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

ELEVEN

“We have a problem,” Alyx said, pulling Karel into his office. He stopped at the view of his chair. His queen had sat in his seat. She’d looked damn perfect in it too.

“What’s wrong?” Karel asked, looking around for the issue.

“My queen.”

Karel sighed. “You have to give Gerri time. She just got here, and the wolves are trailing her like she’s gonna pop a mate for them out of her ass.”

Alyx grinned. He now understood the wolves’ desperation. Until Bella, he didn’t know how he’d go about finally finding a mate. Now, he wanted nothing to get in his way.

“Let the wolves have their time with Gerri.”

Karel lifted a curious brow. “Why? What do you know that I don’t?”

Alyx laughed. “You sound like you did when we were kids.”

“I know you, Alyx. You don’t ever smile this much. Not unless you’ve got something up your fur coat.”

Alyx shook his head and advanced for his desk. He sat down. The lingering scent of Bella had stayed in the leather. He wouldn’t be able to work with her scent taunting him. “I have nothing up my fur.”

Karel marched over to Alyx’s desk. “Right.” He sat and sighed. Then he stopped and met Alyx’s gaze. “There was a female in here.”

Alyx watched Karel’s eyes grow wide. “Karel—”

“Who is it? The scent is unfamiliar.”

Alyx clenched his teeth, hating that he had to thank Gerri for meeting his mate. “Gerri’s assistant, Bella.”

Karel’s lips slowly widened into a full-blown smile. Then, much to Alyx’s disgust, he started laughing. “This is too good to be true.”

“I see no humor in it.” Though he was happy he finally had a mate, he wasn’t looking forward to the know-it-all matchmaker giving him the “you see, you needed me” look.

“I do. This is awesome!” Karel continued to laugh.

“Don’t hold back, brother,” Alyx muttered to his best friend. He sat back, enjoying the remnants of Bella’s scent drifting from his chair.

“Are you kidding me? Gerri’s going to take full credit for her assistant being your mate.” Karel chuckled then stopped, his lips holding a grin. “Although, you should thank me, I’m the one who told her to bring Bella along when I called her up.”

“Everyone’s a matchmaker,” Alyx grumbled.

Karel nodded. “Seems I got what it takes. Hey, while Brecc and Eros have Gerri busy, it’ll keep them from getting too worked up over the river.”

“I am hopeful they will learn to share with the Dragos.” He knew the wolf pack wasn’t the most social. They lived in the crazy, cold conditions no one else could handle to ensure they were left alone.

“So what are you doing here?” Karel asked, his smile turning into a frown. “Shouldn’t you be off mating your queen, showing her off to your people? Hell, maybe you should be making sure your line keeps going?” He winked.

“She doesn’t know I’m the king,” Alyx admitted.

“What? What do you mean? Everyone knows you’re the king,” Karel said matter-of-factly.

“No. When they arrived, she was sick and took to her bed. She was in here when I came in last night.”

Karel shook his head in confusion. “But you had to introduce yourself, no?”

“I told her my name was Trey.”

Karel gasped. “Are you out of your mind? Your childhood nickname? No one calls you that anymore. Not since you were twelve and yelled at the top of your lungs that your name was Alyx and you were the future king and if one more person called you ‘Trey’ they’d have hell to pay.”

Alyx winced, remembering his childhood outburst. His parents had dictated that he deserved to be treated like the king he would once be. The nickname was retired, and he’d been called Alyx ever since.

“I didn’t want her to feel strange about me being king. Besides, she doesn’t seem to be fond of the king.”

“What?” Karel looked even more confused. “She doesn’t know you.”

“Exactly. Humans have preconceived notions of royalty. I will show her the real me before I explain how things work here. This way, she’ll understand when I ask her to stay.”

Karel’s eyes widened. “Ask her? You’re going to
ask
her?” He rubbed a hand over his beard growth. “Something’s definitely wrong with you. Normally, you’d have said she’s going to stay here and learn to like it.”

