently could only read books and not people, seemed to perk up. “I know, right? And around the bend we’ll see…”
He was talking nature again. Which, to be fair, they were surrounded by the wondrous world of Faunsdale Nature Preserve, so it made sense.
Why, oh why, had she agreed a hike through the preserve was a good idea? When she’d said yes, she’d managed to sound excited over the phone. And maybe she had been. A little anyway. After all, it’d been a while since she’d jumped into the dating pool. It was as if she played the hokey pokey with her love life. She’d put her left foot in, get it bitten by a blood-sucking evil snake, then pull it out and shake it the fuck about.
Snakes. She bet there were snakes in the woods. Evil blood-sucking ones who walked on two legs.
Joseph pulled ahead of her—his longer legs meant bigger strides—and she stared at his back. Was he one of those kinds of men?
It didn’t matter one way or the other. After all this back to nature stuff, she was all about
not
having a second date with him. If this was first-date material, she’d crumble into a fluffy heap of “kill me now” on the next one.
“Coming?” he yelled back to her.
Not likely.
Rebecca cleared her throat. “Yeah, right behind you!”
Like fifteen feet. Okay, thirty.
Then that expanded further and… Was he getting taller?
A large brown and green sign announced they were climbing Fwansis Hill.
All right, she’d reached planet Kill Me Now.
“Joseph?” He did not turn around. “Joseph?” She raised her voice and he turned toward her, massive smile in place.
“What’s up?”
Rebecca waved at the sign. “I thought this trail was a three on the difficulty scale?” She tried to keep the accusation out of her voice. She didn’t want to piss him off, he was her ride home, after all. “This sign says the hill and beyond is six plus.”
“Oh,” he shrugged. “You were doing so awesome. I thought we’d go a little farther. There’s this great clearing on the other side. We can eat our lunch there.”
Now he bounced on his toes like a kid waiting to open Christmas presents. Exhausted as all get out, she moved to follow him.
Doing awesome? Hardly. When he’d told her of his plans, she figured she’d be fine. Hiking was probably harder than walking on a treadmill, but she also did Water Zumba when she wasn’t working on her slowly ambling cardio. The hike should have been cake.
Mmm… cake.
She
so
deserved cake after this.
Hefting her backpack higher on her shoulder, she trudged after the man. She forced one foot in front of the other, ignoring the dampness of her socks. Stupid rain with its stupid wetness.
Joseph reached the peak before her and disappeared over the other side. No matter, it wasn’t like she’d get lost. The trail was so worn it made her path clear. Plus, some parts were paved and benches were placed sporadically along the route.
For people like her.
She passed one such bench and eyed it longingly. What she wouldn’t give…
“Rebecca?” Joseph’s voice reached her, and she sighed.
“Coming. Gimme—”
A million years.
“—a minute!”
“I’ll get our lunch set out!”
Or he could come back down the damned hill, pick up her fluffy ass, and
carry her to their picnic spot
.
Ahem.
Instead of pouring out her frustrated, borderline rage-y heart, she imbued her tone with sugary sweetness. She’d already established he didn’t get the finer nuances of the Rebecca language. “Sounds awesome!”
No other shouts came over the hill and Rebecca sighed. This was definitely the first date and last. If a hike through the forest was this guy’s idea of a good time, it so wasn’t going to work.
Rebecca slogged over the rise, tempted to let her backpack fall from her shoulders and drag on the ground, but she kept it in place. She imagined she already looked a ragged mess, no sense in adding to the disgusting picture she painted.
She spied Joseph off to her right, standing near the tree line, and it was the first time she realized the forest didn’t surround her any longer. No, the dense trees were on her right, but the left was open and cleared, giving her a perfect view of the preserve. Not all of it, but at least they got a good look at the valley below. The area was filled with flowers and a brook cut a path along the edge. It was a gorgeous sight.
Especially the water. Could she rinse off? Or rather, dump her whole hot and sweaty ass in?
“I decided to wait since it’s kinda hidden. Didn’t want you to get lost. This way, it’s close.”
Close? Close she could do. And at least kinda hidden meant passing hikers wouldn’t see her collapse and mistake her sudden flop as a reason to call forest rescue. She was exhausted, not broken. Plus, no matter how hot the rescue guys probably were, it would be insanely expensive to have them come get her. Her insurance sucked.
“Lead on.” She waved her hand and he… smiled.
Did the man never
stop
?
It turned out his “close” was about a hundred yards while hers was fifty feet.
But they got there and the first thing she did when she spied the picnic blanket was collapse on the thing. The red and white checkered cloth bunched beneath her. Yeah, she probably shouldn’t lie down because she was so dirty, but whatever.
Joseph-the-Ever-Happy plopped beside her, and she noted the man didn’t even have a hint of sweat on his brow. He was going down. Deader than a doornail. He was all healthy and in shape. She’d first poison him by introducing chocolate cake to his diet.
And then bacon. No one could resist bacon. It was like the Borg from
Star Trek
. Any second now biomechanical humanoids would come marching out of the forest.
“Resistance is futile. You will eat fattening chocolate.”
“Rebecca?”
She groaned and raised her head. “Sorry. Needed a second.” She pushed herself up and swung her backpack from her shoulder. It took no time to settle on the blanket like a normal person, and then the picnic got underway.
Joseph chatted about… something nature-y while Rebecca became slowly aware of a common theme for their lunch.
“Um, Joseph?”
“Yup.” He dug into his pack again, tugging out yet another container. The man’s bag was bottomless like Mary Poppins’s. Except Mary Poppins didn’t bring a vegetarian lunch. Like Joseph had.
Vegetarian. Not a sandwich or hint of lunch meat in sight.
“It looks like you went to a lot of trouble,” she gulped when a container of celery appeared. “You could have slapped together some ham sandwiches.”
He froze and swung his wide-eyed gaze to her. “Meat?” He gasped. “
Never
. I’m vegan, I thought you knew that. Catherine introduced us, and she’s…”
Rebecca’s coworker and a total plant eater. Nice.
Rebecca shook her head and slapped on another of those smiles. “Sorry, you’re right. I completely spaced.”
She was so going to the burger joint down the street from her house when this date was over.
Her comment earned her what? Another smile.
Joseph reached the bottom of his bag—at least she hoped it was the bottom since she’d cry if she saw yet another veggie—and came out with… a white envelope?
She prayed he wasn’t one of those weirdoes who was all super appreciative for a date and handed out thank-you cards. How weird would that be?
She swallowed her moan. Barely.
“What’s this?” he murmured and extended it toward her. “It’s addressed to you.”
Of course it was.
Because you’re a weirdo card giver!
With a chuckle, she slid it from his hand and then really did release her moan. The lettering was familiar, the calligraphy easily recognizable.
Rebecca Digory Twynham
.
Like all the others, there was no street or return address. It was as if someone simply plopped it in her way.
And now it had been dumped in Joseph’s bag.
She sighed. She was totally going to the police station when this date was over. But not before the fast food joint. A girl could not subsist on celery alone.
“Rebecca?”
Rebecca blinked and suddenly remembered she wasn’t alone. “Sorry, what?”
He raised his eyebrows and gestured at the envelope. “What’s up with that? How’d it get in my bag? Are you going to open it?”