by Jade Alters
“You're a butt,” I told her.
She smiled. “I'm sorry honey. You know I just love you and don't want to see you hurt.”
I had my hand on the doorknob and I looked over my shoulder and said, “I know, but I'm a big girl and whatever happens, I'll deal with it. I just decided that if I don't at least give this a shot, I was going to wonder what if, forever.” Myrna's face softened and she said,
“I hear you. Did he at least get rid of the girlfriend?”
“Yes, they broke up two weeks ago,” I lied.
She nodded and then positioned herself in front of the kitchen island, with her arms folded as I went to get the door.
Gray, who was acting out as much as she was, positioned his heavy self in front of the door. “I'm coming, Ridge,” I said.
Then I looked down at Gray and said, “What are you doing?” He looked at the door and snarled.
“I told you,” I said, thankfully, remembering Myrna was still in the room.
“He's an okay guy...just a little different. I'll be fine.” I reached down and pet him and then I pulled open the door.
Ridge was clean shaven and his dark hair had been finger styled and set with gel.
He smelled like a summer day in the forest...and the tight flannel shirt and jeans he wore showed off what an incredible body he had. I felt every nerve ending in my own body react to the sight of him, and then I wondered if he could smell my lust. When I looked at his face at last, I was sure he could. The look on his face was pleased, but smug.
“Hi,” he said. “You look amazing.” I didn't, but hearing him say I did made the butterflies in my belly take flight.
“Thank you,” I said, “So do you.” I glanced over at Myrna and she was rolling her eyes. Gray sat at her feet and his blue eyes looked dark as he glared at Ridge. I hoped he didn't decide to bite him. The day I'd watched Ridge shift, I had seen what a big, powerful animal he was. He could easily maul my little husky. Not that Gray was a little husky in any sense of the word...but Ridge was a giant of a man. A hot, sexy, giant.
“You ready to go?”
I picked up my purse and nodded. I turned to Myrna and said, “Can you let Gray out later, before you go to bed, if I'm not home yet?” Myrna rolled her eyes and nodded. Cheyenne looked down at Gray and said, “You be good boy and go potty when Myrna takes you out, okay? I won't be too late.” He whined and in my head I heard him say,
“I'll be good. I'll be waiting, in my spot on the bed.” Little asshole.
Cheyenne
One Week Later
My heart was beating wildly, skipping beats here and there, and I could feel my panties, flooding with moisture.
Ridge and I had just gotten back to my apartment after our second date.
He'd packed us a delicious picnic dinner and we'd eaten it under the stars on the beach. He held my hand and we took a long walk, barefoot in the warm sand...and we talked, about everything.
It was a wonderful night, the best I'd had in a very long time. I expected him to make a move on me sexually, but he didn't. He promised me on our first date he would wait until I was ready, and as soon as I was, all I had to do was say the word.
With any other man who looked like Ridge, and made me feel the way he did, I would have ripped both our clothes off on that beach.
But I knew making love to Ridge would be different, in more ways than one. To him making love to me would be “mating,” a thing he expected us to do for life. As hard as it was...and it was hard, I had to resist my sexual urges until I was absolutely sure it was what I wanted...forever.
When we got back to my apartment, he walked me up to the door and then for the first time, we kissed. My heart was fluttering like it was trying to take flight and every nerve ending in my body felt alive and exposed.
Ridge put a big hand on the side of my face and brought his lips down to mine. His lips were so warm that they bordered on hot and his kiss was slow at first, just sliding his lips over mine.
His tongue came out then and he licked my lips, outlined them with his saliva, before sliding it into the seam and tangling it up with my tongue. He slid his along mine like he was tasting me and then he began to explore the rest of my mouth, and me his. The kiss grew from soft and sweet to hungry, desperate and erotic.
The muscles of his chest were pressed into me and I could feel them ripple against my breasts. My panties were filled with moisture. I wanted him, so freaking badly...but God help me, I just wasn't sure that I wanted to commit to forever, at least not yet.
