Star Crossed Lovers – A BBW, BWWM Shifter Love Story

The mountaintops flamed as the sun rose and shone on them. The snow at the caps was invisible; clouds hung low that morning, covering the crests like blankets. The pine trees dotting the mountains were verdant and plentiful. The craggy rocks had watched over the valley for centuries, waiting silently for the end of time. Shaded shapes across the valley created a visual no artist could paint on the first try.

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And I live here now, Alex thought. This is my home.

He’d awakened before sunrise and kissed the woman he loved as she slept soundly on their bed. He’d smiled when she mumbled something at him before covering her head with the blanket. He loved her even when she didn’t want to get up with him.

Alex loved his alone time. He wandered through the empty camp, familiarizing himself with it. He’d lived here less than a week but felt so at home here that he couldn’t imagine going anywhere else. The men and women, the children of the werebear clan, had accepted him as one of their own simply because Alice loved him, and she was their family. They held no prejudices because he wasn’t a werebear; they not only did not mind that he was a werewolf, they were interested in learning more about him.

His was a keen mind. He looked forward to teaching the clan about his people while he learned about their tradition. Of course, his favorite tradition of the werebear clan had already been shared with him by Alice, the woman he hoped to marry sooner rather than later. She had washed him, seduced him slowly with scented soap and a washcloth. The experience had been tender and loving and so erotic he’d almost exploded. The idea that Alice had shared this tradition with him to show his love was a sweet one, but he thought the truth might be closer to the fact that she wanted him so hot for her he couldn’t help himself.

Either way, he loved it and hoped to repeat it often.

Alex lifted his nose and sniffed the mountain air deeply. His lungs expanded and released; he smiled at the various strange scents he picked up that were slowly becoming familiar: the scents of the werebears and their camp. Already, the smell of breakfast was in the air. This was another tradition he highly approved of; the werebears made meals fit for kings. He’d learned that each family took turns creating the meals, and he looked forward to the first meal he and Alice’s family (if Riley and Susan allowed it) would cook together as a family. He already had so many ideas for the menu; he loved to cook, always had.

He continued his meandering through the camp and through his mind as the werebear people began to stir. The camp came to life slowly. Some went straight to the shower rooms, while others went for the food first. He sat in the food area and watched these people who had accepted him so easily. When Alice found him, he was grinning like a fool all by himself.

“What are you grinning about?” she asked him, bending over him and giving him a kiss on the lips.

“I’m people watching,” he explained. When she raised an eyebrow, he giggled like a little boy. “Your clan is very interesting. You’re used to them, I’m sure, but their routines, the way they react to each other and treat each other, it’s really nothing like the werewolf pack.”

“Is that a good thing?” Alice asked, head cocked to the side. She had laid her hand on his shoulder as they spoke, connecting them physically as well as emotionally.

“It’s not good or bad. It’s just different and fascinating to someone who hasn’t seen it every day of her life,” he replied, leaning his head to the side and kissing her knuckles.

“Huh,” Alice murmured, looking around at the people she’d lived with her entire life. She didn’t know any other way to live besides this village. She felt that she could adapt if she had to, but she had been secretly happy when Alex and John had fought and they’d left the werewolf camp. Many of the people around her had grown up with her. The elderly couple walking to a table, the table where they had eaten every meal together since they’d been married, had acted as her grandparents because hers had gone early, just like her father. The teenager shying away from his mother’s questions about his activities the night before, she’d babysat for him occasionally. She watched as a man her age, a man she’d run around with as a child, guided his twin boys to the food. She felt a small pang at the sight of the toddlers toddling.

Alex sensed the shift in her mood and took her hand from his shoulder, gently placing another kiss across her knuckles. She looked down at him and smiled, but the smile was a sad one. He glanced in the direction that had captured her attention and saw the small boys. He smiled hugely and pulled Alice into his lap.

“You want babies, don’t you?”

“Well, you know, I’m not getting any younger,” she teased, although her eyes didn’t share the smile on her lips.

Alex’s words were serious. “Alice, I think you and I need to talk about where we’re heading in our relationship. I know it’s fast, but I want to marry you and have babies with you.”

“I want those things too, Alex,” Alice returned, but she shook her head at him. “We don’t even know if we can have children together. I’ve never heard of cross-species babies being born.”

“I’ve never seen a King Cobra, but I know they exist in nature,” he argued gently, nudging her.

She smiled at him and shook her head. “You’re just too dang smart.”

“I am. You should listen to me more often,” Alex whispered in her ear, nipping it with his teeth. She giggled and playfully slapped his chest before standing.

“Come on, I’m hungry.” They walked together to the food line and chatted with the people around them genially, laughter ringing through the camp. Alex caught sight of the little girl he’d spoken to yesterday; she saw him at the same moment.

