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Chapter Five

It took roughly thirty minutes to get from the other side of city to the address where Alex's building, or what would be his building, was located. The ride over basically having been the closing of the deal between the three Mavericks and at that point all that was left was for Jonathon II to sign over the check into Alex's bank account in the morning.

Once they got to their destination, all three Mavericks stepped out into the night, their eyes gleamed over into a bright amberish hue since no one had thought to bring a flashlight, and then into the interior of the dilapidated. Once inside, Alex happily pointed out where he envisioned everything going to be situated and how he wanted to start reconstruction come next week.

Answering questions, getting suggestions and debating about whether or not living right above his business were such a good idea, both Jonathon II and Millie could honestly say that they were impressed by their son's grandeurs dream. Alex tried not to seem too overly excited as he walked the older couple upstairs and then hesitantly downstairs, praying that the smell had faded from the walls beforehand.

Once everyone was satisfied, Alex had to be herded out of the building as he was so excited by the prospect of what was to come tomorrow. Like a child in a toy factory, Alex wouldn't stop talking and almost giggling with excitement as his eyes shone like stars at the prospect of what was to come. It finally took Jonathon II physically grabbing his oldest son's arm and dragging him along before the three of them could get back to the car and drive down the lane before Alex let himself come back down to earth and then give directions to his apartment.

The ride to where his apartment was like a cold wash of water to his senses when his parents stepped out of their car and looked at the place he was residing with differing opinions clouding each other's faces.

"I see that you've been doing well for yourself." Millie tried to keep up a good front but it was easy to tell she wasn't thrilled about where her pup was holding himself up in.

Jonathon II just chose to keep his mouth silent as he looked the building once over and then snorted before getting an elbow into the side of his ribs for his troubles. Getting his checkbook out of his back pocket and then signing a small slip, the oldest Maverick kept the amount blank before handing the paper over to his son along with a card to the hotel they were staying at.

"Sign for whatever amount you'll think you need and then call me once you deposit it."

"T-thanks and I will."

Alex quickly stuffed the slip into his pocket and then did something he hadn't done in the last eight years: Jonathon Archival Maverick III went up and embraced both of his parents, breathing in their familiar scents and getting hugged by the two older wolf shifters before Alex released them to stand on his own once more.

Both Millie and her husband smiled at their son, Millie with excitable tears swimming in her green eyes, before the both of them turned back to their car and then got inside.

Alex watched the older couple as they drove off into the night to become a distant set of lights on the road before heading into his apartment with a glide in his stride. On the way in he waved to Ms. Chancy who was just happened to be stepping into of her door.

"Good evening Alex. My, you're coming in late. Is everything alright?" The older human woman asked in a way that made Alex feel like he was in the presence of his grandfather when she spoke.

"Everything is great, Ms. Chancy. More than I could ever explain just how much so to you. Just believe me when I say that, it is well."

"That's good. You take care now and have a good evening."

"I will. Good night Ms. Chancy." Alex watched as the older woman walked into her apartment and then closed herself in for the night before heading to his own abode and going to bed.

***

Thursday came in with gray clouds covering the sky but not even the threat of rain could deter Alex as he woke up from a wonderfully erotic dream with his head still fuzzy from remembering himself in full wolf form running through a line of trees. Green eyes looked down at his full erection nestled underneath his body from where he had fallen asleep on his front half. Alex took a brief second to wonder why padding through the woods had him so aroused before shrugging and focusing his thoughts on what he had to do today.

Getting up from bed with a grunt, the naked wolf shifter stretched and rubbed over his grumbling stomach before wondering whether he should shower or get breakfast first. Being that most shifters preferred to sleep naked, in case of an accidental transformation during the night, making most clothing uncomfortable to sleep in, Alex didn't bother to try to find something to put on after deciding that breakfast was more important at that moment. Walking into his extremely modest kitchenette, he flipped on the lights and then wandered over to his refrigerator, opened the metal door and found that he really needed to go grocery shopping.

"That's why Ms. Chancy went to the store the other day." Alex muttered as he shut the door and went over to grab some cereal from the cabinets.

Popping open the box and then breathing in the sweet smell of wheat, artificial flavorings and sugar, Alex dug a hand in and shoveled some of his morning meal into his mouth while thinking about what he should try and do first.

His obviously needed to go and cash that check his father had given him and then go downtown to purchase his property. If he got lucky, Alex thought that he could get a chance to get the company he worked for to take the contract and maybe that way he could get negotiate a better price all around since he knew the way his boss liked to operate.

