“What’s up?” she asked, looking at Rachel,
who was still bent over looking in the fridge.
“Do you think I can feed him leftover
steak?”
“I’m pretty sure people food is bad for
dogs. We can pick up some dog food for him in the morning. He’ll be
fine overnight.”
Yep, she was mad at me. That was okay. I
could wait her out.
She sat at the kitchen table, pulled her
legs up, and wrapped her arms around her knees. The position made
her look lost, alone, and scared. I wanted to shift and hold her,
but I knew I was the cause of her concern. Only time would reassure
her that I had no intention to mess with her big plans. I just
wanted to be with her, and hopefully, one day, take care of her as
a Mate would.
Her stomach growled, and I felt a moment of
frustration. I couldn’t take care of her like this, though.
“But dinner does sound good,” Gabby said. “I
should have thought of groceries while we were shopping.”
Groceries meant food. I should be able to
provide that for her. Yet, I’d watched the humans enough to know my
skills wouldn’t help much. I needed a way to earn money. I knew
human’s had jobs. Charlene, Thomas’ Mate, was big on the werewolves
going out and getting jobs to help support the werewolf community.
That was one of the many reasons my father had chosen to live away
from the pack.
Gabby and Rachel’s conversation faded as I
considered my options. I had the paperwork I needed in order to get
a job. But I didn’t think that would be enough. Though I’d studied
humans from a distance, I wasn’t sure I knew how to be human.
Gabby stood, drawing my attention as she
went to a cupboard. I lay down, rested my head on my paws, and
watched. I was here for her. I wanted to show her that a Mate was
an asset, but she was right. We didn’t know each other. How could I
prove I was what she needed when I didn’t have any idea what she
needed?
“What kind of movies do you like?” Rachel
asked.
The question caught my interest. I knew so
little about Gabby. And so did Rachel. I wanted to grin. That would
only help me.
“Action-comedy, I guess,” Gabby said. “I
don’t watch movies often.”
Rachel gave Gabby a plate, and I finally
noticed that hot pepperoni scented the air. My mouth started to
water. It’d been a while since I’d eaten.
“Let’s eat this in the living room and watch
a movie,” Rachel said.
I stood and moved toward the living room
before either of the girls took a step. If I was sneaky, maybe I
could steal a slice from Rachel’s plate without being noticed.
Rachel laughed behind me. “I think he’s
going to fit right in.”
I stretched out in front of the couch,
trying to take up as much room as possible so they would both need
to sit close to me. I wanted Gabby close because I’d missed her.
And, Rachel...well, I wanted her pizza. I wouldn’t take Gabby’s
food. She needed it.
Rachel picked out a movie, and I watched
closely as she fed it into the machine. Interesting. She picked up
a long piece of plastic and pushed one of the buttons on it. Then,
they stepped over me, one sitting at each end of the couch.
The screen came alive with color. Sure, I’d
seen a few TVs through windows. But after hearing the high pitch
squeal that the humans didn’t seem to hear, I’d decided it wasn’t
interesting. This was different. Being in the same room, being able
to hear the real life sounds along with the images, made it
interesting, and for a while, I forgot about the pizza. However,
when Gabby shifted positions and set her plate aside, my hunger
returned. I stared at the piece on her plate. I didn’t want to take
her food; but if she was full and offered it, I wouldn’t say
no.
“Just one bite?” Rachel asked, seeing the
direction of my attention.
“If he’s never eaten it before, he might
throw up. Are you willing to clean it up? I’m not.”
Yep, Gabby was still mad at me.
Rachel stuck out her bottom lip in a pout
but returned her attention to the movie. Gabby went back to
watching the movie as well. She sure had a cold heart. How long
would it take to thaw? What if it never did? No, it had to.
Hoping to distract myself from my negative
thoughts and my hunger, I tried to watch the movie as well.
However, movement from the corner of my eye caught my
attention.
I watched as Rachel tore bits of pizza from
the main slice, then nudged them to the edge of her plate. Going
for innocent, I nonchalantly turned my head and grabbed them with
my tongue. Rachel and I worked through a whole slice that way.
By the end of the movie, I was really
starting to like her.
