Nya's Wolf: BBW Paranormal Shape Shifter Romance

by Roxy Wilson

  “Werewolves?”

  He wanted to close his eyes and lie down on the bed. How did one explain such a thing to anyone? What could he tell her? It would require a long explanation and a lot of time, and he didn’t think this was the right moment to get into all that. “I was born a werewolf. It’s not like what you see in movies. I wasn’t bitten, and neither were they. It’s like a gene mutation and it comes into play only when we hit puberty.”

  “How many of you are here?”

  “Quite a few. Look…” He put his hand on the wall as if to support his weight. Actually, he just wanted to touch something, so it would give him an excuse to not touch her. “I never wanted you to find out. We try to keep this secret away from normal folks, and there are a few of us whose parents also don’t know. Their siblings don’t know. And it’s a pack thing. You shouldn’t know. But now you do, and there isn’t much I can do to make you forget that this happened, but for now, let’s just put it aside and get you home.”

  She opened her mouth. Her brown eyes appeared overly bright. Perhaps there were a thousand questions in her mind.

  Much to his relief, she nodded. It pained him to realize she was actually scared of him. He never wanted that to happen, but this was now part of their reality.

  Their relationship had barely started, but already there was a wall between them—and there wasn’t a damn thing he could do about it.

  Chapter Thirteen

  A flush of adrenaline weaved its way throughout her body. If someone had hit her over the head, she wouldn’t have been so much in anguish as she was in now. Reece couldn’t just a drop a bomb like this over her head, and then expect that she would take it all in a stride.

  Reece was a werewolf?

  If she hadn’t been looking out of the window at the exact moment when he padded into view in the clearing, she wouldn’t have believed him if he’d told her before they’d even gone on their first and only date. If she didn’t see his transformation herself, she wouldn’t have been able to accept that he was telling the truth.

  And yet, even though she was witness to the fight between him and Foster, she still couldn’t accept the truth as it was.

  How could werewolves be real?

  She’d read about them in the books. She’d seen movies, but there wasn’t anything in her life that ever gave her an indication that this could be real. Werewolves weren’t supposed to exist. Genetic mutation? Born as they were? What was he talking about?

  And yet, it was the truth.

  She had to accept it.

  Nya closed her eyes as images flooded through her mind; she saw him as the wolf in the clearing and then another image replaced that. The wolf she’d seen in the forest, the one who saved her life from the bear. “It was you,” she said as she opened her eyes and stared at him.

  He kept his distance from her. Perhaps he realized she was far more shaken than he originally estimated. “What?”

  “You were the one who jumped in front of that bear.” She pointed at him. “It was you.”

  For a moment she thought he might deny it, but then he nodded. “It was me. Miles was missing. I thought he took off with the money, so I chased his scent. It led me to the forest, and then I saw his body. I was planning to go down there and investigate. Maybe I could pick up the scent of the killer, but then you came into that part of the forest. I was waiting for you to leave, but that bear…it was just mad because it had lost a fight with another bear, and it was going to attack you.”

  “You saved my life.”

  He shrugged. “It was the only thing to do.”

  “And I fell into the ravine.”

  “You called all those people, and I realized I wouldn’t be able to sniff around and figure out who the killer was. By the time I went back to inspect the grave, the body was gone, and there were too many scents in that place. There was no way I could follow anyone of them. Too many people had been down there.”

  He saved my life.

  My God! And the man didn’t even say anything. He couldn’t because it wasn’t possible for him to reveal his secret. Look at what she did; she was the one who got him in trouble with the police. Now, she understood why he kept going back to that grave. He wanted to figure out who the killer was. If he didn’t save her at that moment, if he allowed the bear to maul her, he could have gone into the ravine when all was quiet and figured out who the murderer was. But he sacrificed the possibility of that in order to protect her.

  She put her hand on her forehead. “My head is hurting.” This was all too much to take in. Within moments, her life was turned upside down. She couldn’t believe she was so blind to his reality for so long. How could she have not been able to tell that he was so different?

  What was she supposed to think now?

  “Let me take you home.”

  “What if they come back?”

  “They won’t. Their fight was with me, not you, and things have been resolved. At least, for now. They wouldn’t dare do anything to hurt you.”

  Although she wanted to go home and rest, Nya still had too many questions. “Why did they bring me here?”

  “Werewolves aren’t allowed to—date humans. Or at least that was the rule before I came here. I’m the new alpha and there are different laws now with regards to relationships. I told them when I took up the position that I didn’t adhere to such outdated customs. There have been many instances of werewolves that have dated humans, married them even, and it hasn’t threatened the secrecy of the werewolves.” He sighed. “They didn’t want me to see you again. I guess they figured by doing this, they would force me to listen to them. Or perhaps Foster just wanted a chance to get me alone on his own terms.”

  “He wants your position.”

  “I never realized it, and I don’t think his friends did either. They didn’t support him. If they had, it would have been a different battle.”

