Chapter 21

Two hours later, Chief was standing at the bottom of the stairs near the front door waiting for Alise to come down.  Right after the meeting, she’d gone to her room, and Chief had taken advantage of the opportunity to get cleaned up in one of the other guestrooms.  Dressed in a pair of borrowed jeans and a too small thermal shirt, Chief stared down at his chest and wondered if Alise would think he was trying to look like the Hulk.  He discarded the thought, and his head snapped up when heard steps coming down the hall upstairs.

Alise appeared at the top of the stairs and holy shit!  She was so beautiful she knocked the words right out of him.  Speechless.  He was absolutely fucking speechless.

She wasn’t wearing anything super fancy.  Tight jeans, tall hiking boots, and a cream-colored sweater that hung off one shoulder showing off that blackbird tattoo and making her look soft and tiny.  A powder blue coat was draped over one arm and her hair was swept up into one of those pony-things the girls wore that showed off their neck.  He was certain she had no idea how much that turned shifters on.  Necks were extremely sensual to shifters.  Once mated, the woman’s neck bore the mate mark.  It both pleased and irked Chief to see the satiny column of Alise’s throat.  While it was beautiful and incredibly sexy, he knew there’d be other shifters in town tonight.  It was Saturday, and everyone in small communities went to town on Saturdays. He had no doubt that some of those shifters would note the absence of a mate mark on Alise.  It’d be worse because she was stricken right now, which meant she was throwing off pheromones like he’d no doubt be throwing around dirty looks.

Descending the stairs slowly, Alise looked around.  “Wh-where is everyone?”

He wanted to answer her, he really did, but some words just took precedence.  “You look beautiful.”

Alise stopped on a stair, one hand on the rail as she canted her head.  “Really?”  She looked down at her clothes like they had anything to do with it.  Looking up at him, her soft cheeks lit with the slightest hint of pink as she muttered, “Thank you.”

Hmm, not used to compliments.  He made note of the discovery and quickly set a mental reminder to compliment her more often.

Rushing to hold open the door, he extended an arm, but Alise didn’t move.

“Where is everyone else?”

Shit!  “They’re gonna meet us there,” he lied.  He’d lied to Alise a lot today, and it didn’t sit well with Beast, but his animal kept quiet because he knew Chief had a plan and that everything they were doing now was in an effort to win her over.

Looking around the foyer, Alise offered.  “We could wait.  I don’t mind.”

“They’re having a pack meeting.”  In for a penny, in for a pound.  “And we ain’t pack so we’re not invited.  It’s one of those things they’d prefer we not be around for.”

“Oh!”  Alise’s brows shot up, and she hurried down the rest of the stairs.  “Okay.  Whatever’s best.”

Internally fist punching the air, Chief helped Alise into her coat then settled his hand on her lower back to guide her out the door.  Even that slight touch settled something inside him, and it must have helped Alise too because she gave off the tiniest little sigh.  He hadn’t made an effort to ask how the effects of the stricken were hitting her.  She’d been really bad that first day and he felt like shit because he knew how important touch was.  So, without asking, he reached down and slipped his hand around hers as he led her to Dell’s truck.  Opening the door, he lifted her in and grinned at her surprised little yelp.  Tonight he planned on surprising her a lot!  Climbing into the driver’s seat, he set off for town with the excitement of a sixteen-year-old boy ripping through him.

At Mighty Mo’s bar, he found them a table and held Alise’s hand as he led her to it.  The place was hopping.  Almost all the tables were full, even the ones he could see up the metal stairs that led to a small second level balcony.  In the far corner, a two-man band played acoustic versions of the latest hits, and the scent of pizza and hops filled the air. 

Pulling out a barstool for Alise, Chief resisted the urge to lift her onto it knowing people would find it weird.  She probably would too, but he’d never had a woman of his own before, and the need to treat her with kid gloves was nearly overwhelming.

Settling in his own seat across the table from Alise, Chief stayed there only a moment before realizing he didn’t like it.  Their hightop table was nestled between two others, and Chief didn’t like the idea of people being at Alise’s back without him being close enough to protect her if need be.  So, abandoning his stool, he circled the table and took up the seat next to Alise.  She watched him before flashing a wooden grin.  He knew he was acting odd, but fuck it!

When the waitress came, he ordered drinks for them both.  Alise wanted a micro-brew, so that’s what he got too.  He also ordered them cheese sticks and a large Canadian bacon pizza with green pepper because Alise said it was her favorite.

