Taylors POV

I can't believe I agreed to this.

Hell, I can't believe I came up with it.

I'm an idiot.

I've never kissed a boy! I've never held hands with a boy, hell, I've never even liked one!

So, how am I supposed to survive this date?

I gave my outfit a once over before deeming it appropriate (can't go wrong with jeans and a baggy sweatshirt, right? Right? Speak to me!) and walking to my closet. Throwing it open, I looked at a few choices before choosing my good ol' pal: pistol 9mm.

"MICHAEL!" I called out from my room to his.

"WHAT?" He shouted back.

I asked, "SHOULD I TAKE A GUN WITH ME?"

"DEPENDS! WHERE YOU GOIN'?"

"A DATE!"

"TAKE TWO."

"THANKS, MIKE!" I said.

"NO PROB! DO YOU WANT ME TO WATCH YOU GUYS WITH MY DART GUN READY IF HE TRIES ANYTHING! I'VE BEEN TO JAIL AND I AIN'T AFRAID TO GO BACK!" He offered.

"NAH, IT'S COOL, I GOT THIS! MY OTHER GUN IS A DART GUN!"

"SMART GIRL! I TAUGHT YOU WELL!" He praised.

"WHY ARE YOU TWO YELLING WHEN YOUR ROOMS ARE RIGHT ACROSS MY EACH OTHERS?" Margaret shouted from downstairs.

"CAUSE I'M TOO LAZY TO ACTUALLY WALK TO HIS ROOM!" I answered, flopping on my bed. My pistol was pocketed in the back of my pants, covered my sweatshirt while my dart gun was in the front. Checking my watch, I saw it was already eleven thirty.

"Crap!" Jumping out of my bed, I ran downstairs giving Margaret and Michael a quick good-bye. Once I was outside, I didn't bother to stop running before I shifted into my black wolf.

I ran as fast as my paws would carry--so, pretty damn fast, if I do say so myself. I shifted as a exited the wood, my clothes and hair falling into place.

"Taylor?" I turned my head and a bewildered Grayson emerged from the the trees in front of me. He was wearing blue jeans again and a plain, white V-neck T-shirt.

"Er, Grayson! Hi!" I said.

His shocked face didn't waver as he asked, "How did you do that?"

Deny, deny, deny. "Do what?" I plastered a large smile on my face and prayed this distracted him. He furrowed his brows, his surprised look slipped into one of confusion. It made him look kind of cute.

"Don't try and play dumb Taylor," he scolded. Damn, now he's angry. He still looks hot--aah, shut up, Taylor, you pervert!

"Dumb? Me?" I asked, faking outrage. "I am the complete opposite of dumb!"

"Then what was that?" I cringed at how loud his voice had become and he must have noticed because he calmed down a bit and his eyes showed a flash of regret. I peered down at my converses, suddenly finding them the most interesting thing in the world.

"Well? Are you gonna tell me?" He inquired, crossing his arms.

God, those biceps! I said, dreamily.

Answer him! My wolf barked.

I glanced up at him underneath my lashed and murmured, "I just can."

"What's that supposed to mean, Taylor?" He questioned, sounding a bit exasperated.

"I mean: I. Just. Can." I snapped. "A few years after my first shift, I was able to shift with my clothes still on. I never knew why or how and I don't need to explain it to anyone. Especially you." Okay, that was a lie. I did know why and how I could shift with my clothes still intact, I just didn't want to explain it. Only Michael, Margaret, and John knew. Grayson took a step back as if he had been hit, but he quickly masked any hurt showing.

"Whatever," he muttered in a bored tone. "I was just curious."

I stubbornly crossed my arms, checking to see if my guns were still there before asking, "You done interrogating me now, Alpha?" I smirked when I said 'Alpha' and he glared at me.

"I wasn't interrogating you," he defended himself. "I was curious."

I turned my back to him and refused to talk to him, mad he felt the need to question me like I was some kind of perpetrator. He didn't say anything until a few minutes later.

I felt his hand on my shoulder and instead of throwing it off like I would normally do, I let him. It felt...nice. God, I'm turning into such a priss.

"Taylor," he whispered. "I'm sorry if I offended you." I peeked up at him and his apology and his eyes seemed sincere.

"Okay," I smiled. "I forgive you. I'm sorry, too. I have no reason to be mad."

Grayson grinned and I literally felt my heart skip a beat. He'd always been handsome, but when he smiled, it was absolutely breath-taking.

Taylor! Snap out of it! You're going to find your mate soon and you don't want to jeopardize your relationship because of your feelings for Grayson!

"So, can we start all over again?" He shyly asked, shoving his hands in his pockets.

