The Alpha's to Share: A BBW Paranormal Shifter Romance by Alanis Knight Page A

stuff like this, and then we use sugar on stuff like… well, like berries.”
     
    “I see,” he said. “Well, we don’t use a lot of that out here. We use some wild seasonings on occasion.”
     
    She took another bite of the perfectly roasted meat and said, “Oh, I think I can get used to living without it. Although I might miss chocolate.”
     
    “What is…”
     
    “Chocolate is a favorite food of humans,” she said. “It’s actually a roasted bean that is ground up and mixed with stuff like milk and sugar and turned into a sweet bar that is utterly divine.”
     
    “I will see if I can obtain some for you if you like it that much,” Seth offered.
     
    “You don’t have to do that,” she said. “I’m fine with whatever you normally eat.”
     
    “Callie, if you choose to be my mate, I promise I will always do everything in my power to ensure your complete happiness,” Seth said. “But I must warn you that shifters mate for life. We do not… what is it called when you humans end a committed relationship? I can’t remember.”
     
    “Divorce?” she offered.
     
    He nodded and said, “We do not divorce. And once we are mated, we are usually monogamous.”
     
    “That’s how human marriages are supposed to work,” she lamented. “Unfortunately most humans don’t seem to respect that anymore.”
     
    “Is it too early to ask if I might have any hope that you will accept me as your mate?” he asked, kneeling before her as she ate.
     
    As Callie chewed a bite of her dinner and looked down at him, she could see it in his eyes. He loved her. She’d never seen that look before unless it was directed at someone else, but she recognized it instantly. It was shocking to her how fast it had happened.
     
    “There is hope,” she said delicately, nibbling one of the crispy edges of the lean animal.
     
    “Then that is all I ask for now,” he said, taking one of her hands and kissing it.
     

     

Chapter Eleven
     

     
     
     
     
     
    “I must hunt for myself now,” Seth told her. “I will return quickly.”
     
    “You can just have some of this,” Callie offered, extending the roasted rabbit toward him.
     
    He smiled gratefully, but said, “Thank you, but I require a considerably more substantial meal.”
     
    “Oh,” she said, flushing.
     
    “I will return for you soon,” he said, shifting into wolf form and sprinting away.
     
    This area of the forest was sparsely populated with wild animals, being too close to town for the population to be able to sustain itself. Human hunters traveled into this area from the city quite often, and they kept the deer herds culled nearly to the point of local extinction.
     
    He’d have to settle for smaller game in larger quantities. Before long he’d gathered and devoured numerous squirrels and rabbits, along with a frog and two small pigeons. He was still rather hungry, but he had enough energy to make it through the night. With darkness rapidly approaching, he needed to find shelter for Callie to protect her from the elements.
     
    He soon ran across a small cave. Upon inspection, the floor was dry and there were currently no creatures calling it home. In human form, he gathered some pine boughs and made a bed off the ground and then he returned to her, shifting back into wolf form to make better time.
     
    Along the way he found a small branch that flowed from a natural spring toward the stream. He sniffed the water and found that it was clean, and he knew the stream must be contaminated further down the line. At least he had found a clean water source for Callie.
     
    He barked at her upon approaching and bowed low to the ground. She nodded and stood, hopping over to him and climbing aboard, clinging to his fur. Then he made his way back to the spring.
     
    Once again, he bowed low. She dismounted, and he took a long drink from the flowing spring to demonstrate its cleanliness.
     
    “Oh, this water is drinkable?” she asked.
     
    His wolf