Street Dogs ( Revising )

CHAPTER ONE





" There you are . "

The low pitched rasp of a voice registered in Rae Welshs mind and her too wide mouth twitched up into a welcoming smile as she glanced over her shoulder at the man now framed in her open to the dusky predusk night.

" Yep, You found me..In my own apartment . " She responded , her own voice laced with laughter aimed at him.

Tonight he'd left his midback length thinly dreaded up hair hanging loose around his face , she'd like to think he'd done it because he remembered that she liked them better down free but the wide rubber band that usually held them back was around his wrist , which meant he'd just removed it .

" Come on in . " She continued , turning back to finish the task of putting away the left overs from the lunch from hell with her totally dysfunctional family . " Oh , That's Paige . " She added when the movement of her friend appearing in the living room that joined to the kitchen here out of the corner of her eye . " Paige..Jax . "

" Oh wow , Hi . " Paige crooned as she stepped forward eagerly,her hand already stretched out to grasp his and putting an extra twist to her slender hips as well as a smile on her berry purple-red colored lips.

Without actually knowing why she did it Rae let a low rumble of a growl escape her convulsing throat , warning her friend to back off even as a snarl curved her upper lip back to reveal a flash of tooth .

She knew the second that Paige recognized the soft sound for what it was ..her kohl lined sapphire blue eyes widened briefly in her thin face then her smile deepened into a teasing one that was turned her way .

" So it's like that ? " She murmured , arching a perfectly plucked brow over one eye.

" It's not ' like ' anything . " Rae retorted sharply ,closing the fridge door with more force than she really needed to as she straightened up from her bent over position ,which she just now realized gave Jax a perfect view of her ass up in the air.

Then again maybe that was why he had major tent action going on in the loose pair of jeans he wore and when she noticed that a moist heat flooded the area between her thighs and she raised her now almost cinnamon hued eyes from his crotch , the tip of her tongue wetting her suddenly dry lips .

" Oooookay . " Paige drew out the lone word to make her point as well as to break the silence that filled the smallish apartment .

" Fight it out while I go grab someone that wants to meet you . " Jax stated before he disappeared , obviously going to rejoin the weekend barbeque party taking place in the fenced in yard residents of this apartment buidling shared ,which was in full swing by this time of pre-night.

" Really ,girlfriend..tell me all . " Her friend chirped.

Knowing that if he wanted it there would be another eager to please him female in his ever growing 'harem' made Rae even more on edge because he already had more than his share of female companionship whenever he wanted it , that it was her childhood friend made it even worse .

A hot blush crept up to stain her cheeks at that thought and she forced herself to take a couple of deep,calming breaths of air .

" Sorry . " She finally managed to force the word out.

" No you're not ,but it's okay . " Her friend taunted her with another one shouldered shrug. " Besides ,I don't blame you..that's one prime piece there . "

In response Rae lobbed a wine cooler in her direction ,she was actually startled when the other woman caught the thing without really trying to .

" And it is so not like what you're thinking . " She stated, turning to rest one denim clad hip against the counter top to talk to Paige,who she could see on the sectional in the adjoining room since there were no walls between the two.

" Well then maybe it should be ! " Came the retort as her friend rolled her eyes as if saying that Rae wasn't smart enough to see what was in front of herself . " Come on, Tell me that you haven't done the nasty with him already . "

Rae opened her mouth to deny it but then she snapped it shut so fast that she almost bit into her own tongue and her blush deepend to a lobster red shade as her lashes fanned out on her cheeks for the briefest of minutes .

" Well did you or didn't you have sex with my friend here ? "

Rae didn't recognize the sarcastic male voice and her eyes flew open again to find that Jax had returned with another man in tow..one whose eyes were almost identical to those she saw every morning in the mirror above the age yellowed sink in the bathroom.

" I don't think my sex life,or lack of one , is really your concern now is it ? " She demanded .

" Don't mind her , I think she's PMSing it right now . " Paige greeted ,frowning at her as she motioned for them to come into the hot box of an apartment .

" I am NOT PMSing ! " Rae snapped ,following the pair into the other room.

She was going to sit in the arm chair but Jax beat her to it but when she started past him to perch on the end of the sectional his hand shot out to enclose hers,drawing her toward him until his knees were on either side of her legs . "Just sit down. " He teased,tugging her down into his lap . " It's not like they don't know . "

" I'm Paige ,by the way . " She vaugely heard her friends introduction to the other man yet for some reason the words seemed so very far away .

