Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Dawn raised an eyebrow in disbelief.  “Vampires?”

Jerrit threw his arms up in exasperation.  He had no idea how Dawn would react to anything and that fact was driving him crazy.  “So you can believe in Were-animals, but you can’t believe in the undead?”

“Oh, I have no problem believing in the undead.  What I have a problem believing is that Vampires just happened to show up mere moments after I become a Were…cat, for lack of a better term.  I am a firm believer in the supernatural, but I have never had proof before.  Now, in the matter of an hour, I see two different supernatural beings.”

“There is no coincidence about it.  They were after you.”

“Me?  Why would anyone be after me?”

“I wish that I knew…”

“How did they know where I was?”  Dawn acted as though she hadn’t heard what Jerrit had said.  She wasn’t even looking at him anymore.  She didn’t seem to be talking to him anymore.  “Let alone what I am.  I mean, I didn’t shift until midnight and they showed up not ten minutes later.”

Jerrit tapped the side of his nose with his forefinger.  “They have a nose for you, the same as you have for them.”

“What does Crystal have to do with all of this anyway?”

“Why are you asking questions if you aren’t going to listen to the answers?”

Dawn gave him a surprised look.  “I am listening.”

“Really?  Because I would bet that you haven’t heard a word that I said.”

Dawn shook her head.  “You are jumping to the conclusion that some Vampires were hunting me before I even turned into a Were, but you don’t know why, and once I did turn, they could sniff me out.”  Dawn tilted her head slightly.  “Now, were you going to tell me your theories about Crystal’s involvement or did you want to have another temper tantrum?”

Jerrit bit back his retort.  She was right, he was overreacting.  He could not remember the last time that he had acted like such a child.  Normally he was able to control his frustrations.  He considered himself a fairly even-tempered guy.  All that it took was for Dawn to ignore him and he throws a hissy-fit.  The more time that he spent with the girl, the more he was convinced that he should call her family in, and yet he could not bring himself to do it.

Jerrit shifted in his seat to get feeling back in his lower back.  She was right about sitting too long on her furniture.  “I don’t think that she had anything to do with any of this.  I just think that she was in the wrong place at the wrong time.  She spent most of the night with you so she was covered with your scent.  I am pretty sure that they thought that they had cornered you until you showed up to protect her.”

“Now that they know that I am not Crystal will they leave her alone?”

Jerrit noticed that Dawn was staring at him intently.  It was really kind of creepy.  First she ignored him and now she was creepy.  There was just no pleasing him.

“It’s possible, but no likely.  They might think that she was just some random person that you were trying to protect and leave her alone.  But, more than likely, they will know that she was with you and now they know that you would risk yourself to save her.  That could be a problem for us.”

“So, why did they run when they saw you?  We were still outnumbered.  If it had been four against three on a more equal footing then I would understand.  But it was four Vampires against one Were and two humans, one of whom was out of commission.  In my eyes, they still had the upper hand.  What am I missing here, Jerrit?”

The irritation that he was trying to suppress spiked again.  So that was what was behind his aggravation.  He did not want to lie to her, but he could not tell her the truth.  He was not ready for her to know why vampires feared him or why her family hated him.  What kind of a creature struck fear into the hearts of the most feared predators?  It was not something that he could help.  He was born that way.  But Dawn would not understand, no one ever did, and for some reason he suddenly cared about that.

“They didn’t seem like the brightest vamps to me,” Jerrit said, stalling for time to figure out how to avoid lying and telling the truth at the same time.  “It seemed like plain old cowardice to me.  They were probably expecting an easy kill because you were a new shifter.  Once they realized it was going to be hard, they ran.”

Dawn nodded, obviously unconvinced.  “That was a whole lot of speculation and very little explanation.  I know that you are hiding something from me and that’s fine,”  Jerrit let out a soft breath before Dawn said “,,,for now.  But sooner or later, Jerrit, you will tell me.  I do not give up easily and I will whittle you down.”

Jerrit smiled mischievously.  Neither of her sisters had figured out his secret on their own, but he had not actually hidden it from them like he felt the need to with Dawn.  But the girl had just issued a challenge and Jerrit was not one to back down from something like that.

Dawn’s eyes locked with his as the silent war waged between them.  The desire that he saw in their greenish brown depths was overwhelming.  It took every ounce of his will power to stay in his chair and not cross the short distance to her.  But she had to be toying with him.  The game was on, and she was very good at it.

Jerrit coughed awkwardly as he looked away.  Dawn smirked triumphantly.  An attractive blush crept into his pail cheeks.  It made her feel unexpectedly powerful to be able to make a man like Jerrit blush.  She had won this round, but they were not through, and she knew that he was not going to make this easy on her.

“Eventually,” Jerrit croaked, looking back toward her.  He did not look directly into her eyes, but seemed to be staring at her forehead.  He cleared his throat before he went on, “You’ll be able to shift without giving it a second thought.  It will come as naturally to you as breathing.”

“Nice segue, but who says that I have breathing down yet?”

Jerrit continued to avoid looking at her directly.  He looked at her cheek, her forehead, and her temple but he refused to focus on her eyes.

“I am serious, Dawn.  You don’t seem to realize just how much danger you are in.  Even without the vampire problem you are not safe.  You could shift unexpectedly in the middle of a class or at work.  That would not only give away what you are but you haven’t learned to control your animal half yet.  With as many forms as you have, there is no telling what will trigger a change.  You are extremely volatile.  Even with how quickly you learn, I won’t be able to get you ready in time for your class tonight.”

“A normal college student would jump at the excuse to skip a class.  As we have already proven, I am not normal.  You are not going to stop me from going to class, Jerrit.  I am paying my own way through this hell hole of an education and I am not going to waste my money.”

“Do you really want to take the risk of me having to barge into your classroom to suppress some kind of wild animal that suddenly appeared out of nowhere?  Try to explain that to your professor.  It will be easier to lie and say that you are sick.”

“I am not skipping my class and you are sure as hell not coming with me.”

“Think about it, Dawn.  You are an untrained Were.  Anything could happen.  Your professor could ask you a question that you don’t know the answer to and send you into some emotional cyclone that will cause a shift.”

“And the great Midgard serpent could show up signaling the beginning of Ragnarok.”

Jerrit’s voice got louder with his anger.  “Allowing you to do this without supervision would be like letting a drunk drive himself home.  Not to mention, I am not going to be inadvertently responsible for exposing our world.  This is serious, Dawn.”

The angrier that Jerrit got, the more worked up Dawn felt.  He was being unreasonable, even if his argument made sense.  “Really?  Because the fact that we are discussing whether or not I could turn into an animal while taking notes during a lecture sounds pretty ridiculous to me.”