Conversation came sluggish at first.  Alise commented on the décor and how good the band was.  When their drinks came, and she took a sip, Chief asked if she liked it or wanted something else to which she refused and kept her Damn Fog. Then they settled into a strained quiet before Chief got the idea to ask her questions, and it worked.  Once Alise got on a roll, she kept right on going, and it was great because he was learning a lot about her.

They talked for nearly twenty-minutes, ordering another round of beers, and as Chief listened to Alise, something was happening.  Something odd.  Something new.  The longer she talked, the more enthralled he became.  He found himself leaning slightly forward, legs spread and her chair sitting close to him, one of his hands rested on the back of her barstool.  It felt good having her safe in the cocoon of his body.  His eyes were riveted on the way her mouth moved as she spoke, the way her eyes lit up or dimmed with each subject.  She was intoxicating, and as the hours passed, the food came and disappeared, and the beers flowed.  He felt like his blood grew warm and sugary and sluggish.  He felt buzzed up, and it had nothing to do with the alcohol.  It was Alise making him feel strange, but it wasn’t enough.  He didn’t want to be just buzzed.  He wanted to be drunk on her.  He needed more.  It felt like those nights when he went out and drank to douse all the anger raging inside of him.  He couldn’t get enough.  Those nights though felt like running away.  Tonight felt like racing home.  He wondered if this was how it always felt with a mate.  For the first time in as long as he could remember, Chief wasn’t lonely, and he actually liked it.  Alise’s voice soothed him, her face mesmerized him, her stories enthralled him.  He could listen to her forever, and he knew it.  Hell, even Beast was rolled on his back and letting his tongue loll out as they basked in their mate’s attention.  

Whoa!  Shaking his head at the thought, he jerked back and sat straight.  Our mate!  Christ, it felt so real, and Chief suddenly realized how much he wanted it to be. 

Alise noticed his reaction and stopped talking.  They stared at each other a moment before she asked, “Are…are you okay?”

Hell no!  “Yeah,” he lied.  “Just,” he swallowed hard.  “Just got caught up in you is all.”

Alise blushed then glanced distractedly at the table and the now packed bar.  “Is no one else coming?”

Blinking at Alise, it took Chief a minute to register what she was asking.  “Oh!  Umm…”  He glanced at the table then opted for the truth.  “No.  They’re not.”

“Why?”

He considered feeding her another lie but opted against it.  “They never were.  Chloe helped me set this up so that I could take you out.  Alone.  On a…date.”

Anger flashed in Alise’s eyes a minute before it cooled as she pursed her lips and asked, “A date?”

Chief nodded.

“Why?  We’re separating in three days.  Don’t you think this is going to make things harder?”

This was it.  The part where he told her he didn’t want to separate.  Here’s where he owned up and admitted that he wanted to try and make things work.

He opened his mouth to speak when suddenly Pony BlackBird clapped him on the back and cut off Chief’s view of Alise.  They’d met a few times, and the young wolf shifter was known as a jokester.  He reminded Chief a lot of James back at StoneCrow. 

Bottle of beer in hand, Pony pointed at Chief and said, “We’re friends, right?”

What?  Annoyed, Chief looked around Pony in time to see Alise slide off her barstool.  Jerking her thumb over her shoulder, she mouthed, “Bathroom.”

Eyes on Alise, Chief watched her head toward the back of the bar.

“Well,” Pony prodded.  “We friends?”

Without taking his eyes off Alise, Chief muttered, “Yeah sure.”

Pony leaned over and got in Chief’s face, blocking off his view of Alise again.  “Yeah sure we’re friends?”

Frustrated, Chief looked at the shifter blocking his view of his mate.  “Yeah!  Whatever man.”

“Okay, cool.  I just wanted to make sure we’re good.  I wasn’t sure after, you know, the incident.”

Chief had been leaning to the side to keep sight of Alise around Pony’s body.  At the mention of an incident, Chief sat straight and stared at him.  Snatching his beer off the table to polish it off while Alise peed, Chief asked with irritation evident in his tone, “What incident?”  He had the glass to his lips and was swallowing down the last of his drink when Pony answered.

“You remember?  That time I was gonna beat you up.”

Chief spewed beer out of his mouth before coughing and swiping the back of his hand across his lips.  “The fuck you say?”

“Yeah, you remember.  ‘Member?”

“No.  I don’t fucking remember.”  Sliding off his barstool, Chief rose to his full, impressive height.  Towering over Pony, he asked, “When were you gonna beat me up?”

Pony opened his mouth, but everything faded when Chief heard Alise scream.