The Vow: Dangerous Suggestions Book 1 (5 page)

“
We have unfinished
business,” Jason cut in as he stepped between me and the
car.

I sighed. “I just kept all of you out
if jail, doesn’t that count?” I asked annoyed.

He scoffed. “We never would have gone
to jail, believe me.”

“
She isn’t going with
you,” Dawson cut in as he moved in front of me. He was almost nose
to nose with Jason.

I didn’t really understand why he was
defending me; then again he was probably defending his territory
not me. I wished more than anything I could control them. I was
tired of all the over confident bravado. I didn’t see how any of
them got anything done.

“
I disagree,” Jason
countered as he stood his ground.

Several other wolves gathered behind
Dawson in a show of force. There had to be at least ten of Dawson’s
men to Jason’s five. Jason looked around at the others. He knew he
was outnumbered, and he knew he would be a fool to try anything.
His gaze shifted to me. “This isn’t over,” he said darkly, then he
turned and walked back to the truck him and his friends arrived
in.

I was a little confused by his remark.
I didn’t understand how I became his primary target, when Mason was
standing a few feet from me. I hit the guy over the head with a
lamp. It didn’t seem like the type of indiscretion to hunt someone
down for, but apparently Jason did.

“
I’m leaving,” I said
breaking the silence. I turned to walk back to the car and Dawson
caught my arm.

“
You can’t,” he said
firmly.

I looked up at him in annoyance. I was
getting tired of being told what I could and could not do. I was
usually the one giving orders. “Why can’t I?” I asked as I pulled
my arm free from his grasp and adjusted my jacket.

“
They won’t just let you
go. They will be waiting for you to leave,” Dawson said sounding
worried. I didn’t really understand why he cared. I was trying to
push his brother on him; so I didn’t have to deal with him. I was
surprised Dawson wasn’t going to be happy to see me go.

“
I agree. Jason is not one
that gives up easily. I think you should stay,” Mason chimed
in.

I rolled my eyes and glared at Mason.
“You are just finding any excuse for me to stay. I think I can
handle myself,” I said confidently. They may have been werewolves
that I couldn’t control, but I was smart. I could go anywhere. I
could make sure I disappeared so no one could find me, not even a
werewolf.

“
I’m not trying to find an
excuse. I think you should stay because you are in danger. Does
that matter?” Dawson asked sharply. His blue eyes glittered with
annoyance. My unwillingness to accept his help was offensive to
him. I wasn’t trying to be rude; I just wanted to get back to my
old life before it became so distant to me that I wouldn’t be able
to go back.

I watched him trying to decide what my
next move should be. I could stay for the night. Maybe by tomorrow
Jason would lose interest. It would be no different than me finding
some random hotel to stay in. I didn’t exactly understand where I
would be staying anyway. All I could see was a bar. Dawson
obviously had a house somewhere, at least I hoped he
did.

I sighed in surrender. “If I stay for
the night where will I be staying?”

“
I have a house not far
from here. You will have your own room,” Dawson said sounding more
confident.

I glanced around noticing for the
first time how many others had their eyes on me. I felt like I was
on display and I was being analyzed. I scowled slightly. “What is
everyone looking at?” I asked grumpily. I didn’t like the
attention. I never had attention on me. I was finding attention was
not something I enjoyed.

“
They are all just
curious. Please do not get offended,” Dawson said quickly. He
sounded like he was worried I would leave because of all the
stares.

“
What are they curious
about?” I asked confused.

“
Maybe we can talk in
private. Why don’t you and Mason follow me to my house,” Dawson
said lowering his voice as if he was asking me silently not to
press the issue here.

I sighed. “Fine, Mason you are
driving,” I said grumpily; then I walked to the passenger side and
climbed back in the car.

I watched Mason and Dawson exchange
words, but I couldn’t hear what was said. I wasn’t sure I even
cared. It had already been a long night. I had a lot to consider. I
walked into a whole new world that I had no idea existed. I had to
decide whether I wanted to explore it, or look the other
way.

Mason climbed in the driver seat and
started the car. He glanced at me as if he wasn’t sure whether he
should say something or not. He probably thought I was angry, and
he didn’t want to make things worse. He reversed, and repositioned
the car so he could see Dawson. Dawson was getting on his
motorcycle, and getting ready to set off toward his
house.

Mason cleared his throat after a few
minutes of awkward silence. “Are you angry?” he asked
hesitantly.

“
I don’t get angry,” I
said firmly. I wasn’t angry. I was out of my element which put me
on guard, but I wasn’t angry; at least I didn’t think I
was.

He smiled slightly. “Ok, well I am
sorry if any of this upset you.”

I looked at him trying to decide what
to say. “I am not upset either. I simply do not belong among your
people.”

He scowled slightly. “You act like we
are something horrible.”

“
I didn’t say that, but
your people are rather emotional. It’s like you find ways to annoy
one another just so you can fight like cavemen. It doesn’t make
sense to me, and it never will. That is exactly why I am better on
my own,” I said firmly.

“
You mean because we are
not robots, you do not approve,” he said sarcastically.

I scowled at him, but he kept his eyes
on the road, refusing to look at me. I didn’t like his terminology.
I didn’t believe I was a robot. I suppose I could have appeared to
be one to an outsider, but I didn’t think I was completely devoid
of emotion. I just didn’t have emotions that I thought were
unnecessary. I decided not to say anything. I had a feeling it
didn’t matter what I said. He would still think I was a robot, as
he put it.

“
I will stay until
tomorrow evening, and then I am leaving,” I said, deciding I would
let him know now before he got his hopes up.