“You are unstable as a new Were and the fact that you are not shifting properly could be a sign of more severe problems that could manifest themselves at any time.  And how do you know about the Norse Armageddon?”

“I learned it from those classes that you are so afraid of me attending.  I am going to class if I want to go to class and you are not going to stop me.”

“Well, then I’m going with you.”

“Over my dead body.”

Dawn tapped her pen on the notebook in front of her.  The class was harder to get through than usual.  Her mind kept wandering to the gorgeous man sitting outside the classroom door.  She could not get his face out of her mind.  Stupid Jerrit!

They had spent most of the afternoon fighting.  Once that subject of her class had been worn out they had gone on to her work shift the following day.  It had taken several hours to finally come to a compromise.  If he came to her class then she would be able to go to work without him as long as he was able to drop her off and pick her up.  The man was insufferable.  He definitely gave her a run for her money when it came to being stubborn.

The only break that she had in their argument was when she had to call Crystal.  It had taken almost an hour to convince her friend that she didn’t have to come over to check up on her.  It wasn’t until Dawn agreed to have lunch with her that she was able to get off the phone.  Dawn didn’t know who was worse, Jerrit or Crystal.

She shook her head trying to focus on her notes.  Time was crawling by more slowly than it usually did through the endless hours of lectures.  It was difficult enough to sit still on a normal day, but Jerrit had gotten her so worried about the fact that she might accidentally shift was distracting her.  Nothing that the professor said was sticking.  She was supposed to be a sponge  for knowledge but her absorbency was gone.  Maybe she should have skipped the class, if for no other reason than that she just couldn’t focus.

She let out a tired breath as she twirled her pen between her fingers.  She had never been so distracted before.  Of course, she had never met anyone like Jerrit before.

Stupid Jerrit!

When the professor finally let the class go, Dawn did not rush to put her things away.  There was no need to hurry.  She took pleasure in making Jerrit wait.  She waited until she was the only person left in the room before she slung her bag over her shoulder and walked out into the hallway.

Jerrit was sitting just outside the door with his long legs stretched out in front of him blocking her path.  His ankles were crossed and his back was leaning against the wall while he read the Wall Street Journal.  Not counting his annoyingly perfect features, he almost looked normal.  Dawn knew better.  She had no doubt that he was aware of everything around him; from Dawn standing in the doorway, to the group of girls that had congregated by the stairwell, pretending not to be watching Jerrit intently.

Dawn rolled her eyes as she kicked Jerrit’s legs out of the way to get past him.  She turned away from the girls and headed farther into the building.  If Dawn looked too closely at the girls then she would start comparing herself to them and coming up with reasons why the annoying man, who she couldn’t get out of her mind, should pick them instead of her.  Her heightened emotions were making her much more hormonal than usual and she would rather be angry than depressed.

“Are you always the last to leave?”

Dawn jumped at Jerrit’s voice in her ear.  “God!  Don’t do that!”

“There is no need to call me God.” 

Dawn glanced over her shoulder.  The newspaper was laying discarded on the floor where Jerrit had been.  There was no way that he could have caught up with her without making a noise.

The girls who had been watching him were glaring at her.  Most of them started to disperse but one actually started coming toward them.  Of course the girl had to be a skinny blonde.  Life was never fair.

Dawn ignored Jerrit as the girl approached.

The girl walked right up to Jerrit, nearly touching his body with her own, and placed a piece of paper in his hand.  “Call me when you get tired of this one,” she whispered seductively in his ear.

Dawn snorted loudly.  The girl just glared at her as she walked back to the stairs.

“Wow,” Dawn said as Jerrit watched the girl walk away, “Do you need a moment?”

“It is tempting.”

A pang of jealousy ran through Dawn.  “Yeah, it’s a good thing that she’s pretty.  I’m in class with her and I can honestly say that looks are all she has going for her.”

Jerrit looked at Dawn.  Sarcasm lined his tone as he said, “Just my type.  At least she would listen to what she’s told.”  He threw the little piece of paper in a trash can.

Dawn felt relieved by Jerrit’s dismissal of the girl.  “If she could understand it.  Just don’t ask her to think too hard, her hair might explode.”

Jerrit shook his head.  “So, are you always the last to leave the classroom?”

“You tell me.”  Dawn started down the hall again.  “You’re the one who’s been stalking me.”

“I am just saying, it is ten o’clock at night and you still have to walk home.  I would think that you would want to go to bed.”

Dawn made it to the balcony that overlooked the area aptly called “The Ruins”.  There were large Greek-looking pillars that stood at three different heights, like steps.  A fourth pillar lay in pieces all over the floor below.  The mechanical ticker that lined the bottom of the balcony broke the illusion, but it did distinguish the place as the business building.

Dawn leaned on the balcony and stared down at the ruins.  “What’s the rush?  I spend most of my time sleeping, going to class and working.  I don’t have a life because I am a loser.”

Jerrit leaned against the railing next to her and frowned at her.  “‘Loser’ is hardly the word that I would use to describe you.”

Dawn’s heart leapt.  “Oh yeah?  What word would you use?”

Jerrit looked away from Dawn.   “I would have to say…psychotic.  That is a much better definition of you.”

Dawn rolled her eyes as her stomach fell.  “Oh good.  For a second there I thought that you might actually compliment me.”

Jerrit smiled.  “No, you are far too big headed for that.”

“I’m too big-headed?  Talk about the pot calling the kettle...You really know how to flatter a girl.”

Jerrit laughed lightly.  It was the most wonderful noise Dawn had ever heard.  It was deep and seductive.  It made Dawn smile

“What can I say?  I’m a sweet talker.”

“Well isn’t this sweet?” Dawn tensed at the voice behind her.  She recognized the Latin -American accent even before the smell hit her.  I was a spicy smell that was dulled by the metallic scent of blood.  It was the smell of Vampires and to Dawn’s newly heightened senses it was nauseating.  “The Were-cat has a crush on the Nato Vero.  I might actually be sick.”

Dawn turned around cautiously.  Standing by the main stairs were seven large men.  She recognized two from the night before but the rest were new.  The spokesman of the group had his greasy black hair pulled back into a ponytail.  The other man that Dawn recognized wore his dark hair loose around his shoulders.  The rest of the men were rather unremarkable.  There were two blondes and the rest were brunettes, but their faces all seemed to look the same.  To a human they would have been attractive, but all Dawn saw was Vampires.

“You’ve got new friends,” Jerrit said snidely, “Did the old ones get in trouble because you couldn’t bring in one little Were?  As I recall, you all ran away with your tails between your legs.”

The men all glared at Jerrit with malice.

“Don’t look so smug, Nato Vero,” one of the blonde men spat.  His voice was deep and threatening.  “We are not so easily spooked, especially by you.”