“Fine,” Gabby said when the first credit
rolled. “Give him the steak.”
Steak? My mouth watered in earnest. Rachel
cheered and hopped off the couch, but I didn’t follow her when she
called to me. I turned and looked back at Gabby.
“Your choice, bud. Not mine,” she
whispered.
What was my choice? To follow Rachel, a
person willing to feed me, or stay by Gabby so she could glare at
me while I starved? Starving almost seemed like a valid option when
I thought of it like that. But, I stood and walked to the kitchen.
Let her think she was pushing me away. I was just biding my time
and gathering my energy. She had to sleep eventually.
Rachel already had the steak out when I
walked into the kitchen.
“I’ll warm it up for you,” she said with a
pat to my head. I didn’t like all the touching and patting but if
it meant steak, I’d put up with it.
A moment later, I heard Gabby stand and walk
our way.
“Thanks for the shopping and movie, Rachel.
And the leftovers. You’ve made this feel like home in less than a
day.”
Her words and sad smile twisted my heart.
Did she want a real home as much as I did?
“But I’m beat and going to bed. See you in
the morning.”
She walked away but looked back at me. It
gave me hope. I held her gaze for a heartbeat before she blushed
and hurried to her room.
Rachel pulled the plate from the microwave,
distracting me from my thoughts.
“Here you go, Clay,” she said, setting the
plate down. She’d cut it up into tiny pieces for me. Why couldn’t
Gabby be that nice? I sighed and bent my head to eat.
“What’s wrong? I bet you need something to
drink, too.” She moved to another cupboard while I wolfed down the
meat.
A bowl appeared next to my plate, and I
lifted my head to stare at it. When in my fur, I drank from streams
and puddles. It never bothered me before. But the idea of eating
out of dog bowls in Gabby’s home soured the meat in my belly. At
least she wasn’t awake to witness it. I dipped my head and
drank.
Rachel puttered around the kitchen behind
me, adding water to a machine on the counter and setting some kind
of clock on it. Thirst quenched, I watched as she opened a tin of
coffee grounds. The scent brought me back to the Compound and a
simpler life.
My father had raised me in the woods,
telling me it was far safer than the human world. After hunters
shot my mother, I’d known he’d only wanted to protect me. Yet, he’d
made my life harder because he’d hidden us away.
Anything I knew about humans I’d gleaned
from watching them or by interacting and learning from my kind at
the Compound. What I knew wasn’t enough to build a life with
Gabby.
I sat back on my haunches to watch Rachel.
She noticed my attention.
“Do you need to go out?” She moved to the
back door and opened it. “Here you go. Come on. Get going.”
She expected me to defecate on command?
Humiliating.
I stood and stiffly walked outside,
reminding myself that to her I was a dog. My pride could handle the
bruising. I went outside, checked on my hole under the bush, then
ran a block away to relieve myself. The human ways were already
getting to my head. I couldn’t do anything in the yard Gabby walked
in. It just wasn’t right.
Rachel stood on the back deck, watching for
me when I returned.
“I thought you took off on me,” she
said.
I harrumphed. She kicked me out then worried
I wouldn’t come back? She didn’t make sense.
She stood aside and let me in, then locked
the door behind us. I trotted ahead to the living room and eyed
Gabby’s closed door. I could wait until Rachel went to bed, then
shift and let myself in, but it would be better if an accomplice
took the blame for my unwanted invasion.
“Night, Clay,” Rachel said, moving to her
room.
I whined.
She stopped, backed up a step, and looked at
me. I sat near the end of the couch, staring at Gabby’s door.
“I don’t know, bud. She doesn’t seem to like
you much.”
I whined louder and inched closer to Gabby’s
door.
Rachel sighed. “If she gets mad, you’re
going to be the one out of a home.”
I stood and moved another foot toward
Gabby.
“All right, all right.” Rachel crossed the
room and opened the door for me. I slid by her and gently hopped up
on the end of the bed. Rachel eyed me for a minute, but I just
settled my head on my paws and closed my eyes.
She shook her head and closed the door. I
lifted my head and turned to look at Gabby. She slept peacefully
already, her steady breathing shallow and slow.
