Sleeping BBW And The Billionaire Bear: A Paranormal Romance Novella (The Shifter Princes Book 3)

by Sable Sylvan

  “That’s right,” said a voice with a small lilt. “It wasn’t your mama’s fault I passed on to this plane.”

  Talia turned: to her other side was another woman, who looked like her and Mama Talia. All three women were young and wearing ivory white dresses that reminded Talia of the ladies in Grecian paintings. Mama and Grandma were the same age as they’d been when they’d passed, at twenty-five. Grandma Talia looked different than she had in the pictures Talia had seen of her: in the pictures, she was petite and gaunt, but here, where she could eat as much as she wanted, she was tall and curvy, as she would have been in life if she hadn’t been undernourished.

  “Grandma,” said Talia. “I...I never thought I’d meet you.”

  “There’s a lot of things you don’t know you’re going to do,” said Grandma, her voice still carrying with it an English accent. “And that’s why you’ve got to go and do them. And that includes being a mama.”

  “Are you sure I can do it?” said Talia. “What if...what if I can’t?”

  “The world’s a different place now,” said Grandma Talia.

  “Your grandma couldn’t’ve had quadruplets safely even if she wasn’t anemic,” explained Mama Talia. “Multiple pregnancies among the humans weren’t as common until recently, but the hospitals can handle it just fine now. Medicine’s changed a lot: you can consult with a doctor to see if you’re healthy enough to have kids, take extra precautions to make sure you have a safe and healthy pregnancy, and the chances of you getting into an accident on the way to the hospital are astronomically low...but even if you want to play it safe, you can have a baby. You can do a home birth. There’s a ton of options, Talia. You just have to pick one.”

  “It’s that easy?” asked Talia, crossing her arms.

  “It’s that easy,” said Grandma Talia with a small smile. “And I didn’t come over to this country on a boat to see you give up, Talia. I didn’t raise your mama, and she didn’t raise you, but the Ackerson women are a strong people. Do the name proud, Talia, and wear it as a badge of honor...and pass it on.”

  “Why didn’t you go back?” asked Talia, uncrossing her arms and putting them in her lap.

  “We couldn’t go back,” said Mama Talia, holding Talia’s hand in one hand while Grandma Talia held Talia’s other hand. “But you can. Go back for all of us.”

  “I have so many questions,” said Talia. “Please. Let me stay.”

  “It isn’t your time yet,” said Grandma Talia, touching Talia’s cheek gently, cupping the rosy cheek in her hands and rubbing it with the broad side of her thumb. “You need to go back, Talia...you need to go back to him.”

  “But Grandma, what if I’m not ready?” asked Talia.

  “You’ll never be ready,” said Grandma Talia, pressing a kiss to her granddaughter’s cheek. “Nobody ever is.”

  ***

  Forty minutes later, Cedar was bursting into the Asher Lumber Co. labs, the helicopter landed on top of the Asher Lumber Co. building in Seattle, waiting for his return. Cedar ran through the doors and found the one room with lights in.

  “Jace, is it ready?” Cedar asked the scientist in a lab coat. The tall bear shifter, Dr. Jace Reynolds, was one of his cousin’s employees, but he’d met him at a company party and they’d become fast friends. Never in a million years would Cedar have thought he’d need to call in a favor like this.

  “Here it is,” said Jace, passing Cedar the antivenom. The vial contained a dried white powder.

  “How do I get it in her?” asked Cedar, pocketing the vial carefully in his flannel shirt’s square chest pocket, right over his heart and his mate mark.

  “That’s the hard part,” said Jace. “Once water hits the powder, it’s going to activate immediately, and there’ll only be ten seconds for you to get it into her.”

  “With what, a syringe?” asked Cedar.

  “Not exactly,” said Jace. “You’re going to have to keep the liquid warm, at thirty seven degrees Celsius, or else the process will stop and the antidote won’t work. I’ll send you a text with more detailed instructions.”

  “Got it,” said Cedar. “Thanks, Jace.” Cedar ran back down the halls, making a mental note to give Jace a raise within the week. But for now?

  Cedar had a princess to save.

