Shifterella And The Billionaire Bear: A BBW Shifter Paranormal Romance (The Shifter Princes Book 1)
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Eleanor looked up at Aspen: he might’ve been a bear shifter, but he was absolutely wolfish at times. She raised her eyebrows and looked him dead in the eyes before narrowing her eye. “Fine,” she said, and she busted out her hottest moves, moves she’d practiced in private in her room in the attic when nobody was watching, and she swayed her hips up and at Aspen as if they were dancing together at the club.
“Holy shizz, you brought your A-game,” moaned Aspen. “I didn’t expect that.”
“Just because I can’t dance ballroom? Honey, I’ll have you know, the rest of the world dances like this,” said Eleanor, pumping up at Aspen as she put a hand on his shoulder, pulling him close before pushing him away and sucking on two of her fingers instead of his lower lip where her lips belonged.
“Not so fast,” said Aspen, pulling Eleanor up and kissing her on her lips, sucking at her delectable lower lip before plunging his tongue inside of her and tasting his most lovely guest. She still tasted of the strong sugared violets from the party, but beneath that was her pure taste, the taste of Ella, a unique taste that the bear shifter could discern from the other tastes that were muddled in her mouth, from the champagne and the salmon and veggies to his own taste from the last time they kissed.
Aspen felt something growing inside of him, not in his loins, but in his heart, a warmth that burned hot enough to hurt. He ignored the burning sensation, instead, focusing on pleasuring the woman beneath him, the woman who he was ready to throw into the seas of pleasure like a bottle with a message to the goddess of love.
Aspen rocked against Eleanor as Eleanor bucked back up at him, pressing herself into Aspen with as much force as she could muster, and Aspen’s shaft rubbed back and forth against her clit, the angle perfect for stimulation, as the head of the cock rubbed against her special spot inside her love canal. He fucked her harder than ever, the bed frame starting to splinter and crack in half as it hit the hard concrete walls that the makeshift sex room was lined with, concrete walls covered in wallpaper but still as hard as the day they’d been poured.
The force drove Eleanor over the edge: she’d been brought to the edge when Aspen had eaten her out but she hadn’t been pushed over. Revisiting the edge, she was desperate to jump into the seas of pleasure, and once Aspen’s shaft twitched, begging her pussy to come around it, she had to obey the dick. Her walls collapsed and pressed onto Aspen’s cock, milking it for shifter seed, while Eleanor gripped onto Aspen, holding onto him for dear life lest she get lost in a storm of pleasure, each jolt of pleasure like a lightning bolt illuminating a fog of sensation.
Aspen climaxed as Eleanor clasped around him, holding onto him for dear life, and as a rush of fluid left his shaft, his body start to emit something else: a red light that filled the room.
Aspen’s eyes flashed as his mate mark started to glow before Eleanor’s very eyes. The Gothic script L glowed first: the letter glowed bright red, as red as the seeds of the forbidden fruit, and then the outline, in black, seemed to glow from within, a burgundy color, before the gold tendrils around the letter glowed, each golden swirl climbing up the letter before the leaves along the tendrils glowed in a burst.
The gold light filled the room and illuminated every dust mote in the antique-filled room, the gold light bouncing off the golden sheets.
Ella watched as the mark glowed: she’d never seen a mate mark glow before, and it was the most magical moment of the evening, better than ball gowns and glass slippers, better than kisses in gardens of flowers that were powered by a science that seemed like magic, better than seeing her stepsisters get their comeuppance. Ella knew that humans didn’t have fated mates, but she was absolutely certain that Aspen was the man she wanted to spend the rest of her life with.
In that moment, Aspen was entirely certain that Ella was his fated mate: the mate mark had never glowed like that before, and now, the connection between the two was undeniable: it wasn’t lust, it wasn’t puppy love, it was fate, and the love he had for her was deep and pure, as it was the love they’d just made together.
Chapter Seven
Aspen held Ella close to his chest, her cheek against his mate mark: he never would have thought that he’d meet his fated mate at one of his mother’s frou-frou balls, but the shifter prince had finally found his princess, and now that he’d had a second chance, there was no separating the couple. They were bound to have their happily ever after after all...or were they?
