I looked around, trying to figure out how to stop this. In the houses closest to the fight, more lights burst on. In the house across the street, someone pushed back a curtain to peer out.
Behind me, I heard a shrill whistle. “Duke! Come here, Duke.”
The neighborhood was waking.
This time, the sudden interruption didn’t distract either of them. Both maintained focus on their opponent. This had to stop now before Clay got hurt.
“The noise has everyone waking up, whoever you are,” I said. “You don’t have enough time to finish this. It’d be better to leave now when Clay won’t be able to chase you. 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.”
The challenger continued his circling attack as if I hadn’t spoken.
The front door of the house closest to us opened and a man shined a flashlight at the fighting dogs, then at me.
“Can you help me?” I called, my voice purposely coming out high-pitched and fearful. “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.
I didn’t get a chance to answer. The grey werewolf broke away from the fight and bolted back into the darkness from where he’d come. Apparently, he had heard my warning.
Clay, panting heavily, stayed close to me and watched the other wolf retreat. The challenger conceded with his withdrawal. 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.
I let out a shaky, thankful laugh, knelt beside Clay, and wrapped my arms around his neck. My hands shook, the strain and fear taking their toll, as I ran my hands over the area around his collar. I didn’t find any injuries. Relieved, I leaned against him. He really was growing on me.
“Ma’am? You okay?”
The man pointed his flashlight at us but stayed near his house. Any closer and he’d feel the pull. I didn’t need to deal with any more problems. Across the street, a door opened, distracting the man.
“They okay, Mike?”
I lifted my head from Clay. “You okay?” I whispered.
He turned his head and licked my cheek, reassuring me.
“Next time I’ll just carry the leash,” I promised. My eyes watered. It had been too close. It would have only been a matter of time before the other wolf would have pinned him because of it.
“We’re okay,” I said as I stood. I kept a hand on Clay’s 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.
I picked up Clay’s loose leash and nudged him to get him moving.
“Nah. I think we’re fine,” I said taking a step back. Too late. The man had gotten close enough that the pull had him. I saw the interest in his eyes.
After a few moments reassuring him that neither of us had suffered injuries and that police involvement was no longer necessary, I grudgingly gave him my phone number just in case anyone had called the cops and they showed up. Clay remained quiet and unusually calm throughout the conversation.
Crisis averted, we hurried home. I didn’t talk. Instead, I concentrated on scanning with my second sight. I pushed to see further than ever before, and it drained me. My legs grew heavier with each step. I tried not to let it show.
While I scanned, so did Clay. His eyes missed nothing, and he constantly scented the air.
The sun cleared the surrounding rooftops, and its bright rays lit the sidewalk. My hurried walk degraded to a plodding step somewhere along the way, and it took us much longer to get home. No further sign of that weird light reappeared during the rest of the walk.
Because I watched my shuffling feet as we retraced our steps to the back door, I didn’t see Rachel standing on the porch.
“There you are!”
My hand flew to Clay’s thick mane at the same time my heart skipped a beat. The scare distracted me from my second sight, and it snapped closed at my loss of focus. I struggled to reopen it but a sudden pain in my head stopped my attempt. I’d done too much.
“Nice morning for a walk,” she said, moving toward us to pet Clay.
I unclenched my fingers from his fur, not wanting her to notice my death grip. She fingered one of his ears. He shook off her touch. She laughed and bent to kiss the top of his head. He endured the kiss but rolled his eyes at me. Some of my tension melted at their antics. He appeared more relaxed, too.
“I made a call this morning and can get him into the vet for his shots,” she said as she tugged the leash from my loose grasp. “I figured after the way he acted last night, we should have him current...just in case.”
It took a moment for what she said to click. My stunned gaze dropped to Clay. He calmly met my eyes, not giving any indication what he thought of her announcement. I looked back at Rachel. I didn’t know what to say.
“You okay, Gabby?” She looked at me with concern.
No. Not okay. What had started as a nice thank you breakfast for Clay had turned into a dog fight. And now she wanted to take him to the vet? He didn’t deserve that. Besides, after the attack, would he be willing to leave me? Wait. Could a vet figure out he wasn’t really a dog? I tried to contain my panic.
“Uh, I didn’t budget for it,” I blurted, hoping at the very least to put the visit off until I talked to Sam about the risks.
“Don’t worry.” Rachel untangled his leash. “I can cover it for now, and you can pay me back.”
“Let’s all go.” The words popped out of my mouth before I thought about it. What good would that do? Did I think I could block the vet from touching Clay? Rachel would definitely know something was up, then.
“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.” She tried to pull Clay toward the garage again, but he didn’t move with her.
Instead, he nudged me toward the back door, almost knocking me off balance. Rachel tugged on his leash and scolded him, but he ignored her and stayed focused on me.
“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.” She handed the leash over to me. I rubbed my forehead still unsure what he wanted me to do.
“Is it safe for you?” I breathed in his ear as I bent to give him a hug.
He snorted, which I took as a yes. Did he want me to stay here, then?
“I’m so sorry about this. I’ll need to call Sam and let him know what happened.”
I straightened, looked him in the eye, and smoothed the fur on his head. “It’s your choice.” I dropped the leash and stepped back.
He gave me a long look as Rachel moved to open the car door. He sighed then followed her.
“The control you have over him is weird but cool,” Rachel said as he jumped into the back seat.
Control? I didn’t have any control over him. He only listened when I threatened to kick him out of my room or leave him behind.
“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.
I couldn’t believe we were actually doing this. What did a vet usually check for? Shots...Age...Neuter... Crap, crap, crap! The engine roared to life.
“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.” Oh how I wished those words back when Clay started to make an odd coughing noise. I could only assume it was his version of laughter. I really needed to start filtering what I said.