by Laura Wylde
For a moment I thought he was going to fight me about it, but then he agreed to set up a profile on a dating website. I knew that he was probably just saying that because then he would not have to do anything today. He was putting me off in a way, but I was going to accept it because I was already tired of arguing with him. I did not understand why he couldn't just be normal.
“You know I love you; I just want what's best for you.”
“I know, but sometimes Anna, you're a bit too much. I just don't understand why it has to be so complicated. I'm not hurting anybody staying in here.”
“No, but you're not having a life either. Mom and dad get out more than you and you know that's scary. They are in an old folk’s home and they go to bingo once a week.”
He gave me a dirty look and I just waved it off. It wasn't like I wanted to say these things to him, but I knew that I had to. Whatever was going on, he needed to get it together. I still think that therapist he was going to was not a good one. He had been going to him for over a year and Doctor Phillips had not helped at all. If anything, it felt like Ezekiel was getting worse.
The phone rang and he immediately ran to answer it. He just didn't want to talk about it. It was easier to run away and he took off, like it was his sacred duty.
He came back and said it was for me.
“Who is it?”
“I don't know. They just asked for you, nothing else.”
“Full name or first name?”
“Full name.”
“Oh.”
I went to the phone and wasn't sure at all who it was. I thought that it might be a bill collector, because I had quite a few of those that wanted money that I essentially didn't have. They would call, I would put them off, telling them the payment was in the mail and we would play the game another month after that. That's how it had been lately anyways. If I could just get somebody to help me get back the artifacts that I found on my last day digging, it would make up for all of it.
“Yes, this is Anna.”
Anna Shelton, it is good to hear from you. I was a bit surprised that you didn't come by Friday and give me my money. Remember? You sold me a forged painting and I found out about it. I threatened you. You have to pay me back. That's how it works.”
Shit. The last person I wanted to talk to was Vincent. He was an art dealer that I had worked with on several locations. He wasn't the best guy, but he could move things faster than anyone else I had met before. I was in the business of digging up history and priceless pieces. He was in the business of selling them for a fee. At first it had been a good relationship, until something had gone horribly wrong with our last deal.
“You know that I didn't know it was forged.”
“Then you're getting bad at your job. You're supposed to know if what you sell somebody is complete crap still, right?”
“Not if the forgery is just as old as the real thing. How was I supposed to know that?”
He shrugged. “I don't know, don’t care. I have a guy that checks on these things for me. Maybe you need a guy as well. I don't really care the who or the why, as long as I get my money.”
“I told you that you will get your money.”
“Yes, you keep telling me that, but it's already been a month and I am still down $1,000,000. I have tried to be nice about this Anna, but if you keep giving me the run around, I'm going to have somebody go chase you. I'm too old, too rich and too tired to be running after you myself. I will go find someone who will do it for far less than you will be. I might even give them a little incentive if they can squeeze some of it out of you.
“That's unnecessary Vincent. I told you as soon as I have it you will have it. I mean it.”
“And what, I am supposed to wait for you to come up with that kind of money? Like it is just running around?”
I bit my lip. I almost immediately told him about the artifacts that I needed to get out. I didn't think that it would be a good idea to say it, but for a second, I almost did. Just so he would get off my back.
“I have a line on something good. I could very well get your money and a little bit more out of it.”
Now he was interested, asking me what I was talking about.
“Like I said, as soon as I get it, you'll have it.”
“That's not good enough. You put me off too long Anna. I'm sending my guys after you. They can bring me to you and then we'll see what you have up your sleeve. If it's good enough, maybe I'll let you live.”
I turned around to see Ezekiel standing there.
“Is everything okay? It doesn't sound like it is.”
I assured him that everything was fine. The last thing he needed was anymore stress in his life. He didn't need to know what was going on. I was handling it. I didn't know how, but I know that there was no other choice. I would handle it.
“Yeah, everything is fine. Now, let's get you a profile built, so that you can meet some new people.”
He just shook his head. “I was hoping that you would have forgotten.”
I almost did, but assured him that I was on it now.
“Great, just what I wanted to hear.”
Whether that was true or not, didn't matter. I was determined to figure out a way to get him out and back into life, and then I was going to figure out a way to save my own.
I had to find the money for Vincent, which meant that I needed to get those artifacts. There was already a bad situation up there where I buried it, the added problem of bounty hunters, was just going to make it worse. If they found me while I had the artifacts, they were surely going to take them and bring them to Vincent. I was positive that he would not take it in lieu of payment, even though it would be worth three or four times what I owed. That is if he let me live. I was still unsure if he would when I paid him back.
Ezekiel and I set up a profile for him on a site called Dewdrop Dating Service. It had some really weird posts, some with actually werewolves and some were humans that were looking for them.
