The Vow: Dangerous Suggestions Book 1 (18 page)

He turned and looked at me. “I want to
prove to you how much I trust you. Normally, it is against our
rules for us to shift in front of someone who is not a werewolf. I
want you to see me shift,” he said softly.

I was a little startled by his
request. Since I’d met Mason, I had often wondered about a werewolf
shifting. I wanted to see what it would be like, but I thought it
would be rude to ask to see it. Obviously it was a very private
event, and the fact that he was inviting me to see it meant
something. “Dawson, you don’t have to,” I said softly. I didn’t
want him to think he had to do something like this. I knew he
wanted me to stay, but I wasn’t sure if I could.

“
I want to. I want you to
know I trust you. I don’t think you will hurt us like Selena does,”
he said firmly.

I wanted to protest, but I couldn’t
think of anything to say that might change his mind. He smiled, as
if he was taking my silence as a concession.

He took a few steps away from me as if
he needed more space for whatever was about to happen. “Ready?” he
asked, smiling.

I sighed. “Yes, as long as you are
sure,” I said, hoping he knew what he was doing. I didn’t want to
offend him, but I was afraid of getting closer to him. I knew it
would never work between us. It wasn’t that I didn’t trust him; I
didn’t trust myself.

“
I am sure, I promise,” he
said softly, then took a deep breath as if he was preparing
himself. He suddenly doubled over, and groaned in pain. His skin
rippled unnaturally. I froze when I heard his bones pop and crack.
I was unable to pull my eyes from the scene in front of me, even
though my first instinct was to do so. He cried out, as his body
shifted. His skin changed to dark brown fur. He went down on all
fours as his face grew a snout. I couldn’t believe what I was
seeing. He was actually shifting.

Once he was completely shifted, he
stood back up on his hind legs. He had the features of a werewolf,
but he still had human like extremities. He was much taller than
his human self. He could walk on all fours, or on his hind legs.
His chest was a wall of rippling muscle. His face was a wolf’s, but
he had the same blue eyes as the man who’d stood in front of me
just minutes ago. He had sharp white teeth like a wolf, and that
made him look even more frightening. He watched me, like he was
waiting for me to make a move.

I swallowed hard, and slowly walked
toward him. He watched me, and his expression was a little
hesitant. I was surprised that I was able to remain so calm in such
a tense situation. Mason and Dawson claimed to be werewolves, but I
didn’t think much about it. Seeing him actually shift made the fact
that he was a werewolf more real to me. I was intrigued by him in
this form. It was the strangest thing I ever saw.

I reached out, and he froze as I ran
my hand over his soft chest. His skin was hot, but soft because of
the fur. I was standing close to him. I could feel the heat
resonating from his body. It was almost comforting. I breathed in
his scent; he smelled amazing. I looked up at him, wondering what
he was thinking. “This is amazing,” I said breathlessly.

He didn’t speak. I wondered if he even
could. I ran both my hands over his chest, then I walked around
him. His back had thicker fur then his front, and he had a tail. I
ran my hand over his back. His skin rippled, like he wasn’t sure if
he liked what I was doing. He went down to all fours, and he looked
like an incredibly powerful animal. I ran my hand up over his
perfect ears. He nipped at my hand playfully, and pranced away from
me. He was watching me like he was waiting for me to run away
screaming.

I smiled slightly at his playfulness.
He probably didn’t like that I was petting him, but I didn’t care.
He ran toward the wood line, then hesitated and looked back at me.
It was obvious he wanted me to follow him. I moved toward him, and
he turned and ran into the woods. I cursed under my breath and ran
after him. It wasn’t quite dark yet, so I could see him, but he was
much faster than me. I lost sight of him after only a few
minutes.

I stopped and looked around. He was
nowhere in sight, but I felt like I was being watched. I knew he
was somewhere watching me, I just couldn’t see him. I continued to
look around, trying to catch my breath. There was no point in me
running after him if I didn’t know which direction he
ran.