Breathing deeply of her scent, I set my head
on my paws again. I belonged beside her, but I knew not to push my
luck.
Gabby woke with a
stretch, her feet bumping against my ribs. She’d done that often
during the night, and I’d welcomed each nudge. Any contact was good
contact. Apparently not this morning, though.
She sat up abruptly and glared at me.
“No,” she whispered. “No dogs allowed on my
bed.”
I sighed, laid my head down, and closed my
eyes. I’d hoped for a nicer morning.
“Seriously, Clay. Don’t you think this is
just a little inappropriate?”
Not in the least.
“Fine.” She braced her hands on the
headboard and tried to use her feet to push me off the bed. I
opened one eye to watch her strain. I wanted to laugh at her
efforts but didn’t think she’d appreciate my humor.
She stopped and glared back at me. “If you
shed all over my comforter, I’m locking my door at night.” She got
out of bed. “With an eyehook.”
I lifted my head in surprise as she stomped
from the room. Her threat didn’t worry me. I could get past an
eyehook. No, my surprise was that she’d just openly accepted me
sleeping in the same bed. Granted, she’d been angry about it.
Still, it was a sign she was already coming around. I wanted to
grin and shout. Instead, I listened to Rachel ask if Gabby wanted
coffee.
I perked up, ready to catch Gabby’s
answer.
“No. I’m more of a milk or orange juice
person.”
I listened to Gabby join Rachel in the
kitchen. Should I join them? Had I given her enough time to cool
down?
“Going to work?” Gabby asked.
“Yep. Sorry to leave you on your own so
soon. I’ll be back around five. If you need anything, just call my
cell. If I don’t answer, leave a message, and I’ll get back to
you,” Rachel said. “Oh, when I went to bed, Clay whined at your
door, so I let him in. Hope that was okay...”
There was a notable pause. See, I thought to
Gabby. Rachel let me in. I hoped Gabby would let go of just a
little of her anger.
“Yeah, that’s fine,” Gabby said.
I could hear the lie in her words.
“Have you thought of taking him to a vet?”
Gabby asked.
I groaned and let my head drop to the bed,
missing Rachel’s answer. Going to the vet didn’t bother me; Gabby’s
stab at revenge did. I felt our connection and knew she did too.
How could she so completely ignore it?
“Talk to you tonight,” Rachel said.
The back door closed, and I listened to
Gabby walk toward me. I didn’t move, just watched the doorway for
her.
“First,” she said as soon as she appeared,
“I’d like to clarify that this does not qualify as getting to know
each other. Second, you smell like wet dog. If you want to continue
to sleep in my room, on my bed, you’ll let Rachel give you a bath
when she gets home.”
I snorted. As if I’d let another woman touch
me...more than she already had.
“Third, once I’m awake, you get out. I know
what you are, and I am not changing in front of you.”
I couldn’t hold back my grin on that one. I
hadn’t even given changing a thought.
Not willing to give her a reason to bar me
from her room, I hopped off the bed and gave her the privacy she
wanted. Sitting just outside her door, I listened to her move
around. Because of a rustling of material, I knew she made the bed.
The sound of drawers opening and a zipper told me she was dressing.
What would she want to do today now that we were alone? She
obviously had getting to know each other on her mind.
The door opened, and she froze when she saw
me.
“What are you doing?”
I thought it pretty obvious. Waiting.
She walked around me and went to the
kitchen. I followed her and watched her grab a key. She moved to
the door, and I trailed her. She stopped and looked at me.
“I’m going for a walk, and you’re staying
here,” she said.
We’d never get to know one another that way.
I growled my disagreement. There was no menace in it, but her scent
turned sour with fear, anyway.
“Please don’t do that. Unless you really
are
trying to scare me.”
Frustrated, I stopped making the sound.
“And don’t crab at me. I’m not the
unlicensed dog without a leash. Do you want me to talk Rachel into
buying a pink collar for you?”
Pink? Hell, yes. I chuckled, her threat only
reminding me of her swimsuit. Rather than have a standoff that
would only upset her more, I turned and walked into the living
room. I’d let her have a head start and then follow her.