Forbidden Love: A BBW, BWWM Paranormal Romance (3 page)

He was ashamed of his thoughts. How could he become
aroused by this woman? For one, she was injured and needed his help.
She had trusted him to protect her, had put her life in his hands.
His only concern should be her welfare, not how damn hot she was. And
secondly, she was a werebear, his natural enemy. Nothing, absolutely
nothing, could happen between them. His pack would forbid it, and she
would probably turn him down if he tried.
That
would be embarrassing,
he thought.

As he had run through the forest, he’d listened
carefully for the poachers. In this form, he could hear everything,
even the squirrels scrabbling up the trees to avoid him. He’d
also felt her shift uncomfortably. He’d slowed his pace to
accommodate her pain. But the amount of blood she’d lost was
concerning. Her chocolate face had looked gray when he’d lifted
her to her feet back in the clearing; he had to get her to help.

When he neared his camp, he decided a quick conversation
would be best. He needed to prepare her for his family, so he stopped
about a hundred yards away from the clearing and shrugged to indicate
to her she needed to climb down. He was prepared to catch her if she
stumbled when she slid off, but she landed on her strong leg and
limped back away from him. He shifted into his human form and looked
at her.

*****

Alice stared at him unashamedly when he changed again.
Before, she’d intentionally ignored his nudity, as he seemed to
ignore hers. Weres didn’t magically have clothes on when they
transformed into their human forms. Nudity was something all weres
had accustomed themselves too, within their own packs or clans, of
course. But seeing a werewolf naked was like voyeurism; it felt a
little naughty but was also kind of fun.

Alice shook her head to clear her thoughts and
purposefully stared at his face. Her eyes begged to drift lower, but
she refused. He stared at her face as well, his eyes dipping to her
chest only a couple of times before he restrained himself.
Good
lord, we’re acting like teenagers,
she
thought.

His face was thoughtful; he was obviously trying to
think of something to say to break the uncomfortable silence their
nudity had brought on.

“
So, I assume, like me, you’ve seen nudity
on a daily basis. But it’s weird to see a different species,
huh?” she asked him with a grin.

He smiled back in relief. “It is weird! I didn’t
think it would be. We’re always naked at camp, or mostly naked.
But this is just plain odd.”

“
Makes no sense at all, but I agree with you,”
she replied with a giggle. Again, they looked at each other for
longer than was necessary. She finally broke eye contact, glancing
toward the clearing. “We’re close to your camp?”

Alex cleared his throat. “Yes. That’s why I
stopped, to give you some pointers before meeting my family.”

Alice nodded her head, grateful for any information that
would make this less awkward. Before she could stop herself, she
blurted, “They aren’t going to kill me, are they?”

“
No, Alice, they won’t kill you. But they
might not be nice,” Alex replied, rolling his eyes at her.

“
Don’t roll your eyes at me! You know it’s
a legitimate question. You’d have the same fear if our roles
were reversed.”

“
You’re right, sorry,” he said. “Let
me do the talking. Tell them what happened and all that.”

“
Sure, I’ll keep my mouth shut. Will they
know what I am?”

“
Immediately. The stench of werebear is
unmistakable,” he replied, winking to ease the sting of the
rude comment.

Alice glared self-righteously at him and retorted,
“Certainly you can smell the noxious fumes of your fur.”

“
Wow, burn. I think I might cry,” he replied
sarcastically.

She laughed at him and said, “If you weren’t
a nasty damn werewolf, I think we could have been good friends.”

“
Gross. I’d never be friends with a
werebear.”

They laughed again. The level of comfort they felt with
each other had grown alarmingly. Alice bit her lip and reminded
herself that this friendship could not be, even though she really
wanted it to happen.
Maybe more than a
friendship
, she mused.
No!
Stop it!

“
Ok, Alice. Let’s do this. Waiting here for
another ten minutes isn’t going to make this any easier.”