  When Cedar Aspen got to the hospital, he ran straight to Talia’s room. A nurse tried to stop him: he wasn’t supposed to be there, he wasn’t next of kin, but he kept running, until he found her.

  The aunts were all around her. They were holding each of her hands as she spasmed on the bed back and forth. Aunt Lorraine was applying a cool compress to Talia’s head.

  “It’s getting worse,” said Aunt Helen, holding Talia’s hand tightly.

  “I know,” said Cedar. “And I’m going to make it better.”

  Cedar reached into his shirt pocket. He pulled out the vial of powder he’d held close to his heart and poured it directly onto his tongue, swirling it around in his mouth, careful not to swallow even a bit...before he pressed his mouth to Talia’s lips, hard.

  Talia’s mouth opened, responding to Cedar’s touch, and Cedar took the plunge, kissing Talia with every ounce of passion he had left beneath the layers of worry, doing whatever it took to make sure her body responded to his, that her body accept the antidote.

  Cedar held back the tears: sadness, exhaustion, and rage were not a pretty combo. He reached out and took Talia’s hand in his and squeezed. The aunts moved back to give him space, the aunts holding one another while they watched the one man who might be able to save their beloved niece work whatever magic he could.

  ***

  Talia had been in the dark since her grandmother had told her to go back. She’d been walking and felt tired, so tired, ready to give up. Each time she stumbled, she felt her leg plunge deep into the darkness and she had to pull herself out as if she was stuck in quicksand.

  It was getting so hard: Talia decided she’d just take a break, sit down for a second...but as she sat down, and both her calves hit what should have been floor, Talia started falling, as if into an abyss. Her arms and legs went up as her body was pulled down and Talia reached around, trying to grab whatever she could to get pulled back up.

  She had to make it out. She had to. It wasn’t just for her.

  Something reached out and rubbed against her palm. Talia couldn’t see it in the dark, just feel it. Talia felt the hand in hers, a familiar hand she would have recognized anywhere. Broad, firm, with five marks by the base of the fingers...

  “Cedar?” called out Talia. “Cedar, is that you?”

  The hand squeezed hers back.

  Talia wiped a tear from her eyes. “Cedar, I’m so scared. I’m so scared, Cedar.”

  The hand squeezed back tight, and Talia stopped falling. Talia felt like she was floating: neither falling nor rising, she was just suspended in midair. Cedar held her hand tight as she made her way into a vertical position.

  All around her was darkness: to her left and right, and behind her. Talia looked down...and then she looked up. There was a single dot of light.

  That’s Polaris, the North Star. As long as you can find Polaris, you can find your way north, and you can find your way home.

  Talia remember Cedar’s words as clearly as if he had just resaid them to her, and for a second, she thought that maybe he had said them to her. Talia looked for the other stars: they appeared, first as pinpricks, and Talia recognized the constellations, but then, the pinpricks of lights kept appearing, as if she was inside of a dark egg and somebody was poking holes in the egg. It was like the sky was falling.

  The darkness turned into a warm light, and there were her three aunts around her, welcoming her into the world. Talia’s perspective was a third person perspective: she reached out, and couldn’t feel anyone or anything. With each passing second, she inched closer to herself.

  Things moved fast: preschool, kindergarten, and high school were a blur, and then, things slowed down as she got older, and as s
he got closer to the most important moment in her life: the moment she’d met Cedar.

  There he was.

  Cedar. Tailored suit, with the charming shy smile. But they were at Spinning A Yarn. Things started to slow down.

  She watched as she had dinner with Cedar, and she was sitting right next to herself, watching herself eat a big plate of food. Then, Cedar took her outside, to sit on the lawn, to learn about the stars. There was Grandma Dixon, teaching her about the moon, about Moon Father, Star Mother, and Star Cub. Then...there was the path up the woods, getting on Cedar’s back, seeing the moonbeams, the fireflies, and then, in Cedar’s bed, seeing sparks and stars as they made intense love, through the night, and then, again n the morning.

  And then, there was the party. There was Martha, with the cake. She had the cake. Cedar was holding her, and then, darkness. Bittersweet oblivion.

  Then, there was the bright heavenly light again: her mom and grandma were there, and things slowed down again as Talia’s soul joined the memories of her body again. Talia walked to the edge of the golden cloud with her mom and her grandma, and looked over the edge, into the pure light. Her grandma and her mom each took one of her arms, hooked into theirs, and then, they leapt.

