Aiden: BBW Paranormal Shape Shifter Romance (Blackbeary Creek Book 3) Read online

  All of the men grunted in agreement, and Aiden felt some sense of relief. Even though he was head of security, he knew his clan would help protect his mate no matter what the circumstances.

  “I’ll bring her to the club around one tomorrow,” Aiden said to Tristian, “and then after her interview, I’ll get her car running and bring her here.”

  “Sounds good,” his alpha said. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  Aiden didn’t have to tell them he was sleeping at the campsite. Every man in the room, even the unmated ones, understood the intense, all-consuming desire he had to protect his mate.

  He took the picture Ethan held out to him, and fed all of the papers into the shredder. He didn’t want anyone reading through her history, and he couldn’t afford to have evidence of her background check laying around. He wouldn’t lie about it, but based on her past, gaining her trust would be hard enough without admitting to violating her privacy up front.

  He turned to Graham.

  “She needs a cell-phone and a credit card.”

  “Already on it,” Graham replied. “Both will be ready tomorrow when you bring her home.”

  “Thanks man,” Aiden said. “See you guys tomorrow.”

  Their goodbyes trailed behind him as he stormed through the house.

  He needed to see his mate again as soon as possible.

  Chapter Three

  Liddy walked quickly down the gravel road noting each empty campsite, and cursed the fact that the campground got so dark once the sun went down. The light polls stationed every twenty-five feet provided just enough light to see a few steps in front of her before one ended and the other began.

  She'd often wished her campsite was closer to the camp office, but her spot was the closest one available the weekend she’d arrived, and her car had been out of gas ever since. Even though she hated the secluded spot at night, she had no choice but to stay.

  The long walk from the bathroom had only taken minutes, but it felt like hours had passed since she’d left the safety of the building. When Liddy finally reached her car, she climbed into the passenger seat, and hastily locked the doors.

  Fear of the dark, hunger, and worries about finding a job usually kept her awake for most of the night, and she’d hardly slept in the past two weeks. Thanks to Aiden, her tummy was full, but she feared tonight wouldn’t be any different when it came to sleep. Hopefully, Aiden’s boss wouldn’t hold her tired appearance against her during their tomorrow.

  Liddy reached into the backseat, grabbed her old, worn-out, teddy bear, and stared out the windshield into the sparse crop of trees in front of her. Though there wasn’t much foliage on the plants, the shadows they created messed with her mind nightly, and she routinely convinced herself something bad lurked in the darkness.

  Suddenly, she saw a movement, and a large black bear emerged from the shadows.

  Her first thought had been to scream, but when she noticed the bear had dark, hard eyes like Aiden's, her fear slowly melted away. When he started walking toward the car, she felt the same sense of security she’d felt when Aiden had led her out of the alley earlier that day, and she watched in silence to see what his next move would be.

  The animal walked all the way up to her door, glanced inside her window, and then laid down against the door and curled up into a ball. He was either guarding her or reserving a tasty snack for later, but she had a feeling it was the former. Bears had enormous appetites, and if he wanted to eat her, he wouldn’t wait until morning.

  Liddy closed her eyes, and for the first time in two weeks, she fell into a deep sleep and didn’t wake until the rays of the sun warmed her through the windshield. She never slept late—well, not since arriving in Blackbeary Creek—and panic welled up inside as she turned the key in the ignition to see what time it was.

  Please don’t let it be after twelve!

  She couldn’t afford to miss her meeting with Aiden.

  Luckily, it was only a little after eight, and she still had more than three hours before she had to be at the park. Some of her tension escaped, and she turned in her seat to look out the passenger window.

  The bear was still curled up by her door, and amazingly, she still didn’t fear him. As if suddenly alert to her watching him, he slowly raised his head to meet her eyes, and then he stood on all fours, leisurely stretched his back, and lumbered back toward the trees. Before he disappeared completely, he turned back and gave her a sharp nod, and then he was gone.