  Her mind grappled with the scenario she’d witnessed. “What if they all attacked you? You would have been outnumbered. Did you know there were three of them?”

  He smiled. “A wolf can chase a man for miles. I knew who they were and exactly which direction they took.”

  He knowingly risked his life, not once, but twice. This was the second time he saved her. If he hadn’t come, she would have tried to escape but now it was easy enough for her to see that she would have been helpless with the wolves. They were too strong and too fast. There was no way she would have made it. Even though they brought her here to lure him, he didn’t hesitate before coming to her rescue.

  It was his greatness that he was willing to sacrifice his life—twice—for her.

  Damn.

  Nothing made sense. Her mind couldn’t take in all this information. She actually felt dizzy. Nya swayed on her feet.

  Immediately, he was by her side. His speed was too sharp. She didn’t even see him move, and yet his arms were around her. He hoisted her in his arms effortlessly, in spite of her large frame, and took her outside.

  “I am okay.”

  “No, you’re not. No more arguing. No more questions. We’ll sort it out later. I’m going to take you home.”

  “It’s a long way,” she said.

  “It’s not a big deal.”

  Not for him, probably. He was far stronger than she gave him credit for. While she wanted to protest and walk herself, she simply didn’t have the energy to do so. It wasn’t the incident of getting kidnapped that shook her so much but rather the shock of the revelations. There was a ringing in her ears and it was difficult to breathe. He ran with her in his arms. His speed, his stamina, baffled her—and yet it all made sense.

  He wasn’t human.

  He was a werewolf.

  Then along with the revelation was the realization—that now he was way beyond her reach. There was no way they could progress in their relationship now. He wouldn’t want to, and there was no way she could go on after what she knew about him.

  She shouldn’t be thinking about this, at le
ast, not right now.

  How much time had passed? Nya had no idea. When he put her down, she looked around her. He’d brought her to her house. “That was fast,” she said.

  He didn’t say anything, but rather twisted the doorknob and opened the door.

  Belatedly. she remembered her kidnappers wouldn’t have had the inclination to ensure that her house was locked before they spirited her away.

  Reece didn’t step through.

  Questions still burned in her mind. There were so many things she wanted to ask, but now wasn’t the time. She would likely collapse if he revealed anything else. All she wanted was to take a hot shower, get into her bed, and then fall into a deep sleep.

  “Will you be okay?”

  Nya nodded. “I—yes.”

  “I’m sorry,” he said. “This is all too new for you. I’ve dumped a whole load of problems onto your lap, and there isn’t anything you can do to solve any of it.”

  “I…” Solve? She was still trying to make sense of things. “…It’s not your fault.”

  “I totally blame myself for it,” he said. “I should have…not associated myself with you because it pissed off the pack. I never realized they would try something like this.”

  “They didn’t exactly harm me.”

  “They could have.” He sighed. “I guess we’re just lucky that it didn’t end badly.”

  They both stared at each other, and then he drew her into his arms.

  She couldn’t resist. Even though her stomach felt rock hard, she wanted the comfort of his touch. When she was with him, she felt safe, but this was the first time she was a little scared of him. Of course, he wouldn’t hurt her, but he wasn’t who she thought he was.

  He was something else, something more.

  His lips claimed hers, and still she couldn’t move away. The desire and the need that burned through her nerves were the same as ever. Her body still wanted him as much as before even though her mind tried to make sense of his true identity. His tongue twisted with hers, and she allowed him to taste her mouth. The kiss was exhilarating, and made her head spin even more so. Her hands tightened on his shoulders as she pressed closer to him.

  He wouldn’t ever hurt her.

  And yet, she couldn’t get rid of the fear that congealed in the pit of her stomach.

  When he pulled away, she didn’t stop him. Instead, she took a step back. What was she doing? He wasn’t meant for her, and she was certainly not meant for him. They had to go their separate ways now.

  Didn’t he tell her that his pack didn’t want him to mingle with a human?

  They really shouldn’t see each other anymore.

  She couldn’t afford to get entangled in the politics of his pack, and he shouldn’t piss off other members. There was no need for words. She was aware that her eyes spoke volumes, and she knew he got it. When she closed the door without muttering a word, he didn’t protest. Instead, he turned around and walked back into the darkness of the forest.

  It was all over.

  It wasn’t possible for her to be with him when there was so much hanging over his head.

  A werewolf?

  For God’s sake; she felt as if she was losing her mind.

  Maybe what she saw wasn’t real. Surely, it was a hallucination, a figment of her imagination?

  It couldn’t possibly be actually happening.

  Yeah, it couldn’t be.

  It couldn’t be true and that was just what she was going to believe. She would take a hot shower, go to bed, and forget that she saw something so impossible. If she even told someone about it, they would think she was insane. It was better to just put it out of her mind and live her life as it was before she saw such bizarre things.

  Of course, she would have to get used to living without Reece. It didn’t matter how brief his appearance had been in her existence, she’d kind of gotten used to it, and now she would have to train herself to not think about him.

