Bearing Up In Wolf Rock (A BBW Bear Shifter Romance) (Wolf Rock Shifters) (2 page)

Besides that, she’d discovered in her teens that female wolf shifters tended to be her shape; bigg
er girls than the norm. To be admired by the opposite sex was new to Kyla, and had given her a confidence that rendered her a force to be reckoned with in the pack.

“Well,
” she said, sliding a finger over her pint glass, “next time some idiot wolf suggests we film a reality show about our kind, remind me to shoot him and then myself.”

“Agreed.
But it won’t happen; not under Tristan’s watch. He’s too protective to make such a foolish decision. He’ll be doing his best to keep things calm and quiet, if I know him.”

Someone had approached their table and Kyla turned to look, her expression of irritation melting into a smile.

“How are things with you two?” asked Cam the bartender, who’d walked over to say hello.

“Oh, you know. Kyla’s grouchy and I’m perfect,” said Jay.

“Glad to hear everything’s as it should be. Hey, did you see that the media’s given your pack a name?”

“Oh? What is it?” asked Kyla, slightly reluctant to hear the answer.

“The ‘Longtooth Pack.’ Seems someone’s impressed by your canines.”

“Well, it could be worse,” said Jay. “They could have called us ‘Craig’s Minions,’ or ‘The Idiot Clan.’”

“True. So have you two been harassed today by the throng?” asked Cam.

“Not so much,” said Jay. “What with Kyla giving everyone the stink-eye.”

“Not everyone, but close,” answered Kyla. “The thing I hate most is when they ask for my autograph. I always want to tell them to lift their shirt up so I can shift and claw my name into their skin, then change back and ask, ‘Is that what you had in mind?’”

“Too bad your human is less aggressive than your wolf. I’d sort of like to see that,” said Cam. “But it wouldn’t be great for business. Anyhow, let me know if you two need anything. You know where to find me.”

With that, he headed back to the bar.

Kyla sipped
the last of her beer, glaring sideways at a man who, having seen that they were friendly to Cam, was now approaching their table tentatively. As he came close she growled at him, her teeth extending in a split second into the sharp fangs that had apparently earned their pack its new title. The man got the message and turned on his heels, no doubt to look for friendlier pack members.

“God, I could smell his fear. I hate those ones,” said Kyla.

“I figure that at some point they’re going to get bored of us,” said Jay. “It’s not like we offer anything other than hostility. We’re just a novelty.”

“Well, there are plenty of celebrities who aren’t very interesting but people follow them around like lovesick puppies. They just like to be able to say they met someone famous.”

“Fuck, we’re not famous,” replied Jay. “It’s not like I was ever on camera; I was just the makeup artist. And you were only on screen for a few seconds.”

“Yeah, well
unfortunately they don’t seem to care. But I have to say, I’m not surprised you never see Tristan and Nikki in town, being the stars of the show. They’d never get any peace.”

“
True, but I don’t think it’s so much to avoid the public eye as to stay in bed,” said Jay. “Those two fuck like rabid, horny bunnies who’ve taken a bath in a Viagra smoothie.”

“Yeah,
they do,” Kyla sighed. “It’s sort of sweet. But God, am I jealous. Sometimes I’d like to kill them both. If I didn’t like them so much I’d consider it.”

“
It’s bad form to kill your alpha. You know that. Besides, you’ll get laid sometime soon. I can feel it in my bones. I’d say ‘my bone,’ but you know how it is; that particular member’s not usually all that active when it comes to horny heteros.”

“
It’s a good thing these tourists don’t know you’re a flaming he-wolf or you’d become a novelty in and of yourself, cutie,” smiled Kyla.

“Jazz hand shifter,
” said Jay as he made the gesture, hands beside his face, shimmering them with splayed fingers. “I’m the most threatening kind of all. A wolf who likes show tunes and sequins.”

Their conversation was interrupted by a commotion near the pub’s
front door and the crowd seemed suddenly to part like the Red Sea. Kyla looked over to see what all the fuss was about, and she soon understood.

A man was making his way through the crowd. Normally this wouldn’t be cause
for excitement. Well, unless he were Tristan, the pack’s large, now famous alpha. But this guy wasn’t Tristan, and nor did he look like he was part wolf.

H
is frame was enormous; broad-shouldered and muscular. His skin was the colour of caramel and his hair and eyes were dark. Stubble coated his square jaw, giving him a rugged, somewhat mysterious look. The white cotton shirt that he wore was unbuttoned halfway down his defined chest, and a black, tribal-looking tattoo was visible on his dark skin. On his lower half he wore tight-fitting jeans, covered mostly by dark brown chaps which drew Kyla’s eyes to his denim-coated crotch. Dried reddish mud caked his hiking boots.

“Jesus,” said Jay, who’d turned to observe. “He’s a tall
drink of water, isn’t he?”

“Um,” was all that Kyla could manage.

Jay turned to look at her.

“And you just went moist, didn’t you?”

“Um.”

In fact, the she-wolf felt a stirring that was unlike anything she’d ever experienced for her pack mates. Heat radiated through her voluptuous form and seemed to set
tle on the most sensitive point between her legs, which was telling her that it had a mind of its own and was currently calculating the mathematical odds as to whether it would find a way to persuade its owner to wrap her legs around the god who’d just walked in.

The word “horny” didn’t begin to describe wha
t Kyla was experiencing at that moment.

“
Who the hell
is
he?” she asked when she could finally form a sentence.

“Other than
the sexiest man alive? I don’t know. But boy howdy, I’d like to get my teeth into him.”

“You and me both
.”

“You should go over and talk to him. Buy him a beer.”

“I couldn’t. I’m too…shy,” said Kyla even as Jay slid out of the booth and began to walk. “No, no, no, what are you doing?”