  Liddy watched the trees for several minutes, and her heart sank when it was clear the bear wouldn’t return. He’d made her feel safe—the same way Aiden had—and though he was probably dangerous, he was her bear and she hadn’t wanted him to go.

  My bear? Oh, god…I’m losing my mind!

  She shook her head to clear the crazy thoughts, gathered her clothes and coins for the shower, and left her vehicle. Even though the bear had eyes as dark as Aiden’s, and a clearly deadly disposition, he wasn’t her bear, just like Aiden wasn’t her man.

  Hell, she didn’t even want a man. Men sucked.

  Aiden doesn’t suck, he’s…different!

  Liddy chastised her thoughts, and reminded herself to keep her feelings about Aiden buried deep. He was being nice by helping her, nothing more, but he watched her too closely. If she wasn’t careful, he’d know the truth of her feelings before the end of the day, and it might ruin everything.

  We’re just friends!

  They would never be more than friends.

  She repeated the mantra over and over, but even though her mind knew it was the right thing to do, her heart ached for the love it would never have.

  ***

  An hour later, Liddy looked in the mirror and shrugged. She'd taken an extra-long shower with some of the leftover money Aiden had given her, and dressed in a clean pair of jeans and a comfortable, newish looking t-shirt that she’d only worn a few times.

  She didn’t have a lot of clothes to begin with, and in them, there was nothing really appropriate for an interview. Her last job had been a jeans-and-t-shirt kind of place, and she hadn’t been prepared to start job hunting her first few weeks in town, so her wardrobe was extremely limited, and some of her pieces had seen better days.

  She bent over to tie her sneaker, and hoped Aiden wouldn’t be embarrassed, or regret his decision to help her, when she showed up to meet him.

  Abruptly, her stomach started doing flip-flops, and she hovered over the sink and waited for the feeling of nausea to pass.

  Should I even go?

  Before she could push the thought away, another followed…

  What if this is all a joke?

  Aiden might not know her whole situation, but she’d stole from him. He knew enough. What if his boss laughed at her? Or worse? What if Aiden laughed, too? Was this just some trick to make fun of the ridiculous new girl in town?

  She looked in the mirror again and sighed. She was ridiculous.

  Forget this!

  No…you need a job.

  She did need a job, and joke or not, she was wearing her best outfit. She took everything back to her car, made sure she had her license, car keys and money, locked her vehicle, and set out to walk down Main Street.

  There was still plenty of time to meet Aiden, and she wanted to get something to eat before going to the park, but the longer she walked, the more nervous she became.

  When she reached the center of town, she stopped at Delilah's Bakery, and ordered a coffee and a donut. The golden glazed pastry turned out to be more than she could handle, but she forced herself to finish it, and then gulped down the coffee.

  Her nerves still plagued her stomach, but when she knew the food would stay down, she left the shop and walked toward the park. The tiny side street that led to the grassy area was easy to find, and she was happier than she should have been when she saw Aiden waiting for her at their picnic table.

  He was fifteen minutes early.

  “Hi,” he said. “You look beautiful.”


  “Thank you,” she said hesitantly. “Are you sure I look okay? I’m sorry, but I don't really own any interview clothes.”

  “You’re perfect—you look perfect—and you have nothing to be sorry for,” Aiden said.

  Did he just say I’m perfect?

  Yes, and then he corrected himself.

  Just friends, remember?

  “It's not really an interview anyway,” Aiden continued. “It's just a formality. Tristan wants to meet you, but only because he wants to know all of his employees. He trusts my judgment, and because I like you, he will, too. Plus, he's not mean and scary like I am…he’s actually very friendly.”

  “You're not mean and scary,” she laughed, and then nervously looked away.

  When Aiden didn’t respond, Liddy looked up to find him staring at her.

  He looked like he was trying to decide whether or not she was lying, and the fact that she’d apparently stumped him amused her. More so because she knew he was a master at reading emotions.