Alice’s stomach clenched painfully, but she nodded
at him. She turned to follow him, but nearly fell when she put weight
on her leg. Alex caught her before she fell, his arms wrapped around
her generous waist. His hands touched the small of her back, and his
body was pressed to hers. She’d put her hands on his arms for
balance. Alice looked at his face; he was at least six inches taller
than her, so she had to lean her head back to do so. He stared down
at her, and slowly he leaned closer to her as if he might kiss her.
Before his lips could touch hers, she turned her head and shuffled
back. She didn’t let go of him, just moved out of range.

Alex sighed and apologized. “I’m sorry,
Alice. That wasn’t appropriate.”

“
It’s ok. We both did it.” Silence
remained between them for a moment. Alice joked, “With pecs
like those, can you blame me?”

Alex started in surprise, then threw his head back and
laughed. “Damn, you’re funny! Come on.” He shifted
her so that his arm was around her waist while they walked slowly
into the clearing.

*****

Alex and Alice moved slowly into the camp so as not to
startle any of the werewolves. Alice looked around, watching for any
attacks. Alex’s assurances hadn’t been enough to assuage
all her fears. Everyone was in their human form as far as she could
see, and everyone seemed to be mostly clothed. The werebears
preferred nudity to clothes, so that was one difference between the
pack and the clan.

Organization was obvious in the set-up of the camp. The
tents were in three rows, with five or so in each row. A large
clearing behind the tents looked like an amphitheater and was
obviously the place for pack meetings. Her clan also had such a spot,
although it looked more like a revival with backless pews facing a
small, square stage.

To the right of the tents was the camp kitchen and
several long picnic tables. Currently, some women and men were in the
kitchen area, making the evening meal.

Alice’s brow furrowed in confusion. Her clan also
prepared large meals and everyone gathered and ate together most
evenings. She couldn’t tell how the werewolves handled it, but
her clan divided the daily chores so everyone cooked, cleaned,
gathered food, went to town for supplies,
etc.
She’d grown up
believing these werewolves were heathens, anarchists, and complete
animals even when in human form.

I’ve been fed lies
, she
mused. She reserved judgment, though, until she met them. A lot of
hostile faces were staring at her. She leaned into Alex as much for
mental support as for physical.

A large, rotund man moved to intercept them before they
could fully enter the camp. Alex halted and respectfully nodded his
head, waiting for the man to speak first.

“
Who is this, Alex? And why does she give off the
distinctive stench of a werebear bitch?” the man asked,
narrowed eyes moving from Alex to Alice and back.

Alice stiffened at the rude comment, but remained silent
when Alex’s hand tightened briefly on her waist. She stared at
the man sullenly, anger in her expression.

“
This is Alice, and, yes, she is a werebear, but
not a bitch,” Alex replied calmly, his voice not changing. “She
was shot by poachers in the forest. They cornered her and would have
killed her.”
“So you endangered yourself to rescue a
werebear, our enemy. Why, exactly?”

Alex sighed. “John, she was defenseless. They were
going to take her pelt.”

“
A werebear is rarely defenseless,” John
remarked with derision, again glaring at Alice. “I can smell
her blood. How badly is she wounded?”

“
I can speak, you know,” Alice answered.
Alex rolled his eyes at her. “Sorry, Alex, but seriously, I
learned how to speak years ago.” She looked back at John. “I’ve
been shot. The bullet is still in my leg. I couldn’t make it
back to my vehicle in this condition.”

John stared at her, eyebrows raised. She stared back,
unflinching, and waited patiently for his reply.

“
So, werebear, what do you expect us to do?”

“
Nothing for my wound, werewolf,” she
replied haughtily. “A ride to my vehicle is all I ask from you.
My own people will take care of me.”

At this point, the entire camp had surrounded the trio,
listening intently to their conversation. When Alice defiantly spoke
to their leader, a few of them gasped, but several of them snickered.
Alice wondered if maybe they should take this to the amphitheater and
hand out popcorn for their audience. She glanced around at them,
wondering if they were at all affected by her appearance or just the
fact that she was a werebear, the enemy. Apparently, her nudity
wasn’t the problem.