I was the one that pulled out of the kiss, gasping for breath. He was smiling down at me, his lips were red and swollen from our kiss and God I wanted more. I wanted to taste them again. I wanted to taste all of him. I put my palms against his chest to push him away but for a second I got caught up in the feel of it and I wondered what it would feel like in the flesh...the hot flesh.
I gained control of my senses at last and pushed against him.
He took a step back and smiled again. “I can wait for you, Love,” he said, “It's okay. I know we'll be together forever. I'll let you decide when that forever begins.”
Jesus, it wasn't bad enough how hot he was, or how strong, or that he'd just taken me on a dream date...now he sounded like a freaking poet.
He was killing me.
“I want...”
What did I want?
I wanted him.
I wanted him to rip off my clothes and ravage me and I wanted to do the same to him.
Ridge was nodding.
“I know my beauty. When you're ready. I'll be here.”
He kissed me on the tip of my nose then and said, “Go on inside before I lose my last shred of impulse control.”
I smiled up at him and he bent down and kissed my lips one last time before I went inside. I stood there for a second with my back against the door, just trying to get my bearings and waiting for the world to stop spinning.
When I felt strong enough, I went toward my bedroom, practically floating down the hallway on the after effects of that kiss. It was only when I flipped on the light in my bedroom that I realized Gray hadn't come to the door to greet me.
That was when I called to him, whistled, and began to frantically search the apartment. I checked every place that he might be able to hide, twice, before I had to accept that he just wasn't there. I felt like I couldn't catch my breath.
Where could he have gone?
He was there when I left for my date. He'd laid in the center of the bed and watched me get ready.
He seemed a little sulky and I felt bad for leaving him again since I'd only just gotten home from work. I fed him a special treat...leftover steak that Brett and Myrna barbecued the night before, and then I gave him lots of hugs and kisses before I left. I knew I was too attached to him, but every day that went by I felt more like he was really mine than the day before.
I called Myrna, in a panic. “Did you see Gray when you came home after work?”
“I didn't go home after work. Brett picked me up and we went straight to his place for dinner. It's his birthday, I've been here all night.”
I heard a loud sob before I realized it was coming out of me. “Oh Myrna! He's gone!”
“How? Was he there when you left?”
“Yes.”
“Then he has to be there still...no one has been in the apartment, have they? Does it look like we were robbed or something?” I looked around me then. I'd been searching for Gray but hadn't even thought to really look at things. Nothing looked out of place. I sobbed again.
“The door was locked. Nothing is out of place. He's just gone!”
“I'll come home and help you look.”
A surge of guilt assaulted me.
“No. It's Brett's birthday. You two have a good night. I'll look for him...maybe I left the door open and Mr. Balik came by and closed it. I'll check with him.”
“You sure?”
“Yeah. I'm sorry to bother you.”
“Please. You never bother me. I love you, girl. Good luck with the dog.”
I smiled and wiped the tears off my face. “Thanks. Love you too.”
I hung up and went to change clothes.
I took off the sun dress I'd worn on my date and put on a pair of sweats and tennis shoes. Then, I found our flashlight and went out to look for him. I stopped by Mr. Balik's apartment first, but he hadn't seen him, or been by our apartment.
Disappointed, I started searching for him around the complex. I walked around the front of the apartment complex with tears streaming down my face, calling his name. I made it to the end of the building and as I turned into the dark, a shadow appeared from between the buildings. I put the flashlight on it and saw that it was a man, a young man...with intense blue eyes.
“I'm sorry,” he said. “I didn't mean to startle you.” I'm not sure how he knew I was startled. My heart was racing, but I hadn't reacted. Ridge could do that, sense what I was feeling. A chill ran through me. I wasn't afraid of Ridge, but the idea of being face to face with a stranger who could morph into a wolf, while I was alone, in the dark did frighten me.
