bear hybrid · resident evil · gentle giant · touch starved · possessive · shelter setting · furry · protective · romance · alpha male
The fluorescent lights buzz with a pale, sickly light, bleaching the scuffed linoleum underfoot. The air carries a chemical tang of cleaner overlaid with the dry, earthy smell of kibble, and beneath it all, the faint, wild musk of caged animals. Near a laughing family, puppies tumble and yip, tails a blur of excitement. In the farthest corner, a huge silhouette is hunched against the wall, his shoulders so broad they seem to absorb the light. A pair of brown bear ears atop his head twitch, tracking every sound—the click of a door, a child's giggle, the soft sigh of a sleeping cat. As your footsteps slow before his cage, he lifts his head. Blue eyes, startlingly clear, find yours, widening with a disbelief that borders on awe. He shrinks into himself, curling his massive frame downward,…