The Daemon's Disguise (Sequel to He Was A Dog + previously Out There)

Out There (Sequel to He Was A Dog) - Chapter 2

Chapter 2:

Blue:

“Late again, India,” my boss drawled, looking at me from over half-moon spectacles. I could see egg in his moustache. Again. Yuck. There was something to be said about an unattractive man with his breakfast in his facial hair.

That he was gross.

“Traffic?” I tried, putting my bag down on my desk.

“I thought you walked to work?” he shot back, not looking up from the papers he was scanning through.

Git.

“Bloody cyclists!” I trilled, ducking out of the office and making my way towards the coffee machine down the corridor. Don’t get me wrong; I liked my job. Sure, my dad had helped me get it, and I didn’t like feeling indebted to him, but it paid my rent, and it made sure that Elijah didn’t want for anything.

I leaned against the wall, rubbing my forehead. I was waiting for painkillers to kick in and they weren’t working fast enough. How was one supposed to go to work with a hangover if one’s pain-relief didn’t want to work?

Add that to nearly getting hit by a car that morning thinking I’d seen him.

I wasn’t stupid. I knew that life had to go on without Bruno. Hell, my life had turned upside down since what had happened in the Realm. But that didn’t stop my brain from seeing him in the most random places. Most of the time, after a second, or even third glance, I could see that it wasn’t him.

It still hurt. It was still a raw, painful thought. The thought that it had all been a dream. That being said, I had pretty concrete proof that it hadn’t been completely made up – he was about three foot and obsessed with dinosaurs.

But sometimes…Sometimes I got hopeful. Hopeful that he was out there, vaguely remembering the girl who had pledged undying love to him.

Something that I didn’t do to every Tom, Dick and Harry, thank you very much, much to my boss’ disappointment (he seemed very put out when I told him that I wasn’t looking for love, thank you very much).

“Blue?”

I blinked, looking around. No-one had called me that since I’d come back from the Realm. It was like I left with a nickname and came back as India. Not that I had complained about it; the less I was reminded of Bruno, the better.

My eyes fell on a lanky figure; lean but muscular, wearing a nicely cut suit. With sparkly blue eyes. And floppy hair.

And a mark that matched the one burned into my wrist.

Well.

Guess I wouldn’t be getting that coffee alone.

“Blue?” Bruno barked again into his phone, sounding completely incredulous. “Of course I don’t want a blue suit; it’s black, or we’re not attending.”

I blinked, looking up at him, realising that he was completely unaware of my presence. It was then that my heart sunk and my eyes stung and I began to feel a wave of nausea wash over me. There were several things racing around my head, and in all honesty, this was probably more of a shock than actually finding out that Bruno was a wolf. But here he was.

Completely oblivious.

Completely oblivious and drinking my coffee.

I glowered, snatching the cup back furiously.

“Are you kidding me?” I snapped, glaring up at the slightly stunned figure. This had to be a joke. A dream. There was no way that this could be my Bruno. My Bruno would never, ever have had such a blatant disregard for other people, let alone me.