“It's fine,” I said, “Excuse me.” I turned and started back around the front of the building where there was light, and someone could hear me scream if it came to that. I heard him move behind me and I moved faster. Then suddenly he said,
“Cheyenne.” That stopped me in my tracks. If I was smart, I would have run, but if he was a wolf, and he wanted to assault me, running wouldn't do any good. I thought about just walking away again when he added, “Please don't cry, Cheyenne.” My name on his lips a second time did it. I snapped. I spun around and put the light in his eyes and said,
“Who are you and how do you know my name?”
Softly, and in a voice that sounded like he was trying to make it non-threatening he said, “My name is Grayson. I'm a friend of Ridge's. I live at the compound.”
“Grayson?” A tickle of fear, or horror, began in my belly and slid around to my spine. It climbed up slowly, touching every nerve transmitter along the way like a set of long, cold fingers. “No,” I said, shaking my head from side to side. “No way.” I was looking at his eyes. I knew what he was. I knew who he was, but my mind didn't want to accept it.
“Cheyenne, it's okay. It's going to be okay...”
“No!” I screamed at him. “No! You're not him. You're not my Gray!” He was staring at me with those eyes...the blue eyes that belonged to the “dog” I'd fallen in love with. I felt sick and dizzy. This was a sick joke. As I clutched my stomach to keep from vomiting it occurred to me that he said he was a friend of Ridge's. Ridge had seen my Gray multiple times. He had to know! He knew? Oh my God...what kind of twisted animals were they? Was I just one big joke to them all? I thought about the kiss I shared with Ridge just minutes ago and I felt sick again. I had to get out of there. The world was spinning too fast and I wanted to get off.
I turned away and started running, but “Gray” was right beside me, matching me step for step without breaking a sweat. Of course I couldn't outrun him. He was a freaking wolf for crying out loud. “Get away from me!” I screamed.
Gray opened his mouth, but whatever he was going to say was cut off. I saw a flash of fur out of the corner of my eye and suddenly Grayson the human was on his back and a large, black wolf stood on his chest on all fours, snarling at his face.
The strangest thing about it was that Grayson the human, didn't look at all distressed, only pissed.
“Get the fuck off me, Chase.”
“Chase? Oh dear God.” The wolf stepped off of Grayson's chest and in seconds he transformed into the man I knew as Chase...and he was naked. It wasn't the first time I'd seen him that way. He'd been naked that day at the cabin too.
“What did you do to her? Why was she screaming?” Chase was in Grayson's face. Neither of the men seemed to notice that Chase was naked. I looked around to see if there was anyone else around, but we seemed to be alone. I didn't know whether to be relieved by that, or not.
“I didn't do anything to her,” Grayson said.
“Nothing but pretend to be my dog for two weeks and...” I gasped. Chase had seen him too. They were all in on whatever this twisted little game was. “You knew,” I said to Chase. You and Ridge both knew he was in my house this whole time. What was he, your spy? You're sick. You're all sick!” I had my hands on both sides of my head, trying to keep it from exploding.
“No,” Chase said. “I mean, I knew he was there, but I wasn't spying on you, Cheyenne. I would never do that.”
I glared at him and then turned on Grayson and said, “You have nothing to say for yourself? You're sick, perverse! You slept with me! You watched me change my clothes! All the while you pretended to be an innocent pup. Oh my God! You're all twisted,” I said, again.
“Dude, you saw her naked?” Chase said. Grayson growled at him. I threw my hands up. I was finished, with all of them. Turning on my heel, I started walking toward the apartment. Chase was suddenly on one side of me, and Grayson on the other.
“Please Cheyenne. I came here for Ridge, before he got the alpha's blessings to see you. But I stayed, because I really liked you, and I didn't know how to explain any of this. But, tonight when you were getting ready to go out with Ridge again, I realized it was just too much. It was too wrong and out of control and I had to do something. I planned on just leaving and not ever telling you. But then I saw you crying, and I felt so bad. I would rather you be angry with me, than heartbroken and looking for a dog that wasn't coming back...”