“Is that why there are twice as many of you this time?”  Dawn asked calmly, gesturing to the group.

The man with the black ponytail smiled calmly.  “I consider them more of an insurance policy, chica.  I am not going to have a Were interfering in my town.”

“Wow, did you have to practice that to say it with a serious face?”  Dawn was surprised at her own courage.  She had no idea where it came from but she could not stop it.  “If you want me gone, then come and get rid of me.”

Evil smiles spread on their faces.  They moved more quickly than Dawn thought possible.  Two men came at her while the rest focused on Jerrit.

Her instincts kicked in as the first one struck out at her.  She blocked him with her forearm and spun away.  Using her momentum she hit the other in the nose with her palm.  It shattered on impact.  Dawn crouched waiting for their next move.  The two men came at her together.  She pulled the knife that she had taken from Jerrit that morning out of her boot and slashed out toward the unharmed vampire.  He backed away from the blade giving her time to sweep her leg around, knocking bloody nose off his feet.  Dawn pounced on him and burried the blade in his heart.  He dissolved into some kind of dust, and Dawn’s knife was freed.  She spun in time to get rammed by the other vamp, then, suddenly, he was dust.  Dawn looked down to where she held the knife.  The vamp had impaled himself on it.

A pair of strong arms wrapped around Dawn pinning her arms to her sides.  Dawn felt herself shifting.  She threw her leg back and caught her newest attacker in the knee.  He released her with a grunt.  She spun to roundhouse kick him.  Thankfully she was still human.  Unfortunately, he caught her leg before it made contact.

“Thank you,” Dawn said breathlessly.

Confusion flashed in the blonde man’s eyes as he continued to hold her leg.  “For what?” he asked gruffly.

“For holding that.”

Dawn didn’t give him a chance to work out what she had said before she jumped and spun.  She kicked the man in the face with her free foot.  He staggered back relinquishing her leg.  Dawn lost her balance and fell to the floor.  Jerrit came out of nowhere and stabbed the vampire in the chest.  Silence fell over the hall as the dust settled.

Jerrit turned to Dawn and offered her his hand.  “Where did you learn to fight like that?”

Dawn took his hand and pulled herself up.  “Instinct.”

“Really?” Jerrit sounded impressed.

“Enough of this.”  The spokes-vampire said, drawing Dawn’s attention back to the staircase and the last two vampires that were still standing there.  He pointed a gun at her heart.  “As fun as this has been…”

A shot rang out.  Dawn could not move fast enough to get out of the bullets path.  Time seemed to slow as she watched the object of her doom rocket toward her.  She closed her eyes instinctively, waiting to feel the bullet as it pierced her skin...

...but nothing happened.  Dawn opened her eyes to find Jerrit standing in front of her.  He had taken the bullet for her.  Dawn lifted her arms to catch him, but Jerrit did not fall.  Instead he rose to his full, intimidating height.  Dawn could not believe it when he took several long strides forward and grabbed a hold of the un in the Vampires hand.

The last vampire took advantage of Jerrit’s distraction and ran to the balcony.  Dawn went after him as he vaulted the rail.  He landed on the tallest pillar.  Then jumped from pillar to pillar until he made it to the ground and bolted toward the doors.

Dawn looked behind her to see the annoying spokes-vamp turn to dust.  She took far too much pleasure from his death, but she did not have time to dwell on it. There was still one vampire running through the building.

“Gun,” she demanded as Jerrit turned to her.

He threw it to her.  She caught it and turned in one motion, then followed the vampire over the railing bypassing the pillars altogether.  She landed in a crouch on the wood floor.  She straightened to see the vampire running toward the door at the end of the hall.  Dawn took aim and shot him through the chest.  Bull’s-eye!  Unfortunately the man did not explode like she thought he would, but he did fall into an unmoving heap.

Dawn spun as a thud hit the floor beside her.  She aimed the gun at Jerrit’s head while he straightened.  He gave her a level stare putting his hands up in surrender.  His knife remained in its sheath.

“What the hell are you?” Dawn growled between clenched teeth.

“Dawn, that gun has no effect on me.  You saw that.”

Dawn’s gaze flicked to the small hole in Jerrit’s shirt then back to his face.  There was absolutely no damage to the luxurious skin that was exposed underneath it.  There was no sign of blood or bullet.  The only evidence that he had even been shot was the small hole in his clothing.

“I did see that.  I also saw by the look on your face that it still hurts like hell.  Now, I asked you a question.  Either answer it or I start target practice.”

Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Dawn squirmed uncomfortably in the front seat while she tried to ignore the awkward silence that hung in the car.  The trip to the club seemed to last forever.  Crystal seethed in the backseat.  Every once in a while Jerrit would glance at her in the rearview mirror and smile with a self-satisfied grin which only escalated Crystal’s bad mood.

There was so much that Dawn wanted to tell Crystal and so many questions that she was dying to ask Jerrit but she could do neither while they were both around.  Dawn just kept hoping that she would wake up from this terrible, and awesome, dream.

She turned to Jerrit with the intention of striking up a conversation but she was struck dumb.  What could she possibly say to lighten the mood in the car?  Nothing.  Crystal was going to be mad no matter what Dawn said because Jerrit had pissed her off.  The man was going to have to perform some grand feat to get into her good graces.  Good luck with that.

Then there was the fact that Dawn couldn’t think of anything to say that wouldn’t embarrass her more than she already had.  Dawn would have given anything to be normal, but even without being half animal, Dawn was far from normalcy.  As it was, she just wanted to pretend that the man did not make her heart race and turn her on with just a sideways look.  She wanted to be more suave and aloof, but that seemed impossible for her.  She was a notorious klutz and the harder she tried not to be the worse it got.

She was not naïve enough to think that Jerrit had any real interest in her.  He was attracted to her physically, she had felt that, but his interest would be fleeting.  Her only goal was to keep herself from looking like a fool, if at all possible.  It usually wasn’t.

The silence persisted until Jerrit pulled his shiny silver Jaguar up next to Crystal’s ancient, army green Jeep Wrangler, affectionately known as Sarge.  If Dawn had a choice between the flashy sports car and the beat up SUV, she would choose the Jeep.  Dawn was not usually into flash, at least not when it came to her car.  As long as it ran and got her where she needed to go, she was set.

Jerrit left the engine idling while he waited for Crystal to get out of the car.  Crystal looked at Dawn, intently ignoring Jerrit.

“You know, I can take you home, Dawn.  You don’t have to go with him.” Crystal made a point of emphasizing her disgust when she indicated Jerrit.