“Aspen, is that glowing symbol a shifter thing?” asked Ella as Aspen pulled out of her and lay next to her on the bed.
“The mate mark only glows when we’ve found our fated mate, and they’ve agreed to lie with us,” explained Aspen, still enraptured with Ella, barely able to keep his cool as the bear inside him wanted to burst out and roar in celebration. “So...now, we know you’re my fated mate.”
“Aspen...are you sure I’m your mate?” asked Eleanor, turning to face Aspen, running a hand over her face and looking deeply into his eyes. “And it wasn’t just a fluke or something?”
“Yeah, Ella...it’s just something you know if you’re a shifter,” said Aspen. “I didn’t know what it felt like before we, well, you know...but I do now. I feel something towards you I’ve never felt towards anyone.”
“You sure that’s not just some post-sex euphoria doing the talking?” asked Eleanor.
“Eleanor...trust me,” said Aspen, his eyes flashing the way they did whenever he was experiencing a strong emotion. “It was different with you.”
“Different how?” asked Eleanor. “I’m sorry I have so many questions...I’m not a shifter, and so much of this stuff is new to me.”
Aspen tried to think of the best way to explain the phenomena to Eleanor. It was as hard as explaining how breathing felt, how seeing felt. “It just felt right, for the first time in my life, and I’ve never seen my mate mark glow before,” said Aspen. “I knew mate marks could glow: every shifter knows that. I’ve never seen it happen, of course, but once I saw it...I knew.”
“And you’re sure that this can only happen with me?” asked Eleanor. “And not with anyone else?”
“I’m sure,” said Aspen. “Ella...how was it for you?”
“I know humans don’t have fated mates...but I felt something, something strong, Aspen,” said Eleanor. “And it was something I can’t explain as anything other than what you call fate: it was as if everything in the world was clicking into place, and it was as if everyone else didn’t matter.”
Aspen smiled at Eleanor as he let out a small sigh. He had to break the magic of the moment, but he knew he’d have the chance to show his mate many more magical moments once the party was over. “Speaking of everyone else...this is a party, and I have to go back in and make appearances. I think my mother won’t be happy to find I’ve spent all my time with just one woman, even if that one woman is my fated mate. Social protocol and all that rot.”
“You want company?” asked Eleanor.
“Unless you’d prefer to stay in this dingy place, that’s the plan,” said Aspen. Aspen got changed back into his suit and Eleanor tied his cummerbund for him, while he helped Eleanor back into her dress. Eleanor discretely reinserted her device while Aspen searched for their shoes. Aspen helped Eleanor into her shoes, which glistened shades of yellow, orange, and red in the low light of the faux chandelier, before giving her a small kiss on the cheek.
Aspen opened the secret door again and led Eleanor out into the wildflower glade. The bioluminescent flowers were still glowing bright and the chitter chatter of guests in the hedges had increased to the point that Eleanor could hear it without having super shifter hearing.
“You must have loved growing up here,” said Eleanor as Aspen opened the hedge gate.
“Not really, it was always so...lonely,” said Aspen with a sigh, leading Eleanor into the labyrinth proper. “What’s the point of having a place like this with nobody to share it with?”
“You, lonely?” asked Eleanor. “No way. I bet everyone wants
to be your friend.”
“For the wrong reasons,” said Aspen. “The only other friends I had were other rich kids, because I didn’t know how to interact with other kids my own age...but as we got older, and more competitive, we grew distant.”
“Well, you must’ve had some fun with girls,” said Eleanor.
“I definitely sowed my wild oats...but believe it or not, Ella, I’ve never had a girlfriend,” said Aspen.
“Really?” asked Eleanor.
“Really,” said Aspen. “I just never found somebody that I felt a real connection with, and I didn’t see the point of leading someone on. I know some shifters date people they know aren’t their fated mate, but not me. I’ve been waiting for the one all my life.”
“And now...you’ve found me,” said Eleanor. “Now what?”
