The Vow: Dangerous Suggestions Book 1 (7 page)

After my shower, I walked back out
into the bedroom and put the dress on. I looked in the mirror and
smiled slightly. I looked incredibly feminine. Even my green hair
looked halfway decent with the dress. I was used to leather pants
and jackets, not dresses. I wasn’t entirely sure what I thought of
my new look. I wasn’t sure if I could get used to it or
not.

I turned away from the mirror,
deciding to walk downstairs and join Mason and Dawson for dinner. I
wondered what werewolves ate. I knew they probably ate the same
things as humans. I supposed I was going to find out. I was leaning
toward staying with them for a while. I had to admit I was curious
about them. I wanted to learn more about their people. I was the
type of person that observed others, instead of interacting with
them. I’d observed humans my whole life. Now I had the chance to
observe creatures other than humans. I was excited at the thought.
I wanted to see one of them shift into wolf form. I wondered if
they would let me see them shift; perhaps it was too personal. The
questions I had continued to flit through my mind as I descended
the stairs.

Once I made it downstairs, the aroma
of someone cooking filled the air. It smelled really good. It
reminded me that I hadn’t eaten in a while. I walked straight to
the kitchen. I figured one of the two of them would be there
cooking. I highly doubted Mason cooked; I was planning on finding
Dawson in the kitchen. I stepped through the doorway, into the
kitchen, and like I expected, Dawson was cooking over the
stove.

He looked up at me and smiled when I
walked in. “Just in time,” he said, as he took the skillet he was
holding off the burner. It looked like he was making some kind of
stir fry. Whatever it was, it smelled incredible. “I hope you like
beef and vegetables.”

“
I do,” I said, as I took
a seat at the bar. “It smells really good.”

“
Hopefully it tastes as
good as it smells,” he said, amused. “I wasn’t sure if you ate meat
or not. Since you didn’t say anything specific, I figured you
did.”

I smiled slightly. “I do eat meat, and
I am sure it will taste great. You at least look like you know what
you are doing.”

“
My mother taught me to
cook. Mason never really got into it,” he said softly. He seemed a
little sad at the memory. His reaction made me believe his parents
had died.

I didn’t feel I knew him well enough
to ask him, so I changed the subject. “Where did Mason run off to?”
I asked casually. I figured he would be waiting for me when I got
out of the shower. I was surprised to find he wasn’t.

Dawson shrugged. The slight scowl that
crossed his face made me think they’d had some sort of argument.
“He went off somewhere. I doubt he will leave pack territory,
though.”

“
I doubt it, too. He was
pretty determined to get back here after his run in with Jason,” I
said slightly amused at the thought. Mason acted like he wasn’t
going to survive if he didn’t get back to his brother.

“
Would you like a glass of
wine?” he asked as he produced a bottle of red wine from the
fridge. “I know you don’t drink, but it isn’t really drinking if it
is one glass,” he said playfully.

I smiled slightly. “I suppose one
glass won’t hurt. Is it good? I have never had it.”

“
It’s my favorite,” he
said, as he retrieved two wine glasses and set them on the counter.
“Do you know how old you are?” he asked casually. It was obvious he
wanted to know more about me, just like I wanted to know more about
him. I could tell his approach was going to be him throwing a
question in here and there without being too open about the fact
that he wanted to know more about me.

“
I am around nineteen. How
old are you?” I asked, deciding that if I was going to give him
information about me, then he was going to have to surrender some
information about himself.

“
I am almost thirty. I
thought I would be settled down with a family by now. Mason made
sure he ruined any chance of that,” Dawson muttered.

“
So the girl he slept with
was more than just a girlfriend?” I asked, watching him.

“
She was my fiancé. I
thought she was the one. I guess that tells you how naïve I am,” he
said dryly.

I wasn’t quite sure how to respond. I
didn’t understand the emotions involved in relationships. It was
obvious werewolves coveted relationships much like humans did;
well, at least some of them did. Dawson wanted to find a lover and
raise a family just like most human males did. Mason, on the other
hand, was busy screwing around with girls and making enemies all at
the same time.

“
What are you thinking
about?” he asked, pulling me from my thoughts.

I looked at him for a second; then
smiled and shook my head. “I have never had any type of
relationship. I can see you are hurt, but I can’t really relate
because I have no idea what it feels like.”

He watched me for a second. I could
see a variety of emotions cross his face as he thought about what
it felt like to be betrayed by someone he cared about. He finally
looked away after a second and shook his head. “Some people say it
is like getting your heart torn out. I am not really sure; I guess
you would never know until it happens,” he said as he poured us
each a glass of wine.

“
I suppose it is different
for everyone,” I said softly as I accepted the glass he offered
me.

“
I agree. Ready to eat?”
he asked, changing the subject. His tone was back to normal,
instead of dark and sad like it had been a few minutes
earlier.

“
I am ready to eat,” I
said happily. The longer I smelled the food, the hungrier I was
getting. I was looking forward to a home-cooked meal. It had been
so long since I had one. I wasn’t entirely sure I could even
remember the last time I’d had a home-cooked meal.

He turned away from me, and began
making us both plates. He smiled slightly as he set a plate in
front of me; then he walked around the bar and took the seat next
to me. “Don’t judge me if it is terrible. This is my first time
trying this recipe.”

“
It looks incredible. I
doubt it will be terrible,” I said, amused. I picked up the fork
and tried a small bite. It actually tasted incredible. He was a
great cook, and I had a feeling he knew it. “This is awesome,” I
said, as I smiled at him.

He looked relived as he turned his
attention toward his plate. “Good,” he said happily.

We both ate in silence. I wasn’t quite
sure what to say. I didn’t feel the pressure to speak with Dawson
like I did with Mason. Dawson was a lot less demanding than Mason,
that was for sure.

