Shades of a Midnight Snow, Ch. 5

         Dom had given Anya free range of the first floor overnight.  Anya settled on the couch and fell asleep almost immediately.  She woke up just after sunrise feeling fantastic, not remembering when she had ever slept so well.  She lay snoozing, listening to the birds outside and enjoying the warm soft couch that smelled so deliciously of Dom.  After a while she faded back out and awoke sometime later to the sounds of Dom in the kitchen. 
         Anya went to get up off the couch and realized she had been lying in the same position too long and she couldn’t straighten her injured leg.  She didn’t realize it soon enough and was half way standing already.
         “Yoh shit,” Anya thought, wobbling off balance.  She vainly fought a moment before gracefully toppling off the couch and thudding onto the floor.  She heard Dom coming out of the kitchen and scrambled to her feet.  As Dom looked out into the den, Anya gave him a blank innocent look, her leg still drawn up and stiff.  Dom cocked an eyebrow at her.  Anya cocked hers back.
         “Did you just fall off the couch?”
         Anya looked down to avoid Dom’s gaze, licking her raised leg as if cleaning herself.  Dom’s eyes sparkled with amusement, knowing the answer.
         “Are you okay?”  The laughter in his voice was obvious.  Anya shot him a look but nodded, limping over closer.  Dom saw that she wasn’t putting the leg down at all and looked concerned.  “Did you hurt it when you fell or is it just stiff from sleeping on it?”
         Anya sighed and looked at Dom.  ‘Yes or no questions, I can’t do charades.’
         Dom recognized his mistake.  “Sorry, is it worse this morning?”  Anya shook her head.  “Just stiff?”  Anya nodded.  “Good.  You up for breakfast?”  Anya’s eyes lit up and Dom smiled. Dom’s eyes shifted past Anya to the door.  Anya followed his gaze and jumped slightly as the door swung wide.  She hadn’t heard anyone approach.
         “Good morning oh wise and mighty leade…holy sweet mother of God!”  The newcomer stammered, looking at Anya like she had three heads.  The woman behind him froze in the doorway, slack-jawed. 
              The man was rather non-descript, thinning brown hair, slightly hooked nose, and well-dressed.  He was dressed casually, but everything matched perfectly and Anya could tell there was a designer label stitched into everything he wore.  The woman was short, a little on the plump side with a pretty baby-doll face complete with pouty lips and big blue eyes.  Her blonde hair was intentionally big and her clothing was couture everyday wear.  Anya could picture the two playing tennis in the Hamptons on the weekend.
         Anya cocked her head and flicked her tail, looking back at Dom with uncertainty.  Dom smiled reassuringly.
         “What?” Dom asked the two with a chuckle.  “You’ve never seen a wolf before?” 
         “Never one that was cross-bred with a Clydesdale,” the woman answered incredulously, at last coming in and shutting the door.  Anya snorted slightly.  Dom walked up and stood next to Anya, his hand resting on Anya’s shoulder.
         “John…Rose… this is Anya.  Anya, John and Rose,” Dom introduced.  “They’re pack too.  They’re married…and we haven’t trained John to knock yet, “ Dom said to Anya.  John grinned.
            Anya nodded and wagged her tail in the direction of the two, hoping to convey her pleasure to meet them.  Anya noticed John immediately relaxed and said hey.  Rose still looked a little stand-offish, a little territorial.  Anya intentionally crouched, dropped her head and lowered her gaze, ears back, tail wagging, letting Rose know Anya unquestioningly recognized Rose as the superior dominant female.  Anya knew if the pack operated like a regular wolf pack, the females would be leery and untrusting of a rogue female getting close to their alpha.  She’d have to be incredibly submissive to everyone she met.  Rose gave a small smile, accepting Anya’s gesture.
            “Have you two eaten?  We were just going to have breakfast,”  Dom asked, unconsciously twirling his fingers in Anya’s long fur.  Rose noticed the gesture and Anya saw Rose’s over-plucked eyebrow raised a tiny fraction.  Anya was grateful she didn’t smell jealousy.