The thought of going into Mr. Montanez's office with a check in his hand and seeing the look on the older human's face had Alex chuckling around a mouthful of his breakfast, nearly coughing it up when he choked for a second.

Thinking back to when he had first gotten the job with Landor Construction, Alex had been intimidated by the older man with his half balding head and five foot tall stature that seemed to loom over him, which had been odd considering their difference in species and height. Most of the crew were humans who had been with the company for at least five or so years which meant that Alex had gotten the usual hassle that came with being a newbie on the job, but that had soon been laid to rest by the other two shifters who worked on the company.

Eric Lobar, the forty-three year old panther shifter with two kittens and a misses at home and Eddie Carr, the thirty-three year old dingo shifter who usually had all of two words to say for an entire day's worth of work. Both of them had worked for Landor's ever since the two were paired on the same project some four years ago and being the only shifters on the team they tended to stick by one another through both the good and bad that came with the job. Currently being laid off for a week, while probably not hurting either of them, wasn't something that either shifter needed in their life at that moment. That thought left Alex to wonder just how shocked both of them would be if he managed to get their crew the contract while at the same time working on construction with them.

While he wouldn't say that the either of the other shifters were his best friends, he at least shared a drink with them at the local changeling watering hole after a good weeks work, so that probably counted for something. Right?

Finishing his breakfast and noting that the box now lay empty between his hands, Alex twisted the cardboard container into a thin roll before shooting it into his somewhat over flowing trashcan. Stomach settled and mind alert, Alex headed for the shower to contemplate just how he was going to handle everything when the nagging sense that he was forgetting something important tugged at the back of his mind.

***

The line at the bank had been short so that was a blessing for Alex after he had walked in with his father's check in his hand, signed with an amount that was more amicable for how much he thought he would need on this investment. However, being dragged into the bank owner's office and having to sit and explain to the man that the check was valid while having to call his father to have a three way conversation wasn't something the wolf shifter wanted to every do again.

The entire process took the rest of the morning which only served to annoy Alex as he rode the bus downtown to the city hall.

Another three fun filled hours talking to person after person after person while going over legalities of what kind of business he wanted to run and getting told about the discriminatory nature of his idea bordering the line of the law before having to explain himself thoroughly as to not seem like a bigot. Alex was able to get both the deed for the building, insurance and was able to call and talk to Mr. Montanez's and setup a meeting with him at 4:30 pm.

Now finally getting into Montanez's office, the tired wolf shifter slumped down into one of the hard wood chairs the human kept in his trailer while wishing nothing more than to go home and curl up on his bed and sleep for the next two weeks.

Turning his head when he heard the front door to the trailer open, Alex watched as the shorter human walked in with a tight look on his already stressed face.

I know you feel, Alex whimpered inside of his head before sitting up straight and getting ready for another long winded conversation.

"So Alex, what was so damn important that you had to get me down here when I was in the middle of trying to negotiate the contract that was going to get both you, me and the guys work for this month?" Montanez asked once he plopped down into his leather chair and pulled himself back so that he could look his employee in the face.

"How about the fact that I want to hire the crew to work on a building I just bought?" Alex waited for the coming diatribe and wasn't disappointed.

"What the hell are you talking about? Don't tell me that you are still going on about that damned fooled idea of yours, kid!? Look, I'm all for you wanting to go out and try to grab your dreams, but I've got real work to do and don't have time...to..." Montanez's words died on his lips once Alex pulled out the deed for his building and slapped it onto the older human's desk.

Settling himself back with a smug look of satisfaction. Alex observed Montanez as the man took up the paper and then read it from top to bottom before tipping his head to look at him in disbelief.

"H-how in the hell did you...?"

"Don't take this the wrong way, but that's none of your business, sir. Now do you want the contract or not?" Alex didn't want to seem rude but for several years he had listened to Montanez go on about what it took to make it in the real world and while he didn't fault the man for his, so called tough love, it was nice to spin things around and shut that know-it-all mouth of his.

"I-I...yes. We'll take it, but what do..."

"I have a plan written out at home that I want to go over with you this weekend. It's got all of the architectural designs that I think will be needed for the place in question, but I may need some of your input and advice because there are some things I'm not sure about, particularly for the upstairs and downstairs." Alex wasn't self-righteous enough to gloat and honestly wanted Montanez's opinions, because, while he'd never say it to the man's face, he really respected the human.

"Just how big is this building of yours, Alex?" Montanez read over the title again but didn't recognize the place from memory.

