Hope(less) (16 page)

“Clay?” I whispered in the dark wondering where he’d gone.  My
bedroom door creaked open and he jumped up on the mattress causing it to
bounce.  He settled on my feet, his heat immediately warming the bed.  “Thanks.”

Laying my head back down on the pillow, I burrowed deeper.  The
warm nights of summer, of sleeping with the window open, had retired for the
year.  Soon, going outside during the day would require a jacket.  I didn’t
really care for the cold.

I tried closing my eyes wanting to sleep longer, but they
popped back open on their own.  Clearly awake, I knew I should really get out
of bed and do something.  The thought made me cringe until inspiration struck. 
I owed Clay for last night.  This early, there’d be no one around outside,
especially with this first cold snap.  We needed to take advantage of the still
above freezing weather and do something together.  He’d like spending time
together.

“Hey, Clay,” I whispered again.  “Wanna go get breakfast
with me?”

With a sigh, he jumped down off the bed once more.  I
laughed softly and rolled out from under the covers.  “You could have said no.”

Grabbing my clothes, I tiptoed to the bathroom.  When I
stepped back out, fully dressed, Clay sat next to the back door waiting
patiently.  I glanced at the car keys debating.  Drive or walk?  Walking would
save money and I enjoyed it.

“You up for a walk?” I kept my voice low not wanting to wake
Rachel.

Walking outside before dawn would have given me the creeps if
I didn’t have him with me.  He looked like a beast.  Any sane person would keep
their distance.  When he didn’t move away, I clipped on his leash, loosely
looping it around his collar so I wouldn’t need to hold it.  He turned to me with
a questioning look.

“What?  I’m following the law… you’re on a leash.  Let’s
go.”

I opened the door and we soundlessly slipped outside.  As
expected, crisp air engulfed us, but the lack of wind made it tolerable.  After
pulling the hood up over my loose hair, I tucked my hands into the pockets of
my hoodie and stepped off the porch, suspiciously testing the air to see if my
breath clouded.  Clay trudged next to me still looking a little tired.

We walked away from the house in the direction of the campus
toward a small diner open all day, six days a week, closed Sundays.  Well known
on campus, Ma’s Kitchen served good cheap food for the perpetually broke
college kid.  With ten dollars in my pocket, I figured we could stuff ourselves
before walking back home.

The walk to campus offered an eclectic array of buildings. 
Businesses jumbled in with residences.  Some so close together their shadows
merged creating perfect places for hiding.  Clay’s calm presence allowed me to enjoy
the walk.

The sidewalks remained empty.  Streetlights buzzed
overhead.  The soft scrape of Clay’s nails on the pavement comforted me and I
filled my lungs with the cool air, relaxing.  Very few cars passed us as we
made our way from one pool of light to the next.  The quiet of the night
cocooned us.

We walked in companionable silence for a few minutes before
I spoke up.  “So what do you like for breakfast?  Oatmeal?” I teased.  He
laughed making me smile in return.  “Yeah, I was thinking you’re more a steak
and eggs kinda guy.”

“Who you talking to dar’lin?” a man called stepping out from
the shadows across the narrow street.  The suddenness of his appearance made my
heart race.  That he appeared just after I thought how well the shadows could
hide a person made me wonder.

Even though I considered this area safe, it paid to be
smart. “My dog,” I called back with ease immediately whispering to Clay asking
him to bark.  He obliged with a deep resonating woof that almost scared me. 
The sound bounced off the surrounding buildings.  I hoped it wouldn’t wake
anyone.

“Damn,” the man called back, keeping pace with us on the
opposite sidewalk.  “That thing on a leash?”

“Yep, but if he really wants to go, 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,” he called in
farewell before turning at the next corner to walk around the block.

“You trust that?” I asked Clay softly watching the man’s
retreating form as we continued.  Clay harrumphed.  “Me neither.  And thanks
for warning me there was someone close by,” I added sarcastically.  He made a
noise I interpreted between a snort and a laugh.

“Brat.”  I smiled down at him.

Night sounds began to fade, and I heard the occasional bird
call out, dawn still an hour away.  He continued to alertly pace at my side until
we reached the diner.  Judging from the empty parking lot, they didn’t get much
business this early.  Still, the air outside smelled delicious, like frying
breakfast sausage.  Beside me, Clay’s stomach rumbled.

“Since they don’t allow dogs, I’ll go in and get our food
carryout,” I said pulling open the door.  He obediently sat just outside the
glass door watching me.

When I entered, the waitress set down the basket of jellies
she’d been using to refill the jelly holders on the tables and moved to the
register.

“Morning,” she said with a chipper smile waiting for my
order.

Wow.  A people-person and a morning-person.  I smiled back weakly
and ordered.

I got our breakfast without trouble and brought it out to
Clay.  We sat together on the curb of the sidewalk in front of the building.  This
early the traffic crept along quietly keeping the illusion of solitude.

Opening his container, I started to cut up his steak,
shushing him when he laughed at me again.  He could laugh all he wanted.  He
usually ate so fast I worried he’d choke.  I set his container on the ground
for him when I finished.  He dug in making it hard to think of him as a man.

“I hope you’re a slower eater when you’re in your skin,” I commented
causing him to stop eating and look at me.

Too late, I realized how critical my comment had sounded.  I
tried to soften it.  “It’s just that you eat faster than me.  That’s all.”  It
sounded lame.

I felt even worse when he made an effort to eat slower.  Although,
he still finished first.  In an attempt to make up for my thoughtless comment,
I offered him the rest of my breakfast too.  When he finished, I threw our
containers away in the parking lot trash can.