  Instead of falling, they rose. As they rose, Talia could make out a star in the sky, one that seemed immovable: it was the North Star, Polaris, somehow brighter than the infinite brightness. She followed it to the pointer stars, found Ursa Major, the Star Mother. Star Mother let out a roar as Talia rose closer and closer to Star Mother.

  Talia rose, up, up and away from the light, back into the darkness. It meant leaving behind her past, and hardest of all, leaving behind her mom and her grandma, but she knew she’d see them again one day.

  But right now? Talia had a whole life left to live.

  Chapter Ten

  Talia’s tongue swirled in Cedar’s mouth, licking up every bit of the sweet-tasting powder: Talia coughed, but Cedar kept kissing her, until he felt her eyelashes flutter against his upper cheeks.

  Cedar pulled away: Talia coughed and coughed, but as she did so, her eyes opened, and she looked up at him. “C-Cedar?” she stuttered. “Cedar, is that really you?”

  “It’s me, baby,” said Cedar.

  “How...how did you save me?” asked Talia.

  “I had to give you an antivenom,” said Cedar. “It had to be delivered at a specific temperature: thirty seven degrees Celsius. That’s ninety-eight point six degrees Fahrenheit: the exact temperature of the human body. It took every ounce of strength I had to hold back and not get angry, to not let myself feel the rage I feel towards that monster, but I knew if my emotions changed, I would get too hot, and ruin the antidote.”

  “Cedar...you saved me,” said Talia, the tears streaming down her face. “I saw a light, and I went to it...but I was sent back.”

  “Who sent you back?” asked Helen, clasping Talia’s hand.

  “My mother...and yours,” said Talia, as the aunts got up to hug her tight. Everyone had been so worried about her, and when Cedar had burst into the room, the last thing they’d thought was that his kiss would bring Talia out of her sleep.

  Bertha pulled away first and turned to Cedar. “I haven’t known you long, or really, at all, and I had my suspicions when you first showed an interest in our Talia,” said Bertha. “But you saved Talia, and for that, I’m willing to give you a chance, Cedar. I’ll always owe you a life debt for saving our girl.” Bertha did something she rarely ever did to anyone: she pulled in Cedar for a big bear hug that almost took Cedar’s breath away. Cedar pulled Bertha tight and gave her a squeeze, and then, Helena and Lorraine got themselves a slice of Cedar pie, piling in for the group hug.

  Lorraine passed Cedar the present he’d brought to the party. “Talia didn’t have a chance to open your present...and it’s still technically her birthday,” said Lorraine.

  Cedar passed the present to Talia. “Happy birthday, Talia,” said Cedar. “I hope you like your present.”

  “You already gave me the best present I could ever want, the gift of life,” said Talia. “You really didn’t have to get me anything, Cedar.” Talia pushed the present back into Cedar’s hands.

  He pushed it back onto her lap. “No, Talia...trust me, you’re gonna wanna see this,” said Cedar.

  “Alright, alright,” acquiesced Talia as she undid the blue ribbon surrounding the plain white packaging. Inside, there were a few layer of plain white tissue paper, surrounding a small package, surrounded in blue tissue paper. Talia ripped it open, revealing something that took her breath away.

  There was a small black velvet box, and Talia knew what she’d find inside. She couldn’t believe it, but there was only one thing that came in a small black velvet box that a bear shifter would give to his fated mate. In the center of the ring was a large pear-cut diamond which looked like a tear drop, like Cedar’s mate mark, with a small star-faceted yellow stone set in the drop’s center, the pear-cut diamond setting surrounded by many smaller diamonds. The band consisted of two white gold bands. The bands were braided together and one band had pale pink gems, while the other had sky blue gems.

  Cedar got down on one knee. “Talia...I was going to ask you this at the party, but I can’t wait for another opportunity to do this,” said Cedar. “When I met you at the yarn store, I knew that you were the woman for me. You’ve got a kind and gentle heart, and as your fated mate...seeing anyone hurt you is hard for me to bear. I wasn’t able to take you up to the hospital in Seattle because I wasn’t your kin. That’s why I want you to become one of mine. Talia Ackerson The Third, you’re already my fated mate...now will you do me the great honor of becoming my wife?”