"It's about the size of a grocery store but you'll get a better understanding once we go over and look at it this weekend. I'll also need an estimate by Monday so I'll know how much I have to allocate towards everything. That should give you enough time to straighten things out with whoever we were supposed to work for and annul that contract?" Business mode in high gear, Alex already had a ballpark figure in his head and hoped not to go over it by more than a couple thousand dollars, if all went well.

"Alright, well I can't argue with that. Looks like the guys who have been screwing us over are about to get what they asked for, since I'm guessing you'll pay upfront in the full amount?" Montanez questioned while handing the piece of paper back to his employee.

Alex tried not to roll his eyes as he nodded while folding his deed back into his pocket.

"Alright then, I'll give the guys a call after we have everything settled and then...wait...are you gonna be working on the site with us or are you just going to be barking orders?"

"I'll be working with everyone so that will make things go much smoother. I don't want them to ask a lot of questions and try to do a half-assed job just because they think they can run one over on me." Putting up a hand, Alex stopped the other man before he could start. "You know like I know that most of the guys will screw off if given the chance and we both know some of them don't like me because I'm a shifter. Let's not pretend about what goes around here, okay?" Alex wasn't bitter but he wasn't as forgiving as he let on either.

Montanez sighed before speak. "I know you're right kid, I just don't want to have to admit it because now I can't play it off to being the usual stuff that happens around the job."

"Several years later and I still get hassled. While it's nothing for me to show my fangs over, it leaves a bad taste in my mouth all the same, so let's just keep this between us, shall we?" Montanez nodded.

"Alright then, well I'm going to head home. I'm thinking this Saturday for going to the place and looking over everything?"

"Yeah, that'll be good. It may rain though so work may be put off for a little while."

"That's fine, I've waited this long so another week or two won't bother me none." Alex got up and popped his back before grunting tiredly.

"Want me to take you home kid?" Montanez asked while looking up at the tired young man in front of him.

"Yeah, would you mind?" Riding on the bus tonight sounded like a real drag to Alex since his brain felt like it was trying to beat a path out of his skull with the headache coming on.

"Come on then. We can do some more talking about your new place while we ride."

Alex stood up as he watched Montanez hop up out of his chair then make a beeline towards the door with more pep in his step than the wolf shifter had seen in a long time. While he wanted to make fun of the human, Alex thought better for it.

It just wouldn't be worth it in the end.

Both men walked out of the trailer and then over to where Montanez's car was parked car and Alex had to cast a glance skyward as he watched the clouds darken even further while a clasp of lightning danced in the heavens. Getting into and settling himself down into his seat, after Montanez had unlocked the doors, Alex watched as his boss climb in and then start up the ignition. Once the small two door was revved to go Montanez pulled out of the parking area and then onto the road.

"Where do you live again?" Montanez asked after they hit their first stop light while looking over at the half asleep Alex.

"After several years, you still don't know?"

"I live in a trailer, remember?" Montanez said with a hint of annoyance lining his voice.

"Oh yeah, sorry. I live at 2343 Daryl Drive. Apartment B." Alex said before he pulled the side handle up and set the seat back and lightly dozing off.

The feeling that he was still forgetting something still weighed slightly on the wolf shifter's mind even as the first patter of rain drops began to trail onto the hood sending him to sleep.

Chapter Six

By the time Alex got into his apartment he was soaking wet and coupled with the fact that he was half tired and now had a full on headache it all just served to make one unhappy wolf. Shutting the door to his apartment harder that was necessary, Alex pulled his soaked clothes from around his body and let them drop to the floor like deadweight as he single-mindedly headed for his bathroom.

Throwing the shower curtain back and then turning the hot water on, Alex hopped into the tub and let the heating water rush over his exhausted body on down to the bone before looking at his washcloth and grunting at it. Not really feeling like getting overly clean right now but remembering what his mother once said about those who get their feet wet, the wolf shifter hurriedly scrubbed his body down and then just as quickly stepped out from the tub. Making a grab for his towel, Alex walked out of the bathroom while drying himself off as he headed for the kitchen just in time to hear his cell phone rang.

Sighing, he wondered if he should ignore it or not. Getting an affirmative from the little drummer men beating on top of his head, Alex realized that it could have either been Montanez calling to talk about the contract or either his parents wanting to know how things were progressing, so ignoring the call could be a bad thing. Trying not to snarl in frustration, the tired wolf shifter stepped into the front room, grabbing his soggy pant and then fished out his phone with an irritated tick lacing his amber coated right eye.