We began the long walk back, each lost in our own thoughts. 
Well, I was lost in mine anyway.  I didn’t know what to say to take away the
sting of my criticism.  Why didn’t I think before I spoke to him?  I sometimes
forgot about the man beneath the fur and tended to just… talk, letting anything
flow from my mouth without much thought.  Sure, I may have meant what I said,
but I could have found a better, nicer, way to say it.  Maybe.

Distracted and dwelling on my own thoughts, I paid no attention
to my surroundings until Clay began to growl next to me.  My head snapped up in
surprise at his softly menacing sound.  Clay abruptly stopped walking.  His
head turned, looking between two houses to our left.  Dawn still hadn’t
lightened the sky so I saw nothing but shadows.

I closed my eyes and focused, depending on my other sight to
see what my eyes couldn’t.  The yellow-green sparks of the people in the houses
around us glowed softly.  To the left, closing in fast, a blue-grey light surged. 
I blinked at it, quickly checking Clay’s coloring.  Blue-grey compared to his
blue-green.  Another color variation.

Still in a residential area, the approaching light came at
us through people’s yards.

“What is it Clay?” I whispered taking a step back, confused. 
The colors I saw classified into werewolves, humans, and anomalies like Charlene
and I.  It moved too fast for a human.  So, a werewolf.

Clay remained alert to the other werewolf’s advance. 
Hearing more than I could.

“What should I do Clay?”  I tried not to panic, but I could
think of only one reason a werewolf would run at us like that.  It wanted to
challenge Clay.

If I walked away, it might think I rejected Clay’s claim. 
As much as I didn’t want to claim Clay, I didn’t want a tie to anyone else.  I’d
stay close to Clay and trust him to keep me safe.

Clay’s growl increased in volume.  I looked at the darkened
houses around us.  Perhaps I could use that to our advantage.

Clay tensed in front of me.  I took a few more steps back
stepping into the road, no more than five feet from Clay.  From the darkness
ahead, I faintly heard the rapid thud of its paws hitting the ground.  I
tracked its spark.  It sped forward closing in on us even though my eyes hadn’t
yet spotted anything.  The rhythmic sound of its paws striking the ground
suddenly stopped even though its spark continued toward us.

In that moment, an enormous object flew from the darkness toward
us, jumping the last twenty feet.  Its large body rivaled Clay for size.  I
scrambled back further while the newcomer’s dark grey fur and bright blue eyes burned
into my memory.

Clay braced himself.  Focused on each other, neither looked
my way.  The flying mass hit Clay hard, sending them skidding toward me as they
grappled, swiping claws and snapping jaws.  Clay let loose an aggressive snarl,
twisting, trying to keep his back legs under him.  His claws dug into the
asphalt, scrapping and scrabbling to slow their skid.

Eyes wide, I continued to maintain my view of the sparks,
watching for people, while watching the fight before me.

The challenger scuttled out of Clay’s reach, regaining his
own footing.  Clay lunged forward, using his teeth to clamp down on the other’s
muzzle, his sharp teeth ripping into the other werewolf’s tender flesh.  It yelped
loudly in pain.  They broke apart.  Clay continued to growl viciously.  The
challenger responded with his own snarl, but didn’t attempt another offense. 
Instead, he sidestepped looking for an opening.

I moved maintaining a small distance from both of them.

The noise escalated as they stalked each other.  The
challenger feinted toward Clay, lips drawn back and teeth parted.  Clay gave no
ground, carefully keeping himself between the newcomer and me while I tried to
stay out of the way.  The dogs in the neighborhood started to bark.  The
continued use of my sight began to strain me, but I saw a spark moving in a
nearby house.

Time to take the offensive.

“Hey!” I yelled loudly.

Clay didn’t jump, but the other werewolf did.  His bright
blue gaze flicked to me.  A light turned on in the house.

“Whose dog is this!  Get him off my dog!  Someone help me!” 
Another light went on in the house.

Clay took advantage of his opponent’s momentary distraction
and went for its throat.  The other wolf dodged the attack, but just barely.  Bleeding
freely from Clay’s first strike, red began to color its muzzle.

With a deep-throated bark, it lunged again refocusing its
efforts.  The lunge caught Clay in the shoulders almost knocking him off
balance.  Clay exposed his neck to bite his opponent’s front leg rather than
spin away leaving me unprotected.  The other wolf grunted in pain and went for
Clay’s neck.  Seeking to sink his teeth into flesh, he instead clicked against
the metal studding of Clay’s collar.  Letting loose his hold, Clay backed away
as did his limping adversary.

Clay’s leash unraveled from its coiled pile under his collar
and trailed behind him.  The other werewolf noticed it and moved forward
attempting to step on it and pin Clay in place.  Brown fur ruffled as Clay
twisted sharply to flip the leash out of the way.

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.

“The noise has everyone waking up, whoever you are,” I hissed. 
“You don’t have enough time to finish this.  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 purposefully coming
out high-pitched and fearful.  This had to stop now before Clay got hurt.  “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 back
to me 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.

“Did you see what kind of dog it was?” the man called
leaving the safety of his house to look at his side yard where the wolf had
disappeared.  He cautiously shined his flashlight searching for it.

In the relative quiet, the bird song increased as the sky
lightened from midnight blue.

I moved to Clay and knelt beside him on the sidewalk,
wrapping my arms around him.  My hands shook, the strain and fear taking their
toll.  The challenger conceded with his withdrawal.  For now.

Running my hands over his neck, which had the most potential
for injury, I found nothing.  Relieved, I leaned against him.  He really was
growing on me.

“Ma’am?  You okay?”  The man shined his flashlight at us
staying near his house.