I couldn't believe some of the ads and we spent more than an hour laughing at a lot of them. A few of them were interesting to me though. They weren’t looking for one-night stands with creatures and that sort of thing, they were women like me that we're looking for some help and protection. Most of them had gotten in a bad way one way or another, a lot of them it was lovers that had went bad. It made me think that maybe, just maybe, I could do something like that too. It was strange to even think about, but I knew then I had to do it. I had to try something, or I was done for.
After Ezekiel got bored and took off for a shower, I started a profile for myself and put in an ad. It was quick and I was actually shaking while I was doing it, not believing that I could be so bold. I was hopeful that I would be able to get some kind of answer back. I needed help and I hadn't been able to find it any other way. Maybe I needed someone that wasn't afraid. Everyone else seemed to worry about the fact that there was about a shady art dealers involved. I couldn't help that these were the people that were a part of my life. They just were, and I had to make the best of it. Maybe a shifter wouldn't be as afraid. That's what I liked to think anyways. I just needed a little bit of hope.
I pushed send on the application and then sent in the ad. I don't know why I was so nervous. It was just one little ad, but something told me that there was a significance there. What the significance was, I hadn't a clue. I had a feeling though; I was going to find out soon enough. Then it was all going to be better.
That sign was soon. About an hour later I got a call from a guy named Connor Felton. He seemed pretty cool and he didn't hang up when he heard about bounty hunters, though to be fair, I didn't reveal my whole hand. I had learned better the last few weeks while I was looking for protection. This time I was going to take it slow and ease him into it.
The only problem with all of it, was I didn't have the money to pay somebody right away. I could maybe finagle something once I got the artifacts, but that would take time and I was under the impression that they w
ould need something immediately. So, I offered the one thing I’d seen another offer, the one thing of value that could it be hard to give up. I had to do it though. I knew that whatever happened, I was going to need help. Even if it meant giving away my virginity. It was highly valued and since I wasn’t in love with anyone and never had been, the value did not seem so priceless in the grand scheme of things. My life was more important than that.
3
Conner
Since I was meeting Anna in such a strange situation, I have expected she would be complete mess. I don't know what I was expecting. A woman with a dating service was willing to give up her virginity for some help, and obviously I was questioning the validity of her ad. Besides, what type of woman would do such a thing?
I couldn’t help the judgement that was there. It was going to take some answered questions, before I would understand it. There had been something in her voice that had made me agreed to meet with her though. Pure curiosity had moved me forward.
I had her meet me at the little cafe that was right down the road from my house. I didn't want to go all the way across town if I didn't have to, so I thought it was a good idea to bring her to meet you. I still didn't know how this is going to work out. It seemed like it could be fine, but I wasn't too sure any of it.
Then I met her, and that changed everything. Anna was downright beautiful and she had a sweet smile on her face. Considering that I wasn’t human, I quickly realized she was a virgin. I had expected her to be quite a bit younger. From my idea, she was probably about thirty, maybe a little bit older. It didn't bother me mind you, it just was not what I had envisioned a virgin to be.
Anna was pretty short at about five foot five if I had to guess. She had long black hair that had a blue tinge to it in the light. She had these green eyes that I couldn't get over and porcelain skin I wanted to touch. Big eyes, round hips and curves in all the all the right places. She was quite enticing. The first thing that came to mind, unfortunately was the first thing that I said. It was really embarrassing for me.
“You're a Virgin?”
My voice sounded incredulous like I didn't believe her, and she immediately gave me this look that said she didn't appreciate it. I was just sitting down at the table, coffee in hand and I had probably said it a little too loud, Anna looking around us to see who was watching.
“I'm sorry. Really. That was in poor form.”
“You think?”
“Yeah, I'm sorry about that.”
“It's fine. I guess it would be rather shocking to somebody, considering my age and all.”
I shook my head immediately, “I didn't say that because of your age. I said it because of how beautiful you are. I never would have thought that somebody wouldn't have convinced you by now to give them a taste. I bet you have had a whole lot of men begging for it.”
“It isn't like people haven’t tried; I just haven't found anybody that made me want to give it a go I guess. Bit late now.”
“Oh.”
I didn't know what to say to that. Obviously, somebody hadn’t tried hard enough. They had really slipped up and made a mistake as far as I could see. Who wouldn't want her?
“And you're willing to give up your virginity, to me?”
She swallowed hard but agreed. I wouldn't have believed it, if I couldn't sense the truth of her words. She really was untouched and naturally, knowing that I would be the first, just made it all that more enticing to me.
“You must be desperate. What has a girl like you, willing to do anything? It says that you need protection, but it didn't say much on the ad about the specifics and you didn't give me much details on the phone.”
I wanted to talk more about this virgin thing, even though I had said in the beginning that I wasn’t interested in that sort of thing. Now I was. Now, I was looking at her and wondering how I could think of anything else. She was sexy as hell, and a smile on her face that was willing to give it away. Of course, I wanted to give her what she wanted. Anything she wanted really, if only I could have a taste.