Flicking the small cellular device open, Alex grunted before speaking. "This is Alex."

"You know this makes the second time I've called and you've sounded pissed off. Is it my bad timing or do you just not like me?" The voice on the other end seemed to ring a chime in Alex's head instantly cutting through the incessant beating as he suddenly remembered what it was that he had been forgetting.

"Oh it's you...uhm..."

"You forgot my name." It was more like a statement of fact than an accusation, for which Alex was relieved, which then served to confuse him after thinking about why.

"I'm sorry. I know it's not really an excuse, but I've had a really long day today."

"I can imagine and it's David Croft by the way. I'm guessing that by you forgetting who I was that you want to cancel our date?" Alex felt even worse as he could hear the hurt over the phone.

"N-No. I still...we can...I mean I'm fine with it." Stupid brain and its dumb pounding, Alex thought as he walked himself back into his bedroom and then lay down onto his mattress.

"Heh, it's alright. I've guessing that you have stuff on your mind so why don't we take a rain check?"

"No, it's good. I think I'm ready for this. How about at Salisbury? The food there is pretty good and it can be my treat." He didn't want to come off as begging but the chuckle David sent through the phone made him realize that his lovesick puppy attitude was coming back full force again.

"I'm sorry but I never make a date pay for my meal the first time we go out. We'll do Dutch instead, that alright with you?"

"That'll be fine. When should I meet you?"

"Say around 5:00 pm? I can come and pick you up if you'd like."

"N-no, that's okay. I can just meet you there." Alex knew that it may have sounded somewhat impolite but the thought of an unknown male coming to his place had his hackles rising just a bit, if he had been in wolf form anyway.

"Alright. Have a good night then, pup."

As David hung up on his end, Alex had to wonder why the man kept calling him pup before his tired mind dropped the subject and his fingers shut the top of his phone. Dropping the cell onto the side of his bed, Alex removed his towel still clinging around his hips, curled himself into a ball shut his eyes and then drifted off to sleep.

The pitter-patter of rain outside grew louder and more soothing through the night as Alex shifted into wolf form and lifted his ears onto the top of his head to listen to the rhythm of nature's music.

***

Friday afternoon found Alex on the phone trying to talk to his parents, his siblings and his grandfather as he scrambled around to find something decent to wear for his date that night. Having gotten his second best clothes wet from the rain the other day and not taking them down to the Laundromat after he had woken up, the wet articles of his best clothing lay in a heap in his dirty clothes hamper in his room. That was one of the curses of being a bachelor; you usually only wore your best stuff for really important things but whenever you had something else equally important to go to, your stuff ended up needed to be pressed and washed again ten minutes before it was time to go.

"Yeah...I hear you, mom."

"Honey, are you busy?"

"No...no...just trying to find something to wear for tonight," Alex cursed in his head as he picked out a pair of jeans he normally wore to work before seeing exactly why he normally wore them to work.

Tossing the faded blue jeans off to the side, Alex grabbed a pair of khaki pants that he liked before seeing that there was a large coffee stain on the front and then remembered that these were the pants he wore for the last day of his college graduation, or rather the party that had been afterwards in the dorms.

"Oh, you're going off somewhere, Jon?"

"Yeah, I have a date tonight?" Alex spoke without really thinking as he tossed the khaki's aside and grabbed a pair of cargo pants.

"With who?"

"David Croft. He's a bank manager at the bank I went to for the loan for the building." Too small, Alex thought as he tossed those to the side and picked out another pair.

"Oh really, is he handsome?"

"I think so. He smelled nice anyway. I was so focused that I barely paid anyone any mind except for the bank owner. I think he smelled like herbs or something." Alex nodded and then hugged the cell phone up to his ear by way of his shoulder before hoping into the black pair of dress pants he was holding.

Zipping the front up, Alex grabbed his phone and then stretched out his legs before giving what he had on the proverbial OK.

"Hmmm, he could be a dryad or maybe even a sorcerer, better watch yourself in cast he puts something on you." His mother's laughter was evident even from over the phone and Alex had to roll his eyes before speaking.

"Mom, this is the modern age. People don't do that stuff anymore." Now that he had his pants Alex looked back inside of his closet for a suitable shirt, pushing the hangers aside before realizing that he kept most of his shirts in the other closet.

"Whatever you say dear, just make sure to sniff him over first to be on the safe side."

"Yes, mother."