Alyx had thought of it that way at first. She was his, therefore she needed to stay with him. Mates belonged together. His queen needed to be with him, to bear his offspring and allow him the opportunity to make her smile for as long as they lived. But from the research he’d done, human females didn’t appreciate being told what to do. They also didn’t like males making decisions for them. Alyx was an Alpha, but he wasn’t stupid. If handling his queen like her choices were her idea would get her onboard with his plans, then he was going with what promised results.

“I’ll ask when the time is right. And she’ll say yes.” He knew she would. Something inside him realized she’d felt the need to be with him as much as he had with her. She might be human, but her emotions had connected with his.

TWELVE

Bella woke slowly. A smile spread over her lips. She hadn’t felt that relaxed in a long time. She stretched in bed, moaning at the sensation of her muscles pulling taut. She opened her eyes to the white room again. The shades were up, and the bright sunlight filtered through the gauzy curtains.

The blue was back combined with the white, giving the room an island look she loved. She guessed her current mood was happy, like the times she’d gone on vacation to her family’s home in the Caribbean. No wonder the room kept using a white and blue theme. Those were her room colors in their island home. She was starting to love the room. She’d never felt so relaxed in her life.

Memories from the previous night rushed through her mind. She jerked to an upright position. Glancing down, she saw she was dressed in the same pajama shorts but had lost the robe at some point in the night.

Trey. The smile on her lips grew wider. He’d been amazing. The kisses. The touching. The holy mother of dirty talking! He’d given her one of the best orgasms of her life without using a toy, his cock, or his mouth. It was surreal.

A knock sounded on the door, and she jumped out of bed and ran for it. She yanked it open and met Gerri’s smiling gaze.

“Good morning, Bella. You look much better today,” Gerri said softly.

Bella nodded. “I feel great.”

“I’m so glad,” Gerri said, staring at her intently.

There was no need to tell Gerri she’d been getting her freak on only hours after getting to the planet. She could only imagine what kind of a slut she’d look like if she did. She opened the door wider. “Want to come in?”

Gerri sniffed and smiled wider. “No need, dear. Looks like you just got up. I’ll have someone bring you tea. I do have a meeting with the king and some wolves. Why don’t you explore this morning? If I’m correct, this isn’t going to be a very long trip.”

Oh, damn. Gerri worked fast. “Okay. I’ll just jump in the shower and figure out my way to the kitchen.” She bit her lip in thought. “Do you think they’d mind if I grabbed something to eat down there?”

“Don’t worry. I’ll have food brought up with your tea.”

“You are too awesome, but shouldn’t I be helping you with your search for the king’s wife?” She felt guilty she wasn’t doing nearly enough to help out since they got there.

“You already are, darling. Enjoy yourself. I’ll see you later, for dinner?”

She smiled and waved as Gerri turned to go. “Thanks for bringing me, Gerri. I’m really excited to be here.”

“I knew bringing you was the right thing to do. You’ll find this world is a lot more interesting than Earth.”

She already had. She watched Gerri walk away and close her bedroom door with a soft click. Then she ran for the bathroom. On cue, her shower turned on to the perfect temperature. A new loofah awaited her. The only problem was there were no bottles of soap or shampoo. She ran out of the shower, padding across the slick floor, and rummaged through her bag, looking for her comb.

She hadn’t traveled with most of her toiletries, as Gerri had indicated they had everything she’d need. She returned to the bathroom and searched everywhere.

She got in the shower and sighed. Something dripped over her skin. Shampoo. Her head was full of it. She washed it, wondering where the hell it had come from. Seconds later, conditioner fell on her head, making it much easier to brush her long, tangled curls.

She pressed a button she hadn’t noticed on the wall, and a thin dispenser head popped out. She put her hand under it, and a large dollop of what she assumed was body wash landed on her hand. She picked up her loofah and washed her body with a lot more calm. She needed to remember this place was beyond advanced. More than any hotel she’d ever stayed at.

After her shower, a glass wall slid open in the bathroom to display several kinds of body lotion. They didn’t have names, just colors. She picked a blue one. There was no distinctive scent, but she liked how silky it felt on her hands.