Jerrit smiled to himself.  The girl had nerve.  Even after his threat, which she knew was not idle, she was insulting him.  He turned to Dawn and immediately sobered.  She looked so uncertain about what to do.  “Dawn, I…”

“Dawn!” Crystal interrupted loudly, refusing to look at Jerrit, “The only one to whom I am currently speaking, you do not have to go with him.”

Dawn shook her head with a calm smile.  “Thanks for the offer, Crys, but I am going to be fine.  You have done more than I deserve to ask for and I have a lot to sort through.  Plus, my mom trusts him enough to send him my way, so i…trust her judgment, I guess.”

“But Dawn…”

“No Crystal.  He knows more about what is going on than anyone.  I know that it doesn’t show but I am really freaking out right now.  I have to have answers to the millions of questions that are screaming in my head and he has them.  So, even if you don’t trust him, please trust that I will be able to take care of myself if anything happens.”

Crystal let out an unconvinced breath.

“How about this,” Dawn continued, “I’ll call you this afternoon to check in.  If I don’t call by, let’s say six, you have permission to call campus police or even Greeley PD to raise all hell.  But nothing will happen to me.”

Crystal glared at Jerrit before she turned back to Dawn.  “If you don’t call then I am going to call in the National Guard.  If they find your body in a ditch somewhere, I will find some way to bring you back to life just so that I can kill you again.”

“I guess that I’ll have to dump her body somewhere more creative then, huh?” Jerrit’s face was completely stoic.

Crystal’s eyes went wide.  She let out an angry shriek when Jerrit gave her his attractive smirk.  Dawn had to bite her lip to keep from smiling herself as Crystal’s face turned red with anger.  It should not have been funny, but there was something about the way Jerrit delivered it so perfectly…or maybe it was just Dawn’s dark sense of humor.

“I will call you, Crys.”  Dawn could not keep the amusement out of her voice.  “but in order for me to do so, we have to actually part ways.  So…drive safely.”

“Fine,” Crystal said through clenched teeth.  She glared at Jerrit as she slid out of the car and slammed the door.  Without looking back at them, Crystal got into her car and attempted to peel out, but her car stalled.  Swearing loud enough that Dawn could hear her through the closed doors, Crystal threw her car back in gear and took off.

Dawn let out a long sigh and leaned her head back to the headrest.  “She is not going to be fun to deal with later.”

“She’ll come around.”

“This is your fault, you know.” Dawn turned her head to look at him.  “You had to do it.  You had to strike a nerve, didn’t you?”

“Yes,” Jerrit replied bluntly, putting his car in gear.

“She’s just looking out for me.  Like most of my friends, she mistakes my klutziness for ignorance.”

“You don’t have to explain.” Jerrit pulled out of the parking lot and headed toward campus.  “I’m actually relieved to know that you’ve been taken care of.  The girl may get under my skin but she looks out for you, so I can’t hold it against her…no matter how tempting it might be.”

“Taken care of?  So wait, are you saying that I can’t take care of myself?”

Dawn lifted an eyebrow, daring him to answer.  He smiled at her.  “That is not what I am saying, at all.  I mean, you do give off that naïve, ditzy, klutz thing, but that doesn’t mean that you are really naïve.”

“But I am klutzy and a little ditzy,” Dawn admitted.

“Well, you have tripped over yourself several times already today.”

Dawn giggled.  “Fair enough.”

“I  know that this sounds stalkerish, but I have been watching you for a while, Dawn.  In that time, I have learned that people are drawn to you.  You don’t see it but there is this, sort of,  ring of protection around you.  Crystal is only one of many who would stand up for you without hesitation, and she is not the most dangerous, I might add.  If anything were to happen to you then whoever harmed you would be ‘taken care of’ and you wouldn’t even have to ask.  In fact, you might not even know that anything had happened.”

Dawn opened her mouth to reply, but there was nothing that she could think to say.  He was right.  Crystal would not hesitate to go after anyone dumb enough to hurt any of her friends.  Natalia, Alex and Jack were only a few others who would do the same.  The more that she thought about it, she realized that everyone she knew would come to her rescue if she called, and she would do the same for them.

The car stopped and Dawn was surprised when she realized that they were already outside of her apartment.  They had made it in record time.

Jerrit looked over at her.  What was it about those eyes that took her breath away?  The car suddenly seemed a lot smaller.  Dawn did not look away from Jerrit as the urge to get out of the car overtook her and she fumbled to get the door open.  Without a word, Jerrit leaned over her reaching for the door.  He took her searching hand into his own and led it straight to the handle.  Dawn was agonizingly aware of how close his lips were to hers.  It had been a while since any man had been that close to her.  She had to fight the urge to close that distance as she felt his breath on her skin.  A shiver ran down her spine.

She really needed to get out of the car.

She pulled on the handle and the door popped open.  Jerrit moved back into his seat.  Dawn let out a quiet breath that she hadn’t realized that she was holding.  She could not tell if she was disappointed or relieved by his retreat.

Jerrit got out of the car with a cocky smile that immediately brought her back to where she was.  She should have known better.  He was messing with her.  How typical.  He was a gorgeous man who probably had dozens of women lining up for him.  If he had any interest in her it was only because she was convenient.

Dawn angled out of the car but her foot caught on the lip of the door and she fell out of the car.  She let out a yelp as she fell to her hands and knees.  Only they weren’t hands that lay on the pavement in front of her.  They were paws.  Large paws.

“Son of a…”

“Swearing is not going to help the situation, Dawn.”  She glared up at his amused smile.  “At least you fell gracefully.”

Dawn suddenly had the urge to rip Jerrit’s throat out.  It only lasted for a second but it was almost as hard to resist as the urge to kiss him had been.  She was not generally a violent person, mostly because she was able to control herself, but the sensation had never been so strong before.  At least she hadn’t actually ripped his throat out.  Thank god for small favors.

Jerrit looked around, making sure that no one was around.  The complex was as deserted as usual.

“Let’s get inside before anyone sees you.”  He looked down at Dawn then smiled attractively.  “Or worse, sees me walking around with a wolf and talking to myself.”

“This is Greeley.  No one would even give you a second thought.”

Jerrit smiled as he gathered up Dawn’s clothes.  He followed her up the stairs to her apartment.  Dawn’s sense of humor was refreshing.  He did not have to flinch when she glared at him like he did with the rest of his family.  Dawn might have been angry with him, but ti was fleeting and did not really have any hatred behind it, like the rest of her family.  She had the temper of a Saunders, but she was very different from them.  She had a distinctive personality that Jerrit was attracted to and strangely turned on by.

