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

dress. She looked so helpless and vulnerable that he felt the overwhelming urge to shield her from whatever it was that was haunting her. He could see it in her eyes, hear it in her voice, and smell the stress oozing from her pores.
     
    Whatever it was, it must be something big. He just wished he could figure out what it was so he could help her.
     

Chapter Four
     

     
     
     
     
     
    Callie was in awe of the man who sat before her. He was everything she’d ever found attractive in a man. He was taller than she, but not so tall that it made her feel dwarfed beside him. She was only five feet, six inches in height, and most men towered over her uncomfortably. But Seth was just a few inches taller, with a lean, muscular build that she found she couldn’t take her eyes off of. When he’d hidden it under the blanket, she’d been disappointed, but she never would have let on.
     
    His hair was dark and cropped fairly close to his head. His eyes were dark and brooding, carrying some sort of burden that Callie could clearly see manifested within them. His jaw was well defined, curving along his jawline and drawing attention to his perfect lips, which were dusted around the edges by the slightest shadow of scruff.
     
    It made her heart flutter just being near him. No man had ever had such an effect on her. In fact, after her last relationship, she’d sworn off men for good, and had, until recently, had every intention of sticking to that for the rest of her life. She hadn’t even missed men until this moment. Now she was sorely longing for his touch, his kiss, the feel of his skin against hers.
     
    Not that she’d had many relationships. She had always been inept when it came to dating. She found it difficult to relate to men, and she was always afraid they found her unattractive even when they were telling her she was sexy.
     
    It had come from her childhood. She’d always been a chubby child, and she’d been teased and bullied in school about her weight. Not only that, but her own parents had constantly reminded her that she should be eating less and exercising more, and while they may have done it with the best of intentions, their comments had only made her feel worse about herself.
     
    Over the years she’d managed to find some confidence. She told herself she didn’t need to have the approval of anyone, least of all some guy who was more likely to break her heart than fill its emptiness. She’d discovered somewhere along the way that if there were decent men out there, she wasn’t likely to find one.
     
    Now, with this stunning man staring at her as though she were the most beautiful creature on earth, she started to doubt herself. Could it be that she was destined for more? Was Madge right?
     
    Seth kept trying to capture her gaze with his eyes, but she’d been shifting away. It wasn’t that she wanted to seem disinterested. She just couldn’t bear the thought of opening herself up fully to this man who had no idea what she was being accused of and potentially finding out that he believed the lies, too. If her own family had lost faith in her, why would a stranger trust her?
     
    His gaze was intense – burning. She found it hard to look away, though a large part of her didn’t want to. His eyes, like dark chocolate, captivated her. It was as if he could see into her soul, and he even liked what he saw. But even more than that, he seemed to like what he saw on the outside, which was more than Callie had ever thought she could hope for from a guy this gorgeous.
     
    “Will you take a walk with me?” Seth asked suddenly.
     
    She glanced at Madge, who didn’t even look up from her baking and simply shooed her away with a few quick brushes of her hand.
     
    “Sure, I’d love to,” Callie said.
     
    “You’ll excuse me if I leave the blanket behind,” Seth said. “I don’t want to get it dirty outside.”
     
    “Oh… of course,” Callie said, feeling the color rising warm in her