Rubbing it all over her body, she came to a conclusion. If her curves made Trey that crazy, this planet was a heck of a lot better than Earth, any day. Not to mention the size of the man—he was positively huge. Those arms. She sighed, remembering trailing her nails down his abs and feeling his muscles constrict. His lips. Lord, there should be a warning on him. “Sure to make you wet” sounded good.

She pulled a long dress out of her closet, but couldn’t figure out how to put it on where the material wouldn’t fall like a big blanket. There was a knock at the door.

“Coming.” She opened the door and peeked out, seeing an older woman with golden eyes staring back at her. “Hi.”

The woman smiled softly. “May I come in? I have your breakfast.”

She nodded and opened the door wider, allowing the woman to enter. She had on a dress in the same soft material Bella found in her closet, but it was twined around her body in a way Bella would never be able to do.

“I’ll just put this on the table,” the woman said, heading straight for the corner of the room, next to the window. She placed the tray on the dark wooden top and turned to Bella. “My name is Teva. If you need anything, just call my name, and the room will summon me.”

She blinked. “The room? This room?”

Teva grinned. “Yes. This room has artificial intelligence that connects with my quarters or the kitchen. It will find me.”

Bella shuddered. “That sounds like a bad Liam Neeson movie: The room is alive. It will find you. And it will kill you.”

Teva laughed. “If I my daughter wasn’t so in love with those movies, I wouldn’t have known what you were speaking of, but when we went to Earth, it was one of the things she loved and made us stream for her.”

She laughed. “Can I ask you to help me with this dress?” She glanced down at the material hanging on her like a sheet. “I’m not doing something right.”

Teva smirked. “You didn’t wrap it correctly.”

She didn’t know what the hell that meant, but she opened her arms wide at Teva’s instructions and allowed the woman to move the material across her chest like a tube top, taking away her ability to wear a bra. She twined it loosely around her midriff and then wrapped it around her waist into a long, flowy skirt. She did something so the material tied up at the curve of her ass.

Once Teva was done, Bella turned to the long mirror by the bathroom and gasped. She’d never have figured it out. She felt almost naked in the dress. To make matters worse, it was see-through.

“Um, Teva,” she started, and watched as the dress changed color to a sapphire blue that made her look amazing. The area around her breasts darkened, and the material became thick like a bra, keeping her nipples concealed. “Let me guess. The material is intelligent too?”

She nodded. “This color looks beautiful on you. I’m glad it is the one you chose.”

“I chose it?”

“Yes. The material changes to your desired color preference. When you looked at yourself in the mirror, you thought about it being this blue. It also padded around your breast area to keep you from feeling uncomfortable.” Teva smiled wide. “I’ll let you eat. If you need me, call.”

She wanted to ask more questions but realized the woman probably had more important things to do than discuss Bella’s intelligent dress and how the hell it knew to cover up her nips. That was some serious intelligence right there. What earth could do with nipple-covering dresses.

She twirled in front of the mirror. Her hair fell in long spiral curls that somehow didn’t frizz like they normally did when she washed it. Whatever they had in their shampoo was a thousand times better than what she had at home. She slid her hand down her side and smiled. Such a pretty dress. Thankfully, she had a pair of black flip-flops that would go great. It was either that or a pair of sneakers. Those wouldn’t look as nice.

She hummed toward the table and sat to eat. Next, she’d check out the rest of the place. She saw gardens out her window and wanted to see the native flowers.

* * *

THIRTEEN

Bella could lie to herself and say she hadn’t been looking out for Trey, but why bother? She’d been looking around the castle to see if she saw him and even went as far as passing by the library, but it was empty. She sighed and continued through hallways until she came upon an open room. It was massive.

A woman stood talking to others. The moment she noticed Bella, she stopped, a frown forming on her face, and headed straight for her.

“Who are you?”

Bella raised a brow and folded her arms over her chest. “Hello to you, too.”

“I asked you a question.”

“I realize that, but since you were rude, I don’t feel the need to answer it.” Normally she wasn’t this easily aggravated, but the way the woman stared at her—like she was a peasant or something—annoyed her. “Maybe if you told me your name, I’d be more inclined to tell you mine.”

