It took longer than I'd intended to run off the steam from the evening's events, and it was close to dawn when I let myself back in. Standing there naked in the kitchen, I heard Gabby softly call my name and smiled.
I shifted, went to her room, and jumped onto the mattress. She exhaled when I lay on her cold, roaming feet.
"Thanks."
Yep. She needed me. I closed my eyes, content with that thought. Just as I started to drift off, she spoke.
"Hey, Clay. Wanna go get breakfast with me?"
Of course she wanted to go to breakfast after I'd stayed up all night. Not thinking clearly, I sighed and left the bed again.
"You could have said no," she said with a soft laugh.
I watched her get out of bed, grab clothes, and walk to the bathroom.
As I stared after her, a thought occurred to me. She wanted to go to breakfast with me. That meant a restaurant. Restaurants didn't allow dogs, which is how humans saw me. Did that mean she wanted me to be a man? I cursed to myself. I still didn't have any damn clothes.
Refusing to lose an opportunity, I trotted to the back door and sat to wait.
She didn't seem surprised to see me when she emerged.
"You up for a walk?" she quietly asked.
I still had fuzz between my ears because it took a minute to figure out what she was asking. Walk to breakfast or drive to breakfast. Before I could think of how to respond, she grabbed the leash, clipped it on, and then loosely wrapped it around my collar.
Curious as to why she wasn't holding her end, I looked over at her.
"What? I'm following the law...you're on a leash. Let's go."
She didn't fool me. She knew she didn't need to hold the leash because I wasn't a dog. She was starting to see me as more. The thought chased away my need for sleep, and I stepped outside with her and stood near as she locked up.
We walked in the direction of the campus, close to the same route I'd taken, only this time on the main road. Everything seemed a little quieter now. I listened to her breathing and steady heartbeat as I scanned the shadows. I wasn't worried about my kind as much as I was her kind.
We'd made it halfway to campus when I heard the faint scuff of shoes ahead.
"So what do you like for breakfast?" Gabby asked. "Oatmeal?"
I laughed as I scented the air. What was oatmeal? She smiled at me.
"Yeah, I was thinking you're more a steak and eggs kinda guy."
The faint musk of a man tickled my nose. Older. Not a threat.
"Who you talking to dar'lin?" he called as he stepped out from the shadows across the narrow street. His sudden appearance made Gabby's heart race.
"My dog," she called.
"Clay," she whispered. "Can you bark mean?"
She was afraid, and she was coming to me for safety. I grinned and barked as she asked.
"Damn," the man said, keeping pace with us on the opposite sidewalk. "That thing on a leash?"
"Yep, but there's no holding him back. I'm safer letting him go, or he'd just drag me along."
The man laughed. "I bet. Have a good morning." The man turned at the next corner to walk around the block.
"You trust that?" Gabby said as she stared in the direction the man had disappeared.
I grunted in annoyance. He was a human. Did she really think so little of my ability to protect her?
"Me neither," she said as if my grunt had been an agreement. "And thanks for warning me there was someone close by."
Her sarcasm wasn't lost on me, and I snorted.
I smelled the diner before I saw it. The scent of cooking meat set my mouth to salivating, and my stomach growled.
"Since they don't allow dogs, I'll go in and get our food for carryout," Gabby said when we reached the diner.
Sitting near the door as she went inside, I watched her. The place was empty except for a woman walking around the tables so I wasn't too worried.
The two spoke, and the woman wrote something down on a piece of paper that she then passed through a little window. Gabby remained inside for several minutes, until two white boxes appeared in the little window. The woman handed them to Gabby. Gabby turned, smiled at me through the door, and joined me outside.
I followed her to a long piece of cement in the parking lot. She sat down and set the boxes on the ground before her. Then, she opened one. The aroma teased me, but the small hunk of meat inside, which she proceeded to cut into tiny pieces, was a letdown. I could have eaten that thing in three bites.
She nudged the container in my direction as soon as she finished, and I just about inhaled the meat. I was starving. Rachel hadn't given me her leftovers last night, and I wasn't about to eat the dog food.
"I hope you're a slower eater when you're in your skin," Gabby said.
There was censure in her voice. I stopped and looked up at her. She immediately blushed and looked away.
"It's just that you eat faster than me. That's all."
No, there was something more. Did I shame her? Did she still think of me as an unkempt wild man? I bathed every day now.