Aspen told the bear in him to shut up before the bear spoiled everything. “I’ll tell you...if you can win a game of hide and go seek,” teased Aspen.
Eleanor crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. “Seriously? Hide and go seek?”
“I’ll hide first. You seek,” said Aspen. “It’s fun. I swear. And hey, there’s a kiss in it for you if you find me.”
“Fine,” said Eleanor, and she turned, and covered her eyes.
“No peeking,” called Aspen, walking away. “Count to ten.”
“Just ten?” she asked. “Alright...ten...nine...eight...seven...six...five...four...three...two...one. I’m coming, Aspen!”
Eleanor opened her eyes and looked around: she saw a tall figure in the distance, at the other end of the maze. She walked as quietly as she could on the cobblestones and snuck up behind the tall man in a suit.
“You might throw one heck of a party, but you’re terrible at hiding,” said Eleanor, hugging the man tightly.
The man turned: it wasn’t Aspen. Tall, big, and burly, he could’ve been mistaken for Aspen from a mile away, but he wasn’t as tall as Aspen. He had blonde hair and icy blue eyes that made Eleanor feel ice cold, and for the first time that night, Eleanor was actually scared of a shifter. Her stepsisters were catty, but that was it: they were just cats. This guy...Eleanor had a hunch about what kind of a shifter her was, and if he was as icy as she suspected, she was in for a bad time.
“Well, well, if it isn’t the tart from earlier,” slurred the man whose breath smelled of alcohol. The man was also blonde, a paler blonde than the first man, a blonde so pale it was almost as white as snow, and his eyes were pale blue like the sky.
“I’m sorry, I thought you were someone else,” said Eleanor, backing away from the man. She felt someone else against her: she turned. It wasn’t Aspen, but another bear shifter from the party who she hadn’t seen lurking in the bushes.
“What’s a pretty human like you doing out here?” asked the man, breathing down her face. “Be careful...there’s lions, tigers, and bears out here. You wouldn’t want to get...eaten up.”
“You...you’d eat me?” asked Eleanor with a gulp.
The bear shifter laughed. “Of course not. But...I’m sure there’s something on you I’d like to taste...”
“Like those big, round tits,” said the man behind Eleanor, the first man she’d bumped into. He made gestures at his own chest, but Eleanor knew that he wasn’t just joking around: there was more than a chance he’d actually try something.
“Or whatever you have between those shapely thighs of yours,” said the other. “Nothing like a big, beautiful woman to warm your bed after a party like this.”
“That’s my mate you’re talking to,” said Aspen, coming up and pulling Eleanor out from between the man and holding Eleanor behind him protectively. His eyes flashed, not out of happy excitement, but out of rage. He had to control every last hair on his bear to stop himself from shifting then and there and tearing the men to shreds. He’d left Ella for a minute, a mere minute, and this is what had happened.
“Aww, come on, Aspen, be a good host and let us get a feel,” said the big burly shifter, who tried to sneak up behind Aspen, but Aspen turned quickly, pressing Eleanor behind his back and pushing the man backwards.
“Step away, now,” growled Aspen. He was keeping his distance from the shifter. He didn’t want to shift in front of Eleanor, not like this: he’d seen how she’d reacted to his bear before, but now that he was sure she was his fated mate, things were different.
“Or what?” asked the shifter, growling back at Aspen, walking towards Aspen while his other buddy backed him up.
Aspen could no longer control the bear: he’d only shifted unwillingly on a handful of occasions and this was about to be another. The bear roared and Aspen knew that the bear was right, that they had to release the beast to protect the beauty. “Or I’ll have to do something that’ll end with you on the ground,” cursed Aspen, his suit starting to rip at the seams. It was too late for Aspen to stop: although in theory, he could just reverse the process physically, mentally, Aspen was far-gone. He was done with being the nice host, his mother’s son, and he was about to unleash the beast.