He could not keep his mind from drifting to the image of Dawn standing naked in front of him.  The image changed to her wrapped in a blanket in his living room.  The changed again as he envisioned her under him while he did wicked things to her luscious body.  It was probably a good thing that Crystal had been there.  There was no telling what he may have done to Dawn if they had not been supervised.  He shivered at that thought.  The woman was like some kind of aphrodisiac made specifically for him.  He was not used to anyone having so much power over his desire.  It unnerved him.

The few times that Jerrit had allowed himself the company of a woman, he always chose a specific type.  Blonde, tall, slim and completely fake whet his appetite the best, as long as they were experienced.  So why was this short, voluptuous, klutzy, inexperienced girl plaguing his existence?  It made no logical sense.  At least she was blonde, even if it was a dark shade.

Jerrit shook his head.  No matter how much he wanted her, it wasn’t possible.  Even if her family was not an issue, he would never expect her to be attracted to him.  She had practically jumped out of his lap when she felt his desire.  She would want a man who would be able to give her a life like her sisters had.  The perfect white picket fence life with the perfect caring husband and adorable children.  With normal problems like money and chores and time constraints.  She would never want a man who had to hide who he was from her.  Who put her life in danger.  She would never understand what he was or the horrors of his past.  She deserved better than he could offer her.

Dawn waited impatiently behind him while he fished the keys out of her pocket and opened her apartment door.  She pushed past him and disappeared down a small hallway.  Jerrit closed the door looking around her small home.  He stood between two rooms.  To his left was a dining room with a basic table and chairs set with four places.  Attache to the dining room was a standard kitchen minus the dish washer.  To his right was the living room complete with a couch and chair that had been covered with red blankets to cover stains that Jerrit knew were there when Dawn had moved in.  There was a small scuffed coffee table in the center of the room and a TV against the far wall.  Everything was white and red with the exception of a few yellow decorations that Jerrit knew belonged to Dawn.

Jerrit closed the curtains in the dining and living room, trying to avoid any unwanted eyes from seeing the wild animal in the apartment.  When he turned around Dawn standing in the hallway staring at him with her furry head slightly cocked to the side.

“Thank God Brianna’s not here.  This would be very hard to explain.”

“Oh, come one, Dawn.  How hard could it be to explain how a strange man got your key, knew exactly where you lived and walked around with his pet wolf?”  Jerrit smiled sarcastically at her.  “You have explained worse, I’ll bet.”

Dawn turned and went back down the hall.  “Any other time you might be funny, but right now, you are just annoying.”

“Look on the bright side, Dawn.”  He waited for Dawn to turn and look at him before he continued.  “At least you’re a wolf and not a cat.”

Dawn rolled her big eyes.  “Fabulous.  I am finally a normal freak.  Open my bedroom door.”

“A ‘please’ wouldn’t kill you, you know?”

“You really want to fight with me right now?  I am a wolf and I will not hesitate to bite you.  And honestly, I think that it might kill me if I say please to you.  Now, would you just open the door, please?”

Jerrit follow her down the hall with a self-satisfied smile.  He wasn’t sure if she had even meant to say the last word but he had gotten his “please” anyway.  Dawn growled at him as he opened the door.  He enjoyed aggravating her far too much.  There was something about the fierceness of her eyes and her immediate retorts that he could not resist.

Dawn hated that Jerrit was able to get her so worked up.  She butted her door closed a little more forcefully than she had intended to, leaving Jerrit on the other side.  She let out a long breath as she turned back into human form.

The fact that she was calling it “human form” was creeping her out.  It was okay to think of her other forms as just that, other forms, but to think that the way she was born might not be her true form was too much to wrap her head around.

Dawn found a pair of green sweat pants and a black tank top.  She got dressed while she tried to avoid the thought that she might not look the way that she was supposed to and failed.  Dawn glanced in the mirror.  If she could make a large change, like transforming from a human into an animal, then maybe she could make little changes too, like fixing the flaws that she always saw in herself.

Dawn concentrated on her reflection for a moment, willing it to change.  She would take anything; her hair, her nose, her chin, her cheeks…she wouldn’t mind losing some of the pudge that seemed to permanently reside where her abs should be.  Nothing happened.  It’s not like she really expected it to.

Dawn smiled to herself and shook her head.  It was worth a try.

She went back out to the living room.  Her dream guy was sitting in the chair next to the door.  He shifted uncomfortably as she moved to sit on the couch.  She gave him a questioning look as she pulled her legs up underneath herself.

“This is the most uncomfortable seat I have ever been in.”  Dawn smiled at the look of disgust on Jerrit’s face.  “Seriously, how can you stand this furniture?”

“I am in college.  I take what I can get, even the crap that they offer to furnish my apartment with.  Besides, you know that you’ve been sitting too long when your butt goes numb.”

“That’s masochistic.”

Dawn gave him a mischievous smile.  “Not into that kind of thing?”  Jerrit ignored her comment so she went on.  “It’s the unfortunate consequence of higher education.  You spend too much money on books and tuition to afford the luxuries of life.  I can fix my back problems when I have my business degree.”

“Wow…that is depressing.”

“Welcome to my world.”  She had made the comment a little more seriously than she had meant to.  Jerrit’s gaze made her uncomfortable.  She looked away from him, unable to stand the pity in his eyes.  She ran her hand through her hair.  “So, tell me about the men who attacked Crystal.”

“Are your eyes a different color?”

“What?” Dawn was taken by surprise by the question.

“Your eyes look greener than they did before.”

Dawn rolled her eyes, but made a mental note to check on it later.  Not that that would really help her remember.  “Seriously?  This is how you are going to try to distract me?”

“What makes you think that I know any more about them than you do?”

Dawn glared at Jerrit.  He couldn’t possibly believe that she was that dumb.  He knew a lot more than he wanted to let on.  Playing innocent was not going to work.

“They didn’t run when a tiger came out of nowhere to protect Crystal, but when you come strolling casually around the corner, they scatter like rats.  That means something that you are not telling me, so spill it.  What were they?”

“Don’t you mean who were they?”

Dawn crossed her arms over her chest and leaned back into the couch.  “I meant exactly what I said.  They were definitely not human.”  She dropped her voice slightly.  “They didn’t smell right.”

Jerrit nodded approvingly, his gaze unwavering from hers.  “I didn’t think that you would be able to distinguish smells yet.”

“I have natural talent.”

“So I see.”

“You’re trying to avoid the question.”

“Why would I do that?”

“You.  Tell.  Me.  Jerrit.”  Dawn emphasized each word.

Jerrit stared at Dawn for a moment before he shook his head sadly.  “I don’t think that you are ready to know what they are.”

“Shouldn’t that be my decision and not yours?”

“I am not sure that you can handle what you are asking.”

