Must Be Canine

Chapter 7

Chapter 7

(Beau's POV)

"I hope you know that I hate you right now Ty." I groan, watching the 4 month old white and black Great Dane puppy gnaw on my black leather couch. Tyler is rolling on the ground in hysterics.

As soon as Tyler gave me the idea to get a dog, I went out searching. I wanted a big dog and came across an ad for Great Dane puppies. I went out and looked at the 10 week old puppies, but wasn't satisfied. Then the breeder showed me an older male that had been returned. I hadn't questioned why he had been returned at the time. He was white with black and grey patches all over his body. His ears were wrapped up in gauze. Apparently he was large for his age, according to the breeder. He was what I was looking for, so I brought him home. I was so caught up on getting a dog however, that I didn't even get any toys. Or supplies for that matter. So now Zeus the puppy has found everything in my room as fair game to eat or pee on. At a whopping 70 pounds, he's big enough to get ahold of anything he desires. Like the top cushion or my leather couch.

"Get off," I try to push him off the couch only for him to snap his jaw at me, his teeth showing. The action causes a sobering Tyler to laugh even harder. I growl back at the puppy. Both the puppy and Tyler's wolf whimper at the sign of dominance. The puppy hops off the couch and hides beneath the black coffee table. The action knocks over the can of soda that Tyler had put there. He begins laughing yet again.

"You and your dumb ideas," I mutter to Tyler as he pulls himself off the floor.

"Maybe if you weren't such an idiot, you would have remembered to buy a crate," he retorts.

"Then grab Zeus, we're going to Petsmart." I grab the keys off the table. Tyler pulls Zeus out from under the table and carries him like a baby. We walk past several pack members, all who "coo" or "aww" at the cute Dane puppy. If only they knew how monstrous he was when on the ground.

"Maybe getting a puppy was a good idea," Tyler says, watching all the girls play with Zeus. "You should let me borrow him sometimes. Walk him through the park, get some ladies," He nudges me with his elbow.

I shake my head at his playboy ways as we make our way out the house and into the garage. I look past all the slick black cars and head for my forest green Jeep. Tyler places Zeus in the back seat then hops into the passenger seat. "Will he be fine loose back there?"

I shrug. "I guess we'll find out." I get into the driver's seat and buckle up. I start the vehicle and quickly pull out of the garage, only to hear a stream of water drizzle onto the back seat. Tyler bites his knuckles to hold back his laugh while I groan.

Stupid idea. Stupid idea. Stupid idea.

(Emery's POV)

I push the blue cart through the isle of toys. So many toys, I think as I grab a stuffed squirrel to squeak it. The sound is soft, and the squeaker inside feels weak. They'd break this the first day.

I continue down the isle, heading straight for the dog food. I reach down to grab a 40 pound bag of Blue Buffalo. I heave it into the cart, the bar code side up.

I turn the cart to leave when I feel something wet and soft touch my leg. I look behind me to see a big Great Dane puppy. He looked to be about four to five months old. His ears were cropped and wrapped, so that they would stand upright in the future. He was a very pretty Harlequin, having the right amount of grey and black patches. Must be from a good breeder.

He's absent of any owner and of a collar. "Hi there, baby boy. Where's your parents?" He snorts, jumping up on me. "Oomf!" He's a lot heavier than I thought. He slobbers all over my face. I giggle and push him to the ground, wiping the slobber off my face with my hand. "Come on, Bud, let's find your parents." He stays with me as I wander around the store, lookig for his owner.

(Beau's POV)

Where did that demented puppy go?

While I asked for information from an employee, Tyler was responsible for watching Zeus. Zeus was sitting nice and peacefully in the crate, that was until he turned around to flirt with a blonde. That's when he turned around and the cart was empty of a dog. I couldn't even trust him for five minutes without him screwing up.

"Zeus! Where are you?" I whisper shout, trying to avoid any employees. An elderly couple gives me disapproving looks as I pass through the cat food isle. "Stupid, judgemental old people." I mumble once out of hearing range.

Terrible idea. This was a terrible idea. What person buys a puppy just to impress a girl? Me. I unfortunately admit. Why did I think a puppy would help me with my problems?

I turn into another isle and finally, FINALLY, find Zeus. Zeus with an older girl. Zeus with my mate. She is wearing a pair of torn jean shorts, a pink and black racer tank top, and a pair of black flip flops. Just seeing her revealing so much skin was getting me all hot and bothered. Emery had looped a grey leash around his neck, and he was willingly following her around. "Zeus." I breath out to the stubborn puppy. He doesn't even turn to look at me, he just looks up at Emery instead.

She turns around, eyes widen when she sees who it is. "Beau?"

"Oh hey, uh, Emery. Thanks for finding him." I scratch the back of my neck nervously. She must think I'm a stalker. She's not gonna wanna talk to me now. How will I ever get this mate bond to work?

"I didn't know you had a dog." She states, rubbing the top of Zeus's head. That's not what I was expecting her to say.

I was about to tell her that I had just gotten him when Tyler comes sliding around the corner. "Hey, I found..." He trails off, noticing Emery. He smirks. "Hey! It's Hawaiian shirt girl!" He points at her.

She rolls her eyes but ignores his comment. "He's gonna be well over 100 pounds. How old is he?" She pulls up his lips to reveal shiny white, but razor sharp little teeth.

"Four months." I state

"That's what I thought. When were his ears cropped?" She asks, touching the Zeus's gauze wrapped ears. What did she mean?

"Cropped?"

"His ears, they're cropped. Meaning, that cut a portion of his ears, stitched them up, and wrapped them up so they stand up right. Didn't you have them done?" She raises her eyebrows, expecting an answer.

"Well we just got him. I went to get a puppy, but I liked him a little better."

"Well he is a gorgeous harlequin, big too. He's definitely something to look at." She says.

"Yeah, thanks."

"What's a harlequin?" Tyler pipes up, a leather collar with huge spikes in his hand. I think I could see Zeus in that.

"Harlequin is his color. He's white with the black and grey markings. And I wouldn't get a collar like that for him." She advises, snatching the collar out of his hand. He's about to protest, but she narrows her eyes, stopping him in his tracks.

"Why? I think it suits him." I say.

"Until you have to grab his collar and forget about the spikes. Plus imagine having to lie down on this?" She explains.

"Yeah I guess that's not what we need then." I look across the vast wall of collars, unsure of what to get. There was just so many. I peek at Emery from the corner of my eye. She is watching me very carefully.

"You have no idea what to get, do you?" She asks, hands on her hips.

"Nope," "No" Tyler and I say at the same time.

She huffs. "Let me help, I know everything dog." She says, brushing past me to get a better look at the collars.

If only she knew.