ROMANCE : PARANORMAL ROMANCE: Alpha's heart(BBW Pregnancy Werebear Shifter Romance) (New Adult Paranormal Romance) (83 page)

              Stopping short, Alyse turned to him. "What kind of hanging out?" she asked.

              Brandon shrugged. "I don't know. We could go to dinner and then catch a movie. See if it leads to anything."

              Alyse shook her head and started walking again. "No, I'm pretty sure you don't want to get involved with me."

              "And why is that?" he asked, keeping up with her pace. She was a fast walker.

              "I have some stuff going on in my life right now that you don't need to become involved in," she replied.

              They had reached the point where he needed to turn to head to his house and she would need to go straight. The streets they were walking on were lined with trees and a shadow fell over her face from a branch that hung in the way of a street lamp. "Try me," he said. The attraction he felt toward her was incredible and he couldn't imagine anything getting in the way.

              Alyse looked into his eyes for a moment, one eyebrow raised. Finally she shrugged and said, "I'm pregnant."

              Brandon stopped short. If she was pregnant, then that likely meant she was in a relationship. "What about the father?"

              She shook her head. "He's out of the picture."

              He wasn't sure what to say. He was still attracted to her and wanted to try. "Can I have your number?"

              Alyse looked shocked. "You still want it?"

              He nodded. "Yes. And I will give you a call tomorrow."

              She hesitated for only a moment before pulling a pen from her pocket and writing her number down on the back of his hand. Brandon smiled and held onto her hand for a moment, placing a light kiss on the back. "Talk to you tomorrow," he said and he walked away.

              As she started walking once more, Alyse wasn't certain what had just happened. The man was definitely attractive, but she had been certain that her pregnancy would send him running. Instead, he seemed not to care and had promised to call her the next day. She placed a hand on her stomach as butterflies fluttered throughout it. Or perhaps that was the baby moving. A smile spread across her face and she found that she was actually looking forward to the next day.

              It didn't take her long to reach her house and when she did she found that her brother, Ben, was pacing the floor, waiting for her. "Where have you been?" he demanded, the second she walked through the door.

              Alyse sighed, looking up at him. He stood a full foot taller than she and his muscular form usually meant that people found him intimidating. Alyse didn't. She knew that while he would protect her at any cost, he was also a giant teddy bear. He was caring and sweet to those he loved and was the type of man to help an old lady carry her groceries into her house. "I just went for a run," she said, pushing past him and walking toward the kitchen.

              They lived together in a house that he had purchased nearly two years prior. Before that they had lived in a tiny apartment. Ever since their parents had died when they were teenagers he had taken care of her and even though she was grown now, he still maintained that attitude. "It would have been nice if you would have said something to me about leaving," Ben said, following her. "I was worried sick."

              "Sorry," Alyse said. She pulled some bread and lunch meant from the fridge and began to make a sandwich.

              "How are you feeling?" he asked. Besides the father and now Brandon, Ben was the only person who knew that she was pregnant.

              She shrugged. "Hungry."

              Ben chuckled. "I supposed that explains the beeline to the refrigerator." Alyse nodded, layering the meat she had chosen onto a slice of bread. After adding lettuce, tomato, and mustard, she slapped on the other piece of bread and took a big bite out of the sandwich. "So where did you go?" he asked once she had finished chewing.

              "To the woods outside of the city," Alyse told him and took another bite. While she ate, Ben poured her a glass of milk and set it in front of her.

              He didn't look happy at her response. "You went that far?"

              "Yes. I wanted to be away from the city," she told him.

              Ben shook his head. "I don't want you going that far alone. Especially while you're pregnant. What if something had happened to you?"

              Alyse raised one eyebrow. "I'm sorry but I like being in the woods. If I want to go run through them, I'm going to go whether you like it or not."

              Sighing, Ben looked into her eyes. After a moment he said, "Fine. But will you at least let me know next time? I'd like to go with you so I can watch after you."

              "That sort of ruins the point of being alone," she pointed out before taking a long drink from the milk.

              Ben gave her a look that said, "Do not argue with me on this." Out loud he said, "I'll give you your space, but I want to know that you're safe."

              Alyse considered what he had said for a moment. She had almost gotten eaten by that wolf. If it hadn't been for Brandon, she wouldn't be in her kitchen eating at that moment. Finally she agreed. "Okay."

              "Really?" he asked in surprise.

              Alyse nodded. "Yes. I know you're just trying to watch over me and I love that about you. I don't want you to have to worry." Ben raised an eyebrow, studying her for a moment. "What?" she asked.

              He shrugged. "It's just not like you to give in like that."

              Alyse ate the last bite of sandwich before replying. "Well, I thought about what you said and you're right. It was inconsiderate of me to just leave without letting you know where I was going. After everything you've done for me, I should be more thoughtful. I'm going to bed now." She hopped off the stool that she'd been sitting on and went to her room, leaving Ben staring after her in surprise. She didn't want to tell him that she had nearly been a wolf's dinner, but she could tell that he knew something had happened.

              After she brushed her teeth in the bathroom, Alyse changed into her pajamas. She crawled into her bed, pulling the covers up to her chin. As she tried to fall to sleep, she couldn't help but wonder if Brandon was really going to call her the next day. She hoped that he would and found herself smiling as she drifted off.