  While most people probably were afraid of him, she hadn’t been lying, and she refused to back down. She stared back until Aiden cleared his throat and broke the silence.

  “Did you eat today? Are you hungry?”

  “I had some coffee and a doughnut a little while ago,” she said, “but I'm too nervous to eat anything else right now.”

  “Okay,” he nodded. “We can get some lunch after, and then we’ll have a look at your car.”

  “Great!”

  The word came out at a higher pitch than she’d intended, but Aiden didn’t say anything about it, and neither did she. As much as she didn’t want him to see she was living in her car, she knew it was inevitable. She needed her car to get back and forth to work, and she needed his help to get it going again.

  Chapter Four

  Aiden ignored Liddy’s high-pitched squeak of agreement, and thought about her previous words. People rarely surprised him—he’d been studying them for far too long—but his mate had managed to shake him up with five little words.

  Of course, she had no idea about the magnitude of her admission, but that didn’t matter. The fact that she wasn’t afraid of him made his heart sing, and his bear roar with pride. The onslaught of feelings nearly knocked him on his ass, and suddenly everything seemed off-kilter.

  Panic threatened to take over as he looked around the park and couldn’t find a single threat. Her words had taken over his senses, and he’d let his guard down, making them vulnerable. She could destroy him with a few flowery words.

  Except…she wouldn’t.

  Liddy wasn’t malicious, she was cautious.

  Aiden took a deep breath and glanced around the park again.

  Except for a lone man eating his lunch and playing games on his phone, the park was deserted. The reason he didn’t sense any threats was simply because there weren’t any.

  A mate did have the power to weaken a shifter, but she also had the power to make him stronger. He’d seen it with his alpha and his second, and also with his parents and his aunt and uncle.

  He still feared her rejection, but he knew he could survive without her if he had to.

  “Are you ready to go?” Aiden asked.

  “As ready as I’ll ever be,” Liddy laughed.

  He motioned the direction she needed to start walking, and fell in step beside her.

  Aiden hadn’t missed the way Liddy stiffened when he mentioned helping her with her car, and he instantly regretted saying the words before her meeting with Tristian. He knew she was embarrassed by her living conditions, and she was already nervous enough without the added pressure of having to show him where she lived.

  He wished he knew the right words to take away her worries, but he didn’t want to make things worse, so he didn’t say anything.

  They walked to the free parking lot in comfortable silence, and when they reached his SUV, Aiden unlocked and held open her door until she was comfortably situated inside, then he rounded the vehicle and slid into the driver’s seat.

  Something happened in those few seconds, and the look on her face nearly broke his heart. He didn’t know what had made her so sad, but he could no longer stay silent.

  He reached out, grabbed her hand, and linked their fingers together. The move was incredibly friendly, but it felt right, and he’d wanted to touch her again since he’d felt the soft skin of her elbow the day before. Luckily, Liddy granted him a small smile, and didn’t pull away.

  “Hey, it’s going to be okay,” Aiden said. “Really. I wasn't joking when I said Tristan was one of my best friends, and that this is just a formality. He’s going to love you, and you don’t have to worry about anything.”

  “Thank you, Aiden,” she whispered.

  He pulled their entwined fingers to his lips, and left a chaste kiss on the back of her hand before reluctantly letting her go and starting up the SUV. He worried about how Liddy would react to the intimate gesture, but she didn’t seem to mind touching him, which was a good thing.

  Hopefully, over time, he could earn her complete trust.

  Silence filled the space between them again, but this time Aiden didn’t worry. Liddy seemed happy, and he wanted her to stay that way for as long as possible.

  He maneuvered the SUV out of the parking lot, made the short drive to the end of Main Street, and then pulled into the deserted parking lot of the club.

  The employee entrance was at the back of the building, and he parked in a space next to the door, unlocked the entrance, and led her down a narrow hallway filled with several doors.

