Fool me once

Ever since the haunted house Arian hadn’t wanted to leave Eliza’s side. He felt protective of her, but it must have been something the woman emitted because she seemed to have quite a few people who were protective of her. Nevertheless, Arian made it a priority to be around her and let his other connections in life slip a little. One in particular being the female bar tender from a bar he used to like going to, but he had completely lost interest in anyone else since meeting Eliza.

As usual he was running a few minutes behind, but the laid back wolf let it roll off his shoulders. He parked his new (but still old..er) black SUV on the side of the café and grabbed the bouquet of wildflowers he had picked for Eliza off of the seat. They were darker flowers since the season was changing, and had a random assortment wrapped in brown paper at the base. It was completely hand thrown together, because what the hell could you buy a woman who could buy herself anything?

The wolf waltzed into the café as though he wasn’t five minutes late with a charming little smirk on his face and leaned in to kiss her before she could realize she was upset with him being late. See how clever he is? He smiled into the short kiss, then set the flowers on the table in front of her. “Hi beautiful. Sorry I’m late.” And it wasn’t like he could figure out texting well enough to send her a message that he was behind. The wolf could figure out how anything and everything worked, but was such an old man about texting. “What can I get you to drink?”

Stupid wolf. He should have kept his mouth shut and just distracted her with flowers. Oh well, Arian wasn’t much of a trickster when it came to the more serious version. He would play pranks, but didn’t waste his time lying… most of the time. “No,” He smirked teasingly. “Of course not.” He would have to learn to be more on time.

The old Viking’s expression turned sheepish when Eliza mentioned his truck. “Yeah, I seem to be going through vehicles like people go through socks. First one truck, then another… You’re bad luck, Romanov.” He touched her shoulder affectionately and toyed with her hair before he sat down across the tiny table from her. “For trucks, anyway. Part of me wishes you had filmed me attacking the car, but I’m fortunate that you didn’t.” It would be almost too painful to watch.

The wolf glanced at Eliza’s drink once it was set down and his nose twitched to the aroma. He ran a hand through his hair and glanced up at the menu behind the counter, then to the waitress. “Black coffee will be fine.” His gaze traveled to Eliza, but then he remembered the manners he was working on. “Please and thanks.” The wolf could have used ten cups of coffee for as late as he had stayed up the night before working on a friend’s car.

“So where are we going shopping today, lovely Elizabetia?” He could pretend to like shopping as long as it was time spent with her.

[Only admins are allowed to see this image]

With all the work and savings that the wolf had done over the years he could have very easily purchased a new truck or SUV, but he liked to fix things. Arian was well off, he just didn’t boast about it. He may have lived in an apartment up above a bar, but it was large and if one looked closely there were random nice, expensive things he owned, and the rest was all average. His boots, for example, were very expensive boots, where as his trucks were things that were falling apart. It was because the wolf loved to fix things. He loved getting his hands on something and working on it. Elizabetia was one of them.

“They both worked fine.” He said and gave her a mockingly offended look. He was to busy focusing on Eliza to notice much about the waitress, but did glance at her just in time to see her trip and make eye contact. The way her face lit up like a red Christmas light made him tilt his head. “Strange.” He leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his broad chest. “I’m usually not very likable.” That was a lie. People seemed drawn to him like flies, but he was more curious about them and preferred to stay an observer because he didn’t like talking much.

“You mean Francesca doesn’t chop down trees?” The wolf smirked. “I would do anything for you, Eliza.” Really, anything. All she had to do was name it. “I would have thought you’d have a collection of antique Christmas decorations and one of a kind balls of holly and wreaths.” The wolf shifted his weight and leaned in closer to her, resting his forearms on the table and reaching across idly to touch her hand. “Maybe I’ll put up a tree this year.” He couldn’t remember the last time he celebrated Christmas besides drinking, or the last time he even decorated.