            “I wouldn’t strongly object to coffee,” John mentioned, flashing a hopeful grin Dom’s direction.  Dom turned on his heel and motioned them toward the kitchen.  Anya held her spot and ducked farther as John and Rose walked past, waiting to follow at the very end.  She had nothing to prove and was content being the very bottom of the pecking order.  She limped a respectful distance behind Rose, trying to get her leg to stretch out.  Rose glanced back with a hint of concern in her eyes.  She stopped and so did Anya.
            “She’s hurt,” Rose mentioned.  Dom glanced back also and nodded.
            “She got shot saving Kate night before last,” Dom replied, continuing into the kitchen.  Rose and John both looked surprised as they followed.
            “Say what now?” John asked, settling at the kitchen table.
              Anya settled on the floor by the vent she had all but claimed as her own as Dom poured coffee for his guests, filling them in on the story from the mountain.
              “So let me get this straight,” John said when Dom finished, looking at Anya as he spoke.  “Kate freed her, got caught, she came back and saved Kate, got shot in the process, then the next morning she save’s your ass from drowning and freezing to death?”  Dom nodded simply, draining his coffee cup. “And she’s human?”
            “Yep.”
            “ Amazing. But that collar keeps her from changing back?”  Dom nodded again, unbothered by the doubt in John’s voice. 
            “That’s what she said…indicated…”
            “Incredible,” John murmured, shaking his head. 
            “She doesn’t look like us,” Rose mentioned, eyeing Anya.  “But if she isn’t werewolf, what would she be?”  Anya gave Rose a startled double-take. 
              'Werewolf?'  Anya thought, stunned.  'Maybe werewolves are highly evolved shape-shifters.  That would explain the strength and healing powers…'
            John shrugged uncertainly.  He met Anya’s eyes.  “Do you mind if I take a quick gander at that collar?  I’m curious,” John asked.  Anya shook her head and stood but John came to his feet.  “I’ll come to you, it’s okay.”  John sauntered over and Rose followed. 
            Anya sat and John knelt beside her.  Rose stayed standing, an intentional show of protective dominance Anya didn’t dare challenge.  It was easier to swallow her pride now than it would be to try to get back in the pack’s good graces later.  The last thing she needed was more enemies. 
          “You taking her to see your tech guy today?” John asked Dom while examining the collar.  Dom nodded.  “Good.  This is high-end government quality equipment.  It probably has real-time GPS tracking in it.  Hell, this thing probably transmits her vitals back to wherever the base is.  If she so much as sneezes, they probably know it.”
          Anya glanced warily at John, wondering why he would know this. She must have given off a threatened scent because John pulled away and Rose stepped closer, eyes flashing protectively for her husband.
          “Relax,” Dom commanded sharply, speaking to all three of them.  Anya saw Rose shrink back slightly, unable to deny the alpha’s order.  John twitched slightly and froze.  “Anya, John works for NSA.  He knows the inner governmental workings.”  Anya nodded and looked somewhat apologetically toward John for temporarily not trusting him.  John just smiled slightly. Dom relaxed his tense shoulders and slumped back against his chair.  “So does anything other than curiosity bring you two by this morning?” 
          “Oh, um…” Rose looked caught off guard.
        “Nope, that’s all,” John replied plainly.  “We’re just nosy.” Rose shot him a withering look but Dom laughed. 
          “Honest…I like that,” Dom chuckled.
          John and Rose finished their coffee and left.  Dom scrambled and egg for Anya and one for himself.  He let Anya out after breakfast and she prowled around the property while Dom cleaned up the kitchen.  Anya couldn’t help being nervous about getting the collar off, but she preoccupied herself with stalking a rabbit.  She had no desire to catch it but the hunt kept her mind busy.
          A high pitched whistle cut through the air.  “Anya!”  Dom called out the back door.  Anya quickly returned to the house.  “So, you ready to get that thing off?”  Dom asked as Anya limped into the kitchen.  Anya whined unconsciously and wagged, trying to appear grateful and excited.  She was sure Dom could hear her pounding heart and smell her nervousness.  “Alright,” Dom continued, grabbing his coat and a black duffle off the floor.  “Let’s roll.”
