The hours of the day from that morning till 5:30 were spent worrying about what to wear for this date. It angered her that she worried this whole time. When she asked the elusive radio station host where he plans to take her during their car ride back from the diner, he only said that it was a surprise.

How is she to determine what to wear if he won't share tidbits of information with her?

Five o’clock rolled around and after a vigorous workout, she had to change into another pair of pants and shirt. Nothing was different from this morning, except this time she let her shoulder-length burgundy locks dry after a good shower. It made her hair extra wavy at the ends, framing her jaws nice enough.

No matter how hard she tried to move her locks around her head, there was no way to appear any more feminine. Her muscles will always eat away at her femininity, but this timeline of beauty standards is a bit cruel to the individual, especially on women. Idonea remembered a time where what they call imperfections in the 90s were sought after hundreds of years ago. Even being muscular was sought after by the Vikings. She remembered training so hard with her mother to retain this habit and figure. She used to be referred to as a Flame-Haired Valkyrie in her younger years.

Now they scorn a woman too strong to be raped and used.

She rolled her eyes at the thought, jumping when she heard a knock at her door. Her yellow eyes looked up at the clock on the wall, frowning. It reads 5:15. Who would be knocking on my door? Her nose catches a whiff of cigarettes and the heavy perfume of a certain angry landlady. She kept the chain on just to creep it open, so keep Mrs. Rombart from thinking up something reckless.

"Mrs. Rombart…how can I help you?"

"I don't know why…but someone is waiting for you outside." Mrs. Rombart grumbled, pocketing what seemed to be a wad of cash in her cheetah print jacket.

Her gaze focused on her rummaging, thinking of a few reasons why the old lady was being discreet. The landlady was told not to disclose why she was trying to hide the cash or who it belonged to.

A bit of panic set in her immortal heart, thinking of all the enemies she had created from her past. Some civilizations have been long lost in waves. Any one of those people could be the one to seek her out and in this suspicious manner as well. Quickly she changed her thoughts when Mrs Rombart added. "A young handsome man asked me to get you. I don't know why he would waste his time with you…but if it means to get you out of my hair, I'll gladly do it again."

The old lady sniffled and clanked away. Her footsteps faded down the hallway.

Idonea sighs, this landlady's animosity knows no bounds. It wasn't like Idonea refused to pay the bills or even caused a scene. The only thing that Idonea has done wrong is shedding all around the apartment because of her wolf side. She'd relish the days when she used to be free from scrutiny and had her own property to crash at. If it wasn’t for her stupid pack rules, she might've never left.

So…annoying. Now that she no longer had to worry about her aggressive landlady, she unhooks the chain and walked right out, locking it right behind her. A certain bold male is waiting for her. Treading to the very first floor, then out the door, she recognized the silver MR2 and the very handsome owner that leaned against the vehicle with tattooed arms crossed. He changed down to a loose fitted teal t-shirt that showed off a bit of his pale cleavage. She could see chest hair and even his freckling formed around his exposed shoulder blade. Denim jeans that are baggy, black sneakers to accent his attire. He looked ready for a leisure walk and regarded her with such sweetness that matched his already intoxicating aroma. "Hello again, Idonea."

The wolf paused, intimidated by his beauty and his sweetness. This isn't fair. She gathered all of the annoyance from the altercation she had earlier, "Money doesn't solve everything…"

"True…" He cocked his head, his smile cute to display an innocent front. "But your landlady had to be dealt with…and this is the least violent solution, right?"

She approached the vehicle with a deep-seated scowl, not liking how correct he was, and wanted to hide away in the car to avoid any more time wasted. The sooner she can get these dates done and over with the better…

Already on the first date, this man is causing her trouble. He wasn't going to let her in on her own by opening the passenger door for her to enter. His chivalrous nature was annoying, but her heart ached for more of this kind of attention. Attention like this is hard to come by and she didn't know that she had been missing it for some time.

"Thanks…I guess…" She sat down on the passenger side, avoiding eye contact to control the bit of giddiness in her.

Good thing too, she would have noticed the playful little grin.

"My pleasure." He purred and she could smell a bit of mischief in his sweet scent. What is he planning?

He shut the door and got in on the other side, sitting in the driver's seat. He somehow fit his long legs into the MR2, starting the vehicle with the twist of the key.

The car's headlights popped up and lit the streets before it, and he U-turned it to go in a specific direction. Of course, he hasn't said where though.

The ride there started with silence. She'd watch out the window to keep her mind off their situation. As the skies darkened for the evening, with the sun hiding in the horizon and painting the skies purple and pink that was when he started to speak.

"About your landlady…I didn't mean to overstep. She wouldn't let me park there unless I paid her."

Sounds like an excuse. "She told me she was sent up to get me." Idonea challenged his statement, eyeing him fiercely. What is he trying to pull while lying? However, he doesn't smell like he was lying and the expression on his face proves it. So, she groaned. "Never mind me. Just in a bad mood."

"Hmm. Why does she hate you so much?" He finally asked, his body lazed while his fingers gripped the wheel tight. He even dropped the smile on his face.