Dawn sighed trying to keep herself calm.  “Jerrit, I am not asking what they are.  I am demanding to know it.  I am not going to let this go, no matter how much you try to change the subject or how you feel about what I can handle.  The easiest thing for you is to just tell me, or you had better hope that you are more stubborn than I am.”  She gave Jerrit a calm smile.  “now, let’s try this again.  What were the things that attacked Crystal?  I believe that they called themselves hunters.”

Jerrit could not look at Dawn for a moment.  The woman messed with his brain and made him want to do everything that she said.  He was stronger than this.  There was no way that she could be as stubborn as he was.  He had been able to handle both of her sisters, her mother and her father.  He could out stubborn the youngest Saunders as well.

He made the mistake of looking back into those eyes.  He had no doubt now.  Her eyes were greener.  The color made her gaze more intense, if that was possible.  She was determined to learn whatever she needed to, not only to protect herself, but her friend.  The truth was that the more she learned, the better able she would be to do it.  He never should have agreed to help this family.

“Vampires.” He said calmly.

Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Dawn knocked the stool over when she jumped up.  She ignored it and rushed down the hallway.  The bedroom door burst open when she reached it and Crystal came running out.  Dawn didn’t have time to slow down before they collided and together they fell to the floor in a heap.

“Dawn!  Oh thank God you’re okay!”  Crystal threw her arms around Dawn’s neck.  “I woke up in a strange room and all that I could remember was losing you last night.  Then I remembered those creepy men cornering me…”

“Everything is fine, Crys.  We’re safe.  Calm down.”  Dawn pulled away from her friends vice-like grip and stood up clumsily.  Crystal followed her. “You passed out when the men came after you.  Good survival skills, by the way.  Luckily, my friend Jerrit was there.  He chased the creepers away and took us home.”

Dawn didn’t want to have to explain why she had agreed to go home with a complete stranger.  She honestly had no idea how Crystal would react to that.  She figured it would be easier to just keep her in the dark.

“I am not home Dawn!  If I was then I would not be freaking out right now.  I thought that I had been kidnapped.”

“And kept in a nice clean room with an exposed window, in a bed that cost more than your college tuition?”  Jerrit said from behind Dawn.  “Wow, I am one fine captor.”

His sarcasm was not going to go over well.  Dawn could tease her friend without consequence but Crystal did not know Jerrit.

“You!”  That was not a good tone.  Crystal made a move toward Jerrit but Dawn stepped in front of her.  Definitely not good.

“Jerrit took us back to his place.  I was not in the mood to explain to your front desk why you were unconscious.  On the spur of the moment all that I could think of was that I beat you up.  As believable as that is, I’m not sure that the school would take it well.”

“You’re not funny Dawn.  Why would he come to our rescue?”

“I told you, he’s my friend.”

“A friend that you have never mentioned?  I don’t think so.  You’re not exactly known for your ability to keep anything to yourself.  So, one more time…Who the hell is he?”

Dawn glanced at Jerrit.  He stood nonchalantly against the wall.  His arms were crossed over his chest accentuating the muscles of his arms.  He was extremely dangerous looking which did not help put Crystal at ease.  Still, Dawn was so attracted to him that it was scary, not that she would admit it.

She didn’t know why she didn’t just tell Crystal the truth.  Even if her friend didn’t believe her, it would at least get everything off of her chest.  There was the chance that Crystal would believe her and Dawn would be out of the woods, but the likely hood of that was slim.  Crys might believe what happened, but there was no way that she would excuse the fact that Dawn put her life at risk by going home with a complete stranger.  It didn’t matter that everything turned out alright.

Jerrit stared into Dawn’s brown eyes.  He could see the indecision behind her mask of control.  He shook his head subtly.  He knew what Dawn was thinking.  She wanted to tell Crystal what had happened.

Panic showed openly on Dawn’s beautiful face and her breath quickened.  Uh oh...That was an awfully fast emotional change which meant only one thing.  She was about to shift.  He moved toward her quickly hoping that she would calm down before it was too late.  No such luck.  Dawn let out a pain filled breath.  Jerrit caught her as she fell sideways.

“You need to get back in the bedroom,” Jerrit ordered Crystal.  Hold on for just a few more minutes, Dawn.  Please.  But there was nothing that he could do.  She was the only one who could get herself under control and she was not going to be able to.

“What did you do to her?”

“Seriously?”  Jerrit asked in disbelief as he lowered Dawn to the ground.  “You are going to blame me for this?  Fine, just get back in the bedroom.”

Crystal started to kneel next to her friend but Jerrit grabbed her arm.  Being careful not to hurt her.  He forced her to stand up.  She tried to pull away but he held her fast.

“I am begging you, Crystal, for your own sake, get back.”  Jerrit had never begged anyone for anything before, yet he was willing to do it for Dawn.  that was stupid.  He had only just met the girl and yet it was no less true.

“Let go of my arm.  She needs help and I don’t trust you to…”  Crystal’s face went pale at the same time that Dawn’s weight lightened in his other arm.  “My God.”

This was not good.  He released Crystal’s arm and she backed herself into the wall.  He looked down to see the house cat from the night before looking up at him with Dawn’s eyes.  At least she wasn’t a tiger.  He had that on his side.  The last thing that he needed was to have a wild cat in his apartment.

Dawn turned her panicked gaze to Crystal and meowed softly.  Jerrit let out a long slow breath as he picked Dawn up off the floor.  She wrapped her soft tail around his forearm while he stroked her fur, trying to sooth her.

“What the hell is going on here?  Where did Dawn go?”

Jerrit ignored the fear in Crystal’s voice.  Her panic was not his first priority at the moment.  He had never been in such a horrible situation.  Dawn was proving to be much more trouble than either of her sisters had been.  Considering her sisters, that was saying something.

“She hasn’t gone anywhere,” Jerrit answered irritably.

He moved into the living room and sat down on the couch.  He settled Dawn in his lap and continued to stroke her back.  She lay there staring expectantly toward the hall where he had left Crystal.

Jerrit had no idea how he was going to get out of this.  No one was supposed to know about Dawn.  Her survival depended on secrecy.  Now he had an untamed Were and a panicked human woman in his apartment.  He could handle the Were, it was the woman that was going to be the problem.  How was he supposed to convince her not to tell anyone what she had seen?  Damn his luck.  He was not compensated enough to deal with the trouble Dawn was causing.

Why should I have to deal with this?  I could just give her back to her family and make them figure out what to do.

Jerrit knew that he couldn’t really leave her like that.  He had sworn to protect her.  That oath was more sacred to him than anyone knew and was not about to break it, even if it got him killed.  Not even Dawn’s family knew just how far he was willing to go to keep her safe, and it had nothing to do with his inexplicable feelings for her.

Crystal came around the corner slowly.  She stood staring at Jerrit as though he was crazy.

