by Jade Alters
“Well, I know you don't, and I just opened this bottle last night. There's more than the one glass I drank gone. I thought maybe you snuck hot guy over here while I was out.”
Hot guy? Who's this “hot guy”? Ridge won't like that and I didn't want to be the one to tell him. He has a temper sometimes. “Myrna! I told you, I'm not seeing Ridge again. Maybe we should talk about you drinking wine at ten am.”
“Trust me, if I would have made it to brunch, I'd be drinking whiskey. I'm sorry. I don't mean to be in such a foul mood. But my family...” she rolled her eyes and took a drink of the wine. Her phone made a noise and she picked it up off the counter and looked at it. The grumpy look on her pretty face turned into a smile instantly.
“Brett?” Cheyenne said to her friend with a smile.
“Yeah, he wants to take me on a picnic for lunch.”
“Awe, that sounds like fun.”
“He's so different from every guy I've ever dated,” she said. “I keep waiting for the real him to show up, you know?”
“Maybe this is the real him.”
Myrna's smile looked sad. “How is it that after everything, you're still not cynical?”
Cheyenne laughed. “Are you kidding? I'm cynical all the time. I'm still shocked that Ridge wanted me.”
Myrna's eyes narrowed. “You're too good for him,” she said. “Once a cheater, always a cheater.” A cheater? What did she mean by that?
“Well, I'm not seeing him again, so it's not even worth talking about.”
Cheyenne's emotions changed abruptly.
I could sense it.
The more I was around humans, the more I realized that I was actually better at sensing how they were feeling than most.
Ridge was well aware that I had that ability, and I didn't doubt that was part of why he'd sent me here. I heard in his voice earlier on the phone that he wasn't going to give up on her no matter what anyone said.
The rest of the pack didn't know him the way I do. Ridge has never wanted something as badly as he wanted her.
Cheyenne bent down and rubbed her hand from my head to my tail, I worried once again about how much I enjoyed that.
“You ready to go out and potty, guy?” Suddenly I forgot how good her touch felt and I was annoyed. Go out and potty? She's got to be kidding, right? I looked up at her face and saw that she wasn't.
She stood up and walked over to the door and opened it.
Tapping her thigh she said, “Come on Gray, let's go out and potty! Come on boy.” Completely humiliated, I hung my head and followed her out. Ridge was going to owe me big for this. I followed Cheyenne down the steps and to the grassy area out front. She sat down on a wrought iron bench and in a high pitched voice she said, “Go potty guy!” Fat chance. No way was I “going potty” in front of her, on the lawn, in front of an apartment complex, in the middle of town. No way.
“We're going to stay out here until you go. If you go in the house, Myrna will throw us both out on our ear.” Damn it.
Ridge is going to owe me big, times a thousand.
By the time I finally “went potty” behind the building where she couldn't see me humiliate myself, Myrna had left for her picnic. It was getting close to lunch time and as I was getting hungry.
Once we were inside, Cheyenne started making herself a turkey sandwich, and suddenly seemed to remember she hadn't given me any food since the pasta that morning.
“Oh poor Gray! What a crappy pet owner I am.”
She looked down and I was staring up at her.
I trained my hungry eyes on the turkey sandwich and she smiled and said, “You hungry guy?” In the spirit of humiliating myself, I wagged my tail and panted, with my tongue hanging out the side of my mouth like a cartoon character.
“She ruffled the hair on the back of my neck and said, “I'm sorry I didn't get any dog food yet. I will, I promise.” My eyes cut back over to the turkey and she said, “I get the feeling you don't mind not having dog food, huh?” With another laugh she tossed a few pieces of the sliced turkey into “my” bowl.
I walked over to sniff it but waited until she turned to finish making her sandwich to wolf it down. When she turned back around and looked at my bowl she said, “Wow, you were hungry. Poor thing. I promise we'll go get some dog food as soon as I finish my lunch.”
She sat down at the little kitchen table and I went over and curled up at her feet.