Pushing aside my hunger, I ate slowly, savoring each bite as if it were my last. It could be if she didn't start seeing me as a man soon. When I finished, she offered me her leftovers, guilt souring her scent. I almost refused, but my commonsense outweighed my pride. I took care to eat slowly, though.
After she threw away the containers, we started back home. She remained quiet as we walked. The light scent of her continued guilt wasn't enough to hide another scent that suddenly gusted on a breeze.
I lifted my nose and inhaled. A male. Not human. A challenger? The Elders had acknowledged the tie I had to Gabby; there shouldn't be any challengers, yet. I knew the rules and understood I only had six months to win my Mate over before others of my kind started to challenge me. How much time had already passed? Three months since I first saw her? Maybe four? I still had a few months to try to win her over.
I growled low, a warning to the one who approached, and stopped walking. Gabby froze beside me.
"What is it, Clay?" she whispered. "What should I do?"
I couldn't let her fear distract me. I listened to the thump of the male's feet as it ran toward us.
I growled louder, angry at this pup's audacity, and tensed, ready for a fight. Gabby retreated a few more steps behind me. Good. She knew not to run.
The steady pounding of paws on the ground stopped as the challenger leapt toward us. This was no pup. I braced myself as my opponent flew from the darkness. He collided with me, and I snarled as I twisted away from his snapping teeth and dug in my feet. My claws grated against the pavement as we slid closer to Gabby.
When the other wolf pulled back to regain his footing, I saw an opening and took it. Lunging forward, I aimed for his face. His lip and nose ripped under my teeth, and his blood coated my tongue. My opponent cried out in pain, and I grunted in satisfaction and let go, giving him a chance to concede.
Instead of giving in, the mutt tensed, ready for more. I growled a low warning to let him know I wouldn't be so lenient again. He snarled in return and tried to circle me. Gabby moved with me, so I remained her shield.
She was worried and afraid. I was neither. I watched him closely, waiting.
"Hey!" Gabby yelled.
The other wolf's blue gaze shifted to Gabby as a light turned on in a nearby house.
"Whose dog is this? Someone help me get him off my dog!"
She didn't really think this was a normal dog, did she?
Another light went on in the house, and I lunged forward, taking advantage of the distraction. The other wolf dodged just in time, avoiding a second bite. The first bled freely, coloring his muzzle.
He swore at me, then lunged again. I turned so he caught me in the shoulder. The impact was harder than I'd expected, and it knocked me off balance for a moment. I went for his foreleg, exposing my neck. The other wolf grunted in pain as my teeth sank in.
As I'd anticipated, the mutt still went for the opening. His teeth clicked against the metal that studded my collar. The wolf growled, pulled back, and made to try again. I released him and backed away. Gabby shuffled back a step behind me.
As I moved, the damn leash uncoiled from its place under my collar. The other werewolf noticed, moved forward, and tried to step on the trailing end. I twisted sharply, flicking the end of it out of the way.
Someone whistled shrilly. "Duke! Come here, Duke."
"The noise has everyone waking up, whoever you are," Gabby said, proving that she understood this was a challenge. "You don't have enough time to finish this. It'd be better to leave now since Clay won't be able to chase you."
She knew I wouldn't leave her.
"Someone's going to call the police, and when they get here, they'll see a dog that's neither licensed nor leashed. You'll either have to change and expose yourself, or let them take you away thinking you're a dog."
He and I continued our slow circle.
The front door of the house closest to us opened, and a man shined a flashlight at us.
"Can you help me?" Gabby called to him.
I understood what she was doing but didn't like it. I could take care of this challenger on my own.
"Do you know whose dog this is? It came running at my dog from the direction of your backyard."
"It's not ours. Want me to call the police?" he yelled over the snarls and growls.
My opponent swore under his breath, turned, and sprinted for the darkness from where he'd come.
I watched the other wolf retreat. With his withdrawal, the challenger conceded. For now.
"Did you see what kind of dog it was?" the man called as he left the safety of his house to look at his side yard where the wolf had disappeared. He cautiously shined his flashlight to search for it, and I moved closer to Gabby.
Gabby didn't answer the man. Instead, she fell to her knees beside me and buried her face against my neck. My skin tingled. Did she have any idea what she did to me?
Then I felt her shaking as her hands roamed over my neck and head. She was worried and was checking for injuries, yet another sign of affection. She let out a shaky breath and leaned against me.
"Ma'am? You okay?"
