Free The Island Of Alphas: A BBW Paranormal Romance by Amira Rain, Simply Shifters

watched while he shifted into wolf form and bounded into a thick copse of palms near the side of the house.
     
    I didn't sleep well that night. Though exhausted, I was restless for some reason, sleeping lightly and waking frequently after having had dreams about both Eric and Nate. By the time I woke up around seven, I was more than a little hungry, though not for breakfast. While I made coffee, I also made a decision.
     
    When Eric and I spoke again, if he said what I thought he'd been leading up to before he'd been interrupted, if he confirmed that he wouldn't mind if our relationship became less-than-professional, I was going to ask him to prove it. I was going to hint that he take me right then and there. I was going to allow myself to give in to passion. Passion that I'd been desperately lacking in my life ever since Jason had left me.
     
    Lost in my thoughts, and in my hopes , really, I took a cup of coffee out on the porch, wondering if Eric might stop by. I also wondered if Nate might stop by. However, after a minute or so, the person who strolled by the sandy, rocky terrain in front of my bungalow wasn't either of them
     
    It was a woman. She had dark hair and eyes, and she was on the shorter, slightly curvier side like I was. I knew right away who she was. Layla .
     
    She was Eric's ex that Laura had warned me about. To my surprise, I hadn't seen a trace of her the whole time I'd been on the island, though now I remembered Laura had said something the day before about Layla currently being in the village to visit her sister. Obviously, this wasn't what I needed at the present time. I already had enough on my mind.
     
    However, I was determined to be polite, on the off-chance that she wasn't stopping by to cause any sort of trouble, but simply to say hello, even though I realized the likelihood of the latter scenario was probably really an off-off-chance.
     
    As she drew near to the porch, I gave her a small, polite smile. "Good morning. You must be-"
     
    "Layla. We can skip all the pleasantries, because I just have one thing to say, and then I'll be gone. I just want to tell you the truth about Eric...the real reason he brought you to the island."
     
     

CHAPTER FOUR
     
    Layla came to a stop in front of the porch, folding her arms across her ample chest. The coldness of her narrowed eyes was in stark contrast to the warm oranges and reds of a brilliant sunrise behind her. When she spoke, her voice held a cold, icy edge as well.
     
    "Like I said, I'll be brief. Just because I'm a nice person, and I try to look out for other women, I wanted to let you know the real reason Eric brought you here to the island. Hint, it's not because he actually thinks you can solve the fertility crisis. Everyone in the village, except you, seems to know the real reason he brought you here.
     
    “See, he brought you here under false pretenses. He lied to you. The real reason he brought you here is because he hopes to try to get you pregnant, to add a baby to the population. And all this time, you've been thinking he brought you here because you're a smart doctor, haven't you? Well, nope. He lied to your face. Just thought I'd let you know. Just trying to be helpful. If you have a single shred of dignity, you'll ask him to take you back home through the portal by the end of the day."
     
    With that, Layla stalked away, smirking, cutting across a patch of rocky sand to the boardwalk.
     
    I stood speechless, putting two and two together, thinking about some of the things Eric had said the night before. I didn't want to believe Layla was right, that Eric really had brought me to the island under false pretenses, but it did make sense.
     
    The more of our previous night's conversation I recalled, I became sure of it. Eric had been about to tell me that even if the fertility problems of the women on the island were supernatural and unsolvable, the way I could still help would be to mate with him in hopes of producing a baby. It