"Hehe, so are you going to be meeting him somewhere or is he coming to pick you up?"

"We're meeting at Salisbury at 5:00 pm. That's why I've got to hurry up and find something to wear before then." Rummaging through his other closet Alex sighed as he noted his choices and swore to himself that he would throw something out once he got back.

"Oh that sounds nice. Well just make sure that you be careful now. I don't want to have to rip his throat out for trying to mess with my pup." Alex made a face at that but knew his mother was deadly serious, despite her playful tone.

"Mom, I can handle myself. I am twenty-six after all."

"I know hon, but I'm still your mother and I have a right to worry. Anyway, I'll let you go now so that you can get dressed. Make sure to call in after your date to let me know how everything goes." Alex recognized the veiled threat and nodded before speaking.

"Of course,"

"Ok, well I love you and I'll talk to you later Jon."

"I love you too, bye mom."

"Bye." The two hung up at the same time and Alex slipped his cell into his pocket before starting to fumble through his shirts.

***

5:00 pm found Alex getting to Salisbury just on time as he panted from his short sprint from the bus stop. Composing himself to look like something besides a wolf without any class, Alex took a deep breath and then entered into Salisbury's front door.

"Good evening. Welcome to Salisbury. Ahhh, you again, welcome." The woman from the other night greeted Alex with a warm smile as he closed the door behind him and looked into the rosy face of the human.

"Good evening. Uhm...I'm here for dinner with Mr. David Croft?" Alex had forgotten that he hadn't scheduled ahead for his date tonight and wondered should he have done so before the woman spoke up.

"Hmmm, let me see." She said while scrolling down the itinerary in front of her. "Yes. Mr. Croft did make a reservation for himself and a guest of one. I'm sorry to say that Mr. Croft hasn't arrived yet though but let me take you over to your table so you can wait on him." Once again, the shorter woman hopped down from her place and then led Alex over to an empty table near the window.

"Here we are. I'll have the waiter come over so she can get you a drink while you wait."

"Thank you." Alex sat himself down and then watched as the human scurried off to the back to find someone to serve him.

Letting his body relax, Alex leaned himself back into his chair before opening his senses to the world around him, now that he wasn't so focused on business meetings and family reunions. The smells of the restaurant were the same as before but this time Alex was able to take in much more of his surroundings. The entire room was lit low by candle lights and an overly large chandelier hanging from atop the ceiling giving the entire restaurant a warm, heartfelt glow. The unseen air conditioners made a soothing hum that only Alex could hear as his sensitive ears picked up the whirling fans that blew out from somewhere around the room. The scent of meats and spices from the kitchen made a bubbling groan resound in the pit of the wolf shifter's stomach as he could almost taste steak being cooked on a grill as the hiss of flesh onto heated metal echoed like a siren's call to his inner instincts.

Around the room, humans murmured quietly while waiters and waitresses took orders with pleased grins on their faces as Alex could guess the tips in this place had to have been close to three figures. Thinking about just how much his father had spent when they were here the last time, Alex was grateful that he had some money stored away in his bank account so that he didn't have to spend any of the funds he needed for his building's repairs.

Alex thought that while some people might turn their nose up at blue collar work, the paycheck at the end of the month usually made it all worthwhile.

The smell of herbs wafted into his nose a second later and soon the wolf shifter opened his golden eyes to see a familiar looking man coming up to stand at the side of his table.

The man in question, while honestly very handsome, was somewhat common looking to Alex as he watched the cropped black hair, dark blue eyes, and strong cheekbones framing a tanned face peered down at him with an upturned smile ghosting over full looking lips. The man walked over and took his seat in front of him and before he knew it, Alex found himself sitting up in full attention while letting his nose twitch restlessly from the scent of aromatic plants and warm earth dancing through his nostrils.

"You're a dryad, I presume?" Damn his mother's suspicious nature rubbing off on him at the wrong times, Alex chided quietly as he blushed and hid his face off to the side. "I'm sorry. That was rude of me."

"Don't worry about it, pup. I'm used to shifters asking me that all the time whenever we first meet."

"It's still rude though." Alex raised a hand and offered it to David before speaking. "Let's start over, my name's Alexander Crosse."

"And my name is David Croft," The man took to the offered hand and shook it. A minute later both released their grips on one another while blushing somewhat at the prolonged contact.

"Wow...this is sounding so much like one of those cheap romance novels you hear about. The next thing you'll know someone will either come over with a bottle of wine or start playing some crappy love music." When the waiter came over both men laughed out loud making the server give the both of them a quizzical, if not, somewhat cautious looks.