Chapter 2

              Brandon's day at work went by slowly. He worked as a veterinarian and his office had very few animals in that day. His secretary, Mary, was typing away on the computer, probably talking over instant messaging to her boyfriend. He had been resisting the urge all morning to send Alyse a text, but it was afternoon and he figured he would finally be able to contact her without looking desperate.

              He typed in a message and studied it to make sure it sounded okay. "Hey Alyse. It's Brandon from last night. Would you like to hang out Friday night?"

              He read over it several times before pressing the send button. As he waited for a reply, Brandon went into the reception room to ask his receptionist for advice about taking Alyse out. He walked up to the window on the side of her desk and leaned his elbows on it. Mary jumped when she saw him, quickly switching tabs on her computer screen so he wouldn't see that she had, indeed, been messaging her boyfriend. "What's up, boss?" she said, looking up at him.

              "I have a question," he told her. "I met this girl last night—"

              "Oh fantastic!" she said, clapping her hands together. He couldn't count on both hands the number of times she had tried to set him up with some girl or another in order to try to "remedy" the fact that he was single.

              Brandon laughed to himself. "Yeah. Fantastic," he said, starting again. "Anyway, after some coercion I got her to give me her number and told her I'd be contacting her today."

              "And have you?" Mary asked, leaning toward him, clearly interested in what he was telling her.

              He nodded. "Yeah, I just sent her a text."

              "Good," she replied, nodding. "That's a start."

              Brandon was starting to regret going to his secretary for help. "Okay. Anyway. I asked her if she would like to hang out Friday night." Mary slowly inhaled through her teeth, baring them at him. "What?" he asked.

              She shrugged. "Well, asking that way sounds like you're not really interested in dating her romantically. It sounds more like you just want to hang out with a friend."

              He pursed his lips, pushing them to the side. "How do I fix it then?"

              "Text her back and tell her you have a plan," Mary said. "Be unique with your plan. Don't do the typical dinner and a movie."

              "That's where I need your help," Brandon told her. "I don't really know what to do."

              A smile spread across Mary's face. "It's cold outside, so take her to that hot cocoa bar that just opened up over on Maple. After that, take her ice skating. If she doesn't know how, it gives you a great opportunity to have to hold her hand or have her hold on to your arm."

              Brandon shook his head. "She's pregnant. I don't think ice skating is a great idea."

              Mary's jaw dropped. "She's pregnant and she's willing to go out with you?"

              He shrugged. "That's why it took some coercion to convince her to give me her number. She says the father is out of the picture."

              "No," Mary told him, shaking her head. "No you don't want to go there. There's bound to be all sorts of drama surrounding the baby. Even if she claims the father isn't in the picture, there's a chance he will want to be and another man around will only complicate things."

              Sighing, Brandon told her, "Well, I'm going for it. There was just something about her that I can't put my finger on that makes me keep thinking about her." Mary didn't know about the whole shape shifting thing, so she definitely wasn't going to understand the attraction he felt to Alyse. He wasn't about to try to explain it to her right then.

              Mary shrugged. "Whatever. If you think you can handle it, then I guess go for it. But still be original. Maybe instead of ice skating you could take her to the beach. It'll be cold, but you could light a fire and watch the sunset. Roast some marshmallows."

              Brandon thought about her suggestion for a moment. "I like it. Thanks."

              Nodding, Mary turned back to her computer screen. "Good luck," she said as she began typing away at the keyboard.

              He walked back into his office and sat at his desk. Alyse still hadn't replied. "I have a great idea for what we can do," he texted. "But you'll need to dress warm."

              A few minutes later, his phone finally buzzed. "I would love to. What time?"

              He told her he would pick her up at four-thirty. He wanted to make sure that they had plenty of time to get to the beach and get a fire started before the sun went down. Mary was smart. A sunset at the beach would be beautiful and as shape shifters the cold wouldn't bother them as much. Excited for what the weekend was going to bring, Brandon couldn't help smiling.

*     *     *

              Friday afternoon, Alyse was ready by four-fifteen. Brandon had told her to be punctual so they didn't miss out on what he had planned. She waited anxiously, wondering what he was wanting to do. The doorbell rang at exactly four-thirty and she jumped up, excited. Ben was still at work, so he wouldn't be around to interrogate Brandon, for which she was grateful. She had sent him a text message, letting him know that she was going out and gave him Brandon's number, just in case.

              When she answered the door, she saw Brandon standing before her, dressed in a blue plaid shirt and dark blue pants. He had a black jacket over his shirt and a scarf wrapped around his neck. "You ready?" he asked, smiling.

              Alyse felt butterflies fluttering in her stomach and she couldn't help smiling back. She nodded and accepted his held out arm, wrapping her hand through his elbow. "Where are we going?" she asked.

              Brandon wiggled his eyebrows up and down. "It's a surprise," he said.

              "You said to dress warm, so I assume it outside?" she replied.

              He nodded. "Yep."

              "You do realize we're shape shifters, right?" she said, laughing. "I mean, I'm pretty sure I can handle the cold. You were standing in the snow last night with no shoes on and it didn't seem to bother you."

              Brandon shrugged. "Yeah, well, it's still a courtesy that I figured I should extend."

              "How thoughtful," Alyse replied as he pulled open the passenger door on his car. He walked around and climbed into the car on his side. "So you won't give me even a small hint?"