The Werewolf Mega-Bundle 2 (Ten BBW Paranormal Erotic Romance Stories) (11 page)

“You know… I think you’re right, Dr. Lyche,” she said, putting a hand up to her forehead and feigning another headache. “I think I might need another physical examination right now!”

***

Another day
’s work was finally over, and Gemma sighed as she packed up her things, wondering what would be in store for her when she got home. All day, she had been looking forward to having a nice anniversary dinner cooked for her by her boyfriend, Jack, but as far as she knew he hadn’t even remembered what day it was, let alone remembered his promise to make it a special night. Not even a single text message.
Maybe this is a trick to throw me off. He probably has a big surprise planned,
she thought, cheering up a little.

They had been together for one year, and today also marked the six-month anniversary of the two moving in together. Or rather, he had moved in with her. Jack had lost his job only a few months after they had met, so Gemma had been supporting him ever since while he looked for a new one. After he hadn’t been able to pay his rent anymore, it had made sense for her to invite him to live with her.

He still hadn’t found a new job yet, but she didn’t mind. It was difficult considering the state of the economy right now. Besides, she made just enough to support the two of them at her office admin job, even though it was occasionally a struggle.

Lately, things had been rough. Jack had seemed distracted and irritable all the time, the sex had dried up ages ago, and he had lost a lot of weight – all signs of stress, Gemma assumed. He had been very difficult to be around, so she was hoping that he would make up for it tonight of all nights. By the time she pulled into the driveway, she was confident that there would be some big surprise waiting for her inside, but instead, she saw an unfamiliar car parked in the driveway.

That’s strange. Why would he invite a friend over on our anniversary? Unless… he really forgot,
she thought, feeling dejected again. As she stepped inside, she smelled something odd. It definitely wasn’t dinner; that was for sure. It had a strange chemical odor, like nothing she had ever smelled before, and as she walked into the lounge room, she realized immediately what it was. Jack was sitting on the sofa with some woman that Gemma had never seen, and they were taking turns smoking something out of a glass pipe.

Suddenly, everything fell into place.
His attitude, his weight loss… he’s been on drugs!

“Jack? What the hell is going on?” she demanded.

He looked over at her and smirked.

“Oh, hey, babe. I was wondering when you’d finally show up. I want you to meet someone. This is my new girlfriend, Ana.”

The other woman snickered and buried her face in her hands, clearly high out of her mind.

“What?” Gemma shouted. “Is this a joke?”

“No, babe. This is really happening. I met Ana a few months ago, and now we’re moving in together. Ana knows how to keep it tight… unlike some people,” Jack replied, gesturing towards her full figure.

Gemma fumed as she tried to figure out what to say.
How dare he say that? I’m not fat. I’m just tall and curvy, unlike that skinny little rake over there who’s only thin because of all the crack she smokes. In my house, apparently!

“How dare you?” she finally hissed. “I come home thinking that you might have something nice planned for our anniversary, and this is what I get? You sitting here, taking drugs and cheating on me? After everything I’ve done for you!”

“Whatever, babe. I’ve been over you for ages. One of the only reasons I didn’t leave before is because it’s been nice having someone to do everything for me and pay for everything for a while.”

“The drugs… you used
my money
for that? I gave you money to spend on things like groceries and gas! Oh my god, Jack.
Get out!
” Gemma yelled, unable to believe that this was really happening. “Both of you!”

He laughed and leaned back on the sofa, ignoring her as he kissed Ana.

“Seriously, Jack, this is my house. Get your things and get the hell out. Not that any of this is yours anyway. The only thing you own here is your clothes. Seriously, get out or I’ll call the police! How would you and Ana like to spend some time in prison for possession of illegal substances, or whatever it is?”

That seemed to motivate him into at least standing up, and he looked down at her, smirking again.

“Okay, I’ll go. But you’re wrong about one thing. Half of everything in this house is mine. It’s the law. We’ve been living together for six months now, and legally, that entitles me to half your stuff. Including half your savings, which I’ve already gotten my hands on. That’s the other reason I stayed with you so long, you stupid fat bitch,” he snarled.

“You cleared out my savings account?” she replied, hot tears filling her eyes and spilling down over her cheeks. “That’s bullshit. You can’t just take my money and half my stuff!”

“Actually, I can. Look it up. I even have a lawyer. Paid for by
you
, so thanks for that,
babe
,” he said, his smirk turning into a twisted grimace.

Gemma sank to the ground and sobbed as Jack and his new girlfriend left. Apparently, he had already packed his bags, so he had clearly planned this. He
wanted
to be caught tonight.
Why?
she wondered.
Did he just want to hurt me as much as possible? Or is it actually really all about trying to take my money and my things?

She couldn’t believe how blind she’d been to all the signs.
God, how did I let this happen? For months now, this has been going on and I didn’t even see,
she thought, cursing herself. Sure, things had been difficult, but she must be stupid to not have noticed what he was doing, and where all her money was going.
That’s it. I am officially the stupidest person alive.

When she had finally managed to stop crying for longer than two minutes, she got onto her computer and tried to search for information on the laws that pertained to where they lived; West Van Lykan county. She couldn’t find anything, so she called her best friend, Liza Morris. Liza was a lawyer, so she would know what Jack had been talking about; if he hadn’t just been making the whole thing up.

