The Alion King: BBW Paranormal Shape Shifter Romance (Paranormal Dating Agency Book 6) (10 page)

TWENTY-TWO

Bella woke with her nose clogged. Yep. She had a cold. She shouldn’t have ignored the signs the first day. She watched Alyx sleep. He was sprawled on the bed, his chest rising and falling with his deep breaths. For a moment, she listened intently, because she swore she heard something coming out of his mouth. She leaned closer. There. Her eyes widened, and she slapped a hand over her mouth so she wouldn’t laugh.

He was purring.

It was so damn cute. That big guy with that massive body and a lion that could make a man shit himself with a single roar…was purring.

She wanted to stay and stare at him , but she needed her allergy meds or she’d never breathe again. She slipped on one of Alyx’s shirts and went out the door quietly, trying not to wake him.

Barefoot, she darted down the hallway and up the stairs to her room. She opened the door, and the lights came on. The room was white again.

She rummaged through her bag when someone grabbed her hair and yanked.

“Ow!” She instinctively slapped at the hands tugging her hair and tried to get free.

“You stupid, stupid human,” Nadeeya hissed. “Alyx is mine.”

Bella struggled out of her hold and turned to face the lioness. “Isn’t he your cousin?”

Nadeeya raised a brow. “So?”

“Don’t you have rules against family hooking up?” she asked. Disgust swept through her, and bile rolled up her throat. “You’re sick.”

“I am not sick.” Nadeeya glared. “It is very common for family members of the same tribe, pride, or pack to mate.”

And they said incest was dead. She shook her head. “Alyx isn’t interested in you.”

“He would have been,” she said, her body twitching, as if getting ready to shift. “You got in the way. Now,” she rumbled, “I’ll have to take you out.”

Bella moved back, but Nadeeya blocked the door. The blonde roared, and Bella gaped as Nadeeya’s body contorted. Bones broke and reshaped. Limbs elongated, and fur sprouted, leaving a giant lioness baring her teeth at Bella.

Oh, shit!

She reached behind her and put a chair between them. The lioness leapt for Bella. She landed on the chair, breaking it, forcing Bella to scuttle back fast. Bella tripped on a trainer she’d discarded when she’d readied the previous day and fell on her ass. The lioness made a loud, angry noise Bella could only take to mean she was in serious trouble.

“Alyx!” she screamed, instinctively.

The door burst open, and a big gray wolf tackled the lioness. Bella crawled to a different corner, still unable to get to the door, and watched.

The lioness shook off the wolf, but the wolf growled and bit. It took the wolf looking at Bella for her to realize who the wolf was: Gerri.

The room was not big enough for two giant animals and Bella. They bit and clawed at each other. Her fear was that Nadeeya would hurt Gerri. Nadeeya was bigger, since she was a pure-born shifter from Aurora. Gerri’s smaller stature meant she had to work twice as hard to get her swipes in on the lioness.

There was nothing around Bella could use for a weapon. Nadeeya shook Gerri off her back and sent her flying across the room. Bella saw the water jug they’d left on her side table. She picked it up and threw it at the lioness.

Nadeeya had Bella in her sights again. Bad move. She darted to Bella and brought her head right to Bella’s face.

Bella saw her open her mouth wide, showing off massive teeth. She inhaled and sneezed multiple times on the lioness’s nose. She continued sneezing hard, until her eyes were watery and she swore she was going to pee herself.

The animal jumped back, shaking her face and making strange noises. Bella watched Gerri shift into her human body and laugh. She couldn’t figure out what was so funny. Then Nadeeya took back her body and screamed. She tried to leave the room, but Karel and Alyx came in and grabbed her before she got a chance.

“That woman!” Nadeeya screeched, wiping her face. “She spit her human germs at me!”

Gerri had slipped into the bathroom and grabbed one of the towels to wrap around her body. “Your cousin just tried to take a bite out of your mate.”

Alyx grabbed Nadeeya by the throat. “What?”

“I did no such thing!” She glared at Bella and Gerri. “Who will you believe, them or me?”

Alyx picked her up by the throat and flung her against the wall. “Get her out of here before I kill her.”

Karel swiftly took Nadeeya out the door. The blonde didn’t bother saying anything, but she took a final chance to glare at Bella.

Gerri rushed to Bella and helped her off the floor. Bella sneezed again. She wiped at the moisture dropping from her eyes and met Gerri’s concerned gaze. “I have a cold.”

“People don’t get colds in Aurora,” Alyx said.

She sniffled. “Have you had a lot of humans here?”

Alyx shook his head. “Usually, when one of our people mate with a human, it’s on Earth, and they make that their home.”

Gerri glanced at Alyx and then back at Bella. “Bella, nobody ever gets sick here.”

Um, what?

TWENTY-THREE

Alyx didn’t know what to say. In all his years as king, or even as long as he’d known, no one had ever gotten sick on Aurora. Death came from aging, usually after two or three hundred years.