The man pointed his flashlight at us but stayed near his house. Across the street, a door opened, distracting the man.
"They okay, Mike?"
Gabby lifted her head and met my gaze. "You okay?" she whispered.
I kissed her cheek, a long lick.
"Next time I'll just carry the leash," she said.
I noticed a sheen of tears before she turned away. She cared about me. I knew then that it was only a matter of time before she realized it, too.
"We're okay," she said as she stood. She kept a hand on my head. "The dog was as big as Clay here but had dark grey fur."
"Doesn't sound like any dog from this neighborhood, but I know there are some big dogs a few blocks away. Do you want me to call the cops?" The man started toward us.
She picked up my loose leash and nudged me. Her worry was getting stronger, which I thought odd. To quote her, it was just a human man.
"Nah. I think we're fine," she said, taking a step back.
I was studying the man and noticed a sudden change. His interest in Gabby had gone from concerned citizen to potential Mate. My temper flared, but I quickly smothered it. In the car yesterday, she'd said men acted weird around her. Rachel had claimed to notice it at the restaurant. Was this what they meant?
I continued to study both the man and Gabby. Gabby was beautiful. I couldn't argue against that. Yet, the man's reactions to every word and every move she made seemed too much, and it concerned me. If what she said was true, that men typically always acted like this around her, what really happened to her each day when she went to campus?
She assured the man we were fine and reluctantly gave him her phone number in case the police did come. When she turned away, I felt her unease and stuck close to her.
My poor Gabby. I wanted to reassure her that I wouldn't let the human bother her, but I didn't think she'd appreciate me shifting to my skin to tell her. She wasn't ready yet. Plus, the stress of the encounter with the challenger seemed to have left her shaken.
She looked around constantly. I did the same so she'd know I was still guarding her.
It wasn't until we were halfway home that I noticed there was something odd about her gaze. It was almost unfocused. I'd seen her deep in thought before, but this was different. It was as if she was looking at something I couldn't see, and that made me edgy.
Gradually, I noticed her steps began to lag. Her already pale face grew more so, and she wore a slight grimace as if the rising sun pained her.
It didn't take scenting her to know she was exhausted. I wanted to get her home, wrap her in my arms, and lay in bed with her. But it wasn't meant to be. As soon as we rounded the back of the house, I saw Rachel.
"There you are!"
Gabby's hand flew to my neck, and her heart skipped a beat.
"Nice morning for a walk," Rachel said, moving toward us, oblivious to the scare she'd just given Gabby.
As Rachel reached out to pet me, Gabby uncurled her fingers from my fur. She had quite a grip.
Rachel played with one of my ears, and I shook my head to get her to stop. The woman had no boundaries. She laughed and bent to kiss the top of my head. I caught Gabby's gaze and rolled my eyes at her.
She smiled slightly and seemed to relax. I'd hoped she would save me but ridding her of worry worked, too.
"I made a call this morning and can get Clay into the vet for his shots," Rachel said as she tugged the leash from Gabby's hand. "I figured after the way he acted last night, we should have him current...just in case."
Gabby stared at Rachel for a long moment, then her shocked gaze locked on me. Was she going to save me or did she still want revenge?
Panic flavored Gabby's scent as she looked back at Rachel.
"You okay, Gabby?" Rachel eyed Gabby with concern.
"Uh, I didn't budget for it," Gabby said.
"Don't worry. I can cover it for now, and you can pay me back."
"Let's all go."
I tilted my head, trying to figure out what Gabby might be thinking. She wasn't telling Rachel no, but she wasn't happy about sending me to the vet, either.
"No offense, Gabby, but you look like hell. I think you'd be better off with some quiet time. Don't worry; we'll be fine."
Rachel was right. Gabby looked like she hadn't slept at all. Worried about her, I nudged her toward the door just as Rachel tried to tug me toward the car. Rachel scolded me, but I ignored her. I nudged Gabby again.
"Would you mind giving him your standard pep talk? I don't know why he only listens to you. I'm the one that feeds him treats."
Except for last night, I thought. You let me starve.
Rachel handed Gabby the leash. Gabby rubbed her forehead and then bent to give me a hug.
"Is it safe for you?"
To go somewhere with Rachel? I snorted. The woman was a bit free with her hands, but I could handle her.
"I'm so sorry about this," Gabby said softly, her breath tickling my ear in the most pleasant way. "I'll need to call Sam and let him know what happened."
