Shades of a Midnight Snow, Ch.4

        Anya didn't remember falling asleep but when she jerked her head up at the sound of gravel crunching under tires in the driveway, the sky outside the window was shrouded in the shades of early dusk.  Anya glanced up to see Dom was still sound asleep so she carefully slipped out from under his hand and walked over to the large picture windows at the front of the house.  A black SUV was stopped in front of the house and a man got out of the driver's seat, starting toward the front door.  Anya glanced back at Dom, wishing he'd wake up. 
        There was little to no chance this man was associated with the laboratory.  The lab knew Anya's abilities.  They wouldn't send a lone, seemingly unarmed guy up to the front door to snatch her back.  It would be suicide and they knew it.  As the front steps creaked under the man's feet, however, Anya's hackles rose and she gave a low growl.  She wasn't trusting anyone at this point.  Dom stirred at her vocalization and sat up stretching. The door knob jiggled and Anya's lips curled back slightly, her long fangs showing.  Dom chuckled and came quickly to his feet.
        "Who's here, huh?"  Dom asked her, peeking out the window at the vehicle.  The newcomer knocked loudly.  Dom smiled in recognition.  "It's okay, he's a good guy too."  Dom put his hand around Anya's collar and walked her over to the door.  He turned the lock and opened the door a crack. 
        "Dom, what the hell is with the locked door?"  The man asked, starting to open the door farther.
        "Wait, Brian," Dom said firmly.  Brian halted his entrance.  Dom gently backed up with Anya  held beside him.  "Alright, come on in.  Not too fast though."
        The door slowly swung open and a confused-looking Brian took a tentative step in the door, his expression shooting straight to bewildered at the sight of Anya.
        "Come on in a little farther," Dom instructed.  Anya regarded Brian calmly as Brian took another cautious step forward and gently shut the door behind him.  Brian looked older than Dom, maybe mid forties, well built with just a hint of a paunch.  From his hair cut and carriage, Anya figured he was probably ex-military.  He had vigilant, warm brown eyes which he was purposefully avoiding locking with Anya's gaze. 
        "I don't think she'll mind you, I just didn't want to take a risk having someone waltz through the door and get eaten... she's not under my control," Dom said with a hint of a smile.
          'So HE thinks,' Anya thought, looking straight up at Dom, cocking her head and giving a tail flick.  Brian chuckled quietly.
          "I don't know, she seems rather smitten with you," he said, giving Dom a grin.  Brian stepped closer, giving Anya a sweeping once-over.  "I'm guessing this is the girlie Xavier told me about?  He wasn't kidding when he said "big"."  Realizing she wasn't acting very wolf or dog like, Anya quickly leaned closer and sniffed at Brian to get his scent.  Dom's hand was like a vice on her collar, his unnatural strength obvious in his ability to effortlessly hold Anya back.  Brian moved closer and extended a hand. Anya gave him an enthusiastic series of sniffs and topped it off with a tail wag of acceptance.  Brian smiled.  "Looks like I passed the sniff test." 
          Dom's fingers slowly uncurled from Anya's collar and Anya shook herself to resettle the collar and her fur. "She's pretty down to earth it seems...she seems almost logically aware of people...strangely so in fact," Dom commented as he and Brian walked over and settled in the den chairs.  Anya mentally winced.  Her cover was weak.  She might be able to fool just a wolf or just a human, but fooling both at the same time wasn't easy.
          "Could she be one of us?" Brian asked, unconsciously patting Anya as she sat down next to his chair.  Dom shook his head, not so much in denial but unknowing. 
          "It's possible.  I mean, she doesn't really look like us, her musculature is totally different.  But she's got a lot of human tendencies...I don't know why she didn't shift back yet if she is."  Dom stared intently at Anya and Anya nervously averted her gaze, praying he hadn't noticed her heartrate sky-rocket.
            "Does she seem to recognize you as alpha?"  Brian questioned.  His fingers suddenly grazed Anya's sweet spot behind her left ear and Anya leaned greedily against his hand with a pleasured groan. 
            "Somewhat, I think so," Dom answered, watching Anya with amusement.  "So what brings you by this evening?" Dom suddenly changed subjects.  Brian pulled his hand away and Anya nearly fell over.
            "I came to save you from the onslaught," Brian grinned. Dom cocked an eyebrow up.  "News of your exploits this morning has reached the far corners of the pack and every member and their significant other were gearing up to come check on you and investigate this newcomer.  I had them all stand down and wait for a report from me."
