Alpha's Last Fight: A Paranormal Shapeshifter BBW Romance

Alpha’s Last Fight

A Paranormal Shapeshifter BBW Romance

By Aubrey Rose and Molly Prince

Copyright © 2014 Aubrey Rose / Molly Prince

All rights reserved.

First Edition: July 2014

ISBN: 1500552402

For Es and Pez

And

For The Wolf Pack

http://bit.ly/arooooo
to join!

Chapter One

Natalie, Five Years Ago

Prom is supposed to be the best night of your life - sneaking a bottle of wine out of your parents’ liquor cabinet, dancing with guys you’ve been crushing on for ages, staying out until dawn. But that’s only for normal teenage girls, with their heels and skinny waists and long-lash mascara. Not for me.

Me, I’m a monster.

I was a monster then, too, even if I tucked it away nicely and hid it from everyone. I couldn’t hide forever. Prom was the first time it got away from me, though, and I learned my lesson. Never
, never
again
.

My prom dress was a beautiful light green. Green, to match my eyes. The dress was satin with a beaded empire waist that cinched right at my ribcage and then flowed into the prettiest drapes. When I picked it out at the store, I couldn’t stop turning in circles, watching the fabric swish around my legs.

Tommy said that I was the most beautiful girl he’d ever seen when he picked me up, and again when we danced the last dance in the middle of the hotel ballroom.

“I don’t want to go home,” I said. “I want tonight to last forever.”

“It can,” Tommy said. He smiled at me, his dark eyes shining under the colored lights. His hands were sweaty, but so were mine.

I rested my head against his shoulder and swayed back and forth to the music. Fake palm trees stood in the corners of the room under swaths of bright tulle paper, and one of my classmates had spiked the punch. Everything looked a bit brighter after a couple of glasses.

“Where’s the after party?” I asked. “Is it just at Andy’s house, or...?”

“I rented a room here at the hotel,” Tommy whispered in my ear.

I looked up at him in surprise, and he grinned.

“I told my dad—”

“It’s okay,” Tommy said, pulling me closer to him. “I told Andy to cover for us at the party if either of our parents calls over there.”

A hotel room? The idea thrilled and terrified me at the same time, and I could hear my heart pounding over Tommy’s, even with my head against his chest. Apart from the possibility of getting in trouble with my dad, I was...well,
inexperienced
was an understatement.

Tommy was the only guy I’d ever kissed, unless you count that one time in kindergarten when Matty kissed my cheek at the top of the slide, then tattled to the teacher and got us both in trouble. Tommy had kissed me at the end of our dates, but we’d never made out or anything. Once he’d slid his hand up my chest, but I’d backed away in surprise and he hadn’t mentioned it since.

And now we were going to have a hotel room together! My mouth went dry as I thought about what was going to happen when we left the dance. Would he know what to do? Would he guide me? I didn’t want to mess anything up. The magazines I read gave me all kinds of tips and tricks “for the bedroom,” but all of their hints seemed geared towards women with much more confidence than I had.

Tommy squeezed my waist with his arm, and I gave him a pinched smile. I felt clunky and fat against his slim figure, even in my gorgeous green dress. His suit fit perfectly—it had been professionally tailored—and he had little gold cuff links pinned at his wrists. The gold glinted in the dim light, and I couldn’t stop staring. I wondered, not for the first time, why he wanted me.

The song ended, and Tommy took my wrist in his hand, leading me off the dance floor. I barely felt the satin fabric swish against my legs as I walked. I barely felt anything. I was going to a hotel room with Tommy Calloway!

On the way out of the ballroom, Tommy held the door open for me. He accidentally bumped into Mike, the prom king who was standing with the other popular guys just behind the door.

“Hey, watch it!” Mike said

“Sorry,” I said, even though I hadn’t done anything.

“Where you taking her?” one of Mike’s cronies asked Tommy. I recognized him from history class; his dad had just gotten laid off at the mill that Tommy’s dad owned. Now he stepped forward with a look of pure hatred in his eyes.

