My mind was running wild with paranoia. What if now that I'd painted him, I wouldn't dream of him anymore? Rushing into the room where my painting stood, I looked into his eyes and he was sad. I didn't notice that I had rendered him that way, but I guess I did.
Standing there staring at it, I thought of The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde. The Hollywood life force must be getting to me. I shook my head. It wasn't like the image was going to change for me. A part of me wanted to destroy it so my dream man would come back to haunt me, but another part was afraid if I did, he wouldn't come back. What would I do then?
"You, mister, are a menace." I tapped my finger along his jaw line, my temper building. Fucking nutty; that was what I was becoming.
I needed to get back to my normal life and forget about my handsome stalker.
Chapter Four
After I left Creed's place, I couldn't sleep. I'd spent the whole day working like a zombie and hoped I would make it through the night because I was exhausted. I needed to learn to calm my feelings and stay asleep long enough to get to know her.
I drove back home after a very long day. It was well past eight now, so I showered and ate something small. Picking up a book, I read War and Peace. It wasn't long before I passed out.
There she was, tears in her eyes just as before. This time, I got a little farther along before I lost my cool- not much, though. The next words out of her mouth after the "I hate you" was "Leave now".
The next three months, I got little to no sleep. I had to force myself to take mini naps throughout the day while I searched for her somehow. There was no way to know who she was because my dreams still hadn't progressed. My breaking point was coming soon- six months wasn't going to work for me. I would be lucky if I made it another day.
I had to meet with Hunter and his new Beta, Erik Smith and act as their backup. Someone who'd been involved in trying to kill off the Grey family had been spotted. I offered to be of any help I could be. It was fucked up that I had accidentally fallen asleep before I was to meet them. My assistant knocked on my door before coming in to get some documents, thinking I was somewhere else. When she saw me out cold on my couch in my office, she tapped on my shoulder. "Sir, you need to wake up. You have an appointment."
"Oh, shit," I shouted and jumped up, grabbing my suit jacket off my chair as I went out the door.
By the time I got there, they were both on edge and I was too exhausted for this. It didn't take long before the girl caved and confessed to just thinking she was making a prank call to Erik, who happened to be the Wolfe Creek sheriff. Hunter knew that she was not only a pawn, but also a potential target, so she was taken back to her parents' place where she would be under intense supervision and protection.
Needing to keep busy so I didn't pass out, I accepted Hunter's offer to go to his house and have dinner. It was a life-changing decision.
"I feel out of place," I said. It was very uncomfortable to watch these lovers look at each other with longing while I was standing there like a fifth wheel.
"You'll find her soon," Hunter's wife Cat said, patting my arm with a look of pure sincerity. I liked her. She was special and already made a big impact in their pack.
"I know where you're coming from," Hunter reassured me.
"Hell, we all do. I fell in love with Chloe, and I thought we weren't mates. I felt pain every day," Erik admitted. I didn't know that, but shit, he suffered longer than Hunter did. I hoped it didn't take that long or I'd be dead.
"Erik, that's why you wanted to quit, isn't it?" Hunter asked.
"Yeah, it was." Hunter patted Erik's shoulder as Erik carried Chloe to the door.
The moment they stepped out of the room, I turned toward the television. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. There she was on the screen in a towel as a man looks at her through the mirror. Hell no. "Who the fuck is she?"
Cat said, "I don't know her name." Then she shouted out for Chloe to come back. "Chloe, get your ass back here."
I was growling and howling. I couldn't breathe. She was an actress and half-naked on Hunter's huge screen for anyone to see.
"What's going on?" Chloe said.
"Chloe, what's her name?" Catherine asked.
"Oh, that's Evelyn Denney. She's a new actress."
"She's mine. How do I find her?" My eyes were wide and glowing. The Alpha wolf inside was demanding to be let out. I saw the scared look between the two women, and what happened next damn near ripped out my heart. Cat tried to pause the movie but it froze too late and her breasts were plastered all over the big-ass TV.
I knew I was going to lose it. Erik and Hunter looked worried that I was going to flip out. Erik was holding onto his wife like I'd hurt her for some reason. I was pissed, jealous, and hurt, but I wasn't a danger to any of them. My wolf was starting to break through my skin, and I could feel my hairs coming out. I rushed to the TV and ripped it off the damn wall, smashing it to the ground. Hunter came to me, Alpha to Alpha, and tried to calm me down.
Hitting up IMDB, Chloe searched her name. There wasn't much info on her because she was pretty new to the scene, but it gave us her hometown-Redwood City, California.
"Hunter, I'm sorry about the TV. I'll get you a new one soon, or bill me because I don't know how long it's going to take me to find her." I was still shaking, but I'd get some answers soon.
"I understand-just glad it was only the TV," Hunter said with a chuckle.
I turned to him and asked for a huge favor. "I'm really sorry, but I need you to do me a solid while I'm down there."
"Anything."
"Look in on my uncle in Redding." I was worried after what happened to him a few months back. He'd been shot in the head and damn near didn't survive. My uncle was like a father to me and the incident really shook me up.
Hunter gave me a nod then a gentle but stern reminder. "Remember, she needs to fall for you."
"Oh, she will." I was out the door and on my way to get my trip set up. Her anger was starting to make sense now.
Chapter Five
The dreams of him didn't go away after the first painting; they were back that night. His haunted eyes were etched in my head and I had memorized his face so well. My sketchbook was full of his beauty. The fight in my mind still wasn't clear. Even though the dream grew, it never got past my telling him to leave. It was so frustrating. I didn't understand how I could have the same dream over and over again- night after night.
I'd been dealing with so many sleepless nights that I became absentminded. I'd accidentally left my sketches and paintings out when my sister came to visit me and she reveled in teasing me. She pointed out how deliciously handsome he was and how she would love to meet him for herself.
She was lucky I didn't rip her pretty hair out. I was livid as all hell. Something about her wanting him was too much even though he was just a dream. Even though he never even spoke to me. I didn't know what he sounded like, but I felt like I knew him in my soul.
Once she left, I was back to my nightly fantasies of my hurting anger.
"Leave now," I cried.
"No," he grunted. I felt him get closer to me, invading my space and driving my heart nuts. My breathing was erratic as his head tilted and bent toward me.
Then I was jolted out of my dream, awake and in tears. "Damn it." This was getting out of control. Pulling out my sketchbook from under my pillow, I tossed it in the kitchen trash. I wanted sleep and this stupid fascination with a fake person was ruining my existence. I had a creative career that needed to flourish and it couldn't when I spent all day daydreaming of the beastly hot man. Pissed, I took a shower then climbed back into bed, hoping that tossing out the drawings would help me sleep. I closed my eyes and, this time, my sleep wasn't interrupted.
My cell had to be put on the charger because I was making calls left and right, looking for ways to find Evelyn before she went to bed with another man. Fuck if I was going to let that happen. The internet was a cache for all the information on her acting career, but nothing about her family and home. I found out she was working on a science fiction picture on a studio set in Hollywood, so my flight was booked for two hours from now.
Everything was packed in the back of my truck when Gage knocked at my door. He was Hunter's younger brother and Chloe's twin. Gage was our latest historian learning from my great-uncle, the eldest of the historians in our region.