            "Thank God.  I was afraid I'd wake up to fifty of them on the front porch this evening.  You saved my ass again," Dom chuckled. 
            "Oh I'm keeping tabs on how many you owe me."  Brian crossed his legs and held Dom's gaze for a moment.  "So how are you?"  He asked, sitting forward slightly.  Dom laughed out loud.
          "Ha ha, I see now.  I'm fine really.  You don't have to do the concerned doctor routine."
          Brian snorted quietly.  "I've heard your 'I'm fine' story before...your tibia was sticking out of your leg and you had a bullet lodged next to your lung."
          "And I'm still here to listen to you nag so I must have been fine," Dom countered.  Brian couldn't help the conceding smile on his lips but his eyes still held concern.  Dom saw it and sighed.  "Look, I got a couple of bruised ribs and a scraped hip from hitting the cliff side as I fell.  That's it.  No head wounds, no broken bones.  I think I'm out of the woods for the threat of drowning on dry land...I'm fine."
          "Will you let me check out the ribs?"  Brian immediately asked.  Dom rolled his eyes but didn't fight it.
          " Geez, yes...If it will pacify you, fine.  You've gotten pushier since you started dating that new woman,"  Dom joked, rising to his feet and lifting his shirt.  Brian smirked and walked over, examining the dark bruising on Dom's ribcage with professional efficiency.  Anya was somewhat distracted by Dom's chiseled stomach and chest exposed under the raised t-shirt, working to keep from panting or licking her lips.  Dom grunted as Brian applied pressure.
          "Well, one of these is probably cracked but it'll be totally healed by morning," Brian said as he straightened up, apparently satisfied.
          Anya gave a mental eyebrow raise. "By morning?  Oookay so he's super strong and a super-healer...I'm out of my league."
          Brian and Dom sat and made small talk for a while. Dom at last looked up at the clock on the wall and invited Brian to stay for dinner.
          "I just might take you up on that.  Cheryl's out with some girl friends tonight," Brian replied.
Brian put his feet up while Dom went into the kitchen to start dinner.  Anya followed Dom and lay down next to the little island, watching Dom work.  The smell of sautéed onions and cooking chicken soon permeated the air.  Dom moved comfortably around the kitchen,  chopping vegetables and seasoning the dishes. 
         “Oh shoot,” Dom suddenly said under his breath.  He cut the heat back on the stove and walked back out into the den, tossing the dish towel onto the counter.  “I’ve got those finance files you were asking for out in my car if you want them,” Dom told Brian. 
         “Oh yeah, I’d already forgotten, thanks.  And I’ve got those posterboards Kate wanted in my backseat.”  Dom and Brian slipped out the front door still talking.  Anya sighed, not bothered by being temporarily alone.  A new noise suddenly brought Anya to her feet and as she stood, she could see that the dish towel Dom had tossed onto the counter had landed on a hot burner and had ignited.
         “Oh shit!!” Anya panicked.  “What do I do?  What do I do??”  Anya gave a few fearful barks, hoping Dom and Brian would come back.  The rag was burning hot and fast and in a timber house.  Anya frantically glanced around and her eyes fell on the sink just to the left of the stove. 
                As the smoke from the rag started choking out the oxygen in the kitchen, Anya raised up on her back legs, smacked the water on with her good paw and grabbed the sprayer in her mouth.  “Please God work!”  Anya prayed, working the device awkwardly around in her mouth until she could squeeze the trigger, sending a shower of water rushing across the counter and extinguishing the fire.  The water hissed across the stove sending up a cloud of steam and smoke.  Anya released the sprayer and as she let go it rotated around and sprayed her in the face before falling into the sink.  Anya closed her eyes and leaned against the counter, still upright on her back legs, heart pounding, face dripping; the only sounds in the kitchen the hissing water droplets and the sink faucet still running.  She slowly extended her paw and turned the faucet off again.
         “Pretty sure you can’t chalk that one up to animal intuition.” 
            Anya’s eyes flashed open and she snapped her head to the door where Dom and Brian both stood watching her.  Anya’s blood went icy in fear.  She slowly dropped down onto all fours and limped backward, eyes trained on the two men.  Anya didn’t know what would happen next.  Her feral side was screaming for her to run or attack…or both. 
