The Alpha's to Share: A BBW Paranormal Shifter Romance Read Online Free PDF

hair.
     
    “Ow,” she said as she tried to put weight on her right ankle. “Damn it! I think I sprained it.”
     
    He carefully squeezed her ankle with his fingers and she sucked in a breath. He could feel the swelling already. She teetered on one foot and tried to hobble, but she gasped as soon as pressure fell on her wounded ankle.
     
    Without asking for permission, he scooped her up into his arms. She wrapped her arms around his neck and bit her lip, and he could detect a hint of apprehension in her, but she did not object. He started down the mountain path toward Madge’s cabin.
     
    Madge was waiting just outside the door. She waved them quickly inside.
     
    “Poor dear,” Madge said, gently removing Callie’s muddy shoes and tossing them into the grass outside. “Let’s get you out of these muddy clothes.”
     
    Seth lowered her feet carefully to the wooden floor, and Callie put all of her weight onto her left foot.
     
    “Well, hurry up!” Madge demanded. “Give me that muddy dress so I can wash it!”
     
    Callie’s eyes swelled large, and she paused, clenching the dress’s fabric protectively at her throat. Madge sighed and rolled her eyes.
     
    “Turn around, would you?” Madge asked Seth.
     
    “What for?” he asked. Then he quickly glanced at Callie and said, “Oh. I get it.”
     
    Seth turned away, and Callie slipped out of the muddy dress and handed it to Madge. Madge then gave her the patchwork quilt from her bed to cover herself with.
     
    “But it’ll get all muddy,” Callie argued.
     
    “It’ll clean right up, as will you,” Madge said.
     
    Callie wrapped herself in the blanket and sank slowly and miserably onto Madge’s bed, and Seth asked, “Can I turn around now?”
     
    “I suppose,” Callie answered.
     
    Seth noticed Callie was clinging to the blanket so tightly her knuckles were blanching pale. She had tucked it in all around her, hiding every possible inch of her flesh.
     
    “I’m going to the washtub outside,” Madge said. “When I’m back I’ll fill a tub for you so you can clean up.”
     
    She left the cabin and Callie stared at the floor. Seth wanted to apologize. He knew it was all his fault she’d fallen, and his stomach was knotted with guilt. He worried she’d never speak to him again, as she seemed to be avoiding eye contact.
     
    Callie sat on the edge of the bed and picked at the lint that covered the blanket in tiny balls, her finger occasionally running absently along the seams between the patches that made up its surface.
     
    Seth could think of nothing to say. Had he ruined his chances with her? Would she ever forgive him for running off so hastily? Damn his wolf! If he hadn’t felt his hormones raging out of control, this never would have happened!
     
    “Can I get you anything?” he finally asked.
     
    Her eyes never left the blanket as she shook her head solemnly.
     
    Yep, it was too late. She hated him for deserting her. He hated himself. He should have been right there beside her like a good Alpha should, protecting her at every moment from every possible danger. He’d just met her, and already he’d failed her. He was raised to be better than this! He’d let his desire take control and it had cost him dearly.
     
    How could Madge have not seen this coming? She should have warned him. Maybe she was no fortuneteller at all. Maybe he’d been duped. Maybe this whole thing was a bad idea right from the beginning. He’d be sure to give Wyatt and earful when he got back to the den.
     
    Seth could sense Madge doing something nearby, but he was focused on Callie. He’d come here expecting… well, he wasn’t sure what he was expecting, but it certainly wasn’t her. He wasn’t expecting to find a sensual woman with lush curves and the sweetest disposition of any female he’d ever run across. And he certainly wasn’t prepared to find a woman who was helpless and in need of protection to the depths that Callie seemed to be. It was