After Alex and David began to settle down the waiter handed them their menus and then took their drink orders.

"So, since you've been here before, what do you recommend?" David asked while half looking at what was written down while staring at something else he was growing hungry for.

"Well if you were a wolf, I'd say the blue steak since it's what I had the last time I was here. However, since you aren't I'd guess...uhm..." Alex found himself at a loss since he wasn't sure what dryads ate as he looked down his menu for something...dryad friendly...and coming up blank.

"Hahah, it's alright. I'm going to go with the salad and maybe the fillet."

"You eat fish?" Alex actually had to look up at this one and when he did was taken aback from the obvious hunger radiating through the other man's crystalline eyes.

"Oh yes pup, I like to have a taste of flesh every now and again, especially when it's really tender and readily available."

Alex could actually hear the promise in those words and as he ducked his head back down into his menu while his treacherous cock decided to make itself available by rising up in attention.

"L-look...we just met and despite some of the rumors about shifters, not all of us sex crazed animals." If it wouldn't have hurt so much, Alex would have punched himself in the groin when his half formed erection begged to differ.

Traitor, Alex thought indignantly.

"Of course, but you know that plants are easily able to sense the emotions of other beings the same way that wolves can scent what someone is feeling, right?" David was all but purring as he leaned forward after putting his menu down in front of him.

"Y-yeah, I think I heard about that back in school...s-so what?" Alex was not enjoying this cat and mouse game...since he was obviously the mouse.

"Well from what I can tell right now," Alex yipped as he felt a he felt a sock covered foot running along the underside of his crotch before it began to stroke up and down his almost fully hard length of flesh. "You really would like to skip the meal and go right to the after dinner activities."

"That's because you all but posting up a sign around you that says, 'Fuck Me'."

"Perhaps, but I don't see you running for the door."

"I run from no plant. And you keep playing with me and I'll show you just how much of a bite we wolves have." Alex bared his teeth, letting the tips of his elongating fangs run over the edge of his bottom lip before covering his mouth when their waiter came back over.

The maître d' set their drinks down, Alex having a water while David had a glass of white wine, and then asked them if they were ready to place their orders. Alex nodded and ordered for two blue steaks while David got the salad and the fillet he so wanted. After the human had left, taking the menus with him, David turned to look at Alex who was all but growling at him.

"Aww, pup not having a good time?"

"Get that foot off my dick if you want to keep it." Alex grunted and reached down to grab at the appendage still massaging his midsection before clenching his claws around it and squeezing.

"Hehe, you're even sexier when you're getting riled up." David winced and pulled back before letting his Cheshire cat grin from his face drop when he noted the growl start to rise in bass in Alex's throat.

"Look, let's cut the high school crap and just tell me the truth, did you just ask me out to try and get in bed with me?" Alex was ready for the hurtful answer he suspected was coming but got a shocker of a surprise by what left David's mouth.

"No, actually I asked you out to seduce you into letting me into this plan of yours for this changeling center you wanted to start up. I honestly figured throwing myself at you would get the job done, but this doesn't seem to be working." David actually looked disappointed with himself at this point and Alex had to let his mouth drop open in awe.

"E-excuse me! Why in the hell would you want to be a part of my dream?! You don't even know me!"

"Yeah, I don't know you and you don't seem to know anything about the world around you either, Alex." David's playful air seemed to just evaporate and soon an air of diplomacy and severity dropped over his features like an A-bomb. "A lot of shifters and changelings need a place like what you are trying to create, but you don't seem to see anything else beyond the initial starting phase of what you want to happen."

Alex let his wolfen features settle as he thought about what David was saying and then began to digest the underlining meaning.

"Well, I guess you do have a point. There's a lot that has to be taken into consideration but I'm going to handle that once I get everything situated first."

"Wrong answer. Look, I'm not trying to tell you exactly how to make your dreams come true but you need to face the facts that you are going to have problems." David's presence seemed to expand almost and Alex couldn't help but listen with spellbound attention as if he were a pup again listening to his grandfather talk. "A lot of shifters here aren't united by anything except the fact that they aren't one hundred percent humans, that alone means that they aren't going to be too trustful of you when you first start your center."

"What do you mean?"

"There are five major groups of changelings around here; the wolves and other canines make up one while the feline shifters make up another. The magick users make up the third and the dragons, small lot as they are, make up the fourth. The last group is what I'll call miscellaneous because, like me, you have dryads, gargoyles, half-breeds and various other types. Now take for the fact that you have all of these factions together in one place but no unity amongst them. What do you think will happen when you try to open up a place where there all are supposed to come and try to 'get along' with one another at?"

