The sooner I did what they wanted, the sooner we went back to Gabby, I reminded myself. I hopped up on the table and fought not to roll my eyes at the new woman’s praise. She held out her hand. Did she really expect me to sniff her? I looked at Rachel. She smiled at me and nodded.

“It’s okay, Clay. She’s just going to look you over to make sure you’re healthy.”

I’m healthy.

Still, I turned back to the woman and pretended to sniff her. She praised me and offered me a biscuit. I turned away, but she kept trying until I took it in my mouth. Then I set it on the table between my feet.

“Has he been eating well?”

I’m eating fine, I thought as I listened to Rachel repeat her explanation. As she spoke, the woman ran a hand along my side, down my legs, then cupped my unmentionables. The move shocked me so much I froze in panic as she groped me.

“He’s not neutered. Let’s see if he’ll let me look at his teeth.”

Yes. Anything. Just please let go.

I endured a thorough exam of my mouth and ears. They talked shots, and I put up with a few pokes. Human medicine I might have to worry about, but I doubted animal medicine would cause any issues.

When the woman put on a rubber glove and asked Rachel to hold my head, I grew suspicious. The words “anal glands” sent a shock of panic through me. I jumped off the table and backed toward the door. What did they do to dogs here? That yappy Chihuahua made more sense. It had probably been screaming for help.

“Um, I think he’s done cooperating for today,” Rachel said slowly as she watched me.

The woman tried coaxing me with a variety of treats, even the lunchmeat from her sandwich, for the next several minutes before agreeing that I’d had enough. There was no bribe on the planet that would get me back up on that table.

“If you notice him scooting on the carpet, you should bring him back.”

Not in her lifetime.

Gabby waited on the porch when Rachel pulled past the corner of the house. I stayed as I was, lying on the backseat. After the indignities I’d suffered, I wasn’t speaking to Rachel—not that I spoke to her before—and I wasn’t yet sure how I felt about Gabby. Had she sent me to that place knowing what they wanted to do to me? She’d told Rachel not to let them unman me; she’d tried to protect me. Yet, she’d said nothing about the last procedure.

Rachel opened her door.

“How’d it go?” Gabby asked. I could hear her anxiety.

“He took it like a champ.”

I shuddered at what more I might have taken if that woman would have had her way.

Rachel opened the back car door. Nauseous, I lifted my head and stood on shaky legs. When the pack spread information about the human world, no one had specifically mentioned vets as animal doctors. I considered contacting one of the Elders with a warning but didn’t want to admit how I’d come by the knowledge.

Deep in thought, I slowly climbed the deck steps and moved to Gabby’s side.

“What’d they do to him?” she asked.

Her worry broke my reverie.

“He wasn’t acting like this when we left. I swear. I think he’s hamming it up for you.” Rachel patted my head with a laugh, and I realized, unless I wanted Gabby probing—I cringed at the use of the word—into what had happened, I needed to act normally.

I straightened and walked with purpose to the door. Gabby sighed, her relief obvious. I glanced at her and winked. She quickly looked at Rachel, but that woman was already in the house.

Gabby followed her in.

“So what shots did he get?” Gabby asked as she poured some orange juice. She took a small sip a little too casually, then glanced at me. I wished I knew what was going through her head. Moments like this made me yearn for her to stake her Claim. The connection it would give us...well, there’d be no doubt what she was thinking or feeling then.

“Just rabies. The vet had a hard time determining his age by his teeth, but thought him to be in his prime,” Rachel said.

Gabby choked on her juice.

“That’s great,” she said in a raspy voice as she glanced at me.

I couldn’t help the small smile that curled my lips because I knew she was thinking of me as a man in that moment, not the dog that I’d been treated like for the past hour.

“Hey, while I was waiting for him, Peter called.”

Rachel had been waiting for me to come out of the corner—where I’d stayed until the woman with the plastic glove left—when her phone had chirped. I’d been too preoccupied to pay attention to her conversation.

“He said he had a good time last night and hoped Scott hadn’t ruined his chance by coming on too strong. He’s never seen Scott act in any way but smooth. He naturally thinks Scott’s falling hard for you.”

I stared at Rachel and considered biting her. She’d put me through enough today.

“I’m just repeating.” She held up her hands with a laugh at Gabby. “Anyway, Peter said Scott’s already been bugging him about getting your number to set up another date. Given what you told me, I said no, that last night was just a friendly get together and that you were seeing someone else.”

Gabby and I both let out relieved sighs. Rachel noticed mine, though.

“You know, sometimes that dog creeps me out with how human he acts,” Rachel said, shaking her head. “Anyway, I’m going to meet up with Peter for another try at a date. We’re going to see a movie; and this time, I’m not asking you to come with.” She had a huge smile on her face as she walked past us toward her room.

“Thank you!” Gabby called to her.

Chapter 10

For the rest of the weekend, Gabby studied, and I stayed glued to her side. She didn’t talk about her call with Sam, and I kept quiet about the vet visit.

Monday, as soon as the house was empty, I left to roam the neighborhood. It was time to start acting like a human and gather some clothes for myself. A pair of socks pulled from a back porch, some worn and ratty boots pulled from a garage, a t-shirt pulled from a line. I picked things I knew weren’t likely to be missed. The pants were harder, but I finally found a pair dangling from the branches of a barren tree. The tree belonged to one of the houses closer to campus, one that tended to blare music late into the night. I looked around and, hoping no one was watching, shifted my hands and limbs just enough to climb the tree. Pants in my mouth, I jogged home.

By Tuesday evening, I had a set of clothes. With clothes, I could shift into my skin and get a job. I had some mechanical knowledge, thanks to the books Gabby brought me. Now, I needed to figure out who would hire me. Since Gabby found a car by reading the paper, I decided I would spend the next day looking at the paper to see if it had any information about jobs.

Wednesday morning, during the rush before she left for class, I watched Gabby race downstairs to throw in a load of laundry. I’d watched her do this countless times and already knew what dial to turn, what button to push, and what detergent to use.

As I sat on the steps watching her, I realized I couldn’t wear what I had. At least, not as they were. All of it smelled like someone else, and I knew how meticulous Gabby was about my scent. I’d need to wash everything.

Gabby raced back up the stairs and almost ran me over on her way out the door. As soon as her car left the driveway, I went out to the neighbor’s bush and brought my cache of clothes into the house. Then, I waited for the washer to finish.

In the privacy of the basement, I shifted into my skin and removed Gabby’s clothes from the washer. Then, I hesitated. I wanted to put them in the dryer for her. Would she thank me or would she want to know what I was doing down here in the first place? Uncertain, I set her wet things in the basket then loaded the washer with my items.

Once the machine started to fill with water, I shifted and went back upstairs. I’d started making myself a single sandwich every day from Gabby’s supplies while she was away at school. She hadn’t mentioned anything, so I figured it was okay to keep doing it. While I had my paws on the counter to get the bread, I heard an odd noise.