  If they walked to the end, they would enter the main room of the club, but Aiden stopped at the last door on the right, and glanced inside the open room.

  Tristian sat behind his desk, looking at his laptop, and Scarlett, his mate, sat on the couch looking at her phone. He was grateful his alpha had thought to bring his mate, especially because they were going to offer Liddy a place to stay in their home.

  Scarlett’s presence would definitely put Liddy at ease.

  Aiden rapped his knuckles on the door, and both Tristian and Scarlett stood. He then motioned for Liddy to step into the office, and introduced everyone.

  “Liddy, I would like you to meet my boss, Tristian, and his…girlfriend, Scarlett. Tristian and Scarlett, this is my friend, Elizabeth—Liddy—Reed.”

  “Hi Liddy,” Tristian said, rounding the desk and extending his hand.

  His mate followed his example and stepped forward.

  “It’s nice to meet you, Liddy.”

  “Thank you, both,” Liddy said. “It’s nice to meet you guys, too.”

  “Let’s have a seat and talk,” Tristian said.

  Liddy glanced at Aiden, and he nodded in approval.

  “My office is right down the hall if you need me,” he said, pointing down the hall toward the way they came in. “Two doors down on the left, and my door will be open.”

  “Okay,” Liddy whispered.

  She walked further into the room, and Aiden forced himself to leave her.

  He went to his office, and as promised, he left the door open and waited for Liddy to find him. Though he hated leaving her, he knew it was for the best.

  Besides the fact that he didn’t know her well enough to sit in on an interview, he wanted her to feel comfortable with his clan, and that wouldn’t happen if he didn’t give her any space—even if he didn’t want to.

  Aiden pulled some paperwork out of his desk, and tried to wait patiently.

  ***

  Liddy smiled up at Aiden and stepped through the threshold of the door to the club. It was the second time that day he’d held open her door, and until now, her father had been the only other man to ever show her any kind of respect.

  Her heart sank as she thought again about how saddened her daddy would be in the way her life had turned out, and she could only think of one thing worse…Aiden’s censure.

  After they left the park, Aiden helped her into his SUV, offered her words
of encouragement, and kissed the back of her hand. She knew he was just being nice, but the feel of his lips on her skin sent jolts of electricity up her arm.

  They rode to the club in silence, and when they passed the campground, she couldn’t fight the melancholy feeling that suddenly returned. Like a tangible thing, it wove its way around her body, and threatened to suffocate every breath.

  After the interview, Aiden was going to help with her car, and he was going to see where she lived. Would he think she was a loser? Would he regret his decision to help her? If her interview was just a formality, would he get his friend to rescind the job offer? The suspense made her stomach flip-flop again, and she was glad when they pulled into the parking lot of the club.

  Aiden led the way down a long corridor, stopped at the first open door, and rapped his knuckles on the wooden barrier. A man and a woman stood and greeted them with warm smiles, and Aiden motioned for her to move further inside the room.

  “Liddy,” Aiden said. “I would like you to meet my boss, Tristian, and his…girlfriend, Scarlett. Tristian and Scarlett, this is my friend, Elizabeth—Liddy—Reed.”

  “Hi Liddy,” Tristian said, rounding the desk and extending his hand.

  The man was about an inch taller than Aiden, with an equally muscular build, and brown hair and eyes. He was extremely attractive, but his touch didn’t affect her the way Aiden’s did.

  “It’s nice to meet you, Liddy,” Scarlett said next.

  Liddy was nearly speechless.

  The stunning woman was two-inches taller than her, had way more curves, thick wavy black hair, and beautiful green eyes. Most of the time Liddy felt like a giant next to other women because of her height and weight, but next to Scarlett, she almost felt normal.

  “Thank you, both,” Liddy said. “It’s nice to meet you guys, too.”

  “Let’s have a seat and talk,” Tristian said.

  She looked to Aiden for approval, and he nodded.