Alex didn't even need to think about it as he raised his hands and let his forehead slump into his palms.

It was going to be a nightmare.

Turf wars would be the least of his troubles because everyone would be at everyone else's throats before he could even start the ball rolling. Wolf shifters would argue over who had more 'right' to the place while the cats try to claim their own territory and probably fight with the canines just to make a point.

The magick users would try to hex the place just to take it over from everyone else and who knew what the dragons would do. Being that they were virtually immune to magick anyway, the dragon kin might just try to topple the building just to keep the witches and wizards from making it into a nexus against the other changelings. Past history proving that this is often what happened most of the time anyway when egos inflated and pride was tested.

"The place will be demolished before the week is out." Alex sighed while looking at the food being brought out.

"That's if you're lucky and they give you a week. Look, I don't want to seem like the raincloud rolling in on your Sunday afternoon, but you really are going to need a lot of help with this." David watched the other man before nodding to the server, who seemed confused about what was going on, that everything was okay and watching them walk off. "Personally, I really admire what you are doing and think that it could work out better than you think, but if so you are going to need allies who can mediate between everyone for you. Not to mention instructors, teachers, maybe even some hired muscle to make sure that those few individuals who need a special form of understand, get a clear message not to fuck with your place."

"You sound halfway like my parents...and that pisses me off because both you and they are probably right." Lifting his head, Alex smiled at David, though tiredly now, before looking down at his food and losing his appetite.

David reached over and rubbed the side of Alex's face, making the wolf shifter eye him strangely before Alex leaned in and nuzzled the sweet smelling hand.

"Are you trying to drug me?" Alex asked a minute later once he noted some of the worry start to lift from his mind.

"Nope, just secreting a little plant oil through my fingertips to help you relax. Don't worry; it's nothing addictive so you don't have to worry about me dragging you into my bed tonight so that I can ravish you." David leaned in and whispered, "I'll do that to you anyway after we finish up here, if you want."

"Here you go with the flirting. I can't tell if you are halfway serious or not whenever you do that." Alex felt the newborn tension coiling in his chest start to simmer down and before long he was staring at his dinner date with a grateful look in his dark green eyes.

"Oh, don't have any false ideas, pup. I do truly like you and that's part of the reason why I want to act on your behalf to try and help you out with what you have going on right now." David pulled his hand back a second later and then grabbed his napkin to wipe the oily residue on his fingers away.

"What do you mean?"

"Look, in all honesty, I work as a double agent or sorts. I work at the bank to scope out new prospects who come into town and try to get them situated somewhere they feel somewhat at home here in the city. For the most part it's easier for me to do this being a Dryad because changelings and the likes are placated around me, because of my nature. Pun not intended." David gave a sour look as he noted Alex's upturned lips.

Alex, for his part, nodded and continued listening but did have to cough to the side suddenly.

"Anyway, I know most of the packs and clans around here and their leaders by default so I can let them know who's new into town, who might cause trouble, and who would be good for them to try and absorb into their respective groups. With you though, you seemed to escape my radar until as of late so I wasn't sure what to do but now that everything seems to be working out, I guess we can work together?" Alex nodded in affirmative at this point.

"Alright then, I'd like to introduce you to the leaders of the largest groups of changelings and shifters that I know. For the most part, I think they would go along with what you have planned and maybe even help out with setting the place up. You know, once the building has been repaired and all. Plus I think that some of the wolves might even want to do some of their own prowling around just to make sure none of the others try to mess with the place. While I don't think anyone would outright sabotage your place, I wouldn't place a bet on it."

"Alright, I see what you are trying to say but here's my question; are any of these people going to go out of their way to try and blackball me into bowing down to them just for the sake of saying who's in control or not?" Alex didn't want to say it but he knew better than to let it be unsaid, after all.

"On that, I would say no, at least with the wolves and the dragon-kins and maybe even some of the sorcerers. I know the heads of the largest groups personally and they are all good people; one of the wolf packs have a female who's really wise but getting on in her years so she'd be the one to talk to keep the others in line. As for the other pack, the guy in charge is someone you wouldn't think about as being an alpha but has a serious no nonsense policy that he enforces with fangs and claws and has had to only implement three times in the last four years. I'll let you think about that." David said as he grabbed his fork and then dug into his cooling fish.