While she ate with her left hand, she rubbed my fur absently with her right she looked like she was deep in thought. I wondered what she was thinking, but didn't have to wonder for long. After a few minutes she said, “You're lucky,” I told Gray. I lifted my head to look at her face and she said, “Dogs don't have to worry about dating, or falling in love, or getting married. It's messy business.”
She took another bite of her sandwich.
It looked delicious.
“I'm still young,” she went on, “I have a lot of time left to date and to find that special someone. But I can't help but wonder if it's going to hurt every time it doesn't work out. Don't tell anyone,” She said to me, the dog, even lowering her voice to a whisper, “I didn't have my first date until I was 19 years old and in college. I didn't even have sex until I was almost 21.”
Without even thinking about it, my ears perked up and I sat up straighter. I'd never had a girl tell me about her sex life before.
She was looking at me and she laughed and said, “Typical man. I mention sex and all of a sudden, you're interested.”
She wasn't mad though. She pet me again and went on, “I discovered early on that sex was the only interest they had in me. Why is that, Gray? I think I'm a nice person, smart, kind of interesting if someone took the time to listen to what I have to say.” I thought she was smart and interesting. I let out a little bark and she smiled sweetly and said, “You're interested, aren't you? You're a good boy. Such a good listener.”
I shamelessly liked it when she called me a good boy.
She let her hand swing down in front of me with half the turkey sandwich clutched against her palm. “You want the rest, boy?”
I took it, in one bite. If anyone were to judge me for it, I might just eat them too.
“I have a secret. I think I can tell you,” she said, “You won't tell anyone else, right?”
I barked again and she gave me another beautiful little laugh, I liked the sound of her being happy...maybe too much.
“I have a huge crush on a crazy man. At first, I thought it was just because he was hot, really hot. But then he kidnapped me, told me some crazy things...and despite all of that, I still ache to see him. Do you think I'm just lonely, boy? Maybe I've made up this fantasy in my head that I can “fix” this guy?”
I barked again and she looked sad and said, “I'm not sure there's any “fixing” for what's wrong with this guy. I don't know, maybe there's nothing wrong with him and I'm being judgmental. Everyone has their quirks, right? Everyone grows up in a certain culture, believing certain things that the rest of us don't understand or believe...maybe that's all it is with Ridge. He grew up in a whole different place.” She laughed, but that time it wasn't a happy place.
“The problem is, I guess, that even though I saw a glimpse of that place with my own two eyes...my brain still doesn't want to believe it. I'd almost rather believe he's a liar, rather than a...” she laughed again and that time she sounded like she might cry.
I hoped she didn't cry. I would have no idea what to do with a crying woman.
“I can't even say it.” She sighed and stood up. I stood up too and rubbed my fur against her leg. Smiling down at me she said, “Thanks for listening, boy. I guess we should go put up some posters and while we're out, we'll get you some dog food, and maybe some treats.”
She sounded excited about that. I couldn't imagine how I was going to choke down dog food, or God forbid, “Treats.” I also couldn't imagine how I was going to tell Ridge she still had a huge “crush” on him, when I was crushing on her myself.<
br />
Chase
I didn't know what Ridge was up to, but I could tell he was up to something, and it would probably end with him in trouble and maybe poor Grayson too.
Ridge and the alphas finally got back from the crime scene sight late on Sunday afternoon. I had guard duty on the compound all day so as I was making my rounds, I saw how exhausted they all were.
They all seemed to be interested in nothing but food, shower and bed. I'm not sure what, if anything they'd found out about the dead men yet, but they had spent the better part of two days going back and forth out there with the detectives that came out from Bali.
When I passed by Ridge and Grayson's little cabin, Ridge was on the phone. He was inside, but his window was open and it really wasn't my fault that wolves have great hearing.
We all know that, so if he wanted to keep things under wraps, he should lower his voice. I may have stopped when I realized what he was talking about and I may have stood upwind so he couldn't smell me there, hiding and eavesdropping.
