The Vow: Dangerous Suggestions Book 1 (8 page)

“
Most girls are crazy
about him. I guess he has the bad boy vibe or something. I don’t
know,” he said, sounding a little grumpy at the thought.

I giggled at the thought of Mason
being considered a bad boy. He couldn’t even defend himself, let
alone a female. “Are you serious?” I asked, amused.

He looked at me, confused. “Well,
yeah; I mean, what else could it be? All these women go after him
like he is something great. I don’t get it. Deek wants him dead
because his girl did the same thing my girl did.”

I looked at him for a minute, trying
to see his point of view, but I couldn’t. Mason was not a bad boy.
I wasn’t one to sort men into groups like bad boys and nice guys,
but I knew what each group represented, and Mason was not it. If
anything Dawson was more of a bad boy than Mason. “I don’t know
what Mason is, but he is not a bad boy.” The thought made me giggle
even more. Every time I considered it I thought of the fact that
Mason would hide behind me before he would fight.

“
You think it is that
funny?” Dawson asked, starting to smile himself.

“
He hid behind me when he
thought you were going to hurt him. I am no better than a human.
What the hell is a human going to do against a werewolf? And he
knows this, but he still hid behind me,” I said as I watched
him.

He smiled as he thought about it. He
looked down at his hands and sighed. “I guess you are right. Maybe
bad boy is the wrong term for him.”

I smiled, shaking my head. “There is
no maybe about it.” I turned my attention back to the movie. He sat
in silence, watching the movie as well. I knew he had more to say;
I figured I would just wait for him to say it.

He cleared his throat after a minute.
“So, I was wondering if you were going to stay for a while or not.”
He sounded unsure, like he didn’t really want to know the answer,
but was asking anyway.

I didn’t understand why he wanted me
to stay. I had a feeling he wasn’t telling me something. Maybe he
thought I could be useful to him in some way. Before he saw my
ability, he’d told Mason I couldn’t stay. I smiled slightly,
deciding I would ask and see what he said. “Why do you want me to
stay?”

He looked a little caught off guard by
the question. “Well, there are a couple reasons, I guess. I know
you have nowhere to go, and no family…” he started, then hesitated
as he watched me.

“
And?” I asked, raising my
eyebrows. He had a reason other than just being a nice guy, and I
knew it.

“
And I think you will be
an asset to my pack. You can help us with our human relations
issue. We are able to pay some officials off, but there are others
that use blackmail as a means to get more money out of us. We have
to be able to keep our secret, and if you could get the humans to
look the other way, it would help us immensely.” He said it all so
quickly, like he was waiting for me to reject him.

I didn’t speak immediately. I’d
figured he saw some use for me when he saw my ability. He went from
wanting nothing to do with me to asking me not to leave. I could
see his problem being an issue for him, but it wasn’t my problem.
“So you want me to ward off the humans?” I asked
casually.

“
Yes. I think you can do
it without all the problems we have. There would be less fighting,
less struggling. I already got the approval of the pack to make you
an honorary member,” he said, sounding hopeful.

I guess since I didn’t downright
reject him, he thought he had a chance. I was surprised to find
that I still wanted to stay despite them wanting to use me. I
wanted to learn more about them. Being in a pack was about using
your abilities for the good of the group. Maybe this was my chance
to fit in somewhere, and feel a little normal. At least more normal
then I’d felt before. He was saying he needed me, and that felt
good.

“
I suppose I can stay for
a little while, at least. Maybe see how things work out,” I said,
trying to sound as casual as possible.

“
Good,” he said, sounding
relieved as he stood. He hesitated before walking out of the room.
“There is one more thing,” he said, sounding a little
hesitant.

I looked up at him, wondering what his
issue was now. “What is it? Spit it out,” I urged when I saw his
hesitation.

He stuck his hands in his pockets and
grinned sheepishly, like he did something I wouldn’t approve of. “I
named you.”

I smiled, slightly amused.
“Why?”

“
Because people have names
and everyone wanted to know yours. I couldn’t say you didn’t have
one, so I gave you one,” he said happily.

“
Care to share it with
me?” I asked dryly.

He straightened a little as a blush
creeped up his cheeks. “Your name is Larel.”

“
Huh,” I said, as I
thought about it. It wasn’t a bad name, but I thought he would come
up with a more common name. “Why that name?” I asked, curious about
what made him pick it.

He looked away and ran his fingers
through his hair like he was nervous. “Larel was a healer in our
pack when I was growing up. She was one of the wisest, most trusted
members of the pack. I remember everyone going to her for advice.
You kind of remind me of her,” he said, shrugging like it wasn’t a
big deal.

I was actually a little honored that
he’d put so much thought into it. “I like it,” I said,
smiling.

He looked relieved, and he relaxed a
little. “I am glad. I will be downstairs if you need
anything.”

“
Ok,” I said softly. He
walked out, closing the door behind him. I stared at the closed
door and thought about him asking me to stay. Maybe it was a good
idea for me to stay for a while; then again, it could turn into an
absolute disaster.

I turned my attention back to the TV.
I tried to focus on it, but I couldn’t. My mind was filled with too
many thoughts and unanswered questions. I was going stir-crazy. I
wasn’t one to stay cooped up in a room all night. I liked to go out
and explore. I enjoyed the night air.

I decided to walk downstairs and ask
Dawson if it was ok for me to go outside. I knew it would be, but I
figured I better ask permission before I just walked out of the
house. I didn’t want to startle anyone.

I walked to the kitchen, and when I
didn’t find anyone there, I walked to the living room. I looked
everywhere I thought Dawson might be, but he was nowhere to be
found. He’d said he would be downstairs, but it was possible he got
called away or bored. I was betting on the latter. I got bored
myself; that was why I was down roaming around in the first place.
Since I couldn’t find him, I decided to go outside. I figured I
would be safe if I stayed on the porch, at least until I spoke with
Dawson. If I stayed on the porch I would be able to get fresh air,
all while avoiding any issues with the pack.