I smiled and stopped myself from reaching out and pushing back the few strands that fell on his forehead.

"Yeah. What do we do now?"

Grayson smiled back and gestured behind him. "How about some food? You hungry?"

"Starving," I answered, even though I had eaten less than half an hour ago.

"Great," he grabbed my hand and I ignored the instinct to throw it off. "I know a place where they serve pancakes all day."

Laughing, I followed him through the forest with him still holding my hand.

~A long walk and hundreds of "Are we there yet?" later~

"Are we there yet?" I sighed for the kajillionith time. Grayson turned his head and smiled at me.

"Yep."

"Ugh! This is taking for--wait! We're here?" I looked up and saw an old-fashioned diner. it was called, "Mel's Place".

Grayson chuckled some more and pulled me into the homey restaurant. As I entered, I was overwhelmed by the delicious scent and I stopped myself from drooling at the sight of the burgers.

We sat down at a booth near the window and a waitress came.

"Hello," she smiled at Grayson, completely ignoring me. She leaned on the table, giving him a clear view of her cleavage. Well, what wasn't showing already.

Grayson gave her a brief look and nodded his head in response. I threw my hand over my mouth, stifling my laugh. The waitress finally decided to acknowledge me. She whipped her hair and glared at me.

"Can I have the chocolate chip pancakes with extra bacon on the side?" Grayson ordered.

"I'll have what he's having. And a Sprite, please," I smiled at her.

Completely ignoring me, she cooed at Grayson."Sure, babe." She leaned even closer, practically sitting on him. I laughed out loud this time and when she glowered at me, I bent my head, still chortling.

"Er, could you maybe move away?" Grayson said, slightly pushing her. She pushed her boobs in his face more, as she leaned with one hand on the table.

"Babe, we both know you don't want that," she smirked, batting her eyelashes.

I mentally barfed and snorted out loud. I couldn't help it--Grayson looked so uncomfortable.

"Hey, you -"

Was she addressing me?

"- why don't you just leave? Me and blondie over here have got some stuff to discuss" She said in what I surmised to be a seductive voice.

I hit the table with my fists and burst out, guffawing. Everyone in the diner turned their heads at the noise and I literally wiped tears out of my eyes.

"Uh, Taylor?" Grayson said, his eyes pleading for help.

I rolled my eyes but decided I should help him. Poor boy could get STD's from the way she was grinding her vagina all over him.

"Er, waitress person?" I said, biting my lip, forcing myself not to laugh.

Taylor! My wolf scolded. Kill her! She's touching what's ours!

I internally rolled my eyes at her possessiveness. Grayson isn't ours.

"What do you want?" She snapped, pushing Grayson's head into her breasts. I didn't know people could turn that red. The poor boy was probably suffocating.

Oh, Luna, is she for real?

"Could you, uh, get away from him?" I snickered.

"Yeah, right! He wants me!" She cried, throwing a ketchup bottle at me. I caught it without thinking and gaped at her.

Holy shit, she is for real.

"Wow, I thought sluts were just things people wrote about in books," I whispered, my eyes wide.

"Look who's talking, slut!" I poked her cheek to see if this was legit. She raised her hand and slapped me across the face. It didn't really hurt, but I was rather shocked she had the audacity to hit me.

Kill her anyways! My wolf shouted. How dare she touch us?

Grayson growled from under her and he pushed her off of him. "Don't ever talk to her like that again," he snarled, his eyes obsidian. I stared at him, surprised.

Wow, he really looks hot when he's angry.

Wait, what? Stupid, pervy Taylor! My wolf, however, didn't seem to mind. She purred at his protective action and I told her to shut up.

We don't need protecting, I reminded her. I can take care of myself.

She whined, "What the hell?! She was being rude to me!"

I stood up and glared down at her. How dare she? I wasn't upset over that fact that she had slapped me, but she lied, and I hated liars.

Wait. That means I hate me. I'm such a hypocrite. Oh, well. I can deal with my lies--they're for protection. Sort of.

The waitress rose from her position on the ground and narrowed her eyes at me.

Pathetic girl, my wolf snorted. I had to agree with her--she barely even came up to my chest.

"Listen here," I whispered under my breath, taking hold of what little shirt she had on. "you don't know who you're dealing with here. Because you don't I won't kill you for disrespecting me and wasting my time. Now, I may not kill you right now, but if you don't leave within the next ten seconds--I will. Capishé?"

A sound of outrage came out of her and she raised her hand to slap me again. I caught her wrist and bared my teeth at her, making sure my elongated canines were showing.

"That's it," I growled before lifting her higher and tossing her away from me. I stalked across the diner, ignoring the stares I was getting, and stood menacingly over her. "You will never speak or act like that to me again. In fact, you will never speak to me again! Now, get out of my sight!" I used my Alpha command on her, so I was certain I'd never see her face again.