But I was glad I did because maybe I can waylay whatever crazy plans he had now, before he dragged poor Grayson into his mess.
Grayson was so naive and Ridge was his hero. He'd follow him blindly into a fire if he thought Ridge needed him, and sometimes I thought Ridge took advantage of that.
“Hey Gray. I guess you can't carry your phone around on this assignment. I hope you hid it in a safe place. Call me when you get this message. I'm anxious to find out if you heard anything about me...does she hate me, or do you think there's a chance for me? Have you seen any signs of her dating anyone else or anyone else sniffing around, interested? Call me, buddy, please.”
Somehow he sent Grayson in to get information from Cheyenne, but how?
Who was he posing as?
I almost went over and knocked on his door and asked him, but I thought hearing it from him would make me complicit.
If I just went on a little investigative excursion of my own, and happened to find something out...well, I couldn't be blamed for that in the end, could I? I looked at the time on my phone.
Hansel, a young wolf that the pack picked up before they left Afghanistan, was supposed to relieve me and take over the post for the rest of the evening in five minutes.
Maybe once he did, I'd take a walk...or more like a run, into town. Sadly, as much as I was curious about what Ridge was up to, I was even more interested in seeing Cheyenne again. I'd never admit that to Ridge.
He is sure she's his mate.
I have no idea what it's supposed to feel like when you meet your mate. I always just assumed that like Ridge, I would just know. What I knew about Cheyenne was that I was drawn to her in a different way than I'd ever been drawn to a woman, female wolf or human. I've had her on my mind a lot even before the cabin.
Seeing her in the bar, talking and laughing with Ridge used to cause a little ache in my heart. I would never try to compete with Ridge. He was my best friend, my brother, almost, and even if I was disloyal enough to try and compete, Ridge is much better looking than me.
He's bigger and stronger, and I know that he's smarter. No woman would want me, when Ridge was one of her choices. But it wouldn't hurt to look at her, right?
I liked looking at her. I liked her smile and the way her pretty dark eyes lit up when she laughed.
“Hey!” I jumped, startled at the sound of Hansel's voice.
“Hey.”
“You were like a million miles away. What were you thinking about?” I felt my face go hot. I'm a terrible liar.
“Lunch,” I said.
Hansel laughed. “Yeah? Maybe dinner with a beautiful she wolf.”
I rolled my eyes and said, “Unfortunately those are in short supply around here.”
Hansel nodded and said, “I say we go back to the old ways, the mating rituals and all that. We could find a few willing human women I bet. It would be kind of fun, to fight for them, don't you think?”
I laughed.
“Yeah, but good luck convincing our human alphas of that.” Hanson, like Ridge, Grayson and I, grew up wild.
In the days when our parents were all alive, a female, be she wolf or human, was up for grabs by any UN-mated wolf in the pack.
Even if one wolf claimed her first, the rest of the pack had the right to fight for her. The strongest in the pack always ended up mated first, of course. Chelsea and her mates didn't like that idea, mostly because the female wasn't given much of a choice. She was simply taken, fought over, and kept. I can see both sides, I guess. I thought about Cheyenne again and I knew deep down that I wouldn't mind having a shot at her.
But then again, there was no way I could beat Ridge in a fight, so I'm screwed either way.
“Hey, I'm going to take off. I think I'll go into town and grab some dinner, and a beer.”
“Alright brother, stay out of trouble.”
I winked at him and said, “I'll try, but you know how the women get when they see me.” I could still hear his laughter when I was going through the gates of the compound. Punk.
I walked into town and I did get something to eat.
I had a beer and looked at the pretty girls in the bar, thinking about maybe trying to talk to one.
Ridge was usually my wing man when we went out.
Honestly most of the women that did talk to me, did so because they were trying to get close to my “hot” friend. Sometimes they ended up agreeing to go out with me, but only after they made sure they'd have no chance with Ridge. Some days I was glad to get his leftovers, and other days it simply pissed me off, and made me feel pathetic.