  That night, she did exactly as she told herself. She crawled into bed after a shower and then she cleared her mind and went to sleep.

  The next day, she concentrated on her work. It was a good thing she had to go on a field visit and while the forest did remind her of the wolves that ran amok in it, she didn’t think too much about them. The silent night back at home brought back the memories, and with them came the pain of remembering the man she’d nearly fallen in love with.

  Love?

  What?

  Yes, it was true. She missed Reece, and the way he talked to her. She recalled the perfect clarity of his eyes and the compassion and kindness that swirled within their depths. Her mind leapt back to recall those exquisite moments she’d spent in his arms. Yet, with those recollections, came the knowledge that their natures were too different for them to make an honest go at their relationship.

  While she couldn’t fully understand what and who he was, she also found it hard to dismiss him from her mind. All she wanted was a chance to talk to him and to hear his explanations. Perhaps he would tell her it was all a trick of her mind that she didn’t see him change into a wolf, and he didn’t fight with a member of his pack.

  Nya walked into the patio. She sat on the couch she kept there and tried to figure out how she wanted things to work out. One option was to put him out of her mind, or at least go on trying to do that, and move on. The other option was to talk to him and to see if they could salvage their budding relationship. Of course, she wasn’t supposed to be involved with him in the first place.

  The first option was better, but it was also the more painful.

  While she sat there, her gaze went to the bushes on the edge of the forest. Something, some primal instinct, told her she wasn’t alone. Her limbs shook even as she stood. She should have run inside, but when the initial fright vanished, she realized she wasn’t really that scared. Whoever was there didn’t mean her any harm.

  She walked inside. The next night, she had the same feeling, and then the night after that. Reece never called, and she didn’t make any attempt to contact him. Perhaps he also wanted to keep his distance from her.

  Or perhaps he was right here. “Reece?” she called out on the third night. “Is it you?”

  The wolf that padded out into the silvery moonlight took her breath away. He was a gorgeous creature. She could see the wide span of its shoulders and the way its fur gleamed. An aggressive, powerful animal, it could probably outrun all other animals in the forest. If it so wanted, it could join her on the patio within seconds and rip out her throat.

  “It’s you, isn’t it?”

  He shifted. The man who walked towards her was all too familiar. Nya didn’t move as he strode forward. He joined her on the patio.

  “What are you doing here?”

  “I just wanted to make sure you were safe. I haven’t seen those men since…the fight, and I didn’t want to take a chance that they might attack you.”

  He was a busy man. Surely, there were a thousand things he could do to keep himself occupied, but yet here he was night after night, guarding her. “I’m fine.” Nya shook her head. “Don’t think they are coming back.” She hesitated. “Would you like some coffee?”

  Sure as she was that he would say no, she breathed a sigh of relief when he nodded. They stepped inside and she closed the door. Her house was big, but the moment he stepped through, it felt as if there was no room. His close proximity made her shiver in anticipation of what was to come. She must be insane. Not only was she harboring a werewolf in the house, but she was also actually thinking about putting her hands on him.

  It was crazy, wicked.

  But somehow…it seemed like the right thing to do.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Now what?

  He didn’t have a clue what to say or what to do.

  Frankly, he never expected she would even entertain the notion of seeing him again, let alone inviting him in. How did she know when he was around? The only explanation that made sense was that her instincts were m
uch stronger than normal human beings. Rather than say anything, he walked with her to the kitchen.

  She switched on the coffee machine and took out two cups.

  He wasn’t here for the coffee and they both knew it.

  Still, if she wanted to keep up this façade, it was better. Reece couldn’t bear to sit, so he leaned against the wall. The table was between them. Good, because otherwise he would have been tempted to take her into his arms and kiss her senseless.

  “Did you talk to the men?” she asked.

  It took him a moment to realize she was talking about Duncan, Smith, and Foster. His mind was so occupied by thoughts of another nature; his fingers itched to run through her hair. She wasn’t prepared for company and wore casual clothes, but the black leggings clung to every inch of her legs and showcased her delicious curves. The t-shirt was stretched tight over her chest. He could see her nipples push against the fabric as if they longed to be free from their confines.

  “It’s—huh—yeah, I did. Foster is going to leave the pack.”

  She frowned. When the coffee machine stopped humming, she poured the dark liquid into a cup. She raised an eyebrow in silent query.

  In response, he reached out and took the cup. He preferred his coffee black.

  “But he lives here. Can he survive alone?”

  “It’s not a matter of survival. Of course, anyone can live alone. I did so for a long time, but the pack makes it easier to bear the differences we carry. It’s not that easy…we’ve had to live on our own most of the time because we can’t reveal our true selves to others.”

  “I—just find it hard to believe that it could be genetic.”

  “It is,” he assured her. “There was no chemical explosion that made something radioactive and then produced such results. It wasn’t a government experiment gone badly. It’s just…we’re a different species.”

  “But why don’t more people know about this?”