from you. If they suspect you are a doormat, they will not hesitate to take advantage of you.” He cast his eyes to the woods. “You need to make sure they know you’re the alpha, and a friend.”
“I’m sure they already know who their alpha is,” I muttered.
Konstantin smiled but didn’t say anything. Instead, he brought his fingers up to his lips and whistled loudly.
The furry head stepped out from the bush and—
I stepped back. “It’s bloody huge.”
No wonder I had suspected they were bears or wolves. Before me stood the largest dog I had ever seen. I was tall, but the dog easily surpassed my hip, his nose high enough to reach my neck if he so pleased. He had near-black fur, with the exception of lighter brown patches around his nose and paws.
“They’re bear-killers,” Konstantin said. “Or more commonly known as Caucasian Shepherd Dogs.”
The huge dog stepped closer to me, his dark eyes trained on the treats in my hand. I gripped them tighter on instinct. If he went for them, he could probably take my whole arm with him.
Konstantin stood beside me, his presence momentarily distracting me from the dog. “They guard the estate and its inhabitants. They will guard you too—if you prove yourself.”
“And by prove myself, you mean feed them some chicken-flavored candies?”
“Beef flavor. They don’t care much for chicken.”
I cut him a look. He looked strangely comfortable in this garden, despite being dressed in a thousand-dollar suit with shoes cleaner and more expensive than anything I had ever gotten near. Konstantin felt my stare and looked down at me.
I suddenly realized how much taller than I he was.
I had always been taller than most people I met. I had stopped growing at 5’10, much to my family’s chagrin. My height, which I got from the men in the family, had made me able to subconsciously (or consciously) patronize those shorter than me. And if there was one thing men in my family hated, it was being patronized; after all, they couldn’t have any competition.
“Why do you have such a strange look on your face?” he inquired. His eyes darted down to the words along my arms and hands, like they might provide a clue to what was happening inside my head.
“None of your business,” I said.
Konstantin’s eyebrows rose. I doubted anyone had used a tone like that on him in a long while—or ever. “Oh, is that so?” He turned to the dog. “You are welcomed to your secrets, Mrs Falcone. Even if your manners are atrocious.”
No one had ever allowed me to have my secrets. I had them, nursed them and watered them, but it was another piece of me my family and husband were expected to have ownership over.
“Elena,” I said before any other thought could form in my mind.
“Elena?” he repeated, his accent caressing the syllables so intimately that I almost forgot the rest of my sentence.
I pulled myself together, straightening my back and meeting his eyes head on. “I would prefer to be called Elena. I hated being a Falcone and I hate being called Mrs Falcone.”
“Of course…Elena.” The way he said my name made me regret my decision. He made it sound as if we were friends, when we certainly were not.
Being so close to him, looking up at him—I didn’t like it.
To try and dampen the strange quickening of my heart, I changed the subject and asked, “Do I hold my hand out?”
“He is not an alpaca,” said Konstantin. “Throw him a treat or else the others will miss out.”
As he said the words, the shadows of the woods shifted and out stepped more dogs. They bunched together like a pack of wolves, dark eyes trained on Konstantin and me. Some even came up to their master for a scratch and lick, but the alluring smell of their treats meant their attention came back to me pretty quickly.
One dog buried his nose in my stomach, the wet smell of him causing me to scrunch up my face.
“Tell them to back off, Elena,” Konstantin reminded me.
“I got it.” I gently shoved at the giant’s face. “Down, down.”
That command made him step back slightly but not enough to give me any real personal space.
I took one treat and threw it to one of the dogs furthest away. They clustered around the lucky one, but he swallowed the treat before they could get to it, tail wagging so fast it scraped some of the bushes beneath it into new positions.