The Alpha's to Share: A BBW Paranormal Shifter Romance (13 page)

“He smelled Wyatt on me, but he didn’t actually see anything happen,” Callie confirmed.

“What’d Seth do?” Willow asked, wide eyed.

“He got really upset and they started arguing,” Callie answered. “I just got frustrated and left.”

“Wait… so Seth actually fought back?”

“I guess you could say that,” Callie shrugged.

“But Seth never fights back,” Willow argued. “He just lets Wyatt have the female. It’s always been that way.”

“I don’t know what’s going on, Willow,” Callie said. “I’m just really confused and upset, and I’m starting to feel like I should just go home.”

“Hmm, I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Willow muttered.

“Why? What do you know?” Callie demanded, on the verge of panicking.

“Hey, calm down!” Willow said quickly. “I can just smell desperation on you when you talk about going home. I can tell you have a very good reason for not really wanting to do that.”

Callie relaxed slightly and said, “Yes, I do. But if I can’t stay here, and I can’t go home…”

“Why can’t you stay here?”

Callie turned to see Wyatt approaching, and she turned away from him, refusing to look in his direction.

“Because you two big buffoons have upset her,” Willow said, latching her arm around Callie’s shoulder. “That’s why.”

“You don’t have to leave,” Wyatt said. “Seth and I have called somewhat of a truce.”

“A truce?” Callie asked, curious. She turned to face him.

“He agrees that fighting won’t solve this,” Wyatt explained. “So we’ll have to settle this another way?”

“How?” Callie asked suspiciously.

“Each of us will spend time with you, try to woo you, and you will choose the one you really want to be with,” Wyatt explained.

“Gee, it sounds so simple,” Callie muttered, sighing heavily. “And what if I don’t choose either of you?”

“Then you may stay here as long as you like, and we will not bother you,” Wyatt told her. “This is your home for as long as you want it to be, no matter who… or what… you choose.”

Callie glanced at Willow, who nodded encouragingly.

“Fine, I’ll stay for now,” Callie relented. “But you two had better behave.”

“Is there anything that you need?” Wyatt asked her.

“Yes, I’d like to be left alone for a while,” she answered.

His face fell, but he nodded and said, “I understand.”

Willow started to stand, but Callie grabbed her arm and pulled her back down onto the log, saying, “Not you.”

She watched as Wyatt walked away, waiting until he was well out of earshot. Then she turned to Willow and shook her head.

“Men,” Callie groaned.

“Especially my brothers!” Willow agreed.

“What would you do if you were me?” Callie asked.

Willow shrugged and said, “You’re asking the wrong person. But honestly, they’re both good guys. Seth is strong, protective, and kind. Wyatt is funny, smart, and exciting. I guess if you could combine them into one guy, he’d be the perfect one.”

“Yeah, too bad there are two of them,” Callie lamented, sinking her hand back into her palm.

“Actually…” Callie turned her eyes to Willow and waited for her to continue. “That’s not a bad idea, actually. It could work!”

“What?” Callie asked.

“Well, what if you
could
have both?” Willow asked.

“Huh?”

“Well, we just said the two of them would make the perfect guy,” Willow said. “What if you could have both of them?”

Callie burst out laughing and said, “What do you think I am, some kind of sex freak?”

“Look, I know humans can be weird about this kind of thing,” Willow said. “But in the shifter world it’s actually more common than you think, and it works in a lot of packs.”

“How? Seth seems crazy jealous,” Callie argued. “He nearly choked Wyatt to death, and he hadn’t even touched me.”

“Well, once you commit, it’s different,” Willow explained. “Basically you commit to both partners equally, and thus jealousy is eliminated. Once you’ve mated with both of them, something happens chemically that alters their perception. It’s hard to explain, but they shouldn’t feel jealousy anymore.”

“What about pregnancy?” Callie asked.

“Well, Alpha sperm is naturally dominant,” Willow said. “As long as you never copulate with Wyatt alone during your fertile period, you’d only ever have pups with Seth. Since he’s Alpha, he will definitely want you to bear pups for him first. But he probably wouldn’t mind you having them with Wyatt later, after Seth has an heir or two.”

“This is a lot to absorb,” Callie admitted. “It seems… bizarre.”

“I guess it can be for a human,” Willow acknowledged. “But I believe you will get used to it. You’ll probably even come to love it.”

“I really don’t know about that one,” Callie said. “Seems really complicated.”

“It’ll feel natural in time,” Willow said.