            They exited the house and Dom lifted Anya up into the jeep.  They backed down the driveway and headed back toward town.  Dom turned on the radio and Anya’s tail wagged happily. She hadn’t heard music in years; the lab didn’t allow it.
          Anya gazed at the downtown buildings and shops, hoping she would soon have the ability to walk into one of them without getting whacked with a broom and shooed back out. 
          Dom swung the jeep through an ornate gated entrance.  The professional looking sign said VSD Information and Technologies.  Anya looked at Dom and tipped her head in question.
          “I started this company a while back,” Dom answered her.  “We make all kinds of geek toys and spy gadgets and do networking and network security for businesses.”  Anya nodded.
          ‘Business man,’ Anya mused.  She hadn’t gotten that vibe from Dom.  As they came around a bend in the road, Anya’s jaw dropped and her eyes went wide.  “Really really successful business man…”  The road ran into a security check point, behind which was a compound of 3 massive glass fronted buildings surrounded by well-maintained landscaping.  Anya looked at Dom incredulously.  He smiled slightly.
            “I’m doing okay for myself.”
            Anya snorted.  ‘No shit, Sherlock.”
            Dom pulled to the farthest security stall. “Morning Scotty.”
            The young man in the booth snapped to attention.  “Morning sir,” the wiry lad answered quickly.  There was no question he had been trained in the military, Anya guessed Marines.  His gaze diverted unconsciously to Anya, his training no match for an oddity of Anya’s magnitude.
            “Any problems this morning?” Dom continued.
            “No sir, everything is running smooth and orderly.”  The guard turned his head in Dom’s direction but still couldn’t pry his attention back from Anya in the passenger seat.
            “Good, well if anyone asks, I’m only in for half the day and I’m going to be down in the main testing lab, not the office.”
            The guard nodded.  “I’ll let them know sir.”  Anya could see the guy was itching to ask about her.  He opened his mouth then snapped it shut.
            “She’s my niece’s newest find,” Dom answered the guard’s unasked question.
              “It’s a wolf?”  The guard more stated then asked.
            “Part.  She’s domesticated.”
            “Wow.”  At last remembering his decorum, the guard shoved his shoulders back and looked at Dom.  “You have a good day sir, let us know if you need anything.”
            “Alright, you too.  Keep holding down the fort,” Dom smiled.  he motored on, pulling up behind the 5 story building on the right.  Anya’s heart was fluttering helplessly as Dom set her to the ground, almost wishing he would have kept her in his arms.  Dom put the leash back on her and Anya cocked her head.
            “Not everyone who works here knows about us.  Walking in with a two hundred and fifty pound wolf-dog with no leash would raise a lot of eyebrows,” Dom explained.  “I considered the muzzle…” Anya’s look conveyed exactly how she felt about that idea and Dom laughed softly.  “But I figure I can trust you not to eat anyone, right?”  Anya nodded and limped at his side to the entrance.  Dom swiped a card through a reader at the door and put his thumb on a little scanner.
            “Fingerprint recognition?” Anya assumed.  “High-tech-ness…”  As Dom opened the door, Anya curiously shoved her head into the building, sniffing ferociously.  Much to her relief, it smelled nothing like the lab.  The hallway was very business-like: carpeted, with heavy-framed prints of random floral still-lifes on the walls. 
            Dom let her scout out in front of him, stooped to the floor, nose working overtime.  Anya swept back and forth over the geometric carpet patterns, gleaning scents of spilled coffee, dropped doughnut crumbs, cleansers and a wide variety of shoe leathers.  As they approached the open reception area in the center of the building Dom cursed and stopped, Anya nearly strangling as the leash jerked her to a standstill.  Anya coughed and gave him a slightly peevish glance, then followed his gaze to the reception area. 
          A young girl and older woman were conversing over the reception desk.
        “Back up slowly,” Dom quietly instructed.  “We’ll take the emergency stairs.”  Anya was completely bewildered but she obeyed, backing up a few steps before turning with Dom and quickly limping back the way they had come.