I stopped and it took them both a few steps to realize it.
When Grayson turned back around I got on my toes and into his face.
Gritting my teeth and practically spitting venom I said, “You...people, or whatever you are, have been playing with me since day one. I've been kidnapped, lied to, made a fool of, and you say you didn't want to see me heartbroken? Are you kidding? I might be inclined to believe that it was exactly what you all wanted. I don't believe anything that any of you say any longer. I don't want to see any of you, ever again. If you leave me alone, starting this very second, then your creepy little secrets are safe with me. But if I see any of you lurking around me again, ever again, the whole world will know about you, and there will be no place any of you can hide!”
I was so angry and my heart was beating so hard and so fast that my chest felt like it was going to split wide open.
I think if either of them had tried to stop me at that point, werewolves or no, I would have ripped them both apart with my bare hands. I stormed back towards my apartment, only to be stopped again, this time by a brick wall.
Ridge
“Get away from me! Go away!”
“Cheyenne, it's me. It's Ridge.”
I left Cheyenne at her door half an hour earlier after our date. We shared a kiss that was so electric I swear the energy from it could have been used to light up a small city. I was almost to the compound when I realized I didn't just have the picnic basket on my arm, I also had her little sweater she had taken off earlier and I'd insisted on carrying for her. I debated just keeping it until the next time I saw her. I liked the idea of having something with her scent on it.
But I also liked the idea of having an excuse to go back and see her again tonight...and maybe getting another kiss. I was almost there when I smelled the wolves and I started running. I told myself it was probably just Gray. The stupid pup was still pretending to be her dog and I hadn't quite figured out what to do about that yet. But I had another gut feeling that something was really wrong. I was so connected to her on an emotional level that I could actually feel her angst. I almost shifted, but the last thing I wanted to do was scare her. I did that anyways when I met her running too. I thought she saw me. I didn't realize she didn't until she slammed into me and screamed.
She was beating my chest with her fists and I realized she was crying.
“Baby, it's okay, it's me.” She drew her leg back and kick
ed me in the shins.
“Ouch! What the hell?”
“Let go of me! Get away from me!” I smelled my two “friends” before I looked up and saw them coming around the back of the apartment building.
Grayson was in human form and he and Chase both looked guilty...like they needed their asses kicked.
“What the fuck did you do to her?” I had hold of her wrists and was having to hold her back so that she couldn't kick me.
“I told her the truth,” Grayson said.
“You're all sick!” she yelled.
“I'm sure you all had plenty of laughs at my expense. But, it's over now. Let go of me and go away or I swear to God I'm telling everyone on this island what you really are.”
The rage in side of me was quick. It burned like acid and sliced at everything inside of me.
I let go of Cheyenne and without even checking to see if anyone was around, I shifted. Chase saw it coming and he shifted too, jumping in front of me and Grayson as I lunged at him.
Gray was always a little slow on the uptake, even in the wild.
At that moment however, I was too angry to see him for who he was, a confused pup that I had raised. I saw a challenger, a wolf that was trying to take my mate, and trying to hurt her in the process. I hit Chase first and we rolled in the grass, claws ripping at fur and flesh and teeth gnashing.
It was only seconds later before Gray joined us, obviously on Chase's “team” trying to subdue me. I was too angry to be subdued. I had Cheyenne. She was mine...I felt it in her kiss, and in less than an hour they had ruined that and they were going to pay for it. I could hear her screaming, but it was just background noise as I slashed and tore at my former friends.
The anger blinded me and all I could smell was the scent of Chase and Gray's fear. They thought I might kill them, and they may have been right...but then suddenly a burst of freezing water hit me right in the face. In shock, I unclenched my jaws and let go of Gray's flesh.