I'd gone into the bar, thinking about trying it on my own, but the longer I sat there and looked around, the more I thought about Cheyenne. I told myself I was just really interested in what Ridge and Grayson were up to...but I couldn't deny that I wanted to see her again. I finished my beer and left the bar. I walked down main street and wished I knew where she lived. I remembered her telling Grayson she lived in an “apartment” and I knew there were only two apartment complexes on the island. There was one at each end of town.
As I started walking towards one of them, I told myself I was being ridiculous. What was I going to do, knock on fifty doors? And if she answered one, what would I do then? I called myself an idiot, but kept walking.
The walk took me about fifteen minutes and by the time I turned the corner where the apartment complex was, the sun was going down.
There was a light breeze blowing and I caught the whiff of a wolf blowing in on it. I stopped and listened but all I could hear was the sound of a woman's voice coming from maybe fifty yards away and a dog barking. Going in the direction of the voice, the dog, and the smell of the wolf that was growing stronger, I suddenly saw him.
It was Grayson, and if I didn't know better, he was acting like a damned dog. He was chasing a ball that the woman on the bench had thrown for him. I watched him pick it up in his mouth, turn and run toward her. I realized the “her” was Cheyenne, just about the time
Gray caught my smell, dropped the ball and looked over in my direction. I shook my head at him. As long as he was making eye contact with me, I was able to communicate with him in my head.
“What the hell are you doing?”
“Go away,” was his response.
“Gray? What's wrong?” Cheyenne got to her feet and was looking around. She looked right at me, but I was standing in the shadows and her human eyes weren't able to make me out. “What's wrong, boy?”
“I'll be damned. She thinks you're a dog? How does she know your name?”
“I mean it Chase. Go,” he said. No way in hell was I going away now. I had to know what was going on. I put my hands in my pockets, braced myself for Cheyenne being pissed and began to stroll across the street. I was about halfway across when my “friend” began to bark and growl at me, viciously.
“Stop it. What are you doing?”
“I told you to go away. Don't make me bite you.”
“It's
okay boy,” Cheyenne said to Grayson, rubbing his fur on the back of his neck. She looked at me then, not taking her hand off of him and said, “I'm sorry. I don't think he'll bite.” I stepped out of the shadows then and her expression changed. It turned angry and she said, “Chase? What are you doing here? I might let him bite you after all.” Grayson began to bark and growl again. I swear I'm going to kick that pup's ass first chance I get.
“Cheyenne, I was just taking a walk. I didn't know you were here.”
“Right. Did Ridge send you?”
I looked at the dog and said, “No. I promise. He didn't send me.” Grayson snarled at me.
“My dog doesn't like you. They say dogs have good instincts.”
“That mutt is your dog?” I got another growl, this one deeper in his throat that the last.
“He's not a mutt,” she said. “And yes...I mean no. I found him. He's mine for now until I find his owners. Anyways, I'm not supposed to be talking to you, remember?”
“Nope,” I said. “Chelsea never said you couldn't talk to me. It was all Ridge. I didn't kidnap you, Cheyenne.”
“You didn't help me either.”
“I'm sorry about that. Ridge and my relationship are...complicated.”
“Whatever it is, I'm not really interested,” she said. Funny thing was, she did look interested, at least in hearing about Ridge. I could feel her body temperature going up and her heart rate increasing when she said his name. She was still stroking Gray as we talked. I didn't like that, of course I did kind of think it was funny that she believed he was an ordinary dog.
“Okay, we won't talk about Ridge,” I said. “But maybe you and I could start over.”
“Why?” she said, folding her arms. I took a step toward her and Grayson stepped in between me and her and growled. I frowned at him and thought about kicking him out of my way, but I figured that wouldn't go over well with Cheyenne.
“I just feel bad for everything, and I like you. What would it hurt, to just get to know me?”
“Chase...you and I starting over would just be...impossible. What I know about you, and Ridge and... your “people.” It would just be too much for me to forget.”