        “Oh my GAWD Mr. Renault!”  The boisterous operatic voice crooned.  Dom faltered in his retreat and dropped his head.
        “Damn it.”  Dom shook his head at Anya and they both turned to see the busty older woman who had been at the desk was making a bee line for them. 
        The woman was the literal personification of flamboyancy. Her suit was a retina-searing pink that was at least two sizes too small if modesty was the goal.  She was short and robust, the buttons of her suit straining valiantly to contain her bosom which, for her age, was not lacking.  The jacket was drawn so tightly around her large torso, her chest was being forced up and over the abused camisole she wore.  Her make-up looked as though she had used a trowel to apply it, and the term vibrant didn’t do the colors justice; ‘radioactive’ was closer to the effect. The woman strutted up on her stocky legs, which ended in a pair of over-worked pumps and Dom plastered on a fake smile. 
        “Good morning Ms. Majorie.”
        “Good morning, handsome.  Who in the world is your friend?” Ms. Majorie gushed, draping herself on Dom’s arm.           
          Dom delicately extracted his arm and put space between him and his overly attentive office woman. Anya could see the woman was undeterred and was scooting over to reattach herself to Dom.  The woman was like a cat in heat and Anya could smell Dom was uncomfortable.  Anya innocently maneuvered forward, blocking Ms. Majorie’s second attempt.
          “This,” Dom at last replied with an unspoken sigh of gratitude, using Anya as a moving barrier, “is Anya.”  Before she knew what was happening, Anya found herself snout to nose with Ms. Majorie.  Anya’s vision swam with the kaleidoscope of colors accosting her eyes as the woman grabbed Anya face and started making baby-talk and kissy-faces.
          “Who’s such a pretty girlie-wirly?  Yes you are, oooh, yes you are!  Who’s a pretty puppy-wuppy?!  Oooh, who hurt the pretty baby?” Ms. Majorie roughly pinched Anya’s cheeks and planted wet, fuchsia kisses all over Anya’s forehead and snout. 
            Anya rolled her eyes up and glared at Dom, telling him that she was moments away from reneging on her promise not to eat anybody.  Anya saw a split second flash of dark amusement in Dom’s eyes as if he temporarily mused over the concept of watching Anya dispatch of the woman.
            “Well, I hate to run off, but we’ve got to get down to the lab,” Dom coughed, taking a step backward and giving a gentle tug on the leash.  Ms. Majorie pouted and draped her arms around Anya’s neck.  Under the  heavy veil of potent floral scents pouring off the woman, Anya thought she could smell whiskey.
            “Will you two at least come back and see me before you go? Pwease?”  She begged, jutting her lower lip out farther and batting her clumpy eyelashes.  “It gets so lonely up here with just us two girls.”
              Dom couldn’t completely quash the grimace in his expression but he twisted it into a pained smile.  “I’ll try my hardest to bring her back up here before we leave later.”  Ms. Majorie stood in one surprisingly quick movement for her size and her hand snaked out and latched onto Dom’s cheek.
            “Ooh, you are just a peach!”  She cooed.  “Isn’t he a peach?” She asked Anya, aggressively tweaking Dom’s cheek.  Anya looked at Dom and covertly winked.  Dom masked his smile.  Ms. Majorie’s eyes suddenly flashed wide, bugging out as though her jacket had finally taken enough abuse and was trying to squeeze the life out of her. “Oh oh oh, before you go, you must must see the new pictures of my grandbabies!”
            Anya’s jerked her head up to Dom, giving him a panic-stricken look.  “ No! Danger!  Danger!  Abort!  Runaway!”  Dom’s expression looked slightly doomed; the expression of a man who remembers he forgot to pull the parking brake and turns around in time to see the vehicle slowly start rolling toward the edge of a cliff.  As Ms. Majorie launched into an epic cascading rant of grandmotherly passion outlining every minute action little Davie had made since day one, Anya caught a glimpse of a familiar form heading down the hall toward them. 
          “Bingo.”  Anya started beating her tail back and forth furiously and gave an excited yip.  Dom followed her gaze and caught the look in her eye.  He gave the slightest head nod and Anya lunged against the leash, dragging Dom down the hall toward Brian.  The action sent pain shooting through her shoulder, but at this point it was necessary. 
