Free Romance: Chosen By Her Bear: A BBW Paranormal Shape Shifter Romance Standalone by Ashley Hunter Page B

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    He was wearing jeans which looked as if it was sewn onto him (like the rumor that got around for that Marilyn Monroe dress…. Happy Birthday, Mr. Presiiiiident). He didn’t look like a kidnapper but he sure was one. What are the chances of getting kidnapped by this guy?
    As my mind tried to register the whole situation, he moved closer to the bed and I instinctively recoiled. Hot or not, this man was a creepy kidnapper and there was no happy ending to that story.
    He took a knife out of his pocket and my heart skipped a beat. This was it. I wasn’t going to see the sun. Then, with a single stroke, he cut loose the rope that was tied to my leg and the bedpost. I immediately drew my legs inward.
    “Sorry, I had to tie you up,” he said and he genuinely looked sorry. It was all very confusing. “I didn’t know how you would react and I couldn’t take the risk.”
    “Where am I?” I said in a trembling voice.
    “I will tell you everything,” he said, his eyes avoiding mine. “But you must be hungry. Come down. I have set the table. We will eat and talk.”
    He said this and left the room, closing the door. This was definitely strange. Why was the stranger, no scratch that, kidnapper, being so nice and all? Was this to lull me in some false sense of security and get a jump on me? Nothing was making sense but I knew one thing was sure: I was hungry as hell.

He sat across from me on the long dinner table which made it very awkward. I could not help but think of the scene from Beauty and the Beast when Belle had dinner with the beastly prince.
    Well, this guy sure ain’t no beast. The food was pretty good and ample. At first I restrained myself, not knowing what was going on but when he started eating, so did I.
    The food was eaten in silence. Towards the end, he broke it.
    “My name is Damien,” he said, in a way that suggested that he was going to tell a long story. That was fine by me: I wanted answers and quickly.
    “I am Ava,” I said.
    “I know,” he said simply.
    “How?” I asked quickly.
    “Wait and I will answer all your questions,” he said, in a calm voice, one that somebody uses while trying to explain to a kid why his favorite cartoon cannot be played on the TV all day.
    “I belong to the House of Knightrunners. My father is advisor to the king ---“
    “What king?” I interrupted him. “This country has no king.”
    Damien smiled; heart, beat, skipped.
    “You wouldn’t know the king I am talking about. Let me finish.”
    I decided to zip my mouth.
    “So,” Damien said, getting up and pacing the cavernous hall. “Our realm is the Greenworld, ruled by King Jacob. There was a prophecy, about 30 years ago, a few years before I was born and when Jacob was a boy and his father ruled the Greenworld. The prophecy concerned the future bear king ---“
    “The what?” I couldn’t help myself. Did he say bear king?
    Damien stopped in his tracks. “Yeah. Did I not mention that earlier? We are half bears. We can turn into bears.”
    My jaw hit the floor. I was too stunned to say anything. Surely this fella was out of it.
    “You’re crazy,” I said weakly. My mind was trying to wrap itself with what he was saying.
    “It might sound crazy,” he began. “But please let me finish and I will prove everything to you.”
    I once again quieted myself.
    “So, where was I? Yeah, the prophecy. My father, who was advisor to the last king, was there when the prophecy was made. It said that the future bear king can save this clan from this curse of shape shifting by one thing and one thing only.”
    He paused and he was now positively avoiding my eyes.
    “He has to impregnate a virgin with a pure soul. The virgin should not have seen 25 cycles of her life,” and when he said this, his eyes finally looked into mine and my heart was racing faster than ever. “You fulfill the criteria. You are a virgin and you are---“
    “24 years old,” I said. The situation was starting to sink in and fear