(Disclaimer: This story, plot, and its characters are all copyright and owned by me unless otherwise stated in later chapters where some of my friend's characters may come into play.)

Note: Always remember, the person you give a bad review to might be your sweet next door neighbor. And even sweet next door neighbors can still slit your tires.


Chapter 4

The next morning, Ana awoke in her bed with a heavy paw on her knee and a Doberman's head resting sleepily on her thigh. She blinked softly and raised a hand to block out the sunlight that was coming through the window, silently wondering what time it was.

Her eyes rolled to the clock and she sighed, seeing it was still unplugged from where she'd pulled it from the wall the day before.

With a sigh she sat up, stretching her arms and let her back pop. She wasn't bothered about being late for school today, not with her suspension taking effect today. Two days off school, she thought as she sat looking out the window at the city. She supposed she might as well take the free time she had and look into doing something productive. After all, there were plenty of reasons to study, what with fall exams just around the corner.

She got up, the Doberman on her heels as she went to the kitchen. Her fridge was mostly empty, so she pulled a can of spam from the cabinet and heated the meat a bit before setting it in a dish on the floor for the dog.

"I wonder what your name is...I can't just call you dog all the time..." She pondered, leaning her lower back against the kitchen counter. Her hand went up to run into her hair and she groaned at the feel of grease. "I need a shower before I do anything else..." She muttered, reaching for a rubber band to pull her hair back and gathered it behind her shoulders.

The door bell made her pause. She blinked and finished tying her hair. The dog lifted his head to stare at her then looked to the door, his hackles rising as he growled lightly.

She smiled reassuringly and put a hand on his head. "It's alright." He silenced his growling and followed her to the front door. She sidetracked to get her bathrobe from the back of the bathroom door and pulled it on over her light blue panties and penguin tank top.

The bell sounded once again and she quickened her pace to the door, shooing the dog back into the living room. Silently wondering who in the nine hells was at the door this time of day.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming." She grumbled and unlocked the door, flinging it open. "Look, if you're trying to sell something it's really...early..."

Ana froze up once she got the door opened all the way. The only, slightly comprehensible thought that came to her mind was, Wow. She stood there with her robe slightly open as she gazed at the man on her doorstep.

He was a good six foot tall and then some. He was built, but he was slender, muscled like a panther. His hair was the color of rich, red earth with copper strands that shown highlighted in the dim hall of the apartment building. It hung He was wearing a black, sleeveless turtleneck and baggy, deep green slacks.

He stood there, silent, towering over her by a clear head and stared down into her eyes from behind small, oval sunglasses. The dark lenses hiding the color of his eyes from her, but she was still able to make out dark knowledge of a wolf that lit his eyes from the inside.

She squirmed under that gaze.

"Um...Can I help you...?" She managed to form the words after a moment, her eyes wandering over him in thought.

"Are you Ana Tristanval?" He asked in a crisp voice that was neither too deep or too high. It was a nonchalant voice, calm. Perfect.

Ana gave a gentle nod of her head in answer to him. Any other girl would not be standing here in her underwear awestruck like this. Then again, she had decided lately, she wasn't exactly a regular, normal girl.

"Good." The man said and bent to retrieve a suitcase from next to him, popping the handle up on the roll-a-bout and then stood once more as if waiting.

Ana blinked at him, looking around as if confused. Then it suddenly hit her. He must have come to drop off the dog that Johnson had talked about.

She chuckled and opened the door for him. "Sorry for being so rude. I didn't expect him to be dropped off this early." Ana offered him a smile as she opened her door more, pulling her robe shut at the neck. "Is he alright?"

He stared at her as if not completely listening to what she was saying, then he stepped in through the opened door. Halting once through the door. "He is...well."

She perked a brow at his behavior, but kept her mouth shut. "So...where is he?"

He eyed her as if she was asking strange. "Here. " Was all he said as he set the suitcase next to him on the rug.

Ana looked at the suitcase, tilting her head curiously. Surely they were not totting the dog around in there? "Can he breathe?"

The man in her door way arched a brow. "Yes, Sir."

Sir? She lifted her own brow with that. "Well, then. What's his name?"

"Haydren, Sir."

"Why are you calling me, Sir...?"

"It is an honorific for the dog's master. Or in this case mistress."

She shook her head, a bit lost on this strange man. "Oh...Kay. Lets open the suit case..."

Without hesitation he went to one knee and unzipped the case. Inside was a variety of things from clothing, books, and other male things. Razors, socks. Normal things a man would carry.

"Um...where is Haydren?" Ana blinked when she saw no dog in the suitcase.

"Here." The man said again calmly and stood once more to his full height. Leaving the suitcase open in front of him on the floor.

"No, he's not." Ana looked around then back up at the man. Was he insane? "Where is the dog?"

"The dog is here." He reiterated, voice taking on a slightly stern tone. As if annoyed.