“Hey, Gem, what’s up?” Liza said cheerfully on the other end of the line.

Gemma sniffed and then told her everything that had happened. By the time she had finished, tears were streaming down her face, and she realized that she must look like an absolute mess.

“Oh, shit, Gem. I can’t believe Jack would do that! I mean, he has been sponging off you for a while now, but I thought that he’d been looking for a job,” Liza said. “What an asshole! If I see him, I’ll kill him!”

“He said he was. Apparently he was just off doing drugs and god knows what else with
Ana.
I even hate her name!”

“I don’t think it’s the name you hate, it’s just what those two are doing to you. Sorry to have to tell you this, sweetie, but what he’s saying is true. In West Van Lykan, we have these laws. If you live with someone in a de facto relationship for a period of 180 days or longer, then technically, you are entitled to half their things.”

“What? I thought he was just making that up!”

“No, sorry. It’s a real law. I think it was originally brought in to protect stay-at-home mothers who weren’t married to the father of their child, in case he tried to leave them with nothing. I can’t believe that he’s using this against you, though. What a scumbag.”

“He said that it’s my fault. That I’m fat,” Gemma said, before bursting into a fresh set of tears.

“Oh, Gem… it isn’t your fault. Assholes like him always say things like that because they don’t want to face the truth; the fact that it’s all their fault. Not yours. And you, fat? Come on. I wish I had your curves,” Liza said, trying to console her.

Gemma continued to sob, and Liza waited for her to calm down a bit before speaking again.

“Look, I’m still out of town at this conference, but I’ll be back later tonight. Why don’t I call my secretary and get her to push back all my meetings tomorrow? Come to my office at eight A.M., and we’ll see if we can fight this thing.”

“Okay. That would be great. Thanks, Liza. You’re a good friend,” Gemma replied as she wiped her face.

“So are you. You’re a good
person.
I won’t let Jack get away with doing this to you. I’ll make him pay back every cent he stole from you, and then some!”

After she hung up the phone, Gemma took a long, hot shower and then crawled into bed, feeling utterly miserable.
I can’t believe this happened. On our anniversary. Not that there’s really an ‘our’ or ‘we’ anymore. It’s just me, all alone again,
she thought bitterly, remembering what it had been like to be single for so long before meeting Jack. He had been so nice and gentlemanly when they had first met.
What the hell happened? Is it me?

As she cried into her pillow, she prayed that Liza would be able to help her with her legal troubles in the morning. Finally, sleep came, and took away the pain for a few blissful hours.

***

Feeling miserable all over again when she woke up, Gemma got dressed, not even bothering to wear anything particularly nice or do her hair and makeup.
I’m only seeing Liza today. Who cares?
She had called in sick to work, and as she pulled into the parking lot of Liza’s law firm, she took in a deep breath.
Please,
she prayed,
this has to go well. I’ve worked too hard to lose half of everything I own to that scumbag user.

The petite blonde receptionist greeted her warmly as she entered the main administration area of the firm.

“Hi, how can I help you?”

“Hi, I’m Gemma Wondolowski. I have an appointment to see Ms. Morris.”

The receptionist’s face fell.

“Oh, Ms. Wondolowski. I tried to call you, but you must have already left the house before I left the message. Ms. Morris has food poisoning from a bad buffet at the conference, but she wanted to know if it would be alright to set you up with one of her colleagues. Mr. Van Lykan is free. Would that be alright? If not, we can reschedule.”

Gemma chewed on her lip as she thought about it. She had only really wanted to talk to Liza about her problem, but time seemed to be of the essence.

“Okay, I’ll see him. Van Lykan, you say? Is he descended from Ron Van Lykan?” she asked.

Ron Van Lykan was the founder of the county that they lived in, and the one next to it as well; both had been named after him.

“Yes,” the receptionist replied, smiling. “He’s something like, a great-great-great-grandson, I think. I’ll just let him know you’re on your way in.”

Gemma thanked her and then followed her directions to Mr. Van Lykan’s office. The door was slightly ajar, and she drew in a deep breath as she saw the man sitting at the large mahogany desk that stood on one side.

He was absolutely gorgeous. He had perfect, even features that appeared to have been carved by Michelangelo himself, dark hair that seemed to have the stylish ‘just-got-out-of-bed’ look down pat, and well-defined muscles almost straining against the fabric of his expensively-cut white shirt. As he smoothed down his tie he suddenly looked up, his nose twitching and his lips quirking up as if he had just smelled something divine. Noticing her at the door a second later, he grinned and beckoned her in.

“Hi, I’m Paul Van Lykan. Sorry, I didn’t see you standing there. Next time just come on in. Sit, sit,” he said, waving his hands at her.

As he continued to speak in his deep, confident voice, Gemma felt like melting into the floor.
The one day I don’t bother doing my hair and wearing makeup, and I meet the sexiest man alive. Murphy’s law, right?

“Liza called me this morning and explained what was going on, and I’ve been in contact with your ex’s lawyer. He’s just faxing over the relevant documents. Real snake, huh?”

“Hmm?” she said, realizing that she had been daydreaming.