Romance: Stranded With The Alpha Bear: BBW Paranormal Shapeshifter Romance (Werebear, BBW, Bear Shifter Romance) (Sweet Shifters Book 1) by Ashley Hunter Page B

scratching her as it lifted her into the air and swung her around to land on its back.
     
    By reflex, she grabbed onto its fur to keep from falling off.
     
    The head, bigger than a microwave, turned to look at her from one eye, and it grunted, as if asking a question.
     
    Shelly looked around her, lost and confused. It seemed to want her to hang on, so she adjusted her seat and got a better grip of the fur around its shoulders.
     
    “O-okay,” she said. The bear snorted, and then began lumbering through the woods.
     
    What the hell was happening? One moment, she was being chased by Bryant, and now she was riding a bear. Was this real?
     
    Not knowing what else to do, she reached up and checked to see if she had banged her head on a rock at some point. Maybe this was all a dream.
     
    She rode atop the bear’s back for at least a couple of miles. The forest rolled beneath her, the back of the bear gently shifting from side to side as it strolled along.
     
    In that time, she’d had a chance to regain her breath and the strength returned to her legs. The bear never made any threatening moves towards her, but just walked along.
     
    Compared to the bear, she actually felt small for the first time in her life. Shelly had never been the paper doll guys always wanted. The bear, though, hardly even seemed to notice she was there.
     
    They came to the base of a boulder set into a hill. The bear, clearly the beast marking its territory, had clawed all the trees surrounding the boulder.
     
    Shelly’s heart quickened. Maybe it was taking her back to its cave to eat her in peace?
     
    That humungous head swung back and nipped at the cuff of her pants, giving her a gentle tug. Shelly swallowed.
     
    Bears don’t carry their prey on their back. She had no idea what was going to happen next, but she had to tell herself that it would be okay. She couldn’t sit on the bear’s back forever.
     
    So, scared but determined, she slid down the bear’s ribcage and landed on her feet. Having straddled the giant spine of the animal for so long, Shelly’s hips suddenly ached at no longer being stretched to the sides.
     
    She sucked in a breath through her teeth and stretched her legs out.
     
    The bear moved and she turned to face it. Just when she thought everything would be okay, the great beast reared up onto its hind legs.
     
    Shelly had never been more scared in her life. Her head barely came to its chest. The moon disappeared behind its head again as it looked calmly down at her.
     
    “Oh God,” she breathed.
     
    Then, right before her eyes, the bear began shrinking. Its arms and legs became longer in proportion to the body. The fur disappeared back into its skin and it took two steps forward.
     
    The bear that had rescued her became a man.
     

 
    II.
     
     
    Sharp blue eyes watched her face for expressions, his mouth set in apprehension.
     
    Something in her head said, he should’ve had mussed up hair and a wild man’s beard, but he was surprisingly clean-shaven.
     
    Instead of filthy locks, he had a short crew cut. He had the arms and legs of the bear he had just been, however, all muscle and power.
     
    A man he may be now, but he still looked like he could tear someone apart with his bare hands… or maybe lift her up and press her back against a tree.
     
    Shelly closed her eyes and shook her head. No, where did that come from? What a thought to have at a time like this.
     
    Still, one of the most attractive men she’d ever seen stood in front of her, naked. Naked and blessed, by the looks of it.
     
    “Are you okay?” His deep voice reverberated through her chest.
     
    A swell surged through her, and she had to take a deep breath or risk passing out.
     
    “Who are you?” she asked.
     
    “You can call me Aaron.”
     
    “Well Aaron,” she said, suddenly becoming self-conscious of her own lack of a shirt and tried to cover her supple breasts with her arms.
     
    “I’m Shelly. Would you mind putting