  “I do,” said Talia, wiping her eyes. “I do, Cedar. I’ve wanted to be with you since the moment I met you too...but before tonight, I wasn’t confident enough to marry you. I want you, Cedar, and I want to marry you, and Cedar, I want kids, I want so many kids.”

  Cedar slipped the ring onto Talia’s finger and kissed her tears away. “Then I picked the perfect ring for you. The day I met you, I ordered it online and had it overnighted here, to my grandma’s house. The center diamond represents my mate mark: I can’t exactly give you a mate mark, but this is the next best thing, and the best thing I can do. The small pink and blue gems are pale rubies and sapphires. They’re a symbol of the many children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren we’ll have,” said Cedar, rubbing Talia’s tummy. “I love you so much, Talia, and I can’t wait to meet all those kids with you by my side. You’re my perfect princess, and you’ll be the perfect wife.”

  “We’ll give you two some alone time,” said Aunt Lorraine, pulling Helen and Bertha with her.

  “What are they going to do about the bills?” said Talia. “I’m so stupid for getting into this mess...I can’t believe that I trusted that bitch Martha.”

  “Don’t worry about the bills,” said Cedar. “I had them taken care of.”

  “What? Cedar, that’s too much,” said Talia. “I’m never going to be able to repay you.”

  “Hey, hey, Talia, it’s fine,” said Cedar, holding Talia’s hand to soother her. “Babe...I’m a billionaire. And what’s mine is yours, so you’re basically a billionaire too. Things are going to be a bit different, but no matter what, I’m going to be here with you.”

  “Talia?” said the doctor as she walked into the room, incredulous. “I can’t believe that whatever this man did fixed you up...so we’re going to have to take some standard tests.”

  “Alright,” said Talia, holding onto Cedar’s hand.

  “You’re going to have to let go of his hand while we take another blood test,” said the doctor. “And if the venom is out of your system, we’re going to be able to let you go home tomorrow morning.”

  “Tomorrow? That’d be great,” said Talia. Cedar kept his eyes locked with Talia’s as the doctor drew the blood. Talia winced but didn’t cry. “Thanks, doc.”

  “It’s going to be fine,” said Cedar. />
  Cedar stayed by Talia’s side while the doctors ran the tests on Talia, staying by her side overnight while she was kept on observation. Talia wasn’t tired at all, given she’d gotten plenty of sleep in her coma, and Cedar told her all about his race to Seattle to get her the cure. Talia told Cedar about the visions she’d had in her sleep, and the next morning, she checked herself out of the hospital with the doctor’s permission.

  “So now what?” said Cedar. “You hungry?”

  “Not for cake, I can tell you that much,” joked Talia. “There’s actually a really good diner in town.

  “Jay’s?” asked Cedar.

  “You know the place?” asked Talia.

  “Know it? Jay’s an old family friend,” said Cedar.

  “Oh, yeah. Bear shifter and what not,” said Talia. “Let’s go.”

  Cedar walked Talia to his car. Talia had never been inside a car as expensive as Cedar’s: it was pricier than some of the houses in Port Jameson, with doors that opened up rather than out. The inside had soft black lambskin seats and a dashboard made of exotic wood. “Nice car,” said Talia.

  “Not as nice as the one I’m going to get you,” said Cedar.

  “I’ve got a car,” said Talia.

  “Then can I get it a new suspension?” asked Cedar. “I could hear it scraping down the road the night you came to my grandma’s for dinner. I’m sure the Port Jameson transit department would thank me for saving them thousands on road repairs each year.”

  Talia snorted. “Seriously? You think we’ve got a transit department?”

  Being back with Cedar, alone, felt right. As Cedar pulled up to the diner, Talia looked at the ring. “Should I wear this everywhere?” she asked.

  “Of course,” said Cedar. “Unless you don’t like it.”

  “Hey, it’s not like I’ve ever been engaged before,” said Talia with a frown. “Are you gonna wear one too?”

  “Really?” asked Cedar, pressing Talia’s hand to his chest. “Really, Talia? Really?”