The wolf scoffed at Eliza just as the waitress came back and set his coffee down in front of him. He gave her a quick nod and thanked her, but let the argument with Eliza go. It would crush his ego to continue bashing the deceased trucks.

He sipped at his coffee and could already tell he’d need another before they left. One in the joint, one for the road. For the most part the wolf didn’t need that much sleep, he’d just been up too late the night before. In fact he had been up late almost every night in the past two weeks, but Arian was a quiet man, never one to complain. “Wonderful personality.” He laughed and shook his head. “Nothing compared to you.”

The thought of Christmas with Eliza brought a light to Arian’s face. He smiled as she spoke about the Christmas trees and various ornaments, all the while downing most of his drink. “Do you want another drink before we go?” He asked as he stood up to go order them something for the shopping trip. It would seem all was well in the land of lovers, but it would soon change.

As the wolf walked up to the counter nonchalantly he hardly noticed the young girl with shoulder length black hair stare him down. “Ari?” The sound of her voice set in a guilty feeling in his gut. “Ari! Haven’t seen you in a while. Did you fall off the face of the Earth?” Asked the girl clad in biker style clothes with a chip on her shoulder.

“Mia, hi.” Fuck. “Sorry I haven’t gotten back to you… Been busy.” He motioned to the barista behind the counter for two drinks and added a quick “To go.” He needed to get the hell out of there.

“Busy with what?” Mia crossed her arms over her chest and eyed him over, glancing back to the table where Eliza was sitting. “You couldn’t give me half a wit to call?”

That coffee needed to hurry the hell up.

There was a reason that Arian had never bothered to delve too deeply into a relationship. Lovers made things messy and complicated. Feelings always ended up being hurt and people were always mad, or at least they had been in his situation. A man has needs though, and Mia had been a way to meet those needs for a short time.

“Like I said, I got busy.” At times the wolf could be a dick with his lack of words, but he really didn’t mean to be.

“Busy. Ari, you don’t just drop off the face of the Earth and—” But just in time Eliza turned up and Mia shut her mouth tightly, looking the vampire over with a heated gaze. If looks could kill the expression on her face when Eliza put her arm around Arian’s arm would have shot daggers. “I’m Mia. Ari’s fuck buddy who he forgot to call.”

In that moment Arian could have crawled up in a cave and lived out the rest of his days as a wolf, or rock, or whatever would get him the hell away from the girls. “Mia,” the wolf started with a low growl hinted in his voice. “Don’t be like this. We’ll talk later.”

“No, I’m not falling for that shit again.” Her eyes turned to Eliza and she sneered as she looked her up and down. “Enjoy him while you can, tramp.”

There was a reason no female wolves had ever made it into a pack that Arian had been in. Women had such tempers at times that they could rival even the most irrational of men, and when a male and female tried to get together it never worked out. At least in Arian’s case it didn’t. Case and point: Mia. Her temper heated the room when she stared at Eliza, but Eliza wasn’t one to be messed with either.

Ari clenched his jaw and swallowed hard, ready for a screaming match to blow his way. The last thing he expected was for a lady such as Eliza to snap and attack Mia. The vampire would never cease to stun the wolf, but he hardly took the time to enjoy it. Instead of standing baffled like any smart man would have done Ari went after Eliza, not wanting her to get hurt. He was a stupid, stupid man, but the last thing he wanted was a retaliation from Mia that ended with even a scratch on Eliza.

The younger wolf squirmed and snarled in Eliza’s grasp. Her hands were wrapped around the one holding her. “Eat shit!” She snapped, but hardly before she could spit the words at Eliza Arian was at their sides. It was rare for the old wolf to throw his weight and age around, but it seemed like the perfect time to do so. One hand clenched Mia’s shoulder so hard he could have broken it, and the other grabbed Eliza’s hand with a dangerous amount of pressure. Had she been human her arm would have snapped.

