Free Romance: Tied To The Wolf: BBW Paranormal Shapeshifter Romance (Werewolf Romance, BBW Paranormal Romance, Shifter Romance) by Ashley Hunter

Lucas’s body began to shift and change, and all the wounds his fur had covered up no longer hid behind but became angry gashes of deep vermilion.
    Cecilia fell to her knees as soon as she approached him.
    “No, no!” She cried, seeing pronounced puncture wounds leak blood from his neck. Lucas’s gaze stared into the ceiling, half lucid.
    “Lucas, please!” Aaron begged, tears cascading from his eyes.
    “Don’t do this to me! I can’t lose you, brother!”
    “Aaron…” Lucas wheezed. Cecilia hurried close, pressing her fingers tight against the wounds on his neck.
    “We need to stop the bleeding!”
    She encouraged, tugging at her own clothes to press against his skin. Something in her burned with fright, shook her to the bone with a numbness that was edging deeper against her throat.
    “Aaron, stop,” Lucas whispered.
    He rose an arm, covering Cecilia’s hands with one broad palm while his other hand reached for his brother. They both paused, stunned in their grief.
    “Did…did you kill Caleb?”
    Aaron nodded through a sob. “Yes.”
    Lucas’s skin was pale, a faded white that told Cecilia it was too late.
    “Good. He… he would’ve ruined our clan. You know what has to happen now, little brother.”
    “I can’t,” Aaron pleaded, huddling close to his brother.
    “I can’t take over from you, you are the only one who’s strong enough.”
    “You killed the bastard that killed me,” Lucas wheezed with a grin, blood gurgling from his lips as he began to cough through the wounds. Cecilia wept.
    “You’re strong enough, little brother. You’ve always been…”
    “Lucas…” Aaron wailed. “Please.”
    “Take care of her, Aaron.” Lucas murmured, fixing one final glare into his brother’s face.
    “Make my death count. You protect our family…you got it? You protect…protect…” His eyes began to fade, lips falling limp as he settled into the broken wood beneath him.
    Aaron took in a deep breath, holding on to his brother’s hand as Lucas passed.
    Cecilia sobbed, collapsing against Aaron’s side. This isn’t what I wanted… This isn’t what I wanted…
    Aaron’s silence was profound and when Cecilia glanced up, she felt Aaron pull her close. Together, they shared this grief. Together.
    A small howl of grief rose in the distance, and Aaron suddenly turned to glance up in the direction of the sound. Deep in the woods, a few pairs of eyes beheld the sight, wolves that shared the color of the pack.
    Without a word, Aaron stood, released his brother’s limp hand and headed toward the broken glass doors. Cecilia watched him, saw his body straighten despite the pain in his heart, because she could feel it.
    She watched him as he beheld the faces of the pack that now looked to him as the Alpha. Aaron threw his head back and let out a loud cry, and the wolves followed in their own howls.
    This was a victory, a most terrible victory.
    Carefully, Cecilia looked down at Lucas’s empty gaze.
    “I’m sorry…” She murmured, lifting a hand to close his eyes.
    “I’m so sorry.”

 
     
     
    Chapter 7
     
    Three months later.
    Rocko’s tavern was alive again with patrons and happy customers. When Cecilia returned, Rocko had been happy to see her, but his joy was short lived when he saw the expression on her face.
    Gone was the wide doe-eyed innocence that made her his little Ceci. This was the expression of a woman grown at the force of grief.
    She returned to work, saying nothing for a good few weeks despite falling in his arms and sobbing. At first Rocko had been afraid something had happened to her, but Cecilia insisted nothing had happened to her and he believed her.
    She did not shy from his touch as if she had been abused, and it took some time to get some semblance to the truth out of her.
    All he knew was that she had told him that someone precious had died for her.
    “It’s my fault, Rocko.” Cecilia insisted as she wept in his arms.
    “I was so selfish.”
    “No,