The Alpha's to Share: A BBW Paranormal Shifter Romance (12 page)

“I can remedy that,” Wyatt said.

Callie felt him gripping her hand and pulling her along through the darkness. Her ankle had been throbbing earlier, but now the pain barely registered as she stumbled along after him.

He burst out through what must have been a back door and the light nearly blinded her. But he didn’t stop. Still clutching her hand, he pulled her further along, and he didn’t stop until they reached a clearing.

“We won’t have long until he finds us,” Wyatt said, turning to her.

“What…”

Wyatt cut off any objections with a crushing kiss. His blazing lips branded with hers painfully, and she muttered something into them. But as his strong arms wrapped around her and pulled her close against his naked body, her heart began to race. Her mind swam in drunken circles, and electricity surged from his lips to hers and awakened every nerve in her body.

She felt his tongue flick across the seam of her lips, tasting her. She shivered, and her nipples stiffened. His tongue teased her lips, and she parted them. His tongue clashed with hers, insistent. Her knees turned to Jell-O and threatened to come out from under her, but Wyatt’s embrace kept her firmly rooted.

“Wyatt…” she whispered, half-heartedly attempting to push him away. “Wyatt, stop. This isn’t right. This isn’t…”

“You said yourself you’d made no commitment,” Wyatt interrupted her. “You aren’t his.”

“Yes, but…”

“You aren’t his, and you aren’t mine,” Wyatt said. “So just enjoy the moment.”

She opened her mouth to object again, but the sound disappeared in her throat, and she swallowed it away. Once again, Wyatt claimed her lips and he delivered a kiss so full of passion and excitement that it left her as giddy as her first sip of wine when she was just thirteen.

Suddenly Wyatt released her, and he staggered several steps backward. His eyes darted to the side, and he whispered, “He approaches.”

Callie raked the back of her wrist over her lips, but she knew it was no use. Even she, with her human senses, could smell Wyatt’s kiss still lingering on them. She could taste him.

“Callie!” Seth called.

“Over here!” she called, her voice catching in her throat for a moment before she cleared it.

She heard his feet crunching softly across the dry leaves that scattered across the forest floor, and Seth emerged into the clearing and glanced first at her and then at his brother.

“I would ask what you two are doing here, but I already smell the answer,” Seth growled, his nose wrinkling as he stared blankly at her.

“You have no claim to her,” Wyatt said suddenly.

Callie’s heart thudded. It was too late to attempt any form of denial or explanation. Wyatt had just confirmed it.

“You knew my intentions toward her!” Seth shouted. “How could you?”

“God damn it, Seth!” Wyatt shouted back. “You have everything! You’re Alpha, for god’s sake! Why do you need her?”

“If I recall correctly,” Seth snarled through clenched teeth, “you are the one who insisted I go find her.”

“Well, yes, but…”

“You said I needed a mate,” Seth reminded him. “You said I needed pups. Remember?”

“I do, but…”

“And now you want to claim her for yourself?” Seth demanded.

Callie suddenly scoffed, and the two men turned to face her.

“Don’t I get a say in this?” Callie asked, thrusting her hands onto her hips.

“Of course you do,” Seth said, his voice suddenly gentler.

“Well, right now I don’t want either one of you!” she snapped. “Seth, you’re being an overbearing, domineering asshole. And Wyatt, you’re being a selfish, spoiled brat! And unless the two of you can work out your differences, I’m through with both of you!”

With that, Callie whirled on her heel, and stomped away from the clearing, leaving the two men staring after her. Her ankle was starting to smart quite painfully, but she wasn’t about to stop. She kept right on marching in the direction she’d come from, and she finally located the bonfire outside the den, where she sat on a log to rest her ankle.

“This is
your
fault,” Seth snapped at his brother, jabbing an accusing finger in his direction.

“You’re the one who went all aggressive Alpha back in the den,” Wyatt pointed out. “She said you scared her.”

“Scared her?” Seth asked. “How in the hell did I scare her?”

“Uh, here’s a clue, brother,” Wyatt said mockingly. “Chicks don’t like it when men act abusive.”

“Abusive?” Seth shouted. “I was simply protecting what’s mi…”

Seth cut himself off, realizing he could make no such claim. Although he already thought of Callie as his, she had made no such commitment to him.

“What’s yours?” Wyatt finished the sentence. “Last I heard, she hadn’t agreed to be your mate.”

