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.