With a dazed look in her eyes, she got up in a robot-like fashion and walked out of the restaurant. I stayed there, fuming, long after she left.

"Hey," a soft voice called. I felt his hand on my shoulder and then it was around my wrist. "Let's go. I'll pay."

"Pay for what? She didn't even put in our order," I pouted. This whole ordeal was annoying, and I didn't even get food out of it.

I left the diner and waited outside for him anyway. A few minutes later, he came out and walked over to me. I had strolled across the diner towards the park and I was leaning on a large tree in a secluded area.

"You okay? I'm sorry for that back there," he apologized, his eyes sincere. I nodded again, not wanting to talk. I felt his finger under my chin and my head was raised so I would fully meet his eyes.

"It wasn't your fault," he reassured me. "You had every reason to act that way--the girl was acting like an outright bitchy ass thottie." Stunned, I found myself laughing a bit at his extremely rude description and he continued.

"I should've done something. She's in my pack and I'm the Alpha. I should've stopped her." Looking him in the eyes, I threw my arms around him and hugged him. He seemed a bit taken back because he was stiff for a short while before his arms wrapped around me. I buried my head in the crook of his neck, inhaling his musky scent and he seemed to do the same. My wolf purred at this action and though I disapproved, I kind of liked it, too. His arms tightened across my back and I felt his hand pressing against my back, feeling the foreign object there.

"What's this?" He murmured into my hair, still not letting go of me.

I pulled back and sheepishly grinned at him. "My gun."

"What?!" He cried, drawing back.

"In my defense: I didn't know where this date would lead to," I shrugged. He stared at me for a few moments before bursting out with laughter. Grayson picked me up and I gave a cry of surprise as he twirled me around. Eventually, I started enjoying the lightheaded feeling and laughed along with him.

I couldn't help it; Grayson just made me feel so, so...good. I felt protected when I was with him. Maybe it was because he was becoming an Alpha I could trust? (Or he was hot...)

He stopped to catch his breath and lowered me a bit so we were eye to eye. I felt awkward with my legs just dangling, so I wrapped it around his waist and looked down at him.

"Wow," he breathed. His gaze was on me and a blush made it's way to my face when I saw how intense his beautiful eyes were.

"What?" I asked, tilting my head.

He smiled devilishly at me. "You look even more beautiful up close."

My blush grew and I playfully slapped him. "Oh, shut up."

"It's true!" He laughed. I peered down at him, looking closely at his eyes.

"Grayson," I murmured. He stopped laughing and stared at me. "Your eyes."

He furrowed his brows. "What about them?"

Feeling stupid, I shook my head. "Never mind."

"No, come on," he persisted, "tell me. Please?"

Is he using puppy dog eyes on me? More importantly, is it working?

"It's just..." I bit my lip, embarrassed. "You have blue eyes. I always thought they were black, but they were really just a dark blue. And...it's pretty." I looked down as I finished my confession and looked back up when I heard his deep, throaty chuckle.

"Pretty, huh?" He said. "Well, it's a compliment, I think. I'll take it." I smiled shyly down at him and his laughter died.

"Taylor," he whispered in a husky voice, his face leaning closer to mine until we were centimeters apart. I was silent, in awe of his utter presence. He was so handsome with his strong jaw, straight nose, and smoldering eyes. My eyes instinctively dropped to his mouth and I tried to look at his eyes again, but I couldn't tear my eyes away from his tempting lips. "I..."

He didn't finish because, in that moment, he leaned forward and captured my lips with his.

~Author's Note~

IMPORTANT!

DON'T HATE ME. IT TOOK ME A LONG TIME TO WRITE THIS CHAPTER AND I DIDN'T WANT TO SCREW UP THE ENDING BECAUSE OF MY CRAP DESCRIBING SKILLS. I ALSO DIDN'T WANNA TAKE FOREVER TO UPDATE. IT WAS A LOSE-LOSE SITUATION.

FORGIVE ME.

But, please, keep voting and commenting and following if you want 'cause that encourages me!

THANKS YOU FOR ALL THE READS, MY LOVELIES!

Dedicated to rhi-4na for all the awesome comments!

Oh, and if you haven't, please check out my new book! There's a 15% chance you'll like it! Honest! :D

Pic of Grayson to the side...mother father..the boy is fucking gorgeous *drools*...especially without a-a-a... shirt *faints*

Oh, by the way, if I get over 40 votes and say maybe....30 comments (limit: 2 comment per person, I'm looking at you, FactionRunner) I'll post the next chapter. ^.^

-4everAloneAnAwkward