I cleared my plate in a matter of
minutes. He didn’t serve that much, and it was really good. I took
a sip of the wine. I was surprised to find that I actually liked
it. “The wine is good,” I said, as I set my glass aside.

“
I knew you would like it.
I like sweeter wines. Do you want some more food?” he asked as he
pushed his plate away from him. It was obvious he was
done.

I shook my head. “That was plenty. I
will clean up,” I said, as I got to my feet.

Before he could say anything else, the
doorbell rang repeatedly. It was obviously someone who wanted to
speak with him immediately. He looked slightly annoyed, like he had
an idea who it was.

“
I will be right back,” he
said gruffly; then he walked out of the kitchen.

I carried our plates to the sink and
washed them. I normally didn’t do this type of thing, but since
he’d cooked me dinner, I figured I should. The high-pitched tones
of a female voice caught my attention. Whoever she was, she didn’t
sound happy. It sounded like she was heading toward the kitchen.
Dawson’s low annoyed voice echoed behind hers.

“
I know she is here
somewhere,” the woman said as she walked into the kitchen. She
froze when she saw me standing near the counter.

Our eyes met, but neither of us spoke.
She was a little taller than me. Her short blond hair fell around
her shoulders. She was a pretty woman. She was actually prettier
than the average human female. I’d noticed that about the
werewolves. They all seemed to be a little prettier than the
average human men and women.

“
I asked you to leave,
Lena. I would appreciate it if you did,” Dawson growled as he
walked in the kitchen, before she could say anything.

“
Who is she?” Lena asked
angrily, without taking her eyes off me.

“
None of your concern;
leave,” he said defiantly.

I had a feeling she was his former
lover by how they were interacting. She seemed jealous that I was
present in his house. I didn’t see why, considering she’d cheated
with his brother.

She looked up at him. Her big brown
eyes filled with tears. “I thought we were going to work on
things,” she sniffled.

“
I said I would think
about it, and she has nothing to do with us. She is a friend, not a
lover,” Dawson said, unfazed by her tears. She seemed like the type
that might use crying to get her way. I had seen human women do
this before. Most men seemed to lose their resolve when their lover
started crying. It seemed like a very useful technique in a
relationship. In Lena’s case, it was not working. Maybe she had
tried using it on him one too many times, or maybe she’d just hurt
him bad enough that he didn’t care how she felt.

“
I apologized. I don’t
know what else I can do. You won’t talk to me. This is the first
time I have actually seen you since everything happened,” she
sobbed. I wasn’t entirely sure if she was for real, or if it was
all a show because she was jealous.

“
Lena, this is not the
time to discuss this,” Dawson growled as he glanced at
me.

“
I will go back to my
room, and let you two talk,” I said, deciding to give them space. I
observed humans fight like this before. They seemed to do it quite
a bit when they were romantically involved. It seemed like one
minute they would be clinging to one another, and the next they
were ready to kill each other. None of it made sense to me. I
wasn’t sure if I wanted it to make sense.

“
That isn’t necessary.
There is nothing more for us to discuss,” Dawson said firmly as I
went to walk by him.

I stopped next to him, and looked up
at him. I could see how hurt and angry he was. It was apparent that
he still cared for her. Maybe she made a stupid decision, but then
again, maybe she really did love him. “If anything, talking to her
might give you closure. I would hear her out before you decide,” I
suggested.

“
What she did was
unforgivable,” he growled angrily.

I watched him, trying to choose my
words wisely. I didn’t even know why I cared. I knew he wasn’t past
it. I could tell by the look in his eyes when he’d mentioned her
earlier. He still loved her, he just felt betrayed. “I agree. I am
not saying forgive her. I am saying listen and make sure you are
making a choice because it is the right one, not because you are
angry,” I said softening my tone.

He looked a little caught off guard by
my suggestion. His eyes shifted back to Lena, and I continued on my
way. I walked back up the stairs to my room. I was considering
going outside, but I didn’t want to roam around pack territory
without a guide like Mason or Dawson. Mason was MIA, and Dawson was
preoccupied.

I sat down on my bed and flipped the
television on. I decided to do something I had never done before:
watch TV. It wasn’t that I was against television; I just preferred
to be out and about instead of cooped up in a room watching
TV.

I flipped through the channels, trying
to decide what I should watch. I found a vampire movie, and it made
me smile a little. Mason had mentioned that he thought I could be a
vampire. I wondered if that meant they existed. It wasn’t that
far-fetched if werewolves existed. I settled back on the bed and
attempted to watch the movie, since I had nothing else to
do.

There was a light knock on my door
that drew my attention from the TV. I was completely invested in
the movie I was watching. I wasn’t entirely sure how long I had
been watching it, but it was very interesting. I couldn’t believe I
went so long without watching TV.

“
Come in,” I said, as I
turned the volume down.

Dawson opened the door and stepped
into the room. “Hey, I was just checking on you.”

I smiled slightly. “I am watching a
movie. How did your talk with Lena go?” I asked, trying not to
focus too much on the movie. The movie had more of my attention
than Dawson’s relationship issues, but I was trying to be
courteous.

He scoffed as he sat down in the chair
near the bed. “She thinks I am going to just let everything go and
take her back. I mean, she slept with my brother. Who just takes a
person back after that? Not only that, it is a matter of pride. I
would be a laughing stock if I took her back.”

I watched him, unsure of what I should
say. I knew he wanted me to say something. Maybe he just wanted
someone to agree with his thoughts. I did agree with him. Looking
at it from an outsider’s perspective, I could see his reasoning
being valid. “I think you are right to stand up for yourself. I
don’t see what she saw in Mason anyhow. He is a troublemaker,” I
said dryly, as I looked back at the TV.