"Not exactly me. Just dogs. She is determined that I have a dog in the apartment even though it's not allowed." Idonea shared this information, careful not to mention being a werewolf and turning into her wolf side to sleep at night. The shedding this woman is finding belongs to just Idonea. Unfortunately, she is sloppy in not making sure all her hair is picked up.

"Did you?" He asked, his cute little smile returning. He found this amusing for some reason.

"No. Just hair from me working with dogs a lot. It isn't abnormal, especially when I don't have a convenient washer and dryer…" She muttered; her half-truths came out of her so naturally that she started to believe it herself.

He hummed, checking her from the corner of his eye, then back at the road again. Even in this light, he looked extremely handsome.

How would his beautiful face look if he ever saw me as a wolf? Would he still smile? Or would fear take over and suddenly he isn't interested in me anymore?

She can't ever tell him. Not because of her own safety but the fact that it would hurt her to see that fear and disgust from someone with a kind deposition like him. This isn't her first rodeo with a human, the last human found out the hard way and betrayed her. Ever since then, she has kept her furry side a secret.

Speaking of fur… Her sharp eyes studied every part of the car, remembering that he was wearing a pelt like a cloak the first time they met. "Hey…do you wear your fur coat often?"

He blinked at the question, forcing a chuckle out, as if this was an awkward question for her to ask. "No…My family lives somewhere very cold and I wear them all the time there. It's…my favorite pelt cloak. Had it since b-I mean-I was a child."

Huh? She studied him close now, smelling that whiff of deception from him. He is hiding something about that coat. Is he worried that he might offend her by being a dog-person? Animal activists are big now and would more than likely faint if they saw that cloak. "Um…right. Well. What's it made of? Don't worry, I am no activist."

He coughs in his hand, shimmying in his driver's seat. A lot of nervous energy for a simple fur coat. He caves, "Seals."

"Oh. That's interesting. Are you perhaps descendants of Icelandic people?" She asked genuinely, scanning him from his blond head to his hands. Stories of people from Iceland were once Norse travelers that adopted the very secluded island. Wearing seal skins was just something they did to survive the winters. He didn't really have one specific heritage latched to his physical traits and his name had more of an Irish touch to it. His blond hair could easily be from any Eastern country. Those tribal tattoos on his arms tell a different story. She has dealt with enough Norse to know the symbols well. Many meant power to the individual. And many runes that could give the individual magic. Such ideas were silly to her now, but she was certainly a core believer in them back then. Idonea wore the mark of combat on her left breast.

"Heh, was it that obvious?" He chuckled then, quickly admitting that she was right to believe so. "My oldest relatives currently live in Iceland."

"Is that where you have been going for six months?" This question made this man all sad, with a puppy-like expression on his face. She felt bad for probing, opening her mouth to apologize.

"No. I reside on a different island." His sad face vanished into a brilliant smile. As if he was never offended in the first place.

The only other island she can think of is none other. " The UK?"

"Wrong again." He chuckled, suddenly finding amusement in their little guessing games.

She didn't like to be toyed with and started to pout. "Maybe you just don't want to admit that I am right…that way you protect the identities of your other lovers."

"My~! You sound more jealous than angry~!" He teased, laughing harder when she crossed her arms and pulled her face away in sheer annoyance. "Me having lovers is the biggest lie this place has ever pinned on me."

"And yet, with your looks alone, you can have any woman you want." Why me? Her brain wracked trying to get the answers out of their weird relationship.

"Hmm. I could but…barely any of those would be genuine. " Leas purred, using one hand to tap at his chest where the heart is. "And my heart is pining for someone in this car."

Her face twisted, his sappiness so sugar sweet that it started to taste sour. Her heart ached at the statement despite how cringy it sounded, and she felt herself burned for more of his attention. Even his sweet smell carried hints of lust laced into it, trying to entice her to fall for his charms. It is getting harder to tame the beast inside her which wants to climb on top of him and take him for a ride. So, to lessen the strength of his aroma, she rolled down her window, breathing in the outside air instead.

She scoffs, "So what makes this more genuine than any of your other relationships?"

"Easy. No one before would ever criticize me, wanting what I have, not what I am… You've not held back your statements once during our exchange. That makes you more beautiful than any woman I have ever met.”

Oh boy…the sweet talking. This human would never think so if he ever knew her secrets. The actual kind of creature that she is born to be is not romanticized in the slightest and this will only lead to a heart break if she becomes too truthful.

Her body ached for the attention, and she had to keep herself from imagining some of the more nefarious activities. Her face started to feel cold from all the wind blowing at it, cooling her raunchiness away hopefully.

There was another awkward silence but this time the handsome man came prepared. He turned the radio on, and the first song played was "Enjoy the Silence" by Depeche Mode. Idonea knew the song right away and nearly chortled at the appropriateness of this song. It is a beautiful song and she even caught herself humming along with the lyrics. She forgot that he was in the car with her all this time, blushing hard when the song ended, and he commented on her humming.

"Hm, like to hear you sing the words next time." His grin was a wily and playful one, and he smelled of want again.

"I wouldn't want to cause your ears to bleed."

Leas chuckled, the next song playing after some choice words between two radio station hosts blaring out of the speakers.

The ride was filled with music, and it lightened her mood enough, distracted her enough to not notice their next destination.