“I guess I have a lot of thinking to do,” Callie told her.

“Do you want me to approach Seth with the idea?” Willow asked. “He’s Alpha, so he’d have the final say in whether you’d do this… I mean, if you decide to that is.”

“I guess so,” Callie answered. “But just make sure you tell him this is your idea, not mine, and that I haven’t agreed to anything.”

“You got it!” Willow said, hopping to her feet and saluting. “I’ll go to Seth now.”

Callie listened to the rustle of Willow’s footsteps disappearing behind her, and she sighed. This was utterly perplexing. Could it really work? Would she even want it to?

Ugh, why did it have to be so complicated? She wanted to go strangle that little raccoon shifter!

Seth had just returned from a solo hunting trip, which he’d thought might clear his head and give him the opportunity to impress Callie with his ability to provide for her. He also planned to cook something that he hoped would also impress her. They had very few human ingredients in the den, but he wanted to do his best to make something special for her.

He’d managed to down a wild boar, which was especially difficult even for a wolf shifter. Wild boars are especially tough and vicious. They are never easy, but this particular boar had been even harder than normal. He’d taken a big chunk out of Seth’s shoulder, and he knew it would hurt for several hours.

He had already cleaned the boar and broken it down into various cuts. He decided to make a stew with the wild boar, some of the apples from Callie’s bundle, some wild onions and some of the various spices Willow had gathered and dried. It was smelling delicious as it cooked over the central bonfire, and he was stirring it as he heard footsteps approaching.

“Something smells wonderful!” Willow chirped.

“I’m preparing a stew for Callie,” Seth explained. “She’s been eating very bland food for a few days and I thought I’d give her something that might remind her of her human world.”

“That’s very thoughtful, Seth,” Willow said.

“Have you been talking to her?” Seth asked.

“I have,” Willow admitted.

“What has she said?” Seth asked, trying to keep his voice as calm and even as possible.

“She’s very confused right now,” Willow answered. “I think she was thinking of running away.”

“Running away!” Seth gasped. “No, she can’t leave! Did you talk her out of it?”

“Well, it wasn’t easy,” Willow fibbed. “She had her mind all made up. She was pretty upset.”

“But you did convince her to stay, right?” Seth asked, his voice strained.

“I think so,” Willow said. “But this is a lot of pressure on her. If we don’t do something, I really think she’s going to bolt.”

“Damn him!” Seth cursed. “He always screws everything up!”

“Now, Seth, don’t blame Wyatt,” Willow chastised. “It’s not all his fault.”

“How is it mine?” Seth exploded. “He’s the one who suggested I find a mate in the first place! He’s the one who…”

“Seth, calm down,” Willow whispered. “If Callie hears you, it’ll scare her more.”

Seth gritted his teeth together until they made loud grinding noises and made his head hurt, but he was quiet.

“Look, I have an idea,” Willow said. “You’re not going to like it at first, but if you care about Callie, you’ll listen to what I’m really saying and consider it.”

Seth crossed his arms and eyed her suspiciously, but he said, “Alright, I’m listening.”

“Well, as you know, you and Wyatt are two very different men,” Willow began. “In fact, each of you has traits that Callie needs in a man.”

Seth narrowed his eyes, clearly not happy about where Willow seemed to be going. But he said. “Go on.”

“And I know you want what’s best for her, and you wouldn’t want to make her feel pressured or stressed,” Willow said.

“And?”

“Well, I think you should do the Bond of Three,” Willow blurted out.

Seth’s face was stonily blank. He blinked at her silently and said nothing. She shifted her weight to another foot impatiently.

“With Wyatt,” Seth muttered.

“If you think about it, you’ll see it really is the best…”

“Stop,” Seth interrupted her. “You’ve said enough.”

“But, Seth, if you’ll only consider…”

“Go,” Seth said.

Willow hung her head sadly and slunk from the room dejectedly. He watched her go as he pondered what she’d said.

All their lives, Seth and Wyatt had been at odds. Wyatt was jealous because his brother was born and Alpha and he was not. And Seth, though he’d never admit it, was jealous that Wyatt was free from the responsibilities that went along with being Alpha. He was free to go where he wanted and do what he wanted without worrying about the pressures of protecting a pack and its territory.

All of this had led to fierce competition that had driven a wedge between the two of them. They’d been so close as young pups, and now they were in danger of real damage to their relationship. This could be their undoing.

“No,” Seth said. “I can’t lose my brother over this. I won’t.”