              Dom took a step closer and Anya cowered slightly.  His eyes were wary but Anya couldn’t see any anger in them, just cautious appraisal.  She didn’t smell the rage Dom had been giving off earlier around Kate, but her nose was full of smoke; maybe she missed it.  She could see Dom was covertly sniffing the air as well and Anya was sure the nervous fear and energy she was giving off was unmistakable even in the cloud of smoke still hanging in the air.  As a lone, trapped, injured female in the presence of two very strong dominant male wolves, she had good cause to be nervous.  Anya was locked in fear, quivering slightly and getting even lower to the ground as both Dom and Brian walked closer.
         “So you’re human,” Dom suddenly stated, crossing his arms across his chest.  There was a biting distrust in his voice, but no out-right anger.  Anya shifted her terrified gaze between Dom and Brian, both their expressions controlled and emotionless.  Against all her better judgment, Anya finally gave a weak head nod.  Dom mirrored the small nod as if he had already known.  “Did you escape from a lab of some kind?” Dom asked, the sharper edges in his voice dropping out.  Anya hesitated and nodded again.  Dom moved to lean against the island counter and Anya flinched, her quivering more pronounced. 
            “I’m not going to hurt you,” Dom said softly.  “Did the lab turn you into what you are?”  Anya shook her head no, keeping her eyes to the floor.  “So you control what form you are in?  You can shift at will?”  Again Anya confirmed with a nod.  Dom’s stance shifted slightly.  “So why didn’t you change back when you realized what I was?”  The barely noticeable sting came back into Dom’s voice and Anya knew it was because Dom thought she was hiding her identity. 
          “I wanted to!” Anya thought helplessly.  “And that’s not a yes or no question!”  She whined and weakly pawed at the collar around her neck.  Dom’s eyes changed from condemning to questioning.
            “The collar?” He finally asked.  Anya’s eyes brightened temporarily that he had gotten her meaning.  She whined again and at long last raised her eyes to just below Dom’s gaze.  She could see he was starting to understand.  “The collar keeps you from shifting back,” Dom more stated then asked.  Anya still nodded in answer.  Something in her brain was desperately wanting her to get closer to Dom, a desire for him to accept her again but her remaining fear held her in place.
        “Can we get the collar off?”
          Anya had nearly forgotten Brian standing to Dom’s left.  Dom shook his head and sighed, looking over at Brian. 
            “I don’t think so.  It looks like a solid structure of some really hard metal.  I tried breaking it off in the van earlier this afternoon.  I’m hoping maybe Skitz could find some kind of weakness in it tomorrow down at the tech lab,” Dom replied, pulling his gaze back over to Anya. 
              Anya’s bad leg was starting to cramp from her tense muscles and submissive crouch.  She had started to stand up slightly but feeling Dom’s eyes back on her she flattened out on the floor once more. She took a calculated risk and met Dom’s gaze, screaming “I’m sorry” as vehemently as she could with her amber eyes.  Dom sighed and cracked his neck.
            “It’s okay.  You’re alright.  I told you I’m not going to hurt you and I keep my word."  Anya didn't know why she believed him, but she did.  She went to get to her feet when her bad leg cramped angrily, the muscles knotting from her elbow all the way through her shoulder.  Her leg drew up and locked.  She yelped and dropped down, laying over on her side to hopefully let the muscles relax. The sound put both Dom and Brian in motion, approaching her quickly, the concern evident in both their faces. 
          "Maybe chivalry isn't quite dead,' Anya recognized through the haze of burning pain.  Dom crouched at her head but it was Brian's hands that touched her.  Anya twitched, tremoring violently. 
            "Easy," Brian gently commanded.  His hands ran over her leg.  "She just over-worked the injured muscle. It's cramping up pretty bad. "  Brian's eyes met Anya's for the first time.  "Try to relax and it'll work itself out," he said directly to her.
            Anya calmed herself as best she could but she wasn't particularly successful with Dom towering over her head, his scent flooding her senses.  Dom's hand suddenly rested almost tenderly on the side of Anya's face and a sense of warm comfort enveloped her.  Anya's quaking stilled, the tension locked in her muscles ebbed.  Brian worked his hands over her leg, carefully massaging until the muscles went slack and relaxed. Dom caught Anya's gaze and Anya couldn't stop herself before her tail wagged.  Dom smiled and this time it transferred to his eyes.
          "Better?"
