by Jade Alters
“Good morning. Can we talk?” she said.
“Please. Come in.” I let her inside and offered her a cup of coffee. She declined and we sat down at the table. I was as nervous as a damned cat and the worst part was that I was sure Chelsea could smell it.
“So, the guys and I talked last night, at length, about this situation with Cheyenne. First of all, I want to commend you on accepting your punishment for defying the rules, the way that you did. You showed real maturity and class and we appreciate it.”
“Thank you.”
She nodded and said, “We don't want to keep you from the person you believe you should be with, Ridge. Our concern was always this pack number one, and humans just don't take kindly to being kidnapped, or having their friends or family kidnapped. That's the reason we set the rules down the way we did. We have to protect this pack above all. But...we talked about Cheyenne, and the fact that she has, as you told Will, had ample opportunity to hurt us in the past three weeks, and she hasn't done that. So, in the end what we decided was that you may see her...” I jumped up to my feet without even thinking about it. It was just that sudden burst of adrenaline I couldn't control it. She smiled and said, “Sit down, please.” I sat, reluctantly and she said, “But, you have to do it the right way, Ridge. You have to do it the human way, and if she doesn't want to see you, you'll have to accept that. Do you think you can do that?”
I didn't think I could, but I wasn't going to say anything to screw this up. “Yes. I can and will do that.” She wants me. I wasn't worried about that.
“Okay then...don't screw this up, Ridge.”
“I won't.”
“Remember we're a pack. We're a family. We're a team. If you have any problems, come to us. And... I expect transparency. 100% honesty. Got it?”
“Got it. Thank you, Chelsea.” She nodded again and said,
“You're welcome. By the way, have you seen Grayson?”
Shit. Transparency? Truth? “Not since yesterday morning.” Well, that much was true.
“Weird. He told me he'd keep an eye on the babies today while I did my shopping. The guys are all busy with projects. Is Chase around?”
“Probably. I haven't seen him yet today.” Damn it. If Chase says anything to her about Grayson...but then he'd have to tell on himself. I had to get in touch with Grayson and get him out of there or we all might be in trouble, again.
She stood up and said, “I'll go see if he's around. Jackie loves him.” That was true. I always wondered what kind of father I'd be, but I knew Chase was going to make a great one. Grayson was good with the babies too. Chelsea never asked me to watch them. They made me nervous and I did the same to them. I walked her to the door, thanked her again and then shot Chase a text that I hoped he read before she got there,
“Don't tell Chelsea anything about Grayson, please.”
By the time I left the compound half an hour later, he hadn't text me back. He was going to let me wonder, and worry. Jack ass.
I forgot it was Monday. I had to wait all day for Cheyenne to get home from work. Once it was time, I walked to her apartment complex in record time and stood in front of her front door for what seemed like an hour before I finally worked up my nerve to knock.
I could hear my crazy friend in there barking like an idiot and then I heard someone, not Cheyenne, tell him to shut up.
The door was pulled open by her little friend Myrna, who had a smile on her pretty face, until she saw me. “What do you want? Go ahead and attack, dog.” Gray was smirking. Little traitor.
“Is Cheyenne here?”
“No. Go away!” She started to slam the door in my face and I caught it. She pulled it back open and said, “Why are you here? She doesn't want to see you! Go home to your girlfriend.”
“My girlfriend?”
“Ridge?” The sound of Cheyenne's voice made my heart speed up. The sight of her made me lose my breath.
“Hi.”
“I told him you don't want to see him,” Myrna said. “May I let the dog bite him?”
Cheyenne looked like she was trying hard to keep a straight face.
“No Myrna, you may not let the dog bite him. Let him in please.” Myrna practically growled and rolled her eyes. I wondered if Cheyenne told her I drugged and kidnapped her.
But what was that girlfriend thing about?
She stepped out of the way and I stepped around her so that her little leg couldn't reach if she wanted to kick me.