“Are you telling me that Dawn just turned into a cat?”

Jerrit gave a single nod while Dawn purred softly.

“And you expect me to believe that?”

“I don’t expect you to believe anything.  You just saw what happened with your own eyes.  If you don’t believe it then take it up with them.  I personally don’t care what you believe.”

Crystal stared intently at the cat.  “It has her eyes,” she whispered to herself as she moved into the room.  Dawn’s eyes followed her as she knelt in front of the couch.  “And I have never seen a cat with that much focus.  Is her fur as soft as her hair?”

Jerrit could not hide his surprise.  The girl was actually calm about this.  “I’ve never felt Dawn’s hair.”

The cat purred softly as Crystal touched her head lightly.  It rubbed it’s head against her  palm.  The fur under her hand was soft, and Crystal could tell by all the split ends that it needed a trim.

“That’s right, Crys.  Don’t be afraid of me.”

“Holy…”  Crystal stumbled away from the couch at the sound of Dawns voice in her head.

“You can hear me.”

The look on the cat’s face was hopeful, or maybe that was just Crystal going crazy.  This was not possible.  Her friend was not a cat.  Impossible...for a plain yellow pumpkin to become a golden carriage.  Crystal shook her head.  Now was not the time for musicals, even if it was Cinderella.

“Dawn is just as freaked out about this as you are,” Jerrit said.

“Yeah, I doubt that.  Can you hear her too?  Please tell me that I’m just crazy and hearing voices.  Or that this is some really incredible prank.  My friend is not a cat whose voice is in my head.”

“I honestly wish that I could.  But this is really happening Crystal.  Your friend is going through something that you are not supposed to know anything about, but now that you do, there is nothing that I can do about it.  You are more in this than you could possibly imagine.”

“Comforting.”

Dawn wanted so badly to tell Crystal that it was all going to be alright, but she had no idea if it really would be and she couldn’t lie to her friend.  She should have taken Crystal home last night.  She should have kept her friend safe, but she hadn’t.  This was all her fault.

It was amazing how Jerrit was able to calm her, though.  Even with all of his doomsday talk his beautifully accented voice made her relax.  The feel of his strong hand absentmindedly massaging her back made her feel protected.  How could a man that she had just met have such an effect on her?  She should not be so comfortable with him but, against all common sense, she felt herself relaxing.

“Jerrit, would you put a blanket over me, please?”

He did as she asked, making sure to spread it out so that it would still cover her once she returned to her human form.  He watched as she shifted back to normal. 

Crystal gasped.  He could not imagine how strange this must be for her.  He had grown up with Weres.  There constant form changing was normal for him.  He tried to remember what it had been like the first time that he had seen it, but he could not recall it any more than he could remember his first step.  In his world this was just the way that things were.

Dawn gathered the blanket around her while she was still in his lap.  It was impossible to keep the image of her naked body out of his head with her so close and so very nude.  It would be only too easy for him to pick her up and carry her to his room where he would give her the greatest pleasure that she had ever had.  The thought alone made him hard with need.

Dawn stood up, when she felt just how much Jerrit was effected by her.  It made her feel sexy and strangely powerful.  It brought heat to her cheeks as well as other more intimate places of her body.  But this was not the time for the fantasies that plagued her mind.  Not only was her friend in the room, making the situation even more uncomfortable, but she barely knew the man…and yet she had never been more attracted to anyone in her life.  She must have moved from slightly crazy to completely insane.

“Thank you,” she said quietly.  He gave her a nod then quickly stood and escaped into the kitchen.

Dawn turned to Crystal with what she hoped was an apologetic look.  She offered a hand to help Crystal up but she just stared at it uncertainly.

“Come on, Crys.  I don’t bite…anymore than I used to.”  Crystal was obviously not amused.  “Seriously, Crys, I’m sorry that you had to see that.  I can’t control it.  Now, I’ve gotten you involved in something that I am not even sure that I want to be a part myself.”

“You are such a liar,” Crystal scoffed.  She finally took Dawn’s hand and stood up.  “This is like a dream come true for you.  This is your messed up fantasy world come to life.  You can’t tell me that you are not loving every minute of it because if I wasn’t so freaked out right now, I would be right there with you.”

Crystal knew her far too well.  Still, her fantasy was not turning out the way that she had imagined.  Such is life.

“How long have you been able to turn into an animal?”

“Since last night,” Jerrit answered for her.

He was in the kitchen apparently cleaning up, but Dawn had a feeling that he was just trying to keep himself occupied.  He was uncomfortable but she had a feeling that it wasn’t because she had felt his arousal.  Something else was bothering Jerrit.

“Oh my gosh,” Crystal said with realization.  “The tiger in the alley, that was you, wasn’t it?  I wasn’t hallucinating?”

“Unfortunately, that was me.  But I never would have gone out there if I had known that I wasn’t human.  It was an instinct thing.  It’s kind of hard to explain but emotions as an animal are very different then they are when you are human.  It’s much more intense and it takes a minute before my brain can catch up with my impulses.  This must be what bipolar feels like.  I mean, how am I supposed to know what I’m really feeling when I’ve got a freakin’ animal in my head fighting for control?”

“I need to sit down.”  Crystal collapsed onto the couch with a loud sigh.  “And I thought that you had issues before.  I had no idea just how right I was.”

“I really have to interrupt you two,” Jerrit said drawing their attention.  “Dawn the more that you tell her the more danger that she is in.  I would really hate to have you lose your friend just because she knows too much.”

“You think that those men are going to come after me again?”  Crystal’s voice was filled with apprehension.

“I wouldn’t put it past them.  Now that they know that you run with a Were, you are basically a prime target.  But they are not the only ones out there that will come after you.”

“Then what harm can it be telling her anything?” Dawn asked.  “If she’s already in trouble, why not give her as much information as I can.  At least then she might be able to protect herself.  Knowledge is power, so they tell me.”

“Of course you wouldn’t know first hand.”  Dawn glared at Crystal.

Jerrit shook his, unable to come up with an argument against Dawn.  She was right.  The damage was already done.  There couldn’t be too much harm in making sure that Crystal knew how to take care of herself.  At least then he wouldn’t have to worry about the girl doing something stupid to try to learn it on her own.

“Fine, but maybe you should wait until you know a little more before you try to explain it to her.  For now, would you please go and get dressed?  If you’d like to get washed up a bit the bathroom is the first door on the left.”

“What?  You don’t like the fact that you have a naked woman running around your home?”  Dawn smiled seductively.

“Ew,” Crystal added.

Jerrit took a deep breath trying to keep himself from taking the bait that Dawn had cast.  He knew better than to give into the urge to take her.  If she didn’t stop tempting him, he was going to need a cold shower.  “I don’t think that you want to hear the answer to that, darling.”