“It's kind of hard to explain.”
“I bet it's not. All you got to do is spit it out and then I will know what I’m really dealing with here. There is always more to it.”
“Well, let’s just say that not everybody is as open to danger as you would think. I'm in need of protection, because obviously somebody is after me.”
“Boyfriend or something?”
That I could understand. This chick was hot and whoever had lost her, was definitely kicking themselves. I know that I would be.
“No, it's nothing like that. It really was just a misunderstanding but there's a lot of money involved. I don't have the cash and now somebody is sending other people after me. They want to collect their money, but of course I don't have it, so I need to get the artifact, authenticate it and make sure that it is what I think it is, and then I can pay this person and hopefully I will stop having to look over my shoulder. I have to warn you though, it's quite a trek to the artifacts. It is literally ninety percent of the way up a mountain.”
She was still being pretty ambiguous with her answers and although it would appear that she was telling me a lot, I was far more focused on what she wasn't saying. She wasn't saying exactly who was after her or why. She also did not say what exactly she needed the protection from. Was it the person she owed money or was it the other people that were being sent towards her? Really, none of it made any sense and I didn't like feeling like she wasn't being straightforward. If I was going to help her, which I was, she was going to have to give me some really answers.
“So, who is the person you owe money to? Do you like to gamble or something?”
I couldn't see that happening, but since she wasn’t being straightforward about it. I figured it was something that she was embarrassed about.
“No, it has nothing to do with that. It actually has to do with art dealer that I'd done business with for a very long time. Our last deal was for a painting that was hundreds of years old. I thought that it was real, I authenticated it and although it was just as old as I thought it was, it was also a fake. It was just a really old fake.”
“So how much money is it you owe?”
Anna looked away for a moment and when she finally looked back at me, there was a bit of fear in her eyes. Whatever the number, it was a pretty big one.
“About a million dollars, give or take a few thousand.”
I almost spit my coffee out. I wasn't prepared for this. Why did I think it was a few thousand? I mean, she was willing to give up her virginity for it. It was pretty serious obviously. But a million? How does that even happen?
“A million dollars? Are you serious?”
“Yeah, it’s a lot. I know.”
“It's more than a lot. It's impossible. How in the hell do you think you’re going to come up with that sort of change?”
“No, it's not impossible at all. I have more value than that, thus why I want to go get the artifacts. It will be enough to pay you, my debt and then some. I won’t have to worry about dealing with people like him again.”
“Is that old stuff really worth that much? Sounds like I’m in the wrong business.”
She agreed that they were and I just kind of shook my head. What did I have to do, just dig up some old stuff? It didn't sound that hard to me.
“Well, it does sound like you need someone to watch out for you, especially if you have that much money. I do wonder though, why you would put up your virginity on the ad? If you pay somebody right, they would be more than happy to help you I'm sure.”
“No, that's actually not true. I tried to get somebody to help me. I threw in the virginity thing to get people's attention. It worked, here you are.”
It was hard to argue with her words. There I was, sitting there at the table across from her, trying to figure out if I was down for this situation or not. Turns out I was, especially when I saw Anna for the first time. I don't think I would have been alone in that feeling at
all.
“Yeah, but what happens when they actually want it, because you’ve made all these promises?”
Her eyes flared a little bit and she looked away.
“I mean, then that's what I would have to do. The other alternative is to let Vincent's men get ahold of me and do bad things to me. I don't even want to think about what could be done, because it's most likely already been done before. You wouldn't want to do that to me, would you?”
She was using this sweet voice all of a sudden and I almost felt bad about letting it carry on. I was already in over my head and I wanted her. Already. That didn’t bode well for what came next.
4
Anna
“You know, you’re starting to hurt my feelings. You have to give me an answer, and by now I would have thought that I would have got one. It’s the best deal I can come up with right now.”
“Since you threw it all out there like that Anna, you’re going to have to give me a minute. I need to think about it.”
“What is there to think about? I will give you half of the money you want upfront and the sex portion of the offer. Take it or leave it Connor. You know, I’ve had several calls since I put that ad up. It wouldn’t be hard to find someone that would agree to it. You said yourself…”
“Take the damn ad down, now. You’re mine.”
I looked at him for a moment and I didn’t know what to think of his sudden change of heart.
“I thought you said that it is not what you came here for?”
He shrugged. “It wasn’t, but you’re right, how can I pass up the chance?
He said it so casually. My face was burning, the idea of it driving me crazy. This man wasn’t even a man, he was a shifter. I didn’t even know what kind. Why was that an issue now?
“What kind of shifter are you?”
Connor grinned. “Does it matter?”
I shrugged like it didn’t. “No, just curious.”
He sighed. “I’m a wolf.”