Gray was down on his haunches, growling at me. I glared at him and then looked up at Cheyenne and smiled. “Myrna, would you mind giving us a little privacy?” she asked her friend.
She sighed, gave me another dirty look and said, “I'll be in my room until Brett gets here. Call me if you need me.”
“I will,” Cheyenne said. We watched Myrna go down the hall and then into her room. She slammed the door behind her. Cheyenne looked at me then and said, “I'm sorry. She's unhappy with you.”
“I see that,” I told her. Gray was still growling and Cheyenne looked at him and said,
“Do you want to go in the room too?” Gray stopped growling immediately and actually rubbed himself up against my leg. I almost threw him off of me. Little jerk. “Thank you,” Cheyenne said to him. To me she said, “You can have a seat.” I sat down and she sat opposite me. Her scent was driving me crazy. My body was reacting to her and I was scared to death that she was going to see the tent that was rising in the front of my jeans. “So what's up, Ridge? Am I wrong, or did Chelsea say we shouldn't see each other again?”
“No, you're not wrong. She said that, but they changed their minds.”
“Really? Why?”
“Because I explained to them how I feel about you.”
She raised an eyebrow and said, “And how is that?”
“I think you're my mate. I can't stop thinking about you, Cheyenne. You're beautiful, you're smart, you have a great heart...”
She was shaking her head. “Ridge, you don't know me. How could you know any of those things about me...except the beautiful part, and that makes me think you need glasses.”
“Wolves have senses that humans don't have, Cheyenne, that's the only way I can explain it. That's why humans need time for dating and what not, and wolves...they just mate. They just know. I can feel your heart. I know it's good. And you are so wrong about your looks. You literally took my breath away just now.”
Her face flushed red.
I loved that she was so humble too. She was also nervous, I could smell it. She put her hand out and Gray went right to her.
I watched, almost appalled as he jumped up next to her and cuddled up...on her lap. I could hardly breathe as the shock of him doing that right in front of me started to turn into anger.
I wanted to shift and eat him alive as I watched her stroke his fur...so intimately.
“Cheyenne, about that dog...”
Gray lifted his head and looked at me with those blue eyes of his. I saw him as a pup suddenly and reminded myself that he was the closest thing I had to a brother and I'd asked him to do this. But damn it, I wanted her stroking me, not him.
“Yes?”
“Um...I was just wondering where he came from. You didn't have a dog before, did you?”
“No, but how would you know that?”
“Smell,” I said, quickly. “I would have smelled him on you. Anyways, back to us...” She had stopped petting Gray. He whined and she started again. The little bastard.
“There is no “us” Ridge. I'd have to be crazy to want anything to do with a man who would drug and kidnap me.”
“But you do...I can sense it, Cheyenne. You still want me. Please give me another chance. Please understand that what I did was not to hurt you. I just didn't know any better. I do now, and I won't do it again, or anything like it. I promised Chelsea I'd do this the right way, the human way...and if you didn't want me in the end, I'd accept that.”
“So by the human way you mean?”
“Dating. I'll take you out to dinner, to the movies, wherever you want to go. Just please, give me a second chance.”
She looked at Gray, like maybe he was going to offer his opinion. He looked at me and inside his head I said, “What the hell are you doing? I didn't send you here to cozy up to my mate.”
“You sent me here to spy on her, and act like a dog, both of which I'm doing. It's not my fault she likes me.” Like Chase, he was much more assertive than he'd ever been before toward me. What was that about? Testosterone?
“Ridge, did you hear me?” I hadn't. I'd been concentrating on chastising Gray.
“No, I'm sorry?”
She cocked an eyebrow and said, “I'll go out with you, on a date.” I shot up out of my seat and realized that her eyes were on my crotch. Shit. I sat back down and my face was probably scarlet as I said,
“You have no idea how happy you just made me.”