“Alex!” she cried out to him, releasing her mother’s hand and racing to him. “Good morning!”

“Good morning, Sunshine!”

She giggled beautifully and said, “That’s not my name!”

“I beg your pardon! What would you like me to call you, beautiful girl?”

“Jenny!” she screeched at him in the pitch that only little girls can hit.

“Jenny, we’ve talked about the screeching,” her mother admonished quietly. “Good morning, Alice, Alex.”

“Good morning,” Alice replied, smiling at her. She looked down at Jenny and asked, “I bet you want to know if Alex is going to keep his promise.”

“Yes!” Jenny screeched again, forgetting her mother’s warning. She glanced up and said, “Oops.” Her mother smiled at her and winked. Jenny looked back at Alex and said in a much quieter voice, “Are you going to shift for me?”

“Only if you shift for me. Then we can wrestle!”

Jenny’s eyes widened in excitement. “Yes! I bet I win!”

“I bet you do, too. I’m weak from lack of food.” Alex pretended to faint, leaning heavily against Alice, who let out an oof. Jenny howled with laughter. Alex grinned at her and winked. “Let’s eat our breakfast and then we’ll all go out to the field and whoever wants to shift, can.”

“Yes!” Jenny ran to the food line and grabbed a plate. Her mother rushed behind her and helped before the plate fell to the ground.

“Did you see that?” Alex asked Alice as they reached for their own plates. She raised her eyebrows questioningly and he answered his own question. “I’m terrific with children. We’ll have to have at least one or two.”

Alice laughed at him and said, “You mean you don’t want a litter?”

“Oh lord no. Let’s start with one and think about number two after we’re used to that one.”

“Good plan, love,” Alice replied. She didn’t mind the playful banter, but deep down, she really wanted children. She was so scared she and Alex wouldn’t be able to. She shook the sadness off; she didn’t want to ruin the day with negativity.

*****

Jenny ran over after scarfing down her food, her mother hurrying after her. She grabbed Alex’s hand and pulled on it until, laughing, he stood and lifted her onto his shoulders.

“A girl as pretty as you deserves to be carried,” he bellowed for everyone to hear. Heads turned and laughs could be heard as Jenny waved like a princess in her carriage.

Alice followed the pair, watching them. Riley joined her, along with a handful of other werebears. She looked behind them and realized that most of the camp had decided to come watch the show.

“What’s going on?” she questioned.

“Some of our friends have never seen a werewolf shift, only seen the person or the wolf,” Riley shrugged. “They’re curious, just like Alex is curious about the fact that Jenny is so young and can shift.”

Alice nodded her head, not surprised. The absolute hatred the clan and pack had shared had prevented them from learning anything about the other. She’d always been curious as well, but until Alex had entered her life, she’d been almost afraid of the werewolves because of the scary stories she’d been told. Now she knew better.

The group reached the clearing, and Alex set Jenny on her feet with a smile. He turned around and gaped at the crowd that had gathered. Jenny had kept up a steady train of chatter in his ear as they’d walked; he hadn’t heard them following. He smiled a little self-consciously at Alice and Riley.

“Why is everyone here?” he asked.

“Because they want to see. Like I told Alice, they’ve seen a werewolf, and they’ve seen human forms of werewolves. But very few of us have actually seen a werewolf shift,” Riley explained with a shrug. “Shara told me the best way to make this truce work is if we learn about each other.”

“My mother is so smart,” Alex said, grinning. “I actually think she heard me say that and stole it.”

“Come on, Alex! Show me, show me, show me!” Jenny hollered at him imperiously. Her mother moved forward to scold her for her bad manners, but Alex waved at her and smiled.

“Here goes, but after I shift, you have to shift too,” he reminded her. She nodded enthusiastically and stared at him. Alex looked around at all the eyes on him. When his eyes met Alice’s, she smiled at him. His heart swelled with love, and his smile showed it. For Jenny’s amusement, he raised his head and howled into the sky. She screeched and clapped her hands; he shifted, landing on all fours in front of her.

The crowd gasped. He looked menacing, standing next to the small child, staring at her with his wolf eyes. He towered over her, at least three feet taller than her tiny frame. He howled again as the wolf; the sound echoed through the mountains. Jenny jumped a little and took a step back. Alex saw this and nuzzled her with his nose. When he licked her face, she giggled uproariously and put her arms around his neck. Her cry of ‘so soft’ amused the spectators and several laughed out loud.

Jenny cried out to Alice, “Can I ride him?”

Alex nodded his wolf head at her, nuzzling her cheek with his. She giggled a sweet, little girl giggle and squealed with delight when Alice lifted her and placed her on his back. Alex walked around the clearing, going towards the audience like a grand show pony carrying his jockey. Alice called to Jenny to wave at the crowd like in a parade.