She was right. The Elders needed to know that there was a challenge before the six-month mark. I didn't want someone approaching Gabby when I wasn't around. Living with her like this was hard enough.
She straightened, looked me in the eye, and smoothed a hand over the fur on the top of my head.
"It's your choice," she said as she dropped the leash and stepped back.
I eyed Gabby and knew Rachel was right. She needed some rest. Maybe leaving with Rachel would give her that time. It would also get Rachel out of the house so Gabby could call Sam to tell him about the challenge. I sighed then followed Rachel to the car door.
"The control you have over him is weird but cool," Rachel said as she waited for me to get all the way in.
"Yeah. Just don't be gone too long. He'll get upset."
"The vet's just a few minutes from here. We should be back soon." She climbed behind the wheel, closed the door, and rolled down her window.
Because of the open window, I smelled Gabby's wave of panic a second before it showed on her face.
"Just don't have him neutered! Or anything that involves blood or blood work. It's expensive, and I promised him he'd keep his jewels."
My jewels? I knew what that meant and couldn't stop from laughing. I definitely needed to leave now that I knew the direction of her thoughts.
"Maybe we should have the vet check his lungs," Rachel said. Her comment and worry did nothing to dampen my amusement.
"He's fine. Think cost," Gabby said from the deck as Rachel backed out of the driveway.
* * * *
Rachel pulled in front of a small brown building. As soon as she opened the back door, I smelled dog feces. Where had she brought me? I'd figured vet meant doctor but this had to be wrong.
"Come, boy. I bet you get treats inside."
Unless it was a medium rare burger, they could keep their treats. I heaved a sigh and hopped out of the back.
We walked to the door, which she opened to let me in. Inside, a man sat with his pit-bull. The thing took one look at me and started to whine. Good. The woman with the Chihuahua was another story. That little chew toy started yapping at me fiercely. The woman looked at me with disdain.
Go ahead...set the yapper down.
She held it close as she spoke to the woman behind the counter.
"Come on, Clay," Rachel said, tugging the leash to the bench opposite the pit-bull.
I followed and sat beside her once she positioned herself on the bench. Then, I watched. Once the yapper left, the woman came from behind the counter. She offered the pit-bull a treat to coax it onto the scale. It got another treat so it held still. And yet another treat to go into an exam room. I stared at the plaque on the door. Exam Room 1. I looked at the other door. Exam Room 2. I looked at the scale, the woman approaching with the treat, then Rachel as I realized what she'd done. She'd brought me to an animal doctor. How degrading.
I stood before the woman reached us and went to the scale. There, I stood still hoping she wouldn't try to feed me one of those dried cakes. It didn't smell bad. But I wasn't a dog and wasn't about to eat something humans fed to a dog.
"Wow. This is Clay, right? He's very well trained," the woman said, watching me.
She read the scale and made a note on a piece of paper.
"Yeah, we haven't had him for long. We don't know much about him, actually. Shots, age...it's all a mystery."
Shots? What the hell was she talking about?
"Well, we'll take a look and see what we can tell you. Let's go in here."
She opened the door to Exam Room 2. I ignored her treat and walked in.
"Hmm..." she said, watching me. "What does he eat at home?"
"Well, we bought him dog food, but he doesn't seem to like it. I've given him some cooked steak and other meat," Rachel said, her voice laced with guilt.
"Perhaps we can recommend a different dog food. Though dog foods do contain meat, they also contain other essential vitamins and minerals dogs need that they won't get from just eating steak."
This new woman needed to stop talking. I moved closer to Rachel, defending my sole food source.
The door, opposite the one we'd entered, opened. Another woman walked in.
"Good morning," she said, looking down at me. "My, you're a big one." She looked up at Rachel. "Shelly mentioned there are no records. Can you get him to jump up on the table?"
"Yeah, no records," Rachel said, standing. "I'm not sure he'll listen." Rachel looked at me and patted the low metal table.
"Come on, Clay. Up here."
The sooner I did what they wanted, the sooner we went back to Gabby, I reminded myself. I hopped up on the table and fought not to roll my eyes at the new woman's praise. She held out her hand. Did she really expect me to sniff her? I looked at Rachel. She smiled at me and nodded.
"It's okay, Clay. She's just going to look you over to make sure you're healthy."
I'm healthy.