Grayson
I was panting when Cheyenne walked into the apartment. Ridge told me I forgot about taking care of Jack on Sunday and I felt terrible.
On Tuesday, the fourth day of my vacation, I ran all the way to the compound, showered in my own cabin, brushed my teeth and put on fresh clothes and went to see Chelsea.
I made up some bullshit story about meeting some new friends, islanders, who were teaching me how to surf. I don't know why that lie...it just came to me. I apologized profusely and spent the rest of the morning playing with Jackie so she could get some work done. I love the little guy and sometimes I thought about when I was a pup and wondered if little Jack knew how lucky he was to have so many people who loved him.
I had that, but only for a short while. Then, all I had was Ridge until the Pack found us. Ridge was good to me, but it wasn't the same as growing up with a mother and father, or in Jack's case, fathers. I had so much respect for the alphas and how well they handled their relationships with Chelsea and Jack. They all adored her and the babies, and unless they fought behind closed doors, they all seemed to love and respect each other as well.
I had lunch with Chelsea and the babies and left in plenty of time to get back to Cheyenne's and let myself in with the spare key I'd stolen.
The problem was, as soon as I got into town, I had run into Clay.
Chelsea told me he was handling some business in town. I almost literally ran into him coming out of the post office. He was on his way to get a sandwich at the deli and although I'd just eaten with Chelsea, I didn't feel like I could tell him no.
So, I went to lunch with Clay and ate, and made small talk...telling him the same lie I'd told his mate about why I hadn't been around all week. Clay didn't seem to be in a hurry and by the time he finally headed back and I was free to go, I had about five minutes before Cheyenne got home from work. I ran all the way, racing up the stairs and then sweating bullets as I shifted and stood there naked, trying to get the key in the door with my shaking hands. I made it, just in the nick of time, but I was still out of breath when she walked in the door. She came straight over to me and knelt down to pet me.
“Hey guy. Why are you panting like that? Are you out of water?” She got up and went over to my bowl. “Nope, you have plenty. I hope you're not sick. You're not sick, are you boy?” She knelt back down and gave me more pets and kisses. I know it's shameless, but I loved it, and the thought of leaving her soon made my heart ache.
Not that I wouldn't love for her to know me as a human man...but, for now, I'd take what I could get. She kissed my nose one last time and said, “I have a date tonight, guy. I guess I better get ready.”
A date? Shit. I hadn't heard her and Ridge set up a date before he left the night before. Just the thought of her, out with him, made me green with envy. I wanted to go on a date with her. I wanted her to “get ready” for me. Damn it.
I want Cheyenne, to be my mate...not my doggy owner.
She headed for her room and I trotted after her. As soon as she got there, she shocked me by pulling off her dress. She'd never undressed in front of me before. I told myself to turn away, but she was standing there in front of me in a pair of white panties and a white bra.
They were cotton, nothing fancy...but her body looked gorgeous and I couldn't turn away.
She rifled through her closet, laying out a few outfits and then she ruffled my head and went into the bathroom and closed the door. I heard the shower come on and I went over to the bed to see what she'd chosen to wear.
They were all three dresses. One of them was black and looked kind of slinky. I imagined her in it, got a little too excited and then took the hem of the dress in my teeth and bit down, hard. Once my teeth were through it, I pulled, unraveling the hem.
Proud of myself, I did the same to the red dress next to it. I still had the hem of the tan one between my teeth when Cheyenne stepped back into the room, now wrapped in a towel and looking good enough to eat. I stared at her for several long seconds before I realized she was frowning at me.
“What did you do?” She looked like she was torn between being angry and sad, like she might cry...and suddenly I felt bad.
I let go of her dress and dipped my head down. I went over to her and for the first time since we “met,” she pushed me away. “No! I'm mad at you! I'm so angry. Why would you do this?” She went over and looked at the dresses. A small, slow tear ran out of her eye and down her cheek. My chest hurt and I wished I could say I was sorry. I tried to rub against her leg again, and again, she pushed me away.