Alex let all the new information spin around into his head for several minutes before his stomach made itself known and he grabbed his fork to begin eating his already cool steak. Thankfully, being a wolf meant that cold meat was just the same as warm meat, especially since it was slightly bleeding and the juices dribbled down onto his tongue and throat with relish upon the first bite.

Dinner turned into a pleasant affair after that as neither man wanted to let the thoughts of what was to come bother the taste of their meal as wolf and Dryad ate in silence. Outside the rain had started again from where it had left off this morning and soon the world beyond the window was turned into a dismal gray landscape fit only for water elementals. Alex turned his head to watch as people ran down the streets while others drove in whatever vehicles they were seated in and wondered how many of them were shifters and changelings who would be frequenting his center to try and find their place in the world.

"Hey, don't look so discouraged." Alex turned back to look at David and then to the dryad's half finished salad bowl and the empty place where his fillet had once been. "I'll take you over to see some of the others tomorrow if you want and then you can see for yourself if what you want will really be worth the effort."

"Thanks, but you better make it Sunday because I'm working with my contractor on building repair on Saturday." Alex said as he finished munching on one of his steaks and then went for the other.

"That's really surprising. I didn't figure you'd find anyone to work on so quickly."

"Life dream and all. Believe me; I've been thinking about this so long that I can hardly see myself doing anything else with the rest of my life." Alex looked in David's blue orbs and tried to convey just how much this all meant to him.

"Don't worry," David reached over and rubbed a finger against the wolf shifter's neck, right on the side of his Adam's apple. "We'll make this work."

"You know, you haven't told me exactly what's in this for you. You don't seem like the altruistic type to me, not saying you aren't but well..." Alex left his words open in the air and received a smile from the other man for his troubles.

"You'd be right, but while I'm not without my own wants and needs...I do want to help those that I can out as much as I can. It may sound like a come on but I really do think what you are doing is wonderful, Alex." David pulled his hand away again after this.

"T-thanks...does this mean that you aren't going to try to seduce me anymore?" Alex asked while sticking out his tongue childishly to break the mood before plopping a large piece of cow meat into his mouth..

"Oh hell no, I was planning to offer you a ride to my place as soon as we finished eating since it's raining so hard out and I don't think you want me at yours." Once again a foot was caressing the line of Alex's crotch but instead of being incensed about it, Alex grunted and spread his legs enough to allow said foot to nestle right into the grove of his thighs.

"I'll have to take a rain check on that but if you could; I would like it if you and I went out like this again, after business with the clans and everything has passed."

"Of course. Maybe back here again, this place isn't so bad." David looked down at his finished food and wondered if he should order something else.

"Hmm, how about somewhere else? I think I'd like a change in scenery at this point."

"Well, ok. I think there's a nice vegetarian place down on...what's that look for?" David tried not to laugh as Alex glared at him pointedly.

"I'm going to ignore that one, but say this much; if you every try to get me to eat anything all green in this life, you'll find my fangs in your ass, oh forest spirit."

"Ohhhh, is that a promise or a threat? I'm not sure."

Alex growled and bared his fangs at the other man to show him just how serious he was but it didn't seem to have the proper affect as David smirked at him and then moved his foot around underneath the table with a greater intensity before pulling back.

"How nice to know..." David chuckled and then reached over to grab his half finished wine.

The rest of dinner turned into a polite banter as the music of the rain highlighted the rest of the evening.

Once Alex and David decided that it was time to go, both paid for the other's meals and left a respectful tip for the waiter that had the human offering them a complimentary dessert for their dinner. After getting a bag for their twin slices of cherry and vanilla cream cheesecake, the dryad took the wolf back to his apartment in the sleek black four-door he had parked out front, to which Alex found he liked more than he would have through, but that might have had to do with the smell of herbs perfuming the interior which served to excite his own nature more than the drive home.

Letting David drop him off in front of his building, Alex got out and went over to the driver's side. Rolling down the window, Alex stuck his head into the car and licked David across the face in true canine fashion before roughly nibbling on the other's ear and promising to call him Sunday.

Alex pulled back to stand fully underneath the rain before turning and dashing into his building, cheesecake in hand, to leave a flabbergasted dryad behind him who had to fight with his own arousal that wanted to root itself inside of a certain wolf's cute behind. Cursing his luck and rolling up his window, while trying not to mind the water soaking into everything on his left side, David drove home while planning for a very long shower and to make a few phone calls... once he was... relaxed enough to think above the blood rushing down south of his body.