Wolf's Den - A BBW Shifter Romance Novel (5 page)

“It’ll be OK, Cassie,” he told me. I smiled up at him. I believed him even if I couldn’t see it.

“Thank you,” I replied. He left and I went about finding something to cook with. I found an old cast iron frying pan and a steel sauce pan. Yeager came back inside with a bucket in one hand and a few pieces of wood in the other arm. Honestly, having something to do, even if it was just helping prepare breakfast, helped immensely.

“Water smells drinkable,” he said as he set the bucket down and went about stoking the wood stove.

“What?” I wondered. I’d never heard anyone say they could smell water.

“I’m a wolf, after all. I can smell stuff like that,” he said. I’d almost forgotten. I wondered what other surprises Yeager had in store for me. I don’t know if I was ready to find out.

“Oh yeah,” I remarked and then for some reason I asked, “Do you like being scratched behind the ears too?” Yeager looked at me funny, his amber eyes narrowed. I almost apologized for my lame attempt to lighten the mood but he smiled warmly, a hint of amusement on his face.

“As a matter of fact, I do. My leg even goes all jiggy and everything,” he said and I giggled. I appreciated his gentle way. I wondered what he looked like as a wolf. Dolan referred to him as a gray. Was he a gray wolf? Dolan and his gang were black as night and their yellow eyes were filled with hate. I hoped Yeager didn’t look anything like that.

“Do I get to see you?” I wondered as Yeager searched for a can opener but gave up and pulled a folding knife from his pocket. How could I not be curious about this man after what he told me? If he was right, we were mates.

“I hope so,” was all he said. Strangely, so did I. Yeager set me at ease despite the situation, despite witnessing Jimmy brutally murdered and almost being raped. I remembered when I was young. Mom and I had a dog, a black and white cow dog named Sallie. Sitting on the porch petting her made me feel better. Yeager had the same effect on me. I found that comforting if a bit strange even as I wondered if the comparison was a valid one.

We made breakfast as best we could. The pancakes were a bit doughy and there wasn’t any syrup. The hash stuck to the pan. Still, it hit the spot. I wasn’t a cook, I served and took orders, but we didn’t have much to work with either. It was food, however, and eating made me feel a little better. After we finished, we cleaned up the mess. It wasn’t our cabin and we didn’t even know if it was used any longer but we were good guests and put everything back in its place.

Afterwards, I did what I could to make myself presentable. I always had several elastic bands with me to tie my hair back and keep it out of the way at the diner. I pulled my hair into a ponytail and then used a little water to brush my teeth with my finger. It would have to do. Yeager watched me as I did, seemingly enjoying the show.

“What?” I asked.

“Nothing. I just like watching you,” he said. I rolled my eyes.

“I’m sure I look like hell,” I said. I’d worked all day and was in my jeans and the hoodie I woke up in. I’m sure I didn’t look very attractive.

“You look perfect,” he said without a hint of sarcasm. I rolled my eyes again but this time I blushed.

“Can we go for a walk or something? I can’t sit around here all day. I’ll go crazy,” I asked. Yeager thought it over for a moment, probably considering how safe we would be.

“I don’t see why not. Were a long way from Gold Canyon,” he said.

“Where are we anyway?” I asked. I didn’t remember anything after I climbed on Yeager’s bike.

“Just outside of Yosemite,” he told me.

“That’s like thirty miles. I don’t remember any of it after you rescued me,” I told him.

“No, I think you blacked out. You held on tight but when we got here, you were out like a light,” he said. I shook my head. I wished I couldn’t remember the rest of yesterday either. Satisfied with my appearance, or at least as satisfied as I could be considering, Yeager and I left the cabin and found a trail nearby that led into the woods. I felt a bit exposed but we were a long way from Gold Canyon and Yeager was there with me. With him, I felt safe and not just because he claimed to be a wolf.

We walked about a half mile through the pines and cedar. The beauty of the area was calming and cleansing. We discovered a small lake surrounded by tall evergreen trees. Fish fed at the surface dimpling the lake with rings. It was midsummer and even this high in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, it was warm. “It’s beautiful here,” I observed.

“Yeah, I love it up here. I come to the mountains a lot,” Yeager replied.

“Where do you live?” I wondered. I honestly had no idea where a man that became a wolf might call home.

“The desert near Slab City by the Salton Sea in Southern California. Nobody bothers me there,” Yeager told me.

“I’ve heard of that place. Don’t they have that mountain, what’s it called...?” I asked.

“Salvation Mountain,” Yeager replied.

“Yeah! I’ve seen that on TV or something. Does your...pack live there?” I asked. I didn’t know what else to call it besides a pack. Yeager laughed at my attempt.

“No. There are some shifters like me that live in those parts but most of us are loners,” he said.

“Why is that?” I prodded, suddenly curious about how exactly Yeager lived. If Yeager’s story was to be believed, I was fated to be with him. The thought was a bit scary but pleasant at the same time for some reason.

“Like wolves, once we reach manhood, we leave the family, the pack, and seek out a mate. When we’ve found the one, we start our own pack. Sometimes several packs, families, will band together. Other shifters may never mate and remain alone. Most, though, live on the fringes of society,” he explained. Living like that didn’t sound very appealing.

“That’s sad. Why do you live like that?” I wondered.

“By choice, mostly. We don’t fit in. We’ve evolved and we’ve found a niche where we can survive, even thrive. On the fringes, we can live how we want without others interfering or persecuting us,” he told me. I found the idea rather strange. I tried to wrap my head around the idea but it was tough.

“How many of you are there?” I asked.