“Aspen, what’s happening?” asked Eleanor, holding onto Aspen tightly, afraid of what was going on. She could feel his muscles growing as his bones expanded and the fur started to sprout, and she had no idea what to do. She’d never seen a bear shifter shift before, and this wasn’t the cutesy shift her siblings practiced in their rooms: this was a man’s shift, a bear-man who was protecting the future mother of his cubs, the mate of the clan’s alpha male, and he wasn’t about to go back into his puny human form until any and all threats towards him and his family were eliminated.
Before Aspen could answer, one of the men who had been trying to grab Eleanor pushed Aspen, and Aspen couldn’t hold back physically any longer. “Stand back,” ordered Aspen as he ran at the shifter. Eleanor reached out, but mid jump, Aspen turned, in front of her eyes, into a big, brown grizzly bear...and this bear was angry.
Aspen’s body turned furrier, larger, and full of teeth and claws as he roared while entering into his bear form. The fancy suit he was wearing burst into smithereens around him as he turned, white and blue and black scraps of fabric tearing, thousands of dollars of designer clothes destroyed by the bear inside Aspen. Eleanor had never seen a bear that large before, and in the moment, she forgot about what had happened at the park before, and didn’t make a connection.
Eleanor had never seen a shift before, but in front of her eyes, she saw the two other men shift into bears, big white bears, polar bears, surrounded by the scraps of their suits. It didn’t take a frikkin’ zoologist to recognize them: the polar bears were bigger than the brown grizzly bear, and twice as angry. While one polar bear swiped at Aspen’s nose, the other got on two legs and roared.
“Stop it!” yelled Eleanor, but the polar bears didn’t listen, and the fight was no longer about her. The fight was between the bears, not the men, and the bears swiped back and forth at each other, rolling over one another as they fought for dominance. Although Aspen’s bear form was the smallest of the three men’s, it was the most powerful, as most of the polar bear shifters’ forms consisted of fat, meant to keep them warm in the arctic, but Aspen’s bear was practically all muscle, given that it was summer time and the bear didn’t need fatty layers until the winter.
Aspen took a protective stance to keep his fated mate out of harm’s way but the two polar bears were more than a match for the grizzly bear. This was his turf, but the bears had the advantage of size and number...but not for long.
The roar of the polar bear had drawn attention: the labyrinth was filled with shifters, shifters that seemed to crawl out of the hedges. The labyrinth had seemed quiet to Eleanor but in fact had been filled with shifters, alone, in groups, and in couples meeting for trysts, like something out of a Victorian pleasure garden. There was nothing scarier than the sight of shifters, their eyes flashing in the darkness, coming to the moonlit spot and turning, shifting from mystically gorgeous humans into sublime animals, larger and stronger than their natural forms.
The shifters ran over, some on all fours even in human form, and watched the fight, but as soon as fourth shifter turned, all bets were off, and the feathers and fur went flying as every shifter in the vicinity turned: tiger shifters, lion shifters, even the female cat shifters who kicked off their shoes and pounced into the fray.
It was hard to tell whose side the various parties were on at first as Eleanor was set on watching Aspen and making sure he was okay. Eleanor was the only human close to the fight, and she didn’t know what to do: should she wait for Aspen to shift back or should she run, lest she get caught in the crossfire? She had no idea what to do, and so she froze, not choosing any option while the fight happened, her eyes on Aspen as she tried to figure out what was going on, but through the mix of feathers and fur, she couldn’t see who was who, and once the other grizzlies had entered the fray, Eleanor was unable to tell which bear was Aspen and which bears were his friends and family members.
The events of the night had been crazy: she never would’ve thought she’d be anything but a catering girl, and meeting Aspen was entirely and totally unexpected...the realization he’d had, that she was his fated mate? It had to be a mistake. If she was his fated mate, she’d know what to do but now, it was too late to do anything. The Asher Ball had been ruined because of her clumsiness and there was no telling what could happen to Aspen, what may have already happened to Aspen.
While watching the fight, Eleanor, lost in her thoughts, had missed the sound of the beeping device on her waist, a beeping sound she’d missed when it was muffled by the skirts, but it was the sound of the beeping that brought her out of her haze and which would push her out of Aspen’s life...maybe forever.