Something had made his mate sick. Now he didn’t know how to fix it. She smiled at him through glassy eyes and a red nose.

“You’ll need a doctor,” Gerri said. She turned to face Alyx. “We’ll have to take her to your mother.”

Not that his mother was a doctor—she was a seer and knew about herbs and natural remedies. She’d loved reading how humans handled disease and would often take trips to Earth to help during natural disasters.

He marched to Bella’s side, holding her close, listening to her sniffle. “Is there anything we can do?”

Bella shook her head. “I really think I just have a cold.” She sneezed again. “Maybe, since I’m the first human here, this might not be such a big deal.”

He doubted it.

“How often do you get these colds?” he asked, worried that she was going to be uncomfortable for a long period of time.

Bella grinned and took the tissue Gerri offered her. “I don’t usually get sick unless it’s winter. But I think visiting your friends on that cold mountain set it off.”

He knew it. The wolves. They had taken her from his home, and now she was sick because of them. He’d never allow them back in his castle. They were lucky he’d signed the river pact between them and the Dragos, or he’d give it to the Dragos.

“Alyx,” Bella said, tapping him on the shoulder. “You look ready to kill somebody.” She raised her brows and shook her head. “You better not be having any ideas about the wolves. They’re nice.”

Alyx carried Bella to bed and waited for Gerri to get her something warmer to wear.

“You know,” Bella said as he put her on the bed. “I can walk fine. Even with a cold.”

She wiped at her forehead and sniffled. “It’s getting hot in here.”

Fear clutched at his heart. He touched her head. She was on fire. Her skin burned hotter than the two suns on the hottest day of the year. “There is something very wrong here.”

Gerri returned with a thick wrap. He covered Bella with it and wouldn’t allow her to walk. She looked weak enough without them asking her to take unnecessary steps.

He took her to the transport that would carry them to the Untamed Forest. Bella slept for most of the ride. He hadn’t seen his parents in months. He didn’t know how his mother would take meeting her new daughter under these circumstances.

“Don’t worry, Alyx. She’ll be fine,” Gerri said, pushing up the wrap to cover Bella better.

“I never did thank you for coming,” he sighed. “I’m sorry I was so ungrateful the last time you came and offered to help.”

Gerri smiled. “I forgive you, little lion. You have your queen now. Make sure she is always happy.”

He nodded. He’d give his life for his queen. “I plan to.”

“Did she touch anything you think could have had any strange effects on her when you took her by the falls?” Gerri frowned. “She’s got a high fever.”

“No. She waded her feet in the water. That’s all.”

Their arrival at his parents’ cabin came late at night. His mother stood at the cabin door, watching the transport land.

He picked up his mate from the seat and carried her out, straight into his parents’ living room.

He laid her on the sofa and turned to his mother, Alanna.

“Son.” She smiled, throwing her arms around him and giving him a tight hug. “What’s wrong with your mate?”

He knew his mother would have known. Having a gift meant she was probably better informed of what was going on than he was.

“She’s ill.”

Gerri rushed forward and hugged his mother. “So nice to see you again, Alanna.”

“Wonderful of you to bring my son his queen,” his mother said. “Thank you.” She smiled wide at Gerri. “I’m glad you didn’t allow his childish words to keep you from helping him.”

Gerri shook her head. “I thought about making him suffer, but I wanted to see Bella happy.”

“Bella,” his mother said. “She’s lovely.” She sat next to his mate and pushed Bella’s hair away from her damp forehead. “Too bad your father is out hunting. He’d have loved to meet his new daughter.” She gave Alyx a soft look. “He always wanted a daughter.”

“Can you tell us what’s wrong with her?” Gerri asked, leaning down next to Bella and his mother.

“She appears to have a bug.” His mother glanced up at Alyx. “Did you take her to the falls?”

He nodded, guilt shredding him from the insides. It was his fault Bella was sick. He should have known better. “It’s my fault. I took her there.”

“Calm down, son. She’ll be fine.” His mother tapped Bella’s jaw and felt her forehead. She glanced at Gerri and motioned to the kitchen. “Make some tea out of the herbs in the green jars.”

Gerri rushed off to the kitchen to make the tea. Alyx bent down to hold Bella’s hand. “What made her sick?”

“It was something small, Alyx. Minor. Normally, she wouldn’t have gotten sick, but her system is...” She pressed her lips together as if fighting the urge to grin. “It’s changing. So her body couldn’t cope with so much at once.”

He didn’t understand what that meant. He paced the living room. Gerri returned with the tea a few minutes later. He helped Bella sit up, watching her open her eyes to smile at him and then at his mother. “Oh, wow. He looks just like you.”

“Thank you, dear. That’s the highest compliment you could pay a mother,” his mom said.

“Here,” Gerri said, passing Bella a mug of tea. “Drink this.”