" Derrick..Derrick Nash ." The older man responded ,shaking her friends slim hand gently , figuring that since they shared the sectional they should at least know each others names.

" So how do you know our man Jax ? "

Was it her imagination or was Jaxs hand sliding up her side to brush the very edge of her breast ? And her traitorous nipples were hardening in repsonse even as her breath hitched a bit in her throat...

What was wrong with her ?

The question teased at her brain but somehow never got as far as her hormones,who were sitting up and doing the happy-quiver dance just at this mans touch .

Maybe it was Jaxs fault , he alone seemed to bring out her inner ho..no one else had ever made her this aware of them and it bugged the shit out of her that she didn't just get up and sit on the spacious sectional ..it wasn't like he was holding her down.

And of course THOSE words brought a totally different picture to mind and she squirmed restlessly on his lap.

" Geez ,Get a room ! " Paige snarled in their direction before turning back to her companion on the larger sectional .

" There is a perfectly good room only a few dozen feet from us." Jax murmured,leaning up to whisper in her ear , his breath fanning her temple scant seconds before she felt the sting of his teeth against her neck ,making her melt into a warm puddle of goo against his broad chest ,no longer caring that they had an audience.

" I just met him actually , I was told to come with him to meet her. " The older mans reply to her friends question barely registered now that Jax had almost all of her attention .

" Looks like whoever tried to set you up with her really fucked up ,she's obviously interested in him . " Paige teased ,cocking her head slightly . " Besides ,She's not into the whole daddy scene . '

That made Rae pay attention and she sat bolt upright on Jaxs lap. " Paige ! " She scolded at the same time that the other man sat forward and he demanded to know who had told her friend that he was her father. " Wait..what did you just say ? " She questioned,her head swiveling to face him.

" I said I'm your father . " He repeated ,shoving his fingers through his mass of rich honey gold hair that was just begining to silver at the temples .

" Look, I don't know what you've been drinking bub,but my father is Kieth Welsh . " She returned ,wagging a finger in front of his gaze .

" Boo, The blood test that you agreed to do for Sonjas class..they found a match for your blood and it wasn't Kieth Welsh . " Jax stated , now sliding his arms around her waist to hold her in place . " But it matched Derricks perfectly ,he's your biological father ."

She wanted to deny what he was saying but all the facts were there..her sisters both had a variation of green eyes like their mother,they both had a different shade of dark hair while hers was a bright bronzey gold,they tanned easily and she..well she was ghostly peachy white..especially next to the cafe au lait color of Jaxs skin .

" How long have you known ? " She growled at her captor ,wishing that she could feel something other than numbness at this news.

" A couple days , I swear it . " He replied calmly,tightening his hold on her when she struggled to free herself. " But that's not all ,sweetie..you have cynanthrope blood in you . "

" I have..what ? " She muttered ,stilling in his arms and blinking up into his smokey grey green eyes.

" We can't do this right now ,son. " Derrick snarled ,glancing meaningfully toward Paige.

" She has to find out some time..you do trust her,don't you? " Jax questioned ,looking from Paige to Rae finally.

" Am I sick ? " She gasped ,thinking that that would explain her actions lately and both men laughed at what she'd said , like she'd told a joke. " I don't find that funny ! "

" It kind of is ,Boo. " He teased ,absently squeezing her hip . " Because as a people I guess were -dogs are kind of sick..well,maybe more like badly twisted ."

" Are we on some sort of hidden camera reality show ? " Rae demanded ,finally shrugging free of his arms and looking around for the cameras..not wondering how they would have been planted in her apartment since Jax was friends with the manager of the building. " There are no such things as were - dogs..or were-wolves,vampires, elves or unicorns before you decide to go that way. "

" No cameras Boo..and while I can't speak for unicorns the rest of us do exist . " Jax teased ,his slightly crooked smile once again turning the corners of his mouth up and his lone dimple flashed at the left corner of it. " We just don't let everyone know about us ,those normal people who do know about us have twisted things to suit their mind set and all of us supernatural beings are now considered as..well..monsters to be feared . "

" But now Paige and I know you exist ...How very exciting ." She murmured softly,once again trying to ease out of his embrace while sending her friend a ' these-men-are-crazy ' glance .

