Sold To The Alphas: A BBW Paranormal Romance (7 page)

I figured that eventually, maybe Chase and Grayson would simply be able to return me to Greenleaf for a refund. Just like damaged goods, I thought. They'd then be able to purchase another woman at auction from a different village. A woman who was actually, truly fertile this time.

But first, I decided, I was just going to let myself be a little selfish. A little greedy. I was just going to enjoy a few more nights like the one I'd experienced the night before.

However, something happened that evening that threw a wrench in my tentative

little plan. And that wrench came in the surprising form of an elderly woman with a bird on her shoulder.

CHAPTER THREE

Flora had warned me about Rose. She'd told me that she was a mostly-harmless elderly woman who lived in a tiny cabin a short distance beyond the village.

"She's supposedly a psychic," Flora had said. "Though not to be unkind, but usually her premonitions and feelings about things, are way, way off the mark. And not to be unkind again, we all know this might have more than a bit to do with the amount of her homemade wine she very regularly consumes. So, everyone kind of takes her with a grain or two of salt. We all feel a bit sorry for her. She lives out deep in the woods by herself, and we know she's probably very lonely.

“Like I said, she's pretty harmless. So, we all try to humor her, and listen to her supposed psychic feelings, and just generally give her a bit of company. But do be warned. All of us in the village have some affection for her, but she can, well...she can get on the nerves sometimes. Especially when she's been into her wine very heavily. She just becomes very...well, very annoyingly eccentric, I guess I'd say."

I told Flora I appreciated the caution and would keep it in mind. Then, I spent the rest of the day and the early evening with her and little Lily, putting Rose out of my mind. And also putting my fertility deception out of my mind. Once I'd decided on my quasi-plan of sorts, even though that plan was to just simply wait for a while and enjoy a few more nights with Chase and Grayson before coming clean to them, I felt better. My anxiety and guilt lessened a bit now that I'd decided that I
would
tell them about my deception. Eventually.

When I returned to my cabin that evening, I discovered Chase and Grayson already there, sitting on the front porch with mugs of coffee. Flora had explained to me earlier that the "trouble" they and the other men needed to deal with that day was a wolf pack that had been launching small-scale attacks on a small town about twenty miles to the east.

I honestly hadn't expected Chase and Grayson to be home so soon. But, surveying their long, muscular bodies as they both stood against the porch railing right then, I was awfully glad they were.

As I climbed the two porch stairs, though, and joined them by the railing, I suddenly felt a bit shy and reserved for some reason. I knew it was probably a result of my guilt about the secret I was hiding, and I forced myself to simply not think about that.

I also forced myself to muster a little smile. "Surprised to see you two back so early."

Grayson returned my little smile with his coal-gray eyes twinkling in the fading light. "Oh, we can leave again if you'd like."

With butterflies erupting in my stomach just because of how very devastatingly handsome he looked wearing a genuine smile, I fought a grin. "No. The two of you can stay, I guess."

Chase set his coffee cup on the railing and pulled me close. "Glad to hear that, because we have plans for you tonight. Plans that involve some serious baby making. But first, dinner, which we've already got in the oven. Nothing fancy, just a baked chicken, but we wanted to fix you something, just to show that we wolves aren't all snarling and fangs
all
the time."

Grayson then suddenly bared his teeth and snapped them at my throat, making me actually laugh out loud, something I never dreamed I'd do around two wolves. Yes, I thought, I definitely wanted a few more days with Chase and Grayson. Despite the fact that I'd felt a sharp pang of guilt when Chase had mentioned "baby-making," and despite the fact that I was sure I was going to be experiencing many more sharp pangs of guilt over the next few days, I just didn't care. I couldn't walk away from the possibility of a few more nights of passion as intense as the one I'd experienced the night before.

The three of us began heading into the house for dinner, but just then, someone called out a hello from around the side of the cabin. I looked but didn't see anyone, though judging by a soft groan Chase made, I guessed the visitor might be Rose, the elderly woman Flora had warned me about.

Chase moved his mouth to my ear and began speaking in a very low voice. "There's this elderly woman, quite harmless and lonely, but let me warn you-"

"Flora already did."

Not a moment after I'd spoken, Rose came tottering around the side of the cabin to the front. Somehow, she looked exactly as I'd thought she would. She was a fairly small woman with a slightly hunched back, and her light gray hair was pinned up in a bun. She carried a walking stick the same medium brown color as her shapeless dress and tattered sweater. I hadn't, however, pictured one striking detail about her appearance. Sitting perched on her shoulder, seeming just as docile as a pet, sat an enormous black raven.

Rose came to a stop in front of the porch steps, seeming to observe me noticing the great bird. She glanced at it before returning her gaze to me. "His name's Jack. He goes everywhere with me. My name's Rose, by the way, and I already know yours is Rowan. A few of the shifters coming back told me that, though I was already half-thinking that even before they told me.

“I could sense a new young woman in the village, and I was thinking of a name with an R and an O. I've also been getting a few other feelings about you, and I became sure about a few different things, even before I laid eyes on you. I'm a psychic, you see. A bit of a sorceress."

Beside me, Grayson groaned softly. "Rose, it's nice to see you, but we were just about to go inside and sit down to dinner. Maybe you could come back another-"

"Hmm. Interesting. Now that I'm standing so near her, I know I'm definitely right. This one has a secret." Peering at me intently, Rose paused for a second or two. "Oh, yes. She has a secret."

