Free ROMANCE : PARANORMAL ROMANCE: Alpha's heart(BBW Pregnancy Werebear Shifter Romance) (New Adult Paranormal Romance) by Brittany White

the blazer.”
    “It’s work, Sara. It’s work for you. Shouldn’t you want me to keep it professional?”
    “You’re my friend as well as my reporter. Besides, how can you truly get the feel for the party if you’re only there as an observer? Go undercover. Find out what the men and women are really like.”
    Cassie snorted. “Nice try. The badge and the blazer stay. Don’t eat all my ice cream,” she said as she shouldered her bag.
    “Cassie!’ The warning tone in Sara’s voice made Cassie wince. “I’ve known you for a long time. You have to let someone in at some point,” she said softly.
    Cassie closed her eyes as she thought back to her past relationships. Men cheated, lied, and abused the power of having a woman’s heart. Cassie wasn’t single because she worked too much or because she couldn’t find men who were attracted to her. She was single because it was just easier.
    “Lock up when you leave,” she said without turning around. She could feel the disappointment in Sara without facing her.
    When Cassie joined the newspaper, she and Sara were instant friends. That was nearly fifteen years ago. Now Sara was an editor, and Cassie wrote a successful column. They both had achieved what they wanted, but Sara was moving on with her life. She had a husband and a baby on the way. Cassie was still struggling with what to do now that she’d achieved her career goals.
    Safely away from Sara’s pointed observations, Cassie sighed and started the car. She didn’t need a man to be happy. She just wasn’t the one to melt after a single touch or get drawn into long romantic stares. She was happy being single.
    As the backed the car down the driveway, she swallowed hard.
    The lie was exhausting even when she was simply saying it to her reflection.
     
     

 
    Chapter Four
    Everything was in full swing by the time she got to the party. She stood in the corner for a moment to observe and doodle some notes. Some of the women were dressed in animal print, and Cassie cocked her head. Wasn’t that just tacky?
    She could feel the tension in the room. It was clear that some of the shifters were very much in tuned to their animal side, and everyone was silently fighting for dominance. The women seemed to lap it up, but it made Cassie uneasy.
    “There you are!”
    Cassie turned to see Lydia making her way over to her. The stunningly beautiful woman was dressed in a sleek black dress and four inch stilettos. Cassie took a moment to appreciate the affect the shoes had on the woman’s legs. “What do you think so far?”
    “It’s classy,” Cassie admitted. She’d thought there’d be awkward music, prom balloons, and glittery streamers, but instead quiet upbeat tempo music was coming out of the speakers, and the decorations were at a minimum. Food and drinks were plenty, and while some couples were dancing, others opted to sit at the tables and get to know each other.
    “Thanks! It was tough in the beginning to come up with a party that shifters of all shapes and sizes might like. We’ve got groups that prefer water, others that prefer land, and some that are odd about concrete and hardwood floors. The key is variety. I try to have a little bit of space for everyone,” she said beaming.
    “How do you keep the alphas from fighting? I can see the uneasiness in some of the men.”
    “There are very strict rules at these parties for the shifters. No fighting is at the very top. I have lavender scented sprays in the corners to help calm everyone, but just in case, there are several undercover operatives with tranquilizer guns. In all the years that I’ve been doing this, we’ve never needed to use them, but safety is the number on priority.”
    Cassie jotted the quote in her notebook. “Why shifters? Aren’t they destined to be with just one person? How can do you have such a high success rate when the odds are stacked against you?”
    Lydia gave her sly smile. “That, my dear, is a trade secret.”
    Out of