“I will fight you for her,” Seth warned his brother. “And you will not win.”

“I don’t have to,” Wyatt said. “Human females don’t automatically choose the victor the way wolf females do. They choose based on who they actually want to be with. And I know as well as you do that you smelled arousal on her when you got here.”

Wyatt’s lip twitched upward at the corner into a wry grin, and Seth glared at him. As much as he hated to admit it, Wyatt was right. He’d smelled arousal all over Callie when he got to the clearing, and it angered him.

“So before you go threatening me,” Wyatt continued, “you might want to think of a different strategy, because fighting me is only likely to make her feel sorry for me, actually strengthening my chances with her.”

Seth’s wolf raged inside of him. He could feel the prickle of fur trying to erupt across his skin, and the fiery pain of bones beginning to soften in preparation to shift. But he struggled to keep the beast caged. Again, Wyatt was right. It would only upset Callie and chase her away.

“So what am I to do?” Seth asked. “I still need a mate, and she is the only one I will accept.”

“We must compete for her,” Wyatt said. “There is no other way.”

“But you said we can’t fight for her,” Seth argued. “How else can we compete?”

“You know, for an Alpha, you’re really not that bright,” Wyatt remarked. He waited for a response, and when none was forthcoming, he threw his hands into the air and added, “We compete for her like humans, you idiot!”

“How do humans compete for females?” Seth asked.

Wyatt rolled his eyes and said, “Duh. Candy. Flowers. Dates.”

“We have none of that out here,” Seth objected.

“I was speaking metaphorically,” Wyatt groaned.

“What does that mean?” Seth asked, clearly showing signs of his growing frustration.

“We have to woo her,” Wyatt explained. “Treat her well. Spoil her. Eventually she will choose the one she thinks does the best job.”

“Why not just step back and allow me to woo her?” Seth asked. “I am Alpha, so I have first claim over her.”

“I can’t,” Wyatt admitted. “I… feel something for her.”

“Oh, god,” Seth groaned, pinching the bony bridge of his nose as he screwed his eyes shut. “This cannot be happening.”

“Look, I know your first instinct is to go all Alpha and beat me to a pulp,” Wyatt said. “But as I’ve already explained, that would just chase her away. You can’t Alpha your way out of this one, Seth. We’re going to have to compete for her like humans, period.”

“Fine,” Seth growled reluctantly.

Wyatt thrust his hand toward his brother, who stared at it for a moment and finally slapped his own palm into it.

“May the best wolf win, brother,” Wyatt said.

With that, he turned and walked away, leaving Seth shaking his head in utter disbelief. How had this gone so terribly wrong? Wyatt had been the one to insist he go see Madge in the first place, and now he suddenly expected Seth to just roll over and expose his tender underbelly? It was too much to handle. In a fit of rage, Seth turned toward the nearest tree and sent his fist hurtling into the trunk, splintering the wood and sending a jolt of burning pain shooting through his arm. He heard the sickening crunch of bones breaking, and he clenched his jaw and roared with fury.

His physical wound would heal within hours, but as he watched the blood oozing from his hand and dripping onto the grass below, he knew the emotional wound would take far longer.

Callie rested her chin in her hand, which was propped up by an elbow on her knee. She was trying to ignore the vicious throbbing in her ankle so she could concentrate her frustration outward – at the two brothers.

Madge must have made a terrible mistake. This couldn’t be what she was destined for. She thought she’d left all of the complications of life behind in the city. Now things were just as complicated as ever.

She’d begun to think that maybe she should go back to the city when she was startled to see another body appear in her field of vision. Her eyes were instantly drawn to the individual, who plopped onto the log beside her.

“Oh, hi, Willow,” Callie said dully.

“Gee, thanks for the warm welcome,” Willow said. “What’s got you looking so glum?”

“Your brothers are infuriating,” Callie answered.

“Tell me something I
don’t
know,” Willow groaned. “So what’d they do now?”

“It’s a long story,” Callie said.

“I’ve got all day,” Willow countered.

“Well, Wyatt was acting all weird, and then Seth attacked him, which freaked me out,” Callie explained. “Wyatt ran off and I chased after him, more to get away from Seth than anything. So Wyatt grabs me in the hallway and tells me a bunch of stuff about how they’ve fought over girls before, and suddenly he grabs my hand and drags me off to a clearing and kisses me!”

“Oh, my god!” Willow gasped. “Does Seth know?”