At least five inches taller than Bella, the blond woman had golden eyes that flashed with anger. She curled her lip in disdain. She was young, possibly in her late teens, early twenties, which meant Bella was at least fifteen years the girl’s senior. “My name is Nadeeya. I am the king’s cousin.”

“I’m Bella. Gerri’s assistant.” The other woman’s eyes narrowed farther. Her porcelain skin grew dark with an angry blush.

“You’re human,” she said, like that was a crime.

“Really? I had no idea. Thanks for clarifying that for me. Seeing as I’m probably the only human on this planet, it’s so good to know.” Bella smirked.

“I don’t tolerate insolence,” Nadeeya hissed.

“Maybe you should try not being insolent. Practice what you preach. Grow up in manners before you try acting like an adult. The first step is learning how to speak to people.”

“You stupid—”

“Bella!” She heard someone yell. She turned to her right, and the man from Gerri’s video, Karel, was a few steps away from her. “So good to see you in person.”

“Hello.” She grinned. “Nice to see you in life size.”

Karel nodded, offering her his hand. She shook it, and he stepped next to her, forcing Nadeeya to move away from Bella. Karel glanced at Nadeeya, his lips forming into a tight line. “You’ve met Alyx’s guest, I see.”

“She’s here with the matchmaker,” Nadeeya spat, her lip curling and displaying perfect, white teeth. “There’s no need for her. Alyx knows—”

“Enough!” Karel roared. Bella’s eyes widened. A vein throbbed in the side of his cheek. “What the king decides is none of your concern, Nadeeya. Remember that.” He turned to Bella with a smile. “Have you seen the garden yet?”

Whoa, boy. There was some serious tension in that castle. No matter what planet you were on, there was always going to be drama when you brought in bitchiness. “No, but I was about to go that way.”

“Allow me to escort you,” he said, motioning for her to move ahead of him and completely dismissing Nadeeya.

As they walked away, she glanced over her shoulder at the blonde. The woman stared at her with enough hatred to make her uneasy. “She got a problem with humans?”

Karel shook his head. “She’s got a problem with not getting her way. She’ll learn soon enough that Alyx has a mind of his own.”

“The Alion king,” Bella said. “In the jungle, the mighty jungle, the lion sleeps tonight,” she singsonged. “I wonder if he looks anything like our lions.”

“Alyx does look like a larger, stronger, fiercer version of a lion on Earth. Three times their size. Faster. Angrier. And an all-around pain in the ass.”

Bella laughed as she walked. “You sound like someone who knows him well.”

Karel sighed. “Alyx and I grew up together. I’ve been his best friend and head of security for as long as I can remember.”

“Does that mean you’re a lion too?” she asked, curious.

“I am actually born of the
Yagura
tribe. Your humans call us jaguars.”

She gasped. “You’re a jaguar shifter?”

He nodded.

“I thought jaguars were solitary animals?” she asked, confused and interested to learn more.

“They are on your planet. Here, we have a high tolerance for living in groups. My parents and Alyx’s parents were best friends. Naturally we grew up together. We are best friends. I became his right hand. His security chief.”

“Charlotte and I are like that,” she said, thinking of her best friend. Since they were little girls, they’d been there for each other. “She’s taking care of my cat while I’m here. She’d love to come visit…” She sighed. “She loves adventures. Maybe one of these days Gerri will give me permission to bring her along.” She glanced around the open courtyard that led into the garden. “This place is so magical. I love the fact everything is so colorful. The trees are purple. Purple! And your flowers are every color of the rainbow,” she gushed, glancing at the different flowers on their path. “Some of these are several colors. How’s that even possible?”

He laughed and shook his head. “I couldn’t tell you. This is how it’s always been.”

She followed him down a path that had taller plants with flowers the size of her head. “I’m usually allergic to certain flowers, but so far, I don’t feel anything bothering me.”

“Our atmosphere is a lot cleaner than yours. But if you experience any discomforts with allergies or illness, let us know, and we’ll be sure to get you something to make it better.”

Her curiosity over Trey was digging a hole in her brain, and she couldn’t stop herself from asking Karel about the lion. “Do you know who Trey is?”

Karel frowned for a second. Shit. Maybe she wasn’t supposed to ask. Dammit, but she wanted to know where the hell he was.