          Anya nodded and stood slowly, careful to keep her head lower than Dom's.  She felt Brian's hands help lift her and she realized Brian must have the same super-strength as Dom as Brian nearly lifted her up off the floor.
          "Shit."  Dom suddenly stood and wheeled to the stove to check the dinner. "Ha!  It's just right, perfect timing," Dom crowed, stirring the meat in the frying pan.
          "He risks burning down the whole damn house to find out if your human but God forbid the chicken get too dry," Brian grinned to Anya.
          'He set me up," Anya thought.  "And I walked right into it. He's clever, I'll give him that.' 
          Dom shot Brian a look but didn't comment.  Brian walked over and towel dried the soaked counter top and the two soon settled at the table with plates of food.  Anya kept a respectful distance, lying down inconspicuously in front of the heating vent in the floor, enjoying the warm air blowing out of it.  There was no way she was sitting like a begging pet beside the table.  For one, she didn't want to push her luck and possibly annoy Dom, and more importantly her pride wouldn't let her now that they knew she was human.  She might have been the inferior wolf, but she'd starve before she'd let herself look dependent.

          Brian stayed for a glass of wine after dinner, excusing himself when his phone started ringing. 
          "And so the inquisition begins," he sighed, looking at the screen.  "We need to create a pack phone tree or something.  My cell bill is through the roof these days."  He slipped out the back kitchen door into the darkness. 
          Dom sipped his red wine and stared at Anya.  Anya sighed and lowered her head to her paws.  She wasn't all that hungry and she still refused to go over to the table.  Dom gave a ghost of a smile and stood.  He filled a bowl with water and set it on the floor, then setting a little plate of cooked chicken next to it.  Anya tilted her head and stood, eyeballing the food warily.  The dish rag trick had made her suspicious of everything. She tipped her eyes up at Dom.
          "What?  You question by cooking ability?"  Dom asked.
          'No, I question your motive,' Anya mentally replied, moving closer and carefully sniffing the food.  She couldn't deny the smell was fantastic.  She picked up a bite and chewed.  Within seconds the plate was empty.  Dom snorted, leaning against the counter and nursing the end of his wine.
          "Guess that was okay then?"
          Anya nodded and lapped at the water.  She raised her head and realized in embarassment that she needed to go out.  She gave Dom a sheepish look and gimped to the back door.  He furrowed his brow and Anya gave a slightly frustrated sigh, poking the door with her nose.  Realization finally dawned in Dom's eyes.
            "Oh!"  He chuckled and walked over, opening the door.  "There's 22 acres that I own.  It has a fence around it.  If you stay on the property, you'll be safe."
            '22 acres?  I just need to pee, I don't think I'll have to go off site to find an acceptable spot," Anya thought in amusement, noticing that Dom hadn't ordered her to stay on the property.  "Maybe he's hoping I'll run off," Anya considered.  She nodded in understanding to Dom and limped out past Brian into the darkness.  "Well I hate to burst his bubble, but no such luck.  I will openly admit I need him right now.  If he wants to get rid of me, he'll have to do it later."
          Once Anya finished her business, she prowled around for a bit.  As she sniffed across the ground a thought suddenly dawned on her.  She moved around under the trees, collecting a mouthful of small sticks.  After calculating them, Anya limped back across the yard and approached Brian, who was still on his phone on the back porch.  She could tell from his half of the conversation he was filling someone else in about her.  Brian's brow furrowed and he gave Anya a slightly amused, questioning glance as she came up with the bundle of twigs in her teeth.
          "Yeah, no he's fine and she...." Brian's train of thought derailed as he watched Anya drop the sticks onto the porch and start dilligently arranging them.  "No I'm still here, I...hang on..."  Brian watched a moment longer before poking his head back in the kitchen.  "Hey Dom..."
          "Yeah, what?" Dom asked as he appeared at the door.  His eyes dropped to Anya nosing the last few twigs into place.  Both men stood for a second looking at the twigs.
          "Anya?"  Dom said at last.  The sound of her name coming from him made her wriggle with happiness.  His mouth curled up into a soft smile.  "Your name is Anya?" Anya nodded excitedly, her tail wagging unconsciously.  It was the first time in a long time she had heard her own name.  She could hear the female on the other end of the cell phone call ask what was going on.
          "Her name is Anya," Brian finally reported to the unknown caller.  A silence came across the line.  Brian's mouth twitched in a smile.  "Listen, fill in all the members who have contacted you and I promise when I know more, you'll know more."