Rachel stepped aside and introduced Gabby, whose anxiety spiked a moment before it disappeared. The man met Gabby’s gaze, politely nodded, and went back to staring adoringly at Rachel.

I studied Gabby as she exhaled in relief. What had she expected from the man?

Rachel was saying something as she inched her way to the arch, but I didn’t really hear her words until she said, “Tell her about Scott.” I whipped my gaze to Rachel, who had already disappeared around the corner to her bedroom.

Beside me, Gabby’s fading anxiety flared with an edge toward panic. I glanced at the man, but he was still where he’d been, staring at the empty arch where Rachel had been, obviously infatuated with her. Who was Scott, and why the panic from Gabby?

Gabby made a small noise that drew Peter out of his daze.

He cleared his throat and looked at Gabby. She took a soft, deep breath. Nothing he could hear, but I did. She was trying to calm herself. I wished I understood what was upsetting her.

“Nice to meet you, Gabby.”

“You too,” she said, sounding normal. “Want to sit?”

She motioned him to the couch and took the chair for herself.

Continuing to observe her, I lay on the floor between them. As if sensing my attention, she glanced at me and then back up at the man.

“This is Clay,” she said.

I turned and found Peter staring at me.

“He’s huge,” he said.

“Yeah. So, who’s Scott?” Gabby said, asking what I wanted to know, too.

Peter looked back up at Gabby. “Oh, a friend of mine. He’s also in med school. We had plans to go to O’Donell’s tonight for dinner and a drink or two. Then, I ran into Rachel and invited her to join us. We thought it’d be more fun if you could come, too.”

A date meant meeting another man? Not happening. I looked to Gabby, waiting for her to say no, but Rachel came back into the room just then, dressed in a skirt so short I could see her underwear if I wanted to look.

“Of course you will, won’t you, Gabby?”

There was a silent exchange between the two that had both wearing a pleading look.

“Okay,” Gabby said slowly, giving in. “But I need to be home early enough to let Clay out.”

What? I was too stunned to react.

“I’m sure he’ll be fine for that little while.” Rachel waved her hand dismissively at me, and I made a choked noise. What had just happened?

“Go get dressed,” Rachel said, waving Gabby toward her room.

Gabby stood, ready to listen to Rachel, the short skirt queen. Gabby’s willingness finally broke my control. There was no way she was leaving with Rachel and love-boy to meet up with some other guy.

I stood and rushed to block Gabby from entering her room. She eyed me and tried to step around me, but I cut her off.

Rachel laughed. “Come here, Clay. Come here and let Gabby get ready.” She squatted down and patted her leg. She was lucky I didn’t have fingers at the moment.

Ignoring Rachel, I continued to block Gabby. She had to understand. I wasn’t okay with this.

“I’ve never seen him act like this,” Rachel said.

Because I’d never been this angry with her and Gabby. I almost bared my teeth. Only Gabby’s considering gaze kept me sane.

“I’m surprised you have such a wild looking dog,” the man said. “It seems too big compared to the house...and the two of you.”

Gabby shook her head ever so slightly and dropped to her knees in front of me. She wrapped her arms around my neck, hugging me. My pulse stuttered with her mouth so close to my neck. I forgot to breathe, but lack of air wasn’t what made my chest ache and my gut clench.

Bite me, I pleaded silently. Show them I’m yours and you’re mine.

Instead, she spoke softly near my ear.

“I’m not crazy about the idea either, but you have to let me go and stop acting weird.”

Have to? No. I didn’t have to.

She pulled back.

“Ready to be good, Clay?” She stood and scratched me behind the ear...just as a pet owner would do.

The pain in my chest grew worse, and I turned, went to her room, and jumped up on the end of her bed. She followed me in, closed the door, and folded her arms. An edge of anxiety lingered in her scent, warring with her growing anger.

“I am not changing in front of you.”

Exactly. I grinned at her and lay on the blanket. Her eyes narrowed on me for a moment, then she shrugged.

“Fine. I’ll change in the bathroom.”

She turned and pretended to study the clothes hanging in the closet. She was bluffing. She had to be. But why? Did she want me to be jealous? I already was. The idea of the hours she spent around men while on campus each day nearly drove me insane. She didn’t need to add a date. What did she have to prove? She already owned me. I was here, in the human world, trying to figure out how to blend into her life, trying to make us work. What more did she want from me?

Gabby reached for a skirt just as short as the one Rachel wore. Not in this lifetime. I growled.

“Zip it.” She grabbed some kind of silky top. It had more material than the skirt.

She really meant to go. I sat up and started to vent.

If you’re trying to make me jealous, it worked. Put it down. You’re not going anywhere, especially wearing any of that.

Of course, all she heard was barking. Still, it felt good to actually say something to her.

She spun toward me, her eyes wide with shock.

“What the hell, Clay? Cut it out.”

Like hell. You know you belong to me. I’m trying to be patient but this is asking too much. You can’t go to dinner with another man while feeding me dog food and making me drink out of a bowl.

Rachel burst in without knocking, and the man right behind her. I stood and yelled at both of them.

Get out and take your man-boy with you.

“What’s wrong?” Rachel asked, her gaze bouncing between me and Gabby.

As if she didn’t know. I growled and barked nonsense just because I was so pissed at the way things were turning out.

“Nothing,” Gabby said, yelling over me. “Just give me a few minutes to calm him down, okay?”

Calm me down? I stopped barking and glared at the three of them. Gabby walked toward me with the clothes still under one arm. I growled at them, and she faltered. A hint of fear drifted to me, and I immediately felt guilty.

“Uh, I’m not so sure you should do that right now,” Peter said.

I will jump off this bed and mark you if you don’t leave now.

“Enough,” Gabby said forcefully, her voice echoing in the small room.

I snapped my mouth closed but bared my teeth at the man.

Gabby gave me a hard look, then turned toward the pair.

“I’m fine. Thank you. Just give me a few minutes to change.”

Once they left, shutting the door behind them, Gabby closed her eyes and took a slow breath as if she were the angry one. I couldn’t believe it.

When she turned to look at me, I glared at her. Sure, I’d known she hadn’t wanted me here, but I thought she understood our connection. I hadn’t been searching for a Mate. I hadn’t wanted her any more than she’d wanted me. No, that wasn’t quite true. I’d never hoped for a Mate because I thought it impossible for someone like me. I had no pack, no family, no way to offer protection and safety other than with my teeth and claws. Just because I hadn’t hoped for a Mate didn’t mean I didn’t want one. I wanted her. Badly. Why couldn’t she see that?

“Will you bite me if I sit next to you, Clay?”

I snorted and the rest of my anger left me. She was just as lost as I was. I needed to remember that. I sat back down and waited.

“You know I don’t understand dog, right?”

Which was a good thing.

“It’d be so much easier if you just told me what was wrong.”

She finally turned to face me. When her gaze met mine, I saw the turmoil there. I’d done that. Regret pounded at me, and I wanted to shift so I could use my hand to cup her face and try to erase the mess of emotions sparking in her gaze. I wanted to kiss away any thought of meeting another man. How could she not know what was wrong? I sighed and nudged the clothes she still held.