Still, I turned back to the woman and pretended to sniff her. She praised me and offered me a biscuit. I turned away, but she kept trying until I took it in my mouth. Then I set it on the table between my feet.
"Has he been eating well?"
I'm eating fine, I thought as I listened to Rachel repeat her explanation. As she spoke, the woman ran a hand along my side, down my legs, then cupped my unmentionables. The move shocked me so much I froze in panic as she groped me.
"He's not neutered. Let's see if he'll let me look at his teeth."
Yes. Anything. Just please let go.
I endured a thorough exam of my mouth and ears. They talked shots, and I put up with a few pokes. Human medicine I might have to worry about, but I doubted animal medicine would cause any issues.
When the woman put on a rubber glove and asked Rachel to hold my head, I grew suspicious. The words "anal glands" sent a shock of panic through me. I jumped off the table and backed toward the door. What did they do to dogs here? That yappy Chihuahua made more sense. It had probably been screaming for help.
"Um, I think he's done cooperating for today," Rachel said slowly as she watched me.
The woman tried coaxing me with a variety of treats, even the lunchmeat from her sandwich, for the next several minutes before agreeing that I'd had enough. There was no bribe on the planet that would get me back up on that table.
"If you notice him scooting on the carpet, you should bring him back."
Not in her lifetime.
* * * *
Gabby waited on the porch when Rachel pulled past the corner of the house. I stayed as I was, lying on the backseat. After the indignities I'd suffered, I wasn't speaking to Rachel—not that I spoke to her before—and I wasn't yet sure how I felt about Gabby. Had she sent me to that place knowing what they wanted to do to me? She'd told Rachel not to let them unman me; she'd tried to protect me. Yet, she'd said nothing about the last procedure.
Rachel opened her door.
"How'd it go?" Gabby asked. I could hear her anxiety.
"He took it like a champ."
I shuddered at what more I might have taken if that woman would have had her way.
Rachel opened the back car door. Nauseous, I lifted my head and stood on shaky legs. When the pack spread information about the human world, no one had specifically mentioned vets as animal doctors. I considered contacting one of the Elders with a warning but didn't want to admit how I'd come by the knowledge.
Deep in thought, I slowly climbed the deck steps and moved to Gabby's side.
"What'd they do to him?" she asked.
Her worry broke my reverie.
"He wasn't acting like this when we left. I swear. I think he's hamming it up for you." Rachel patted my head with a laugh, and I realized, unless I wanted Gabby probing—I cringed at the use of the word—into what had happened, I needed to act normally.
I straightened and walked with purpose to the door. Gabby sighed, her relief obvious. I glanced at her and winked. She quickly looked at Rachel, but that woman was already in the house.
Gabby followed her in.
"So what shots did he get?" Gabby asked as she poured some orange juice. She took a small sip a little too casually, then glanced at me. I wished I knew what was going through her head. Moments like this made me yearn for her to stake her Claim. The connection it would give us...well, there'd be no doubt what she was thinking or feeling then.
"Just rabies. The vet had a hard time determining his age by his teeth, but thought him to be in his prime," Rachel said.
Gabby choked on her juice.
"That's great," she said in a raspy voice as she glanced at me.
I couldn't help the small smile that curled my lips because I knew she was thinking of me as a man in that moment, not the dog that I'd been treated like for the past hour.
"Hey, while I was waiting for him, Peter called."
Rachel had been waiting for me to come out of the corner—where I'd stayed until the woman with the plastic glove left—when her phone had chirped. I'd been too preoccupied to pay attention to her conversation.
"He said he had a good time last night and hoped Scott hadn't ruined his chance by coming on too strong. He's never seen Scott act in any way but smooth. He naturally thinks Scott's falling hard for you."
I stared at Rachel and considered biting her. She'd put me through enough today.
"I'm just repeating." She held up her hands with a laugh at Gabby. "Anyway, Peter said Scott's already been bugging him about getting your number to set up another date. Given what you told me, I said no, that last night was just a friendly get together and that you were seeing someone else."
Gabby and I both let out relieved sighs. Rachel noticed mine, though.
"You know, sometimes that dog creeps me out with how human he acts," Rachel said, shaking her head. "Anyway, I'm going to meet up with Peter for another try at a date. We're going to see a movie; and this time, I'm not asking you to come with." She had a huge smile on her face as she walked past us toward her room.
"Thankyou!" Gabby called to her.
****
This was probably my favorite chapter to write. You're welcome! :D