“Let her go, Elizabetia.” The old Viking’s voice was low and smooth as he stared at Eliza with an unsettling calmness. “She’s young and foolish, and her temper got the better of her.” Better to avoid a young dead wolf than try and save his own sorry ass. He turned to Mia who still snarled in the grasp, but as soon as Ari looked to her she stopped. His age and presence seemed to force her to calm down just enough to hold her still. “Apologize.”

Silence settled in the café as all seemed to hold their breath, and Mia glared at the woman in front of her. “Sorry.”

The only reason why Mia bent to Arian was his age, or so she told herself. It wasn’t for the same sick way that women always wanted to please the man that slept with them, no matter how big of an asshole they were. No, she wouldn’t let herself whimper for the man who had just been ‘too busy’ to call her. It did give her satisfaction when Eliza slapped him, and made it a little more tolerable that she had to apologize.

The slap that echoed through the café caused Arian to clench his fist and jaw. He inhaled slowly and looked at Eliza sternly, but apologetically. Would she even give him the time to explain? He wanted to get the hell out of the café and away from the crowd that might as well have had popcorn to watch the show. As Eliza turned away he felt his body tense and he took a moment to turn back to Mia. “Stay the fuck away from me.” The words she barked back were simply background noise to him.

Hardly moments later Arian hurried after Eliza. This was a horrible way to get out of Christmas shopping. He would have rather put on a giant elf costume and carried her purse all day than have bumped into Mia.

“Eliza, wait.” The wolf jogged to catch up and tried to grab her arm much more gently than before, but leaned back to avoid another slap. “Won’t you give me a chance to explain?” He trotted to get in front of her to try and stop her, putting his hands out to touch her shoulders. “Don’t walk away from me… from this.”

Of all the years Arian had been alive he had never had to learn to ‘make up’. Normally he just went about his day and continued on with his life, but Eliza was different. She was anchored into him and he wouldn’t let himself walk away from her. In fact, he wasn’t sure if he could even if he tried.

So he continued making a fool of himself and chasing her like a lovesick pup. “No!” The wolf retorted quickly. “It’s not like that, Eliza! Won’t you give me a fucking second to explain?” He jogged after her again only to step in front of her to try and stop her. “Let me talk!” It wasn’t something he was good at or even liked to do, but for once he wanted to talk. “I’m a fuck up. I messed up with Mia, and I’ve messed up with people in the past. But I would never do that to you. I would never hurt you.”

Again the wolf chased her, refusing to give up and needing to make his point heard .”You’re unlike any woman I’ve ever met. You spark something in me that I,” The wolf paused, trying to find the best words and threw his hands up in the air only to let them fall back and hit his thighs with a slap. “I didn’t even know I was capable of giving a shit about someone until I met you.” Romantic, wasn’t he? Arian was never an artist with words.

Before long Francesca Boticelli pulled up with a screech in her sleek black sports car. She stepped out in heels that served a dual purpose: to make her look good and as a threat to pop Arian’s balls like bubble gum. Her honey eyes were like daggers at the wolf as she grabbed Eliza’s arm. “Get away from her.” The vampire snapped in her normally cooing voice. “Come on, Eliza. I’ll take care of the mutt later.”

What more could the wolf say? Why did women need them to write a novel on their feelings when in reality it was all so simple. Arian cared about Eliza. He didn’t care much about women before, because none had ever made him feel as she did. Why wouldn’t she believe him? Arian let out an sigh and did his best not to growl at her reaction.

“I’m telling you the truth.” Scouts honor. “Why are you taking a stranger’s side over mine?” For all Eliza knew Mia could have been a raving lunatic, and Arian could have slept with her years ago. Sure it had been about a week before he met Eliza, and maybe once after, but she didn’t know that! He had really fucked up, hadn’t he? The wolf stopped when he saw Francesca and growled, running a hand over his hair. He was really boned now.