Bella sniffled and sighed. “The heat is opening up my airways. It smells so good.” She sipped on the tea and swallowed repeatedly. “Tastes fruity.”

She drank the tea, and Alyx watched, his lion restless from the need to help his mate.

“How do you feel?” he asked.

His mother frowned. “It’s going to take more than thirty seconds for it to work, you know?”

Bella frowned, glancing around as if for the first time. “I don’t get why getting a cold is such a big deal. I bet this won’t be the last time for a human who comes here.”

“She’s right,” his mother said. “Any others who take human mates will need to be made aware that they run the risk of getting sick.”

“I still don’t get how she got sick,” Gerri said. “This place is germ-free.”

His mother curled an arm around Bella’s shoulders, hugging her to her side. “Bella was bitten by the
Flower Tindle
.”

“The what?” Bella asked.

“It’s like a ladybug from your planet. Under normal circumstances, that’s not going to make a person sick.” She glanced at Alyx, her lips no longer suppressing the smile. “But Bella’s body is changing, and her immune system couldn’t handle the bite and the new DNA flooding her body.”

“Excuse me?” Bella asked, looking totally lost. “You confused me with the ‘new DNA.’”

“You’re pregnant,” Gerri said. “Hah! Why didn’t I think of that?” She shook her head. “Your scent changed, but I thought it was because you were inhaling the food and atmosphere here.”

Alyx’s heart sped up so fast he thought it might spring from his chest. “She’s pregnant?”

His mother nodded. “Very much so.”

TWENTY-FOUR

Bella curled a hand around her belly. “Holy shit!”

She’d gone from having a cold to “Holy crap, I’m going to have a baby!” in a few hours flat. Alyx glanced at her. She couldn’t figure out what he was thinking. This had to be good, right? He’d definitely mentioned wanting her pregnant at least once. He offered her his hand, and she stood, her legs no longer wobbly, and left the cabin by his side.

They walked together, in silence through the quiet night, down a path that led to where they could see the moons clearly.

At a rock, he lifted her to sit on the flat, smooth surface and proceeded to stand between her legs, cupping her face in his hands.

“Alyx?” She was getting worried. He was so quiet, and his face gave nothing away. “This is good, right? You want babies.”

He nodded, pulling her into a tight hug, and brushed his lips over hers. “I love you, my Bella.
Ym Neevk
.”

She smiled and kissed him back. “I love you, too.” She met his gaze and sighed. “Can I tell you a story?”

“You can tell me anything. I will always listen.”

She smiled. “Communication is important.”

“Yes. I was told by someone very intelligent that couples need to listen and talk. And trust each other.”

“That is a smart person.” She laughed.

“What’s your story?”

She bit her lip, unsure how to begin. “For so many years, I lived on a planet where I was reduced to the size of my clothes.” She slid a hand over his scruffy jaw, running her fingers through his beard.

“I fought society’s rules for what they deemed to be beautiful. I didn’t want to be what they said I had to be. I learned to love my body long ago and never really thought I’d find a man who would love me as I am.” She ran her other hand into his hair, threading her fingers through his silky strands.

I didn’t want someone who would love me
despite
the fact I had curves and rolls and a belly and jiggly arms.” She smiled. “Don’t shake your head. I do have all of those. I wanted a man who wanted me exactly as I am.” She sighed and brought his hand down to her abdomen.

“A man who found me sexy and beautiful. A man who got hard because my body pleased him.” She laughed and glanced up at the dual moons. “It took going to another planet to get my wish.”

“I do love you. Exactly as you are.”

She nodded. “I know. I never thought leaving my home planet would make me this happy.” She threw her arms around him and kissed his neck. “Thank you. For making me your mate. And for making me your partner.”

“So you are happy to stay here with me?”

“You couldn’t get me to leave even if you tried evicting me.”

He pulled back and cupped her face. “I would like one more thing.”

She blinked. “What?”

“To make you my wife. I looked up Earth customs. Would you marry me, Bella?”

She kissed him hard and giggled. “I will. I’ll marry you, my lion king.”

He leaned his forehead to her cooling one. “You don’t mind having my children?”

She frowned. “Why would I mind? I love you. I want your babies.”

He nodded. “Good, because I want you to have lots of babies.”

She raised her brows and leaned back. “Hang on a second. What’s ‘lots’ of babies?”

“Ten or twenty.”

She choked on her saliva and started coughing. “I’m sorry. I thought I heard you say ten or twenty.”

He nodded. “I did.”

“Baby, you’re going to have to come back with a new offer. That deal has been declined by the bank. I’m thinking more along the lines of one or two.”

“Five?”

She almost felt bad about the way he scowled as if she were breaking his heart. “Let’s settle on four and see how I feel after that. Who knows? You might convince me to give it another go.”

“Sounds like a good plan.” He pulled her closer and kissed her again. And all she could do was lean into him and let him pleasure her. She loved his kisses. As far as she knew, she’d always go weak for her lion.