Dawn’s smile widened, but she quickly subdued when she turned to her friend.

“Will you be okay if I leave you alone for a few minutes…with him?”

“Don’t worry, Dawn.  I’m not gunna hurt him.”

Jerrit would have loved to see the woman try.  She had no idea just who she was dealing with, and he planned to keep it that way.  The girl did not need that kind of information.

“Well, I know you, so I had to check,” Dawn said with a smile.

Crystal stood up and pushed Dawn toward the hall.  “Would you just go put some clothes on.  I don’t want the image of your naked butt singed into my brain.  All that I want right now is to go home, take a shower and wash away the past twenty-four hours.  Plus you smell like shit.”

“Wow.  I almost felt sorry for you then I remembered that it’s you and realized ‘oh my god, Crystal’s playing me like a fiddle.’”

Crystal smacked Dawn.  “Would you just go.  The sooner you get dressed, the sooner we can leave.”

“I’m going, I’m going.”  Dawn pouted as she made her way to the bathroom pausing only to pick up her clothes.

Jerrit took a deep breath when he heard the door shut.  Crystal was going to start asking questions that he was not in the mood to avoid.

“What would you like to eat?  I’ve made eggs and bacon, but if you’d prefer something else I’m sure that I could accommodate you.”

“Who are you, Jerrit?”

Jerrit flinched at her bluntness.  Very few knew the truth of his past and he was not about to tell the woman who was blaming him for all of the problems that had fallen into her lap.  Of course, he had shown up the moment that all of the madness started, so he really couldn’t hold that against her.

“I am an old friend of the family,” Jerrit said evasively.  It was not a lie, but it was nowhere near the full truth.

Crystal raised a skeptical eyebrow.

“I don’t come around very often,” he amended.  Again, the truth.

“Good friend, huh?”

The venom behind those three sarcastic words was palpable.  There was no way that he was going to get the girl to trust him, and he was not particularly fond of her.  The girl was extremely irksome.

“Her parents have known me for years.  The only reason that I am here at all is because they asked me to help her.  I have ulterior motives, absolutely, but none of them involve harming Dawn in any way.”

“Why should I believe you?”

“I don’t care if you believe me.  But, if you really need a reason, how about the fact that you are still alive and safe.  If I wanted either you or Dawn dead then I would have done it already.  Although you are wearing on my last nerve.”

“You don’t have the guts to hurt me.”

Jerrit couldn’t take it anymore.  The girl was going to learn that he was not to be tested whether or not she was Dawn’s friend.  He moved slowly into the living room toward the girl. Crystal’s eyes widened in fear as she realized that he would do anything that he pleased. She backed away from him until she hit the wall.  Jerrit placed a hand on either side of her so that she could not escape.  He could feel the fear radiating off of her.

“You already used up two of your chances threatening me last night.  My patience is spent.  I deal with far more dangerous people than you, darling.  People who would not hesitate to kill me for helping your friend and others who will kill me if anything happens to her.  Both are much closer to having the means to do so than you are.  Do not make the mistake of thinking that I will not harm you in order to protect her.  I have spared you so far for Dawn’s sake, but the fact that you know about her makes you a liability.  My life is tied to Dawn’s and I actually like my life, so should you do anything that will put that girl in jeopardy I will take you down without even thinking twice about it.

“I recommend that you keep that overworked tongue of yours still unless you have something truly productive to say.”

Crystal shook with fear while she stared at him with wide eyes.  Normally, Jerrit would revel in her fear, but as it was, he almost felt bad for her.  The girl was an innocent in all of this.  Truth be told, he would do just as much to keep her safe as he would for Dawn, but he would never admit that.

He would not hurt a human if he could prevent it.  He had sworn to help and not harm, but he was known for his brutality against his enemies.  People found it much more easy to believe their fears than the truth, so he played into the fears.  It kept him alive, and if Crystal knew just who was standing over her and what he was capable of she would not have provoked him.  She was dancing with the devil without knowing the steps.

He moved away from Crystal.  He turned to walk away but stopped when he saw Dawn leaning against the wall with her arms crossed over her chest.  She was freshly washed and clothed.  Her beautiful brown eyes were filled with suspicion and, if he wasn’t mistaken, jealousy.  How long had she been there?

“Am I interrupting something?”  She asked flatly.  “Because I can go back into the bathroom while you two finish.”

“We were just discussing how to pick up her car from the club.  She’ll need to go home and change before she has to go to work.”

Dawn glanced between the two of them a few times.  She knew that he was lying.  “Fine.  You can drop Crys and me off at the club so that she can take me home.”

Jerrit’s stomach dropped at the thought of being away from Dawn.  Luckily, he had a good reason to stay with her.  He was her bodyguard for awhile and there was nothing that she could do to get rid of him.

“I’ll be taking you home, Dawn.  I have to be around if you change again.  Even if you can control yourself in animal form, I still have to make sure that no one sees you.  I am here to protect as well as guide and it would make my life easier if I don’t have to commute or stalk you.”

“I can stay with Crys.  She knows what I am now so she can watch my back.”

“And what if you cannot control yourself, Dawn?  Can Crystal wrestle with a three-hundred pound tiger?  She’s strong, don’t get me wrong, but I think that this might be beyond her abilities.”

Dawn opened her mouth to argue then closed it again.  She had no argument to make.  He was right.  The regret in her eyes made him want to cringe.  He wanted his presence to be as much of a gift to her as hers was to him.  What did he expect?  He was a complete stranger to her.  And besides, she did not need a man like him in her life.  He had a lot of baggage, and even more enemies, that he did not need to burden her with.

Crystal’s tone was timid as she spoke for the first time.  “He’s right, Dawn.  I would watch your back in a heartbeat, but, truth be told, I am really weirded out by this.  I wouldn’t mind some time alone to sort everything out before I commit to being a part of it all.”

Dawn nodded.  “I get it, believe me.”  She turned her attention back to Jerrit.  “Alright, you can stick around.  But Jerrit, do not threaten my friends.”

Jerrit smiled timidly.  He was busted.  “You heard that, did you?”

“From the bathroom.”  She tapped her ear meaningfully.  “Apparently my curse comes with supersonic hearing.”

His smile turned mischievous.  “I can’t guarantee that I wont threaten your friends again, especially if they are as obnoxious as this one, but I will do my best.”

Jerrit grabbed a pair of sunglasses from a table beside the door and placed them over his eyes.  “So shall we go?”  Jerrit did not wait for a response.  He simply turned, opened the door and headed out.

Dawn shook her head in disbelief.  She followed him out the door, with a smile on her face.  If he thought that Crystal was annoying then he had no idea what he was in for.