I was suddenly tackled from behind. As
I fell to the ground, I turned so I would land on my back. I wanted
to be able to see who or what tackled me. Dawson’s blue eyes looked
down at me. He was back in human form. His blue eyes glittered with
emotions I couldn’t quite interpret. I felt my pulse quicken at his
expression. His body was pressing against mine, as his hands pinned
my wrists to the ground on each side of my head.

My breath caught in my throat when he
lowered his lips to mine. His lips were soft as silk. He gently
kissed me, encouraging me to kiss him back. I closed my eyes, as my
heart started to race. He deepened the kiss when I didn’t protest.
I wasn’t sure how to respond to him. This was the first time I’d
ever let a man kiss me. He released my hands as he shifted his
position so he could rest his hand on my hip. My fingers tangled in
his soft brown hair. The scent of him along with the taste of his
mouth sent a rush of pleasure through me. It was a feeling I’d
never experienced before. It was slightly frightening, but mostly
amazing. His tongue touched mine, making me tense. He encouraged me
to relax and let him in.

The sound of an angry growl pulled me
out of the trance Dawson had put me in. Dawson broke the kiss and
looked in the direction of the growl. I turned my attention to
where Dawson was looking. Another werewolf was standing only a few
feet from us.

“
Mason, go away,” Dawson
said threateningly. It was obvious Dawson wasn’t happy to be
interrupted.

Mason growled louder, refusing to
leave. Dawson got to his feet, and squared with his brother. I
quickly got to my feet, careful to keep my eyes on Mason. I didn’t
want them to fight, but it was obvious they were going
to.

“
Dawson,” I said quickly,
as I grabbed his hand.

He looked at me. His blue eyes
sparkled with annoyance, but I knew his annoyance wasn’t with me.
“He wants a fight, so I am going to give him one.”

“
Please don’t fight over
me. I didn’t mean to let it get this far. He is still your
brother,” I said firmly.

He scoffed. “He is a pain in my side,”
he countered.

I smiled slightly. I understood his
feelings, but I also saw how he fell apart when Mason went missing.
“I understand that, but…” I started, but before I could finish
Mason tackled Dawson.

Dawson’s hand was pulled from mine as
he fell to the ground. He quickly shifted back into wolf form and
started fighting Mason. The sound of angry growls filled the
previously silent night air. Mason was quickly overpowered by
Dawson. As much as I didn’t want to watch them fight, it was an
exhilarating scene. They were both very powerful creatures battling
for dominance. Mason scrambled out of Dawson’s grasp and darted
into the darkening woods. Dawson chased after him, obviously
completely forgetting about me.

I stood there, unsure of what I should
do next. I had no clue where I was in the woods. I could wait for
Dawson to come back and retrieve me, but what if he didn’t come
back? It was possible he could be too distracted by Mason. My
thoughts went back to Dawson’s kiss, and I felt my cheeks heat up.
I wasn’t used to feeling this way; I tried to shake the
feeling.

I decided to start walking in one
general direction. I was hoping I would come to a landmark I
recognized; however, I doubted it because I didn’t know the woods
very well. The cool night air relaxed me a little. I was actually
enjoying the silence as I walked. I could hear the various night
creatures as they scurried around, but that was it.

After walking about twenty minutes,
lights up ahead signaled a house. Once I got a little closer, I saw
that it was Selena’s house. I was a little relieved to be out of
the woods. I wasn’t afraid, per se, but if there were others like
Mason and Dawson running around, I didn’t want to run into any of
them.

“
Larel?” Deek said,
catching my attention. He was standing on the porch, looking out
into the woods.

“
Yes,” I said cautiously.
I still wasn’t entirely sure if I trusted him or Selena. I knew
Dawson didn’t trust Deek, but Deek hadn’t done anything to me to
deserve my mistrust.

“
I thought you left,” he
said, looking slightly surprised.