“None of your business,” Tommy said, squaring his shoulders. He wasn’t very tall, or very strong, and Mike’s friends burst out into laughter at him. I could almost see the steam rising from his forehead as they laughed.

“Back to SeaWorld, maybe,” Mike said, pushing Tommy on the shoulder. “Didn’t know they sold whale sized dresses at Wal-Mart.”

I rolled my eyes at the lame insult. These guys had been making fun of me forever: I could take it. Tommy, on the other hand... I didn’t want him to get into a fight. I tugged on his arm.

“Come on, Tommy, let’s go,” I said. I could see that he was aching to fight, but Mike and his friends would pound him to a pulp if he tried anything.

“Nah, they’re going to the zoo,” the other guy chimed in. “She’s just an animal bitch.”

Blood rose to my cheeks. If there was one thing that got under my skin, it was
that
. Adrenaline ran through my system, and I could feel my other side starting to emerge. I struggled to keep it down. They couldn’t know. Nobody knew my secret, not for sure. The rumors about my mom had flown fast and furious through the halls of my high school, and the teasing had gotten worse, but I ignored it. If I didn’t respond, they might think it wasn’t true.

That there wasn’t an animal hiding inside of me.

“Don’t you dare talk like that—”

“Tommy, it’s okay. Come on,” I said, pulling at his arm. I could feel him relenting.

“Oh man, your bitch is in a hurry,” Mike said. “She must be in heat. Quick, put your dick in her.”

To my relief, Tommy turned away and walked with me down the hall. His face was beet red and sweat beaded on his upper lip. Behind us, the insults kept coming.

“Bitch! Fat bitch!”

“I hear she’s wild in bed!”

“Arroooooo!”

Finally we turned the corner. Tommy pressed the button for the elevator, but his hand was shaking. We got into the elevator and he stood fuming silently next to me. I wiped my sweaty hands on the sides of my dress.

“I’m sorry,” I said, trying to make him feel better. “Those assholes won’t get anywhere in life. They’re just jealous.”

“I know that!” Tommy spat. “They’ll pay. When I’m in charge, they’ll be begging me for favors. They’ll pay, alright.”

“It’s my fault,” I said, knowing he would comfort me. “It’s all because I am… what I am.”

“You’re a beautiful girl, Natalie,” Tommy said, but his face stuck in a snarl. “They’re the real animals. They’re not worth your little pinky, not the lot of them.”

“They’re worth exactly… one of my fingers,” I said, giving the middle finger to the closed elevator door. Whenever I was around Tommy, I could let my sarcastic side out, and making Tommy laugh was the greatest thrill of my life in high school. He laughed only once, though, a sharp laugh that snapped shut as the elevator jerked upwards.

Even with my joking, a frown creased his face as he led me down the hallway to the hotel room, and he nearly slammed the door shut behind us.

My heart pounded. I didn’t know whether I was more nervous because of the bullies or because of Tommy. I’d never seen him so mad. He swept a hand through his dark hair and went over to the hotel bar. He pulled out a small flask of whisky and poured a glass.

“This room is beautiful,” I said, trying to distract him.

“It cost enough,” Tommy said. I turned to see him swallow a half glass of whisky. He coughed and poured another glass. The amber liquid splashed against the faceted crystal, and I looked away.

It really was a lovely room. The walls were decorated with abstract oil paintings, and I went over to one to see it closer. Red and gold lines crisscrossed against a dark background. My fingers followed the paintbrush strokes. Behind me, I could hear Tommy moving back to the light switch, and then the lights dimmed by half. I swallowed.

“Did you see this painting?” I asked. “It’s gorgeous.”

Tommy came by me and glanced up at the painting, then back at me.

“It’s not half as gorgeous as you are,” he said, brushing a strand of my hair behind my ear. I could smell the whisky on his lips as he leaned forward to kiss me. I closed my eyes and kissed him back. His tongue was hot, probing, and he slid one hand around the back of my waist, pulling me forward. I felt something inside of me twist up. Desire, mixed with fear.