“Thousands, millions, who knows. We tend to find each other. We can scent other shifters. There’s not so many of us that we get too territorial like wolves but nobody knows how many of us there are. I’ve never met anyone who is aware if any of us exist outside of North America. I’m sure they do. All those werewolf stories came from somewhere,” Yeager said.

“Is that what you are?” I pressed. I couldn’t get enough of this. It was hard to believe but I found I desired to know more. It was interesting and rather exciting if a bit weird.

“No. There’s no such thing...at least as far as I know. I can change at will and I don’t consider it a curse. It’s just who and what I am. No full moon, though I do like a big full moon, no silver bullets, none of that,” he mused as he patiently answered my questions. I guess I was peppering him pretty hard but Yeager never batted an eye. We walked along the shore of the lake as I asked him more.

“Are there females?” I asked him.

“No. Some claim there used to be in the past. No one I’ve met knows for sure. Nobody knows where we came from or when we first appeared. Some say we’ve always been here living on the fringes of civilization, others claim were a new mutation. I don’t know but most of us think we’ve evolved from humans somehow. With such a loose society, our history is a mystery. But as far as I know, there are no female shifters. We mate with human women and our sons are shifters but our daughters aren’t. Whether the human females we choose are unique in some way, I don’t know. All I know is that as soon as I caught your scent, I knew you were the one,” Yeager told me.

I found a boulder and sat down on it. I felt so conflicted. Part of me was fighting to reject what Yeager claimed, to deny something like that was even possible. It wasn’t a conscious thing but a visceral reaction. Another part of me, however, was drawn to the idea. It was a romantic notion, two people inexplicably drawn together, fated for one another. But it was more than that. I felt a connection to Yeager, a feeling that I was sure was always lurking beneath the surface, a feeling I was only vaguely aware of that had been awakened within me.

“I’m sorry. I let my eagerness get the best of me. I found you when you were so young and I’ve been waiting ever since. It’s not fair for me to push you though,” Yeager said.

“No, it is what it is. You can’t help the way you feel. When my mom died, it was so hard. I was only seventeen. I couldn’t accept it, you know. I fought the idea and for a while, I actually believed that she wasn’t really gone, that she was coming back. She never did though and I finally had to accept that she wasn’t ever coming back. I have to do that now too. I have to accept this. Last night proved to me this was all real. Honestly, I knew it was true somewhere inside. It’s hard though,” I told Yeager.

“You’re very brave, Cassie. I wish I could have been there for you but it’s not our way. I had to wait until you were old enough,” Yeager told me. This man, being a shifter aside, might have been old enough to be my father, was a biker and lived on the fringes of society. Yet, I was drawn to him. Whether it was fate or genuine fondness, I didn’t know.

“Yeager?” I said.

“Yeah?” He replied.

“I’d go out with you even if you weren’t my...mate,” I told him and looked away nervously. But I had to see his reaction and stole a glance his direction. I found him staring at me, his amber eyes full of desire. I felt it too but I wasn’t ready to indulge my feelings. I did, however, wonder what that water might feel like. I’d rather have a hot shower, but a dip in the lake would have to do.

I stood up as Yeager watched me. I kicked off my shoes and then peeled my jeans down my legs. I remembered that I had nothing on beneath the hoodie but I shrugged and took it off as well. I giggled at the look in Yeager’s eyes. I saw desire and amusement mixed with a hint of surprise. “Are you going to just sit there or are you going to join me?” I asked as I turned, slipped out of my panties and dove into the chilly water, not sure what had gotten into me.

When I popped back up I saw Yeager lying on his back having fallen in an attempt to get his boots off too fast. I laughed at him and he glared back at me as he struggled, “What’s so funny?”

“You are!” I said and swam away. I’m not sure what I was doing but it felt good. I barely knew this man but he’d saved my life and his story was obviously legitimate despite its implausibility. I mean, it was the stuff of movies and books and if I hadn’t witnessed what I had, I wouldn’t have believed it. But I did witness Dolan’s gang in their wolf form and Dolan himself begin to change before my eyes. However, now that I had no choice but to believe Yeager, it actually sounded pretty amazing. I’m sure it was Yeager’s presence that had me feeling so relaxed and I didn’t care.

I heard Yeager dive in as I swam and then his fluid strokes as they broke the water. I looked back and he was almost on me. I squealed and tried to outrun him but I wasn’t exactly a great swimmer. Suddenly, Yeager grabbed me and I squealed as he turned me round and pulled me to him. He stared into my eyes with his amber eyes and I stopped giggling. His arms felt so good around me as we bobbed in the mountain lake. I felt a strange attraction to him, a deep need, a sexual urge.

“Are you doing this to me?” I asked. Yeager squinted as he tried to guess at my meaning. “Are you making me feel this way about you?” I clarified.

“No! I’m not magic or anything. You feel the way you do because you were born for me,” he replied.

“How do you know that?” I pressed.

“Because I feel it too. I knew it seven years ago when I scented you. Shifters like me, we mate for life with a specific woman. We find her by her scent, by instinct. I can’t explain it. I just knew it when I scented you. Cassie, I’ve been waiting seven years to do this,” he said and kissed me. I stiffened but only for a moment. As his warm lips met mine, I felt it too. I couldn’t explain it either but I knew he was the one. I could feel it in my core, sense it somehow.

I relaxed as Yeager kissed me, holding me tightly to him. The cold water failed to cool the fire building inside of me. I took his face in my hands and desperately kissed him back. I wrapped my legs around his waist and we sank below the surface but I barely perceived it. Only when Yeager broke the kiss did I realize I was under the surface and let go of him. I came back to the surface and found him chuckling softly.