“I do know him. Have known him all my life,” he finally replied.

“Is he around?” She tried for casual, but knew it came off as nosy.

“Trey is...” Karel trailed off and sighed. “Right ahead of us.”

She searched ahead but didn’t see anyone. Suddenly, the giant marched out from between the trees. He zeroed in on them and sped up. Her heart did flip flops in her chest, and her temperature shot out of orbit from the single hot look he gave her.

“Bella,” he said, the sound of his deep, rumbly voice waking every hormone in her body.

Karel turned to face her. “It was lovely talking to you, Bella.”

She nodded, smiling at Karel. “Thanks for showing me around.”

“My pleasure,” he said. “I’m sure I’ll see you later for dinner.”

“Sure. See you later.” She watched him retreat and nod at Trey. That had to be some kind of guy code.

She turned to face Trey, and he didn’t waste time. He cupped her face in his hands and brought his head down for a kiss. She didn’t think to fight it. Hell, she wouldn’t want to. She rose to her tiptoes and plastered her body onto his. She curled her arms around his neck and gripped his hair between her fingers as if her life depended on it.

For long moments, nothing but their kiss existed—his lips on hers, his tongue rubbing over hers, taming the flames of passion melting her insides. He dropped his hands down her body, caressing her breasts and grabbing a handful of her ass to press her even closer to him in the process lifting her off her feet. The rumbling sound of his groan turned her already-slick pussy wetter.

She pulled back from him, breathing hard and licking her lips. “I didn’t have any wine today.”

He chuckled, giving her another kiss before he put her back on her feet. “Did Karel take you to see the waterfalls?”

She shook her head. “No. We’d only walked a short time before you showed up.”

“I’m glad,” he said caressing her cheek and grabbing her hand. “I want you to see how beautiful the falls are.” His eyes lit up in the bright gold she knew meant the lion was close to the surface. Tally had mentioned that enough times about her two men. “But I want to be the one to show it to you. It’s a special place.”

Dear god, she was falling faster than a speeding bullet for the giant. His voice alone made her knees shake. Now that she saw him again, more emotions clogged her heart. Yes, there was lust and passion, but there was also joy at being near him. There was a strange happiness knowing he wanted to spend time with her.

None of those things showed up in any of her previous relationships. After what amounted to a day, she was ready to think long-term with a man she barely knew. She remembered her cousin Tally and how she’d explained falling for Theron and Connor. “It was love at first sight,” she’d said to Bella.

At the time, Bella had laughed it off as her cousin being drunk on good sex. Really, with two hot-as-heck shifters, how could she not be? But now? Could it be true? Love at first sight? Did it exist?

Her heart screamed it did, she was experiencing it herself. But her brain, the much more logical side of her, said no—this was just a side effect of being in a new, wonderful place with a man who made her see more stars than the fireworks during the Fourth of July.

“You’ve gone quiet on me,” Trey said. He guided her down a path between the trees.

“Sorry.” She smiled, leaning into him instinctively. “I was just wondering how it’s going for Gerri finding the king a wife.”

“She’s currently busy trying to control two wolves who want a mate of their own,” he smirked.

“You sound happy about that. Don’t you want the king to find a wife?”

“The king can find his own wife.”

She blurted a laugh. “Not from what Gerri said. According to her, he’s hardheaded.”

“He’s not. Knowing what he doesn’t want doesn’t make him hardheaded.”

“That’s true. That just means he knows what he’s looking for. But he didn’t find what he was looking for without her help. Maybe now he’ll realize getting someone to help isn’t the end of the world.”

He stopped mid-stride and smiled down at her. Tiny flutters took hold of her chest. “You’re right. A man needs to accept his mate’s help, even if he
thinks
he knows what he’s doing.”

She smiled wide. “Exactly. You should have a talk with the king. He needs to learn how to share with whoever he picks for a wife. Sharing and communicating help relationships thrive.”

“Maybe I will,” he said, glancing back to the path with a frown. “Come,
ym Neevk
. We’re almost there.”

She sighed, smiling at the endearment. She still hadn’t found out what it meant, but she loved hearing him say it.