" She isn't going to believe you ,she doesn't know you well enough to trust you at your word. " The man claiming to be her father stated as he reach out to encircle Paiges wrist with one large hand to hold her in place . "Show them ..we have someone who can wipe their minds if we need to ."

Maybe she should have run as soon as she felt him release her ,instead she just leaped to her feet and when she noticed that Paige wasn't moving she spun around to face Jax again,backing up a couple steps when she saw that he ,too ,was on his feet.

But why the hell was he slowly removing his clothing in a too taunting strip tease and where was that sweet cinnamon and musk scent coming from ?

Like her friend she watched in silence as each inch of his smooth skin was exposed to the warm air in her apartment..He'd already begun to sweat,making his skin take on a gentle sheen that made it so much easier to watch as he stepped out of his silk boxers and stood up straight .

" Ain't no shame in his game is there ? " Paige whispered ,letting her gaze slide down his sculpted frame to where his arousal was for everyone to take note of..then his skin began to do an odd rippling motion and the briefest flash of pain filled his expression before he actually shimmered and..changed . " Holy shit ! "

Rae yelped in shock when she saw the large red nose pit bull that now stood where Jax had been seconds ago..the dog stood on wobbly legs,his sides heaving rapidly as if he were trying to catch his breath..then he shook himself and looked up at her alertly,his greyish green eyes challenging her gaze.

" Okay..That can't be Jax ." She challenged Derrick instead .

" Tell him to get you something that only he and you know where it is ." The older man replied with a half smile ,obviously impressed with the fact that she hadn't passed out yet .

" Easy..the belt to my robe . " She responded swiftly ,knowing that this dog couldn't know where it was..she didn't even know ..only Jax did.

Without hesitating the pit bull raced into her bedroom , barking for her to follow him..she hoped that's why he was barking anyway because she followed right on his tail , only to find said tail in the air while he tried to wriggle the rest of his body beneath her bed and when he backed out he held in his mouth the belt to her silk robe that had been MIA since the last night Jax had been here .

Which meant...

" Holy shit . " She whispered now , echoeing Paiges words even as her legs buckled and she sank down onto the edge of the bed . " Jax ? "

Slowly the dog moved forward ,his tail wagging a bit ,and he gently placed the belt in her palm before he sat down between her knees.

" Okay , I know I should be freaking out right now but I'm torn between slapping the shit out of you or patting your head for being a good boy ." She muttered ,studying the dog..Jax..whatever...whichever it was at the words good boy the dogs upper lip curved back into a canine smile . " But if you so much as hike a leg buster and all bets are off , I know how to roll up a newspaper . "

There was a shimmer in the air and Jax was back as himself ,naked as the day he'd been born and horny as a billy goat with the way he inched up her body so they lay on the bed , him atop her.

" You ever smack me with a newspaper and you'll get the spanking of a lifetime. " Jax warned with a slight scowl on his face .

" I might like that ." She returned , squirming beneath him to settle into a more comfortable position ,which ended up with him between her thighs ,his erection nudging at their apex .

" I'd rip you off of her if I didn't think she'd be the one snapping my throat open . " Derricks voice reminded her that they weren't alone and she glanced over Jaxs shoulder to find that the other man stood in the open doorway of her bedroom with Paige right behind him . " Let her up and get dressed son , I think we need to have a talk ."

That talk lasted almost three hours between her questions and those that her friend fired off about the cynanthropes ,and why her mother never told her that she wasn't Kieths daughter was the one of utmost importance to her..well that and if she'd be able to turn into a pit bull also .

" Not all of us are pits. " Derrick stated calmly ,finally answering the question she'd asked about a dozen times . " Some are shepherds ,Dobermans , Labradors , Ridgebacks ,Great Danes ,collies..I think we even know a couple of poodles." He'd been ticking the breeds off on his fingers as he said them and a glance toward Jax confirmed that they did indeed know some poodles . " And we don't even know that you can change form , some of the mongrels we know of never do , others get the ability when they reach a certain age..the females generally do when they come into their first heat cycle ."

" So the next time I call you a bitch it'll be the truth ? " Paige chortled and all three of them eyed her warily . " Oh come on ,It's actually quite funny."

" Whatever ." Rae shot back ,running a finger through her mussed hair now.

" You're taking this rather well ." Derrick stated ,letting his warm rust colored eyes sliding over her face .

" Do I have a choice in it ? " She responded with a shrug of one shoulder . " So do I have any other family I need to know about ? "