He rolled his eyes as he followed his
brother onto the main road. “Of course,” he said dryly. He sounded
like he was annoyed with me, which didn’t make sense. I didn’t see
how he could be mad at me when he was the one interrupting my life,
not the other way around. I debated on whether I should say
something to him. I decided it would be best if I didn’t. I just
hoped the awkward car ride would end soon. I decided to focus my
attention on my surroundings.

The woods got deeper and darker as
Mason drove. It was obvious that their pack lived in seclusion. I
was sure that was best, considering they were werewolves. Their
earlier interaction with the police led me to believe they were
wary of either police or humans. Perhaps they were wary of humans
because of what they were. I could see how there would be a problem
if humans found out werewolves existed. Humans were irrational by
nature. Humans didn’t like to think anything was possible except
within the realm of their imaginations. That was another reason why
I did not believe I was human. I believed anything and everything
was possible. I did not limit myself, and that was why I didn’t
find the idea of werewolves existing too hard to
believe.

The car came to a stop, pulling me
from my thoughts. Mason parked in front of a rather large house.
The house sat by itself surrounded by trees. I didn’t see any other
houses, but it was dark. I had no doubt there were other houses
throughout the woods. Both Mason and Dawson had mentioned the place
being pack territory. I wasn’t quite sure how that would be
determined, but I knew all the pack members would be housed within
the territory, which meant there were more houses
somewhere.

Mason climbed out of the car, and met
Dawson at the front of the car. I climbed out of the car looking,
around. I was a little unsure about the place. I was used to the
cities, and nice hotels. “You live here?” I asked, as I walked
toward Dawson and Mason.

“
It was our parent’s
house. I know it doesn’t look like my style,” Dawson said
amused.

I smiled slightly. “That was my
thought exactly.”

“
Come on, I will show you
around,” Dawson said. Then he turned and walked toward the front
door.

“
This looks cozy,” I said
to Mason as I walked toward the house.

“
Don’t get too
comfortable. You aren’t staying; remember?” Mason said
sarcastically as he followed behind me.

I fought the urge to roll my eyes. I
just ignored him and followed Dawson up the steps to the door. He
didn’t unlock the door; it was already unlocked. I was a little
surprised. Normally people locked their doors, but I guess being a
werewolf made Dawson a little less worried than the usual
person.

I followed him into the house. The
place was surprisingly clean. Again it did not seem like the type
of home Dawson or Mason would keep. They seemed a little rough and
tumble for the place. “This is nice,” I said, as I looked at the
pictures. There were a variety of landscape and farm scenes. It
seemed to go with the house. The furniture was all antique;
farmhouse-looking. It all seemed to go with the overall theme of
the house.

“
Thanks, I haven’t really
changed anything since our parents lived here,” Dawson said, as he
flipped lights on.

I was considering asking him where his
parents were, but I didn’t want to bring up any bad memories. It
was very possible they were dead, and I didn’t want to upset him or
Mason. I decided on a less personal topic. “How big is your pack?”
I asked casually, as I walked over to one particularly interesting
painting. It was a painting of the woods, and there was a wolf in
the trees. If you weren’t looking carefully, it would be easy to
miss.

“
It’s not the biggest, but
we have a decent number of members. We are growing, slowly,” Dawson
said, proudly. It was obvious he enjoyed being pack leader. I
imagined it would be something like being the patriarch of a really
large family.

“
I don’t understand why
Mason doesn’t help you,” I said, looking from Dawson to Mason. It
didn’t make sense. I would think if one was the pack leader then
the other would be there to support his brother.

“
He used to. Then he
betrayed me,” Dawson said darkly, as he glared at his
brother.

Mason blushed, slightly obviously
feeling chided. “I didn’t mean to,” he mumbled as he shoved his
hands in his pockets. He looked like a little boy that just got
caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

Dawson scoffed. “Of course you didn’t.
Does anyone want a beer?” Dawson asked, changing the
subject.

“
I do, and she doesn’t
drink alcohol,” Mason said, mockingly. It was almost as if he was
making fun of me.

I looked over at him, and the grin on
his face told me he was making fun of me. I decided not to say
anything. He was going to do what he wanted regardless of what I
said.

“
Would you like something
else to drink?” Dawson offered, watching me.

“
Coffee, if you have it,”
I said softly; then I went back to observing the
artwork.

“
I will get some started,”
Dawson said; then he walked down the hall that I assumed led to the
kitchen.

“
Did you live here with
your brother before you went on the run?” I asked Mason. I was
trying to kill the silence. Normally I enjoyed silence, but like I
said before, Mason and silence didn’t mix. I felt odd when he
wasn’t talking.

“
Off and on,” he said
casually, as he sat down on a bench. He seemed reluctant to give me
much information. He usually liked to talk until we started
discussing his life and his family.

I walked into the living room. I knew
I shouldn’t be looking around without permission, but I was
curious. When I imagined a werewolf’s dwelling, this was not what
came to mind. I walked to the fireplace, where there were a variety
of family photos. I could see the strong family resemblance between
Mason, Dawson, and the man that seemed to be their father. Mason
had his father’s eyes, and Dawson had his mother’s eyes.

“
What are you thinking?”
Mason asked from the doorway.

I didn’t even hear him get up. I’d
assumed he stayed out in the hall. He didn’t seem like he was in
the mood to talk. I glanced at him, then back at the photos. “I was
thinking you and Dawson look like your father, but Dawson has your
mother’s eyes,” I said casually.

“
Wow,” he said, shaking
his head and smiling.

“
What?” I asked as I gave
him a questioning look.

“
I saw you having much
deeper thoughts then that,” he said, amused.

“
That was a deep thought,
compared to yours,” Dawson cut in as he came into the
room.