“Go away!” she scolded. “I'm upset with you.” I went over and curled up on the floor in front of the window, ashamed of myself...and scared of the way I was feeling.
She was going to be Ridge's mate soon, and then what? I'd have to live on the compound, seeing her and smelling her and knowing Ridge was touching her, every single day.
What have I done to myself?
I wanted her, worse than I've ever wanted anything in my life.
Chase
I was working security on the compound again and just about to make a pass on the front gate when I saw Ridge.
He was clean shaven, his hair was styled with some kind of actual product that smelled like coconuts and he had on what looked like a new shirt and jeans. I knew before I asked, but I had to know for sure.
“Where are you off to?”
He raised an eyebrow and said, “Do you really want to know?”
“You going to see Cheyenne?”
I had heard a rumor on the compound, that Chelsea and the other alphas had given him their blessing to see her. I hoped it was just that, a rumor. I know I suck as a best friend. I should want him to be happy, and I do...just not with Cheyenne.
“Yes.”
“Ridge...” he put up his palm and stopped me. I was interrupted the last time I tried to tell him how I felt too.
He knew.
He had to.
He just didn't want me to say it out loud. “I want her, Ridge,” I blurted out. He looked wounded, like I slapped him in the face.
“Well, you can't have her.”
“Really? Aren't you supposed to be doing this the human way? If that's the case, then Cheyenne can date whoever she wants. I might ask her out myself.”
He narrowed his eyes at me and said, “You wouldn't dare.”
“I had a great time with her at coffee the other night. I think she likes me.”
“She's just a nice person. Leave her alone, Chase.”
“Let me ask you this. This isn't even about me...directly. But what is your little buddy Grayson doing? Why is he still pretending to be her pet?”
“I don't know. I haven't had a chance to talk to him. You know Gray. He has a big heart. Maybe he is just worried about how upset she'll be if he “runs away”.
“Hmm, yeah, I'm sure that's it,” I said, sarcastically. I rolled my eyes then and said, “Ridge, he wants her too.”
“Bull shit.”
“I felt it. I could smell it, the other night. Hell, he almost bit me over taking her out for cof
fee.”
Ridge growled low in his throat and said, “Well, he can't have her either.”
I felt defiant, something I'd rarely felt in my life. I like to get along, go with the flow...but in this case, I just didn't believe I could do it.
With a tremor in my voice I said, “That's her decision to make, Ridge, not yours. She's not claimed and neither are we. At this point, everyone is fair game.”
I chuckled because I didn't know what else to do.
Wasn't it bad enough that I had to be patient and “court” her like a human being? Now my two best friends also wanted to court her? I honestly felt like I was going to lose my mind. “So by ‘fair game’ what does that mean? I mean, what do you plan on doing about it?”
“I'm going to ask her out.”
“She'll say no.”
Chase smiled at me and I saw that same steely determination in his eyes that I saw in my own when I looked in the mirror.
He was about to give me something I'd never had before...competition.
I was furious with Gray. I kept telling myself that he was a dog and didn't know any better...but, I'd left my things out the entire time he'd been there and he hadn't chewed up a single thing.
It was just my luck that he'd choose tonight to act out. I dug frantically through my closet, finally settling on a blue and white flowered dress. I didn't care for the way it fit me in the hips, but It was close to time for Ridge to show up and I had nothing else.
I finished fixing my hair, curling it and letting it hang down my back and across my shoulders, and then I spent twice as much time on my make-up as I normally did, at last pronouncing myself as decent as I was going to get, just before I heard his knock on the door. I heard a second knock as I pulled on my shoes, and a third when I went looking for my purse. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised to see Myrna sitting in the living room, idly flipping through a magazine...but I was.
“You're not going to answer the door?” I said, annoyed.
“Oh,” she said, in an “oh so casual” voice. “Was someone knocking? I didn't hear them.”