“What a spectacle they make! She’s so happy!”

“So sweet! I knew those rumors about werewolves couldn’t be true.”

“Look how gentle he is with her.”

“I wish I could ride that hunk of werewolf.”

Riley guffawed at the last statement, but the others were just the type of things he wanted to hear from his people. The truce would be universally accepted as long as wonderful events like this one continued to happen. The werewolves needed these types of moments as well. Riley brainstormed how to make that happen as he watched Alex with Jenny.

“Jenny! Remember, you promised Alex you’d shift too,” Jenny’s mother reminded her over the crowd’s murmurs.

“I forgot! Can I ride for a few more minutes?” Jenny pleaded, but her mother lifted her off Alex’s back.

“You’ve ridden long enough. Show Alex how beautiful you are,” Jenny’s mother said gently. Jenny smiled proudly and yelled ok, then shifted so quickly one almost couldn’t see it.

Jenny roared her little roar and ran at Alex’s wolf. He scuttled back and rolled over on his back, and Jenny pounced on him. She growled as menacingly as she could, showing her teeth, but even with the bear vocal cords, Alex could hear the little girl giggle. She was just a cub, no larger than a beagle. He was taken aback by the ease of her shift at such a young age. He couldn’t wait for the werewolves to learn about this wonder.

*****

That afternoon, Riley stopped by Alice and Alex’s cabin. “Hey, Alex, can we chat for a few?”

Alice looked at Riley with a raised eyebrow. “Please tell me you aren’t giving him the what-are- your-intentions speech. I’m a little old, don’t you think?”

“You probably already told him what his intentions are. I don’t worry about that with you,” Riley scoffed. Alice glared at him for a moment, then nodded her head in agreement. Alex laughed.

“If I were you, I’d be worried about Susan,” Alice asserted. “She and Roy seem to be getting awfully close.”

“Fantastic. You fall for a wolf, and she has to also. Nice role modeling, there, sis,” Riley joked with a wink at Alex. “Next thing you know, I’ll be in love with that troll y’all think you smelled.”

“I’m sure a troll would be just your type, Riley,” Alice commented. “Warts and rotten eggs, a beautiful combination. You already smell like one anyway. And we did smell a troll.”

Alex watched the siblings, amused. He’d grown up as an only child and didn’t understand this kind of teasing. Sure, there had been other kids around, but you don’t treat friends like you would a sibling. He knew he wanted at least two children after watching the woman he loved tease and be teased by her older brother.

“Y’all go on and talk your boring manly talk. I need a nap,” Alice grumbled. Alex kissed her on the cheek and wiggled his eyebrows with a grin on his face. He knew why she was so sleepy, and if he had his way, he’d be right back in here to “nap” with her.

He turned and followed Riley out of the cabin and to his, where he was offered a cold beer and a chair on the front porch. They sipped in silence for a few minutes before Riley spoke.

“So I’ve been thinking about this village you told me about,” he began. Alex waited for him to continue, and when he didn’t, Alex added to the conversation.

“I finally learned the name after chatting with a couple of the older guys in the pack. Aaru. It means Heaven in Egyptian, which I find interesting,” Alex mused.

“Why is that interesting?”

“The Egyptians believed many different species of animals were sacred and cared for them like sentient beings who would care for them in the afterlife. The idea of naming a place where all species of weres are accepted after the Egyptian idea of heaven is a pretty cool idea.”

“You’re right, that is interesting.” Riley’s brows had furrowed as Alex expounded on the Egyptian beliefs. He wondered who had thought of the name.

“From what I’ve heard, many of them are well-educated, although not formally. They live in the commune, as they refer to it, for as long as they wish,” Alex continued. He sat up and gestured at Riley with his beer. “You know, it reminds me of one of those hippie colonies or even a nudist colony.”

Riley laughed at the idea. “Good lord. I know we’re pretty easygoing about nudity here, but we do wear clothes.”

Alex joined in his laughter and corrected him. “No, no, it just makes me think of that. I’m pretty sure they wear clothes as much as we do.”

“And they really have all the species of were?” Riley was very skeptical.

“That’s what I’ve heard. Even the rare species like werepigs. Werebears, werewolves, and werecats for sure. One of the guys said, the last he heard, they even had a handful of fairies and an ogre.”

“Seriously? An ogre?” Riley was surprised at that. Ogres weren’t known to be social creatures; they typically turned on those who considered them friends. “I thought they were incredibly dangerous?”

“That’s what I’ve always heard, but I also heard that werebears were barbaric trash who sometimes killed their offspring.” Riley snorted loudly and Alex laughed. “Exactly. Who knows what’s true until we see it with our own eyes.”

“You’re right there,” Riley replied, drinking his beer. “All right, let’s go the day after tomorrow. Sound good?”

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