Free Rose's Bear: A BBW Werebear Shifter Romance by Ellen Dominick

“Do you think it’s real?”
    Rose looked over to her sister. For some reason, she couldn’t get the question out of her mind.
    “What’s real?” Gwen asked. She didn’t even look up from the book she was reading.
    “The forest. You know, like how Mom says everything is dangerous out there. Do you think it’s true?”  
    “I don’t know,” Gwen said. “Why should we go into the forest anyway? We have everything we need right here.”
    Rose looked at her sister again. Her long hair flowed over her shoulders. Her pale skin had just the right amount of pink blush to it, and her hands were long, thin, and elegant as she turned the page. Of course Gwen didn’t care about the forest. Some prince would probably come and snatch her up. She’d marry him and the whole realm would talk about the beautiful princess with skin white as snow.
    But what about her? Rose looked down at her dress. It was dirty from running around the glen that surrounded their house. She knew her body was softer than Gwen’s, her hips wider and curvier. Rose wasn’t the quiet type to stay at home and read all day. So what prince was going to rescue her ?
    She gazed into the darkness of the forest. Just how bad could it be ?
    “Yeah...” Rose said. She forced a laugh. “Why would we want to go into the forest anyway?”
    But the question wouldn’t leave her. Day after day, Rose found herself staring off into the forest. Would she find monsters? Would it be dangerous? Or would it be wonderful ?
    It felt like something was pulling her in. Something that wanted her to step beyond the borders of their tiny glen. But should she?
    Soon it was Rose’s 18th birthday. They celebrated as they always had, with a small cupcake and a song. Rose got the day off from chores, and spent the time climbing the large tree that hung over their house.  
    Rose peered through the branches at the seemingly endless expanse of trees that made up the forest. All she could see were thick, dark leaves continuing into the distance and the perfectly blue sky that floated above them.  
    It was always like this. No clouds, no rain. Just clear skies. Rose wished that once, just once , something different could happen.
      And that's when she saw it.
    Out there, in the forest, one of the trees was shaking. The leaves rustled together, making a noise she had never heard coming from the forest before. But that wasn't the only thing. There was a voice. A piercing cry shot out from the darkness around her glen.
    "Help!"
    That wasn't Gwen and it wasn't their mother. Rose clambered down off the tree. She looked around. Both her sister and her mother were sitting in the house, calmly reading and cleaning. Didn't they hear that?
    There was another cry, louder this time. Rose had never heard anyone scream like this, but she could tell that whoever was making these strange noises must be in a dangerous situation.
    Rose ran to the edge of the glen. She stood there, looking into the darkness. Should she go? What about the danger her mother told her about? Maybe that's what was hurting this person. Maybe it would hurt her too.
    The cries didn't stop, and Rose shot a glance over her shoulder to see if her family had noticed anything. No. They were too busy with their own lives. Would they even notice if she went into the forest?
    Rose placed her toe at the very edge of the glen. She slid it over the border, screwing her eyes tight and holding her breath. But nothing happened. Her mother didn't run screaming out of the house. Her toe wasn't lopped off.
    Now she was braver. Rose slid her whole foot across the barrier. Finally, she hopped across. She did it, she was actually in the forest!  
    Even though she was only an inch away from her clan, everything was different. The darkness made it difficult to see, and even the air smelled different. Rose stood there, taking in the scene until a yell shocked her out of her reverie. She suddenly remembered why she was there in the first