My blood instantly turned to ice. But Chase and Grayson didn't seem troubled at all by what Rose had said.

Chase actually chuckled, hooking an arm around my waist and pulling me close. "What's her secret?" He turned his gaze from Rose to me with an obvious expression of amusement. "Are you already pregnant?"

Before I could respond, before I could even
think
of a response, Rose shook her head. "She's not pregnant yet. But still, I see some things. I see she has a secret. A secret about a deed she did in private, when no one was watching. She did this to protect someone, someone she loves.

“But even though she did this secret thing, an even bigger secret has been kept from
her
. There is something this pretty young woman doesn't know. But
I
know. And the knowing of it...well, it just makes me want to laugh, because the knowing of it
is
very funny."

With that, Rose did laugh, throwing her head back, even, and though Chase and     Grayson didn't laugh out loud, they both seemed pretty amused themselves.

Grayson looked at Rose with his full mouth twitching. "So, what's the joke, Rose? What's the funny, secret thing about Rowan?"

After a few more chortles, Rose just shook her head, smiling. "No. I won't say. It's too funny. And when things are
too
funny, you don't say them. So, I won't. If Rowan ever wants to say what
part
of the joke is, the part of the joke she did in secret when no one was watching, that's her choice. Though I have a feeling she's going to keep that little secret part to herself right now.

“But, what's funnier still, is that Rowan herself doesn't even know the true funniness of the joke. The
end
funniness. The
truth
part. The part she doesn't even have a clue about but that may make her laugh someday. The part that may make us
all
laugh. Because it's just too...."

Rose dissolved into laughter again, but her laughter was soon interrupted by a loud hiccup. And then another.

Sighing, Grayson stepped down the two porch steps and gently took her by the arm. "I think you've had a bit too much to drink today, Rose. You know that homemade wine you make always gives you hiccups. Let's go find one of the boys to walk you home right now."

Grayson began walking her out to the lane, and she let herself be led, nodding.

"Maybe I have had a
bit
too much today. I had to drink Jack's portion because he decided he didn't want any."

I didn't realize my sigh of relief had been so loud until Chase looked at me, frowning.

"You okay?"

I nodded, forcing a smile. "Fine. Just fine."

Just completely infertile
, I thought.
And somehow, this woman knows something about it
. I was simply dumbstruck that she'd seemed to even know something about how I'd switched Skye's and my medical records. However, I wasn't at all sure about what Rose had meant when she'd said I didn't get the "true funniness" of the "joke." I hadn't a clue. I wasn't sure I wanted to have a clue.

I suddenly wasn't so sure if I could go through with my plan to have a few more days of pleasure before telling Chase and Grayson the truth. Not with a woman who seemed to know my secret living so very close nearby. I felt rattled to my core, knowing that my relief at Rose's leaving might be very short-lived. I knew she could be back the very next day. Back to torment my conscience.

Holding me from behind, Chase gave me a quick squeeze. "Hey. Sorry if her behavior upset you. That's understandable, but try not to let it bother you. She really is harmless. She's just an old woman who drinks far too much sometimes. And maybe all her 'psychic' stuff makes her feel important sometimes. We just kind of try to indulge her here and there. Though, again, I'm sorry if she upset you."

Chase tightened his arms around me and planted a few slow, tender kisses along the side of my neck. And that did it. Rose and my conscience be damned. I was going to have my few days of fun before telling Chase and Grayson the truth. All I needed was for Rose to just stay away so I could enjoy myself without being reminded of my deception. And without Chase and Grayson possibly starting to somehow believe Rose's psychic claims before I was ready to come clean.

Chase planted a few more kisses along the side of my neck, causing a wave of butterflies in my stomach. "Tell me that with just a few more kisses, I can put another little smile on your face. Just like the little smile you had on your face when you came up to the porch."

I turned to face him and wrapped my arms around his neck, knowing I was smiling already. "Kiss me on the mouth and we'll see."

Smiling himself, he moved his hands to the small of my back and began kissing me with such intensity I soon became a bit lightheaded, but in the most pleasant possible way.

Grayson soon arrived home, shaking his head. "Poor Rose gets so delusional when she drinks. I really do feel quite bad for her at times."

It now occurred to me that maybe I'd just been paranoid earlier. Maybe Rose really wasn't actually psychic. Maybe she really didn't know about my little secret. Maybe my guilty conscience had just made it seem so.

I soon completely forgot all about Rose. I soon completely lost all ability to reason or attempt to think rationally about anything because Chase and Grayson forced me to apply a Tickler before dinner; if
forced
was even the right word, which I was pretty sure it wasn't. Like the evening before, they told me I didn't have a choice about the matter, and they both seemed completely serious about this, just as serious as they'd seemed the night before.

But unlike the night before, I wasn't quite as resentful. I was actually so excited that I became wet before even putting the Tickler on.

After dinner, which I squirmed and flushed my way through, to Chase and Grayson's very obvious pleasure and growing excitement, the three of us enjoyed an evening of passion until nearly midnight. I fell asleep in their arms, thoroughly satisfied.

The next several days passed similarly. I spent most mornings and afternoons with Flora and Lily, while Chase, Grayson, and some of the members of their pack dealt with various wolf situations. One afternoon, I spoke to Skye on the phone again, though also again, just briefly because of more static and a dropped call. I spent most evenings with Chase and Grayson in bed. Rose didn't come by to visit again even once, to my great relief.