Dannika Dark - Six Months

That night, Reno let go of hope that two star-crossed lovers from different worlds could make it work.

Several weeks had crawled by after I left my old life behind and moved in with Maddox. He lived in a quaint house compared to Reno’s—a five bedroom, two bath. The kitchen was outdated and I stood taller than his fridge. My favorite place was the tranquil patio in the back with a tin awning. It wasn’t so tranquil on rainy nights when the water hammered against the tin roof, but the house was nestled deep in the woods on a large stretch of private property. Lantana bushes ran along the side of the house, and a covered hot tub sat out back. Maddox said he only enjoyed running it in the summertime.

True to his word, Maddox set me up in my own room and didn’t make any sexual advances. Per my request, he had drawn up a contract. The first week, I was timid about our arrangement and kept to myself. I cried in my bed late at night until one morning, he took me out to the back patio and we had a long talk about how Shifters lived. Having human pets wasn’t the norm, but it wasn’t a deviant lifestyle either. Many humans were willing because they were fascinated with their world, and for a Shifter, it often showed status since most were wealthy and respected. Maddox craved companionship and I needed to get my life in order. I became optimistic about my future for the first time in a long while. Maddox supported my desire to go back to school and said if I wanted anything else, that he’d pay and it wouldn’t be included with my debt. I had a feeling his reward program was merely an incentive to stay with him longer. I began to see that Maddox was just a lonely guy.

I never went back to Sweet Treats. I couldn’t face Lexi after her mother was attacked and sister grabbed, not to mention I didn’t want to run into any of the Cole brothers. I was certain they were relieved to have normalcy in their lives again.

Fall was in full swing. The tips of the leaves on the trees appeared to be dipped in gold, as if the sun had frosted them with its light. On Thanksgiving, we had a simple meal of deep-fried turkey, cornbread dressing, green beans, salad, and a bottle of wine. Maddox wasn’t big on holidays, but he surprised me by cooking the turkey because he knew it was a big deal to humans. Little did he know my last Thanksgiving meal had been a frozen TV dinner.

Maddox didn’t beat around the bush with his expectations. When he wanted me to keep him company, I joined him. Most of the time he worked jigsaw puzzles at the table and I’d conceal my frustration by separating the pieces by color while he assembled them into a picture. I never saw his animal and didn’t want to. No one shady ever came around, and he did most of his business over the phone or away from the house.

Then he’d come back, kick off his dirty boots, hang up his hat, and sit on the back patio with a tin can and a bag of sunflower seeds.

“How long are you going to stare at that book?” he asked, slumped down in the tattered chair in the living room next to the sliding glass door. “I never saw a woman read so much.”

“You should try it sometime,” I suggested from the green sofa.

He dismissively blew out a breath of air. “Books are a waste of time when you can live the real thing.”

“Not everyone’s life is an epic fantasy,” I said, touching the choker around my neck.

Maddox had given me the necklace on day one of my arrival. It was a black cloth choker with his name in silver. The material was thick, and he was right—it had a trendy appeal, something any young girl might be wearing to the mall or a club. Except in the world of Shifters, it was a declaration of status.

I discovered this the first time he took me out in public. We went to a Shifter bar on the Breed side of town where humans weren’t allowed inside. Quite a few men approached me, but when I turned to look at them, they abandoned ship. Some laughed and shook their heads, while others gave me a look of disgust.

I wondered if they kept pets because of their history. Maddox told me Shifters had only recently acquired their freedom. Before that, they were treated as slaves and sold to other Breeds for manual labor. Sometimes if their animal was trainable, they’d work as guards to protect property for the wealthy and powerful. The women weren’t so fortunate in how they were treated. Wolves eventually formed rogue packs and gained power in numbers. Shifters had fought for their independence and the right to own land. Slavery was still fresh on their minds since they lived a long time and many had once been slaves themselves. Maybe some collected human pets to erase the submissive chip on their shoulder—so they could feel superior to someone since they were still treated as lower-class citizens.

It was a world I understood little about, even though I was smack-dab in the middle of it.

“You know, I can pay for a salon,” Maddox offered, staring at my roots. My hair had grown out a couple of inches and the platinum dye was fading. Now my natural color of fresh blond was taking over—a color I hadn’t seen in years. Still light, just not white.

“I’m growing it out,” I told him. “It’s time for a change.”

“Speaking of change, why don’t you put on something dressy tonight? I have a business meeting at one of the Shifter bars and I want you to come. We need to look a little social, so wear something fun.”

Jeez, like I had a choice.

“Maddox Cane, in the flesh.” A man greeted us with an insincere smile, his voice as rusty as nails.

“How’s life treating you, Randall?” Maddox scoured the man with his gaze. Randall looked like Mr. Clean without the bushy eyebrows. I wondered if he oiled down his head because the light glistened against his smooth scalp.

He smiled invitingly as we approached the cluster of wooden tables in the Breed bar. I knocked a chair over and heard a few chuckles when I bent down to pick it up.

Randall’s eyes narrowed on the choker around my neck. “Well, Maddox. I see you’ve been busy. She’s a pretty one. How old?”

“April, go to the bar and order a whiskey neat for me and something fit for a pussy. What’s your drink of choice, Randall?” Maddox antagonized his friend in a way that led me to believe he was daring him to insult me.

Randall smiled, but not in a pleasant way. “Martini,” he said, taking a seat in his chair.

If these two were frenemies, then Maddox had brought me along to make him look good.

“Get whatever you want,” Maddox said with an invisible smile buried beneath his scruffy beard.

I cut through a crowd of Shifters and tried not to make eye contact. Breed bars made me uneasy—the men didn’t hang back and do all the flirty stuff from across the bar like humans. They’d come right up to me and say whatever lascivious thing was on their minds.

Until they saw the choker.

To avoid any awkward situations, I pinned my hair back with a few long strands hanging loose. Amid the crowd of women wearing painted-on dresses, do-me heels, and bustier tops, I must have looked like a joke in a pair of jeans, a white knit top that fell off one shoulder, and a pair of simple black heels. In my book, the right kind of heels could class up any casual style.

Men were eagerly eyeing the pool table where a few women looked as if they were debating whether to play. Only in recent weeks had I realized my mistake of playing pool at Austin’s house. In retrospect, I must have looked as if I were inviting every man in that room to mount me.

“Well, well. Color me dazzled,” Denver said from behind the bar. I looked up and expected to see a boyish grin on his face but was met with a persecuting gaze.