I stepped out into the porch. The cool
evening air hit my face, and I immediately relaxed. The scent of
the woods was overwhelming. I looked up at the sky. The stars and
moon were so bright away from all the city lights. The woods
surrounding the house were unusually dark. The sound of the night
creatures wandering here and there could be heard if I listened
closely. The place had an enchanting vibe about it. It was a
perfect place for someone like me; someone who liked solitude and
silence.

“
I heard you decided to
stay, Larel.” Mason’s teasing voice startled me a little. He was
walking toward the house. He came out of the woods beside the
house, instead of from the direction I was looking.

I scowled at him. “You don’t have to
sneak up on me.”

“
I wasn’t sneaking, you
just weren’t paying attention,” he countered.

I rolled my eyes and looked back up at
the stars. “What do you want?”

He sighed as he leaned against the
railing next to me. “Why did you let my brother name you?” He
sounded a little disgruntled about it, which didn’t make
sense.

“
I didn’t let him, he just
did. I don’t really mind, anyway. He is right; if I stay, I need a
name,” I said, trying to brush him off. I wasn’t really in the mood
to deal with him, but he wasn’t going to give me a
choice.

“
I could have given you a
better name. I mean, he named you after an old lady,” Mason said,
sounding slightly put out.

“
What would you have named
me?” I asked, watching him.

A grin spread across his face, and I
knew it wasn’t any name I wanted. “I don’t know, maybe Candy, or
Stacy,” he said playfully.

I laughed. “I am going to stick with
Larel. At least with that name my assumed profession isn’t an adult
entertainer,” I said, amused.

“
No, it’s an old lady’s
name,” he said, sounding a little let down.

“
Well, I like my old lady
name. Where did you disappear to, anyway? You missed dinner. Your
brother really knows how to cook,” I said, changing the
subject.

“
He does know how to cook.
He hardly ever cooks though, unless he is trying to impress a
pretty girl,” he said, nudging me.

I rolled my eyes. “There is no
impressing me. You haven’t figured that out yet?”

He sighed in defeat. “I have, but he
hasn’t.”

“
He will,” I said
confidently. I’d never even considered anything romantic with
Dawson. I never really considered anything romantic with Mason
either. They were both very good looking men, but I wasn’t looking
for romance. I was too practical for romance. Just witnessing what
Dawson was going through with Lena and his brother made me
cringe.

Mason didn’t speak immediately. He was
watching me like he wanted to say more. “This isn’t an act, is it?”
he asked quietly.

“
What do you mean?” I
asked as I watched him, curious. He wasn’t making sense. I never
even tried to give him the impression that anything I did was an
act. I wasn’t sure what he meant.

“
You, this whole person
you are. You are really this strange, aren’t you?” he asked,
sounding a little on edge.

I scowled. “Quit calling me strange.
There is a point at which it gets rude.” I was starting to get
annoyed by his constant reminders. I didn’t like feeling different.
My reality was that I was different, but he didn’t have to keep
bringing it up.

He raised his hands in surrender. “I
didn’t mean it to be mean. I just meant that you really have no
interest in me romantically, do you?”

“
I never once led you to
believe I did,” I said, even more confused. In fact, I’d made sure
he knew I wasn’t interested. I never wanted to give him the wrong
impression, but by his expression, he was leading me to believe I
did.

He shook his head and looked out
toward the woods. “No, you didn’t,” he said softly. “I should go,”
he said abruptly; then he walked away. He hurried down the stairs
and disappeared back into the woods.

I stared at the spot where he
disappeared into the woods, trying to figure out what I missed. I
thought I was clear with him, but he was acting like I led him on.
I only knew him for a couple days. I didn’t get how he thought my
affection for him could develop that quickly.

“
Is everything ok?” Dawson
asked cautiously. He startled me out of my thoughts like Mason did
when he approached me earlier.

“
You could make some noise
when you are approaching; like, stomp or something,” I said
grumpily.

He smiled slightly. “I will try to
remember to stomp next time,” he said playfully.

I fought the urge to smile as I looked
back towards where Mason had disappeared. “I would appreciate
that.” I wondered if I was giving Dawson the wrong impression, too.
Mason had said Dawson only cooked for girls he was trying to
impress. “You don’t think I like you, do you?” I asked, before I
even really thought about what I was asking.

“
What?” he asked, as
amusement glinted in his playful blue eyes.

I sighed in annoyance. This was why I
hated emotions. “You don’t think I like you, like Lena likes you,
do you?” I asked, trying to clarify what I was asking.

His eyes widened a little. “No; I
mean, you don’t seem like you do. You never gave me any indications
that you did. Do you?” he asked, sounding more curious than I
liked.

I narrowed my eyes at him. “No, and I
don’t like Mason like that, either. However, he seems to think my
indicators that I have no interest in him are a ruse. He believes I
actually like him when I don’t. Are all men like this? If I
indicate no interest, will they all assume I am acting, and that I
will eventually fall for them?” I knew I sounded accusing and
confused. I was completely out of my element, and this was the part
I hated about interacting with others. He watched me for a minute,
then burst out laughing. I raised my eyebrows in confusion. “Why is
this funny? I don’t see how this is funny,” I said
dryly.

He raised his hands in surrender. “I
am not laughing at you. I am laughing because the situation is
funny. First off, Mason likes any female that is good-looking. He
probably likes you more because you said no. Secondly, no, all men
are not like Mason, and I would appreciate it if you didn’t judge
me according to how Mason acts.”