Then, all of a sudden, he pulled back.

“Do you want a drink?” he asked. He went back to the bar and began pouring whisky in a glass before I could answer.

“Thank you,” I said softly.

“I’ll get back at those jerks for you,” Tommy said. He turned back to me and pushed the glass into my hand.

“You don’t have to,” I said, sitting down at the corner of the bed. Across the plush carpet, Tommy paced back and forth.

“I will, though. I’ll get back at all of them. I won’t forget, not ever. One day, I’ll take care of them. For you.”

Tommy’s voice was cold and hard, and I took a sip of whisky.

I almost choked. The whisky stung the back of my throat and burned all the way down. Even in my stomach, it burned.

“It’s an acquired taste,” Tommy said, swirling his glass around and holding it up to the dim light. “That’s what my dad says. You’ll get used to it eventually.”

Taking another sip, I struggled not to cough. The sting made my eyes water, but by the third sip I could breathe a bit easier. My shoulders relaxed as the alcohol hit my system. I’d snuck sips of my dad’s beers before, but this was much, much stronger. I finished the glass and Tommy went to pour more. I covered the glass with my hand.

“No,” I said. He frowned and my heart skipped. “No thank you, I mean. I’m fine.”

“I just want you to be relaxed,” Tommy said. He moved my hand away.

“Oh—okay,” I said. I remembered reading about the first time having sex, how it would hurt if you weren’t relaxed. Probably Tommy knew better than I did about all this. He sat next to me and rubbed my back in circles. Yes, he knew better.

I gulped down the second glass of whisky much faster. The room tilted a bit, and I put the empty glass down on the carpet. Tommy leaned over and kissed my neck. His fingers moved to the top of my dress, and I heard rather than felt my zipper come down. Everything seemed hotter, even the air.

“Tommy,” I whispered.

“Lie back,” he said. He pulled the blanket aside, revealing white silken bed sheets.

I obeyed.

“The ceiling...” I murmured. The ceiling was a mirror, a huge mirror. I saw myself splayed across the bed, my green satin dress flowy and soft around me. And Tommy, his dark hair and dark suit, lying next to me. The white bed sheets made us look like we were floating on clouds. I bit my lip.

“Are you nervous?” he asked.

“I... the sheets,” I said stupidly. They looked expensive, just like everything else in the hotel room. “Will I bleed on them when you... when you do it?”

“Don’t worry about anything,” Tommy said. “I’ll take care of you.”

I watched his hands move to pull my dress down. The beaded top slid down to my waist and Tommy pulled down one bra strap with his fingers. He cupped my breast, squeezing it. I blinked hard, staring up into the mirror.

The girl lying there in bed, she wasn’t me. I didn’t recognize her at all. A lump rose in my throat. I didn’t want to be here anymore. I looked up to the painting, trying to focus on the diagonal lines to calm myself. It didn’t work.

“Tommy—”

Tommy rolled over on top of me and pressed his lips to mine. I closed my eyes and kissed him back, trying to want him as much as he wanted me. His tongue pushed past my lips and sank into me. I could feel him growing hard down there, pressed against me. My breath came fast, panting.

Something like desire stirred in me, and then I could feel my other self right there, right underneath my skin. I pushed it back, but it kept pressing up through me, insistent. No. Not now. Not this.

“
Ohh
—”

The smell of the whisky was too much. It stifled me, filled the air between us. I tried to take a breath, but Tommy kissed me with renewed passion and I didn’t know how to tell him what was happening.

The animal inside of me was pushing its way up to the outside. Every other time, I had been able to stop it, but now with the whisky and the adrenaline in my body, I didn’t know if I could. I pushed against it, pushed back. My muscles tensed. How could I relax with this happening to me? I couldn’t. I couldn’t do this. Not now.

Hands pulled up my dress and I felt Tommy’s fingers sliding along my thighs. My tongue felt too thick in my mouth.