France glared at Arian as he watched Eliza get in the car. His shoulders lumped and already he could feel his heart aching in his chest. How could he make this right? How could he get her to believe him? After France helped Eliza get into the car she turned and went to Arian, shoving him repeatedly and getting in close to threaten him. “Stay away from her, or I’ll hang you by your balls on the town Christmas tree.” With her it wasn’t an empty threat, and after one swift hit to the chest she got back into the car with Eliza and tore down the road.

“I’ll kill him… what did he do?”

A truly neutral friend would have seen Eliza’s perspective and given her advice, or told her that Arian deserved an explanation. Not Francesca. No, France was a man hater and would rather sneer and make men out to be the pigs they really were rather than give them the time of day. So she listened to Eliza and was glad to help trash talk Arian, even if she had started becoming a fan of him only a few hours earlier.

Two days passed and the wolf gave Eliza time to calm down. From his experience it was best to leave wolves with a moment to themselves to gather their thoughts, so he did the same for the woman who had grown so close to his heart. She was so close that she had to be wolf-like, right?

Dressed in his Sunday best with his hair pulled back into a tiny bun and a big bouquet of flowers in his hand, Arian gathered the nerve and knocked upon the manor’s door. He shifted his weight and kept the bouquet behind his back to surprise her – but what was he thinking? Eliza never opened her own door. Much to his dismay it was Francesca instead that he held the flowers out to as the door swung open and the vampire only scoffed.

“What do you want, mutt?” She propped her hand up against the door as a clear sign he was not welcome passed her.

“I came to see Eliza… is she home?” Would she even speak to him? The wolf looked hopefully passed France, then focused back on the gate keeper at hand. “I need to talk to her.”

"We don't want what you're selling. Why don't you go scavange somewhere else, you low life mongrel? There isn't any trash here."

There were so many more things France wanted to say to the scumbag in front of her. Men were vile, disgusting creatures that couldn’t be trusted. They should have only been used what they were good for. Nothing was broken around the house at the moment and Eliza had gotten hers with Gauge, so Arian was unnecessary. France continued glaring at him even when Eliza spoke, and slowly France stepped aside. Her slender presence a threat to the age old wolf.

The words did nothing to harm Arian. They rolled off his shoulders like rain from the sleek shingles of a house. He simply waited, patient and waiting for France to move and Eliza’s face to appear. When she showed up his somber face lit up just enough to show in his eyes and he stepped inside, offering her the bouquet of flowers. “Hello, Eliza.”

He glanced over his shoulder back to France who stood, still holding the door open as if she expected him to leave soon. Looking back to Eliza the wolf had a guilty expression on his handsome face, but apologetic may have described it better. “Can we talk?” He hated talking, but was willing to chat her ear off if she would give him a second chance. “I …” It would be so much easier if he didn’t have an audience. “It’s not what it looks like. You’re different, Elizabetia. I’ve never met anyone like you.”

Give us a minute. The dead expression on France’s face was one for the books when she looked to Eliza. How? What? Why would she want to be alone with him? The stupid wolf would just snake his way back into Eliza’s world if she didn’t have Francesca looming in the background to catch his lies. Goodness, she was a man hater. She should probably avoid Khalid for a day or two until she calmed herself down over Arian. Obeying her maker, France nodded after a brief hesitation and went to find Niles.

What could the wolf do to get Eliza to listen to him? He felt helpless, and what little expression showed on his somber face was that feeling of helplessness. He watched her as she plucked a petal off of the flower and swallowed hard. “I’m not done with you, Eliza.” The wolf said lowly and followed her up the stairs. He as far from done.

“You think I’m going to leave you when I’m done? You think I’ve met someone better than you? All I’m hearing from you is self doubt.” How could a woman so beautiful have anything but esteem? He hurried a little to get in front of her to try and stop her so that she would listen. “What have I ever done to lose your trust? You didn’t even give me a chance to explain what happened between Mia and I. I was never in a relationship with her and she knew that. I never tried to earn her trust, or build anything … I’m trying with you, Eliza. I want more from you.” He wanted everything from her.