          “Anya!  Geez, slow down!” Dom said loud enough for Ms. Majorie to hear.  He turned his head back.  “Sorry, Ms. Majorie!  I’ll be sure to see the pictures when I come back up alright?”  Dom called over his shoulder.
          “I’ll be here handsome!”  Ms. Majorie replied with a saucy little smile and hip jut.
          Anya wriggled up to Brian, grinning with all her teeth.  Brian chuckled and squatted down. Anya was a good head taller then Brian when he took a knee.
        “You look really evil when you smile like that,” he laughed, scratching right in the perfect spot behind her ear again. His eyebrows suddenly scrunched together.  "What is the pink all over your head?"Anya gave an airy laughed and glanced up at Dom.
          “Ms. Marjorie love," Dom answered for her.  "Nice escape plan there,” Dom praised, quietly to Anya.  Brian looked questioning. “Majorie was seconds away from pulling out the grand kid pictures,” Dom explained as Brian stood and the trio went through a doorway into a stairwell.
        “Oh geez.”  Brian just shook his head, obviously understanding the gravity of the statement. He hung back behind as Anya slowly limp-stepped down the tiled stairs, grateful they only had to go down one level.  As they reached the basement door and Brian held it open, Anya faltered.  The smell and look of this hallway was much more frighteningly familiar. Horrifying flash-backs raced through her mind as she was sucked back into the nightmare.
          Anya's heart thudded in her chest and she whined in fear.  Trembling she shrunk down to the ground, mind reeling, her feral instincts drowning out her human logic.  As Dom reached down to comfort her, Anya bared her teeth, hackles bristling, warning him that the wolf had taken the upper-hand; her control was all but gone. 
          "Watch yourself," Brian warned. 
            Dom took a step back and suddenly pulled off his shirt.  Anya stayed locked in a submissive, terrified crouch, a rumble vibrating in her chest.  Anya turned her head farther, keeping Brian in her field of vision as well.  Dom completely undressed and shifted.  Brian jogged up to the landing above to stand watch.
          For a split second Anya's brain was pretty certain Dom was going to kill her.  But Dom didn't advance.  He stood calmly on all fours, his steely eyes locking on Anya's panicked gaze.  Anya felt his dominance, she could smell his dominance.  Her growl transformed into more of a helpless whine, her terror ebbing. Her mind was now completely focused on the big slate gray alpha.  His essence was creeping into her mind, pushing all other sensations and emotions out. Dom moved forward slowly but confidently and Anya couldn't help shaking.   
          Dom paced forward until he stood right beside Anya.  Anya then felt no fear of attack, even though a little part of her brain thought she probably should.  Dom lowered his head to Anya's and gently rubbed the side of Anya's face and neck with his muzzle.  The gesture sent warm tingles through Anya's body.  There was nothing sexual about it. It was a firm, safe, comforting feeling and Anya could slowly feel herself taking back her control.  The  cold feral glint in her eyes died down and was replaced with warm human intelligence and understanding.  Dom stared into her eyes, watching the change.  Anya gave him a weak nod to assure him she was back. 
          Dom backed away and changed back into a human form.  Anya was awestruck. She had never seen the transformation take place in someone else.  It was somewhat mesmerizing.  Dom quickly dressed, his eyes looked slightly haunted as he regarded Anya.  Anya was still nervous, her eyes flicking fearfully toward the stark white hallway lined with unknown doors, the harsh fluorescent lights making the space seem unnaturally sterile.
          "My God, what did they do you?"  Dom murmured sympathetically, watching Anya's distress.  Dom's knowing tone caught Anya off-guard.  For some reason the empathetic question gave Anya a tiny sense of comfort and bravery back and she stood up.  "No one is going to hurt you here, I promise,"  Dom vowed, taking hold of the leash again. 
          "We'll be with you the whole time," Brian said softly as he stood behind Dom.  Anya nodded and she forced herself to walk through the doorway into the hallway, not knowing what she faced, only hoping her trust in these two men wouldn't prove fatal.