"There is no dog here, sir. Only you and me." She wanted to step back away from him, but didn't dare. Letting him further into her home would be a bad idea. "Who are you?"

The man watched her, his eyes calculating as he studied her face. "Haydren."

That threw her off. "Haydren is the dog's name, too?"

"Haydren is the dog." He stressed the word is, sighing lightly to himself.

"Yes, I know that already." Ana narrowed her gaze, beginning to get increasingly more annoyed. "You and the dog have the same name?" She asked, crossing her arms under her breasts. Her stance going defensive in her confusion.

"I am the dog." He said flatly.

She stared at him, mind racing. I knew it...he's a nut bag. "Wait...you're the dog?"

He nodded once, affirmatively. "I am the dog, Sir. Johnson sent me."

Johnson. How did he know about Johnson. This must be some kind of set up. Maybe he really was a murderer. Thoughts of her impending doom ran through her mind. She cringed. Damn it, they're going to find me dead in my bath tub or something with my kidneys taken out. "J-Johnson said he was sending a dog, not a man."

"And I repeat. I am the dog."

Ana shook her head, her confusion deepening. "But you aren't a dog, Sir."

He pushed his sunglasses higher on his nose like a teacher getting ready for a lecture. "I am a Devoted Operative for the Government. In other words, a D.O.G."

Her head tilted once more to the side. "A...wha...?"

"I am a Devoted-"

Ana cut him off, raising a hand. "I know that. I meant what is a devoted operation whatever you said...?"

"A dog."

Ana let all the air out of her body. This was frustrating. "And what are you doing here?"

He looked at her then, really looked at her. He was thinking, observing her again. Like something he was studying. "The dog is a government operative. Its current business in this building is to learn in a domestic setting the essentials that civilians learn. Such as cooking, cleaning, and modern culture. Anything the master will teach, the dog is here to learn."

"So...you're like a spy then?" She was so blown out of the water right now. This was way too weird.

"Yes, Sir." Haydren said, nodding once.

"And...I'm you're master?"

He again nodded. "You made the arrangement with Johnson. You signed your name to the contract."

"Contract?" Ana blinked several times then she thought back. The paper she had signed her name to. Johnson had folded it up before she'd signed it. That bastard. "I can't believe this." She ran her hands through her hair. "Can't you tell Johnson this is some sort of mistake. I was suppose to be taking care of a dog. A four legged, furry mammal. A canine. Not a man who I don't even know."

"The contract was signed, so the contract must be honored. You should have read it before you signed it, Sir."

Ana bit her tongue, giving him a slight glare. "He never said I was signing a contract! How do I know you aren't some murderer or weird terrorist or just some run of the mill psycho rapist!"

Haydren sighed heavily and to Ana's shock he went to one knee in the foyer. His fist resting against the floor in front of him in a submissive pose. He was bowing to her. "I am not a criminal, or a rapist. The dog would never willing put his master into harm's way..." He took off his sunglasses and lifted emerald eyes to lock with Ana's. The wild knowledge of an animal had left his eyes and was replaced with something Ana could not completely comprehend, but she sensed the seriousness in his gaze. Then it clicked. That light was a light of loyalty that was shining out from behind those emerald eyes. She felt caught in them, sucked in.

And then the whispers started in the back of her mind again. She saw the shadows move across this man's eyes, like she had with the Doberman. She swallowed hard as her mouth went dry. Isn't this what happened yesterday?

Haydren narrowed his gaze on hers, then spoke again. "A Dog protects its Master...and you are my master, Ana Tristanval...However, if you would break the contract and your word to Johnson...then I will leave you..."

The words brought her out of the zone that she had gone into. She looked up at him as he shut the suitcase and stood as if to leave. Her eyes shut in a moment of thought as the voices vanished then she sighed softly. "How long are you going to be staying here...?"

He stopped midmotion, casting his eyes at her silently for a long time of thought. Then he spoke softly, voice never changing from that level, soft tone. "Does that mean you accept me into your home?" He asked, expectant, even though his voice never changed.

She let her gaze falter for a moment then she looked back to him, giving a slow nod. He really didn't look that dangerous. Then again...who knew with some people? She didn't know this man at all, but she had made a promise it seemed with Johnson. Could she break the promise? Could she get out of the contract. She bit her lip lightly. He was giving her the option to back out of the deal. Should she take it? What kind of a person would she be if she backed out?

A smart one. A normal, logical one.

She decided in that instant that she wasn't going to be that type of person. The one who broke a promise. She could keep her word. "Yes..."

"Then the dog will stay only as long as she wishes him, Sir." He bowed at the waist in a very formal way.

She watched him and sighed as she held the door open for him to enter the rest of the way, wanting to shut the door and get him out of the hallway. What would her neighbors think? Even worse, her brother or Laurie.

What have I gotten myself into...?