Animal Instinct

Part 1.2

With my punishment over—and no more incidents calling for an extension of it—I’m at another Sharks game to celebrate, this time with Alec. Through bonding with him, I found out that he’s an avid Sharks fan. We have fun arguing over who has the better team, which amuses Mr. Fuller.

“Grace, I need you to not wear such atrocious clothing when you’re out with me.”

I grin, “Hush up, Alec. I love my Lundy jersey.” I hug myself to prove my point, while making a face at his Clowe shirt.

“They’re not even playing the Rangers!” He throws his hands up, nearly knocking the nachos out of the hands of the guy next to him. I laugh to the point that I start coughing. Despite his wolf reflexes, Alec is a klutz.

“I’m supposed to care?” I look at him blankly after regaining my composure. We continue our childish banter through the game, and Alec finally manages to spill something…all over the woman in the row in front of us. She fumes, cussing him out as he offers napkins to help clean the ice cream out of her hair.

I openly root for the Sharks during the game as they are playing the Flyers. As the Sharks pull a 4-1 victory over those toolbags, I beg Alec to take me to Denny’s. It doesn’t take much pleading on my part. I’ve learned that Alec is usually hungry and always willing to eat. After the game, I take a few minutes to inhale the scents of the arena before following Alec to his Tundra. I dance and sing along to the Pop songs coming through the stereo as he drives much to his amusement.

During my punishment, I learned more about my place in the pack. I’m not the least of the pack, the Omega. But I’m nowhere near being on the same level as the leaders and elders. It is interesting that some of the pack, both men and women, naturally submit to me though. For others, there’s a bit of unwillingness to accept me as higher up, but we can settle our differences without fighting. Mr. Fuller finds it all exciting because I haven’t found complete balance between my human side and my wolf side. He says that when I reach that point, I’ll be able to control my shifts.

I like pack life more now that Mr. Fuller is more open with me. It all feels less legalistic and more like a family. The kids loved me before, but the parents were wary of me because our Alpha never seemed pleased with me. He treated me differently than the rest of the pack but when that stopped, they started treating me with more warmth. Which I love.

“Come on. This tumbly-is-a-rumbly.”

I snort, “Alright Pooh-bear.” Alec winks at me before getting out of his truck. I hurry to follow him into Denny’s.

Once we’re seated, Alec starts a new conversation. “Okay, Grace. Tell me our pack law.”

“Right here? In public?”

He shrugs, “Yeah.”

“Okay…. Rule one: Alpha’s word is law. Two: The pack is your family to be put above all others.” I continue to list off the law Mr. Fuller drilled into me, breaking whenever our server comes to our table.

As I’m nearing the end of our law, we’re interrupted. “Excuse me, are you two on a date?” I feel Alec’s dominance spike so I keep my eyes on my plate. Whoever it is, is human, though a dominate human.

“What’s it to you?”

“I think she’s pretty. If you’re on a date, I’ll leave you two alone. But if you’re not interested, I want to get her number.” My eyes snap up to Alec, who is watching me with laughter in his eyes.

“No…we’re not on a date.” My eyes widen. What the heck is he doing? Throwing me into this situation. Jerk.

“Awesome.” The man slides into the booth next to me. “My name is Dimitri.” Slowly, I turn to face him, planning to shake the hand he’s offered, but I nearly faint. Dimitri Hale is sitting next to me. What is my life becoming… With a quick glance, I take in his Prince Charming hair, strong jaw and striking blue-green eyes. Dimitri Hale is of little importance to anyone outside the hockey realm. He was an up-and-coming star through his juniors, garnering MVP four season in a row. However, a nasty hit during his debut season left him recovering not only from a horrendous concussion but a blown out right knee. The recovery time on his knee alone was 6 months, but with the concussion, he couldn’t rehab fast and was out for a season and a half. He’s been a star in the AHL with occasional call-ups to the NHL for 8 years. He was called up for the game tonight as a couple of first line players are out with minor injuries.

“Um… I’m G-Gracelyn.”

He grins and things inside my body tighten uncomfortably. My checks flush as Alec snickers. He can smell my arousal and that thought alone makes me wish I had fainted.

“Well Gracelyn, may I have your number?” I nod shakily and he passes me his phone. Forcing my hands to be steady, I type in my name and number before handing it back to him.

“Thanks.” Dimitri turns to Alec. “So you two are obviously hockey fans. Were you at the game?”

“Yeah,” Alec answers. “It was pretty intense. You had a nice goal during the second though.”

“That was pure luck, but thanks. What was your favorite part Gracelyn?”

I bite my lip, thinking back over the game. “Uh…probably when Couture checked Giroux and nearly busted the glass. That was a nice hit. Or when Niemi made that crazy save on Talbot.”

“Neither of those moments involved me.” Dimitri frowns slightly and I shift in my seat. “But that’s okay. For now.”

I snort. “Whatever you say Mr. Hale.” I smile at him, taking a sip of my water. “So might I ask what brought you to Denny’s after your game rather than some other, more upbeat destination?”

Stealing a gulp of my water, he shrugs. “Just felt like a change. And we don’t have practice tomorrow so I decided to treat myself.” Dimitri slips his arm around me, resting it along the back of the booth behind me. I blush lightly, trying to ignore it.

“Interesting.” I glance over at Alec. He’s leaned back in his chair, playing a game on his phone. Silently, I thank him for not abandoning me, but I wish he would be more involved in the conversation.

Dimitri’s food comes to our table and I raise an eyebrow. “Did you plan to be joining us?”

A sly grin stretches across his lips. “Perhaps.” I watch him as he eats. He only uses one hand to maneuver around his food, keeping the other around me. This man is particularly dominate for a human. Most others can feel something off with my aura and keep a respectable distance. But Dimitri just invades my space with little thought. Only the pack kids do that.

Dimitri keeps the conversation going as he eats, even sharing some of his fries with me after I steal one. I admit to him that French fries are a bit of a weakness for me which makes him laugh. Finally, around one a.m., we all decide to call it a night. Alec tells me he’ll bring the car to the door and leaves before I get a chance to respond. I pop my knuckles, trying to calm my nerves. Alec was my safety net during my conversation with Dimitri. Now that he’s gone, albeit momentarily, I have nothing to rely on; my wolf hasn’t made a decision about Dimitri. He’s dominate like an alpha, but he’s human so she doesn’t know what to make of him or how to respond to him. My body has made it more than obvious that I’m physically attracted to him. Every time he smiles, I feel something tighten within me.

“I’m in town for the next two weeks, even if I get sent back down. What’s your schedule like? Because I plan to fill as much of your time as I can.”

“So confident Mr. Hale?”

“I know how to go for what I want.” He looks me straight in the eyes as he answers. My natural instinct is to break eye contact, but something compels me to maintain it.

“I’m free a lot. I’m a nanny for a few families so my schedule varies, but I usually have around 6 hours free every day. Either in the afternoon or evening.”

“Plan to see me a lot then.” He kisses my cheek just as Alec pulls up in his truck. Dimitri opens the door for me, helping me in even though I don’t need the help. “I’ll call you tomorrow.” He kisses my hand before closing the door.

I pull on my seatbelt as Alec drives off. “So…you and Dimitri Hale, huh?”

“Oh hush.” He mocks me the entire way to my apartment.