“
I was going to, but
Dawson asked me to stay,” I said, deciding not to go into detail
about Dawson and me. I wasn’t even quite sure I understood what was
going on. I wasn’t going to try to explain it.

“
Dawson is fond of you.
The question is, do you feel the same way about him?” he asked,
sounding amused. He almost sounded like he was teasing
me.

“
I don’t think that is any
of your business. How did you know I might be a siren?” I asked,
trying to change the subject. I didn’t want to discuss Dawson,
especially not with Deek.

He watched me for a minute, as if he
was trying to decide what to say. He was acting like Selena. They
seemed like they were trying to be careful with whatever
information they had, but I didn’t understand why. “It was just a
hunch. I am a man that has been all over the world. I enjoy the old
stories and legends. Your ability was more like a siren’s than
anything else.”

“
I have heard that
vampires can do the same thing. Why don’t you think I am a
vampire?” I asked casually. I wasn’t entirely sure what vampires
could do; I just remembered Mason comparing me to one, but coming
to the conclusion that I wasn’t one.

He laughed like I said something
funny. “You aren’t a vampire. Obviously, you have never met one. A
person has to look into a vampire’s eyes in order to be caught in
their trance. You just have to speak. It is about the sound of your
voice. I can feel the effects of your voice, even when you are not
trying.”

I didn’t say anything immediately. To
be honest, I didn’t know it was the sound of my voice that effected
people. I thought it was because I was looking at them. This was a
new revelation, and now I wanted to know if what he was saying was
true. I wanted to find a human I could talk to without looking
directly at them. I wondered if it would even work. “So that is why
you think I am a siren? Because I use my voice?” I said
softly.

“
That would be why,” he
said, smiling slightly. “Are you sure your ability has no effect on
werewolves?”

I looked at him, a little startled by
his question. I quickly looked away. I didn’t want to seem guilty
by getting offensive. “No, not as far as I can tell,” I said,
brushing him off.

Before he could say anything else,
Dawson came stalking out of the woods. He looked incredibly
annoyed. Even though he was annoyed, he was incredibly handsome.
His hair was tousled, and there was an angry glint in his
eyes.

“
Wait until I can catch up
with that little shit,” he growled as he walked toward
me.

I bit my lip, trying not to smile. It
was kind of amusing. It seemed like Mason and Dawson were always
fighting over something. I kind of wondered if that was what it was
like to have a sibling. The thought depressed me a little. I pushed
it away, not willing to think about what it would be like to be
normal. “You two are always fighting.”

He smiled as he stopped in front of
me. “He is always causing problems. Do you want to go get something
to eat?”

I nodded. “That sounds
good.”

Dawson took my hand, and I felt my
heart skip a beat. I glanced up at Deek. He was watching us both
intently. Dawson seemed like he was making it a point to ignore
Deek.

“
You two have fun,” Deek
said, amused.

I gave him a small wave, and Dawson
didn’t say anything. Dawson led me to his truck and opened the
passenger door. I climbed in, and he walked around to the other
side. He climbed in and backed out of the driveway.

Dawson seemed like he was still worked
up. His jaw was tense, like it usually was when he was upset. I
wasn’t sure whether I should say something or just remain quiet. He
was driving back toward the city. “Are you still thinking about
going back to your old life?” he asked after a few
minutes.

I looked at him for a minute. I wasn’t
entirely sure what I should say. I didn’t know what I wanted to do
anymore. I’d thought I was set in my plan to go back to my old
life, until he took me out in the woods and kissed me. Now I wasn’t
sure what to do. I wasn’t sure what I felt. “I don’t know,” I said
softly, as I looked out the window.

He drove a little further down the
road, and turned into a small shopping center where there were a
few restaurants. He parked the truck, but he didn’t make a move to
get out. He sat in his seat with his hands on the steering wheel,
staring straight ahead. “I want you to stay,” he said quietly. His
voice was soft and seductive. Something about the tone made my
pulse quicken.