John opened his mouth to retort, but a hand on his arm
stayed his speech. A lovely woman stood next to him, a woman who
looked a lot like Alex. Her brown hair fell down her back, and her
eyes were the color of bark. She looked Alice from toes to top before
commenting.

“
Alex, who have you brought home?” Her voice
was unaccented and melodious, a Disney princess who had aged
beautifully.

“
Shara, our son has brought home an injured
werebear who expects a ride to her vehicle,” John answered.
“I’m not sure I like the idea of sending her back to her
clan with the location of our camp.”

“
I have no idea where I am. I couldn’t give
my location if another poacher had his gun aimed at me,” Alice
snapped. “Listen, my leg is aching and starting to bleed again.
Can Alex please take me to my car?” Alice again told the lie
that she’d driven here. She’d have to trust Alex to take
her to a meeting place she knew of.

“
You were shot by poachers?” Shara asked
sharply. “Where? How long ago? Alex?”

“
It’s ok, Mom. It was over a mile away, and
they left before Alice and I did. They’re long gone.”

Shara nodded and turned to conversed with two men
roughly Alex’s age. “Please go with Alex and scope out
the perimeter of our camp and near the clearing.” She turned
her attention back to Alex. “Take your cousins and go. I’ll
take Alice into our tent and care for her wound.”

John protested, “I agree we need to search the
area for the poachers for safety’s sake, but we should drop the
werebear at a nearby hospital and forget about her.”

“
John, that isn’t right and you know it,”
Shara admonished. “I’ll dress her wound and we’ll
send her on her way.”

Shara took Alice’s hand and patted Alex’s.
Alice looked at Alex, who nodded reassuringly and left with his
cousins. Alice felt real panic the moment he was out of her sight.
He’s leaving me
,
she thought.
What am I going to do now?
Shara seemed nice enough, but John was still glaring at her as if she
was a spy, and the large circle of werewolves in human form, though
dispersing, was frightening.

Alice limped behind Shara only a short distance to the
nearest tent. Luckily. When she entered the tent, Alice nearly
fainted. Blood loss, fatigue, and stress had eaten away the last of
her adrenaline; she collapsed on the bed, exhausted.

After looking at her wound, Shara touched Alice’s
forehead and spoke quietly. “Alice, I’m going to have to
take this bullet out here. We can’t leave it in there. My
sister is going to come help me, but no one else.”

“
Ok, Shara, thank you,” Alice mumbled, about
to succumb to sleep.

“
Alice, listen for a minute longer before you go
to sleep,” Shara said. Alice looked at her, her eyes half
closed. “You’re going to have to stay here tonight. Alex
and I will make sure that you’re safe. Are you ok with that?”

“
Yes, ma’am.” Alice slept.

*****

When Alex returned, he had good news to report: no sign
of the poachers. He and his cousins had tracked them back to where
their truck had been parked. It was no longer there.

John met them at the edge of camp. “So? What did
you find?”

“
Nothing. They’re gone. I knocked one of
them into a tree and injured him pretty badly, so I’m sure they
had to take him to the hospital.”

“
So you did intervene. Not just interrupt.”

“
Yes, Dad, I intervened. She was defenseless,”
Alex defended himself.

“
And revealed to a group of poachers what you
are!” John yelled at him. “Do you realize the danger you
may have brought to this camp? And not just from the poachers but the
damn werebears too!”

“
How did I bring trouble from the werebears, Dad?
I saved one of their kind from the poachers!”

“
They don’t know that, Alex. We don’t
know what they know? If they expected her home today, and she’s
not there, they’ll look for her.” He turned to one of the
cousins. “I bet her scent is everywhere, isn’t it? From
the clearing to our camp?” The cousin nodded, shrugging
apologetically at Alex.