She was too late. Jay had already gotten halfway to the man.

“You need another beer,” he shouted back over his shoulder as he made his way through the crowd. “And possibly some sex.”

The stranger was now standin
g at the bar, where a pocket of space had formed around him. The tourists seemed unwilling to get too close, and no wonder. He was daunting, even to a powerful wolf shifter. The largest man around, usually, was Tristan, but he and the other male members of the Longtooth pack were more sleek and streamlined; powerful in their speed and grace. This man was a tank, and not to be trifled with.

“Hey there,” said Jay as he approached.
Unlike the humans, he felt more curiosity than fear of the stranger.

“Hi,” said the man, turning to look at the
slim, blue-eyed male who stood before him. The visitor’s body language conveyed an air of caution, but not coldness.

“Three beers,
Cam. Two for Kyla and me, and one for this fellow,” said Jay, turning to the stranger who, he realized, was even larger than he’d appeared to be from across the room. “You’re not from around here,” he added.

“No, but you are, I see, given that you know the bartender’s name. And even if you didn’t, I’d know you were a pack member right away by your eyes.”

“We’re not good at hiding it, are we?” said Jay.

“No, not so much. I suspect that’s why there are four thousand people crammed in here like sardines.”

“You suspect right,” said Jay. “This place isn’t quite as homey as it used to be.”

“And how does your pack feel about that?”

“Funny; my friend and I were just talking about that. Why don’t you come join us? She’d very much like to meet you.”

W
ith that, Jay nodded his head towards the table where the female shifter sat, curious and mortified at once.
Jesus, Jay, what are you doing?
she thought.

The gorgeous
man turned and looked at Kyla, who was nervously curling a strand of hair around her index finger. She tried to look straight ahead but found her eyes veering of their own volition towards the stranger. She couldn’t help but smile at him. Thankfully, he smiled back, one corner of his mouth lifting higher than the other to form a disarmingly crooked grin. A dimple formed on his stubbled right cheek.

“You. Are. Perfect,” thought Kyla.

“Your friend would like to meet me, would she?” said the man to Jay.

“Well, she hasn’t said it in so many words, but I can read her like a book.”

“Very pretty book. Nice cover.”

“She’s not bad, no. And she’s smart, too.
And you should see her in wolf form. Meow.”

“
Though I don’t think that’s the sound wolves make, I’ll just say that seals the deal. You’ll have to introduce us…um…”

“Jay.”

“Jay. I’m Maddox.”

The two took their beers from
the bar and walked back to Kyla. She could smell the stranger acutely now; it was a scent that she wasn’t familiar with. Musky, but different from the men of her pack. Whatever it was, she liked it and found herself flushing. She wondered if it was possible for men who weren’t shifters to find women of her shape appealing.

“Kyla
Greene, I’d like you to meet Maddox,” said Jay, winking at his friend who was seething with rage at his cockiness. This was quickly replaced by a giddiness at having the delicious-smelling god so close by.

“Nice to meet you, Kyla
Greene,” said the broad-chested beast of a male.

“And you, Maddox,” she replied. As she did so, she ran a few fingers through her long hair and cursed herself when they got caught up in a knot. Always the smooth operator.

“So you’re another wolf,” Maddox said as he slid into the booth opposite her.

“I am. In sheep’s clothing,
” she said, pulling at her light wool sweater. As she did so, she realized that it might appear that she was trying to show off her cleavage.

Stop fidgeting, Kyla,
she told herself, feeling less like a confident woman than usual and more like a starry-eyed girl.

She could see his chest now,
his tanned skin decorated with the strange tribal-looking black marks, jagged points and spirals; beautiful decorations on his beautiful body.

His pectoral muscles created a definition whic
h reminded her of statues of perfectly-sculpted men that she’d seen.

“Well, let me shake the sheep’s hand and we can
make this a formal introduction,” said Maddox.

Kyla realized that he’d been extending his
own hand to her for a while now, and she took it in hers.

He was hot to the touch, as though he’d just had his palm wrapped around a hot cup of tea. As
her more delicate fingers grasped his strong ones, she froze. Her mind was exploding in a quick series of internal images. It was like what she imagined happening when one’s life flashed before their eyes; events unfolding in rapid succession. But they were a confused jumble of images; the visions made no sense: an injured animal in the woods. A kiss. A man in a light-coloured jacket. A crying woman. Happiness, sadness, pain, grief all in one split-second.

Kyla felt winded.

“Oh my God,” she said as she gasped for breath, realizing that no one else had any idea what had just happened.

“Sorry, did I hurt you?” asked Maddox.

“It’s just…your…your hands are warm. And big. That’s all.” Kyla did her best to calm herself.

“Well,
” said Maddox, his grin widening, “you know what they say about a man’s hands.”

“Warm hands, warm heart?
” Her voice was innocent, though her mind, settling down quickly, was now occupying itself with thoughts as to what might be encased in the well-fitting jeans.

“Not exactly the phrase I had in mind.”

“Well, that’s as far as I’m willing to go for now, Maddox. I’m a very polite little thing, and I don’t normally speak to strange men in bars. Unless my idiot friend here forces me to.”

“Most of the men who come in here aren’t worth speaking to,” said Jay
.

“It’s true; they usually just want us to shift for them. I’m convince
d that they just want to see us naked when we change back,” said Kyla. “It’s a game they like to play.”

“Who can blame them for that?” asked Maddox
. The dimple reappeared. “I can’t imagine passing up an opportunity to see you naked.”

He was studying Kyla’
s face, but his eyes veered downwards and examined as much of her as he could see, which made her squirm in her seat. She felt that the man was devouring her with his eyes and the thought of it, though disconcerting, was incredibly exciting. She was glad to have worn a sweater that showed off her ample breasts, and sensed that Maddox was grateful for it as well.