While buttoning his shirt slowly, he looked up and met my wide gaze. I tried to calm down. Was he like a real canine? If he smelled my fear, would he attack? I’d been afraid since he’d changed into his fur, and he hadn’t attacked me then, so I supposed he wouldn’t now either.

My rational thoughts fled when he paced toward me with his hands in the pockets of his khakis. I tensed to bolt.

He removed one hand from a pocket and held it up, palm out, signaling I should wait. Right...

“My name is Samuel Riedel, but calling me Sam suits me just fine. I’m sorry for the scare, but showing you was the only way for you to believe.”

Believe I’m crazy? Done. I took a few steadying breaths before talking.

“Why did you show me? What do you want?” I fought hard to keep my breathing under control. My mind continued to race.

Sam smiled, turned, and walked toward a bench near the edge of the water. He sat and motioned for me to join him. A small noise of disbelief escaped me. He’d just changed into a dog large enough to pass for a pony. I stayed in the not yet dark shadows of the evergreens.

“You’re different, but not as different as I am,” he said, keeping himself turned so he could watch me.

He knew something about me? I fidgeted with the strap of my dark brown messenger bag. He could have the answers I needed to explain why I saw the lights in my head or why men acted so differently around me. The temptation of learning something, anything, rooted me. Yet there was also the possibility that he knew nothing of my gifts, that what he knew was something completely different from what I already knew.

“What do you mean I’m different?” I decided I had to be sure we were talking about the same thing before I could reveal anything more.

“You smell different. You’re not exactly human, but you’re not a werewolf either.”

Having him say “werewolf” aloud made everything I’d just witnessed surreal. How could werewolves be possible? How could I be possible? At least, I now knew I wasn’t a werewolf like him.

I still stood exactly where I’d been, yet I felt like the entire world had just changed while the crickets continued their night song.

“For clarification...no, I don’t need a full moon. No, I don’t eat raw meat, although I do enjoy medium-rare steak on occasion. And, no, silver bullets won’t kill me any better than regular ones will.” Sam chuckled while he moved over on the bench, making plenty of room, and patted the empty space invitingly. “You, dear, are not a werewolf,” he repeated.

I blinked at the absurdity of his invitation to sit with him.

“What do you want from me?” I asked, not bothering to acknowledge his invitation. I still didn’t understand why he’d shown me at all.

“You may not be a werewolf, but you are still special. How old are you?”

At five feet five inches, with a slight build and few curves to speak of, I looked young. The freckles sprinkling my nose didn’t help me look any older either.

“Sixteen,” I answered absently. “How exactly am I special?” I shifted my bag to the other shoulder.

“I was drawn to you. You have a certain scent that calls to my kind. I couldn’t name the smell for you other than to say it’s interesting, unlike anything else you’ve ever smelled.”

“Is that why guys don’t leave me alone?” What if I’d been born with more pheromones than the average person? I’d learned about them in biology. Pheromones attracted the opposite sex. It would explain the pull I had on men and why it’d grown stronger as I’d matured.

I couldn’t pin it on anything about me physically. I had straight, shoulder length ash blonde hair, a medium complexion, and hazel eyes like a million other girls. My nose fit my face well enough, neither too wide nor too long, and my mouth wasn’t so generous it’d give a guy dirty thoughts. No, it had nothing to do with my looks. Something else pulled them, and I wanted to understand what. Having extra pheromones didn’t explain the lights though.

“What do you mean? What guys?” He sat forward too quickly for my comfort.

I flinched back a step and eyed him warily. When he moved like that, he looked a lot younger than his grey hair and weathered skin indicated. So, although he kept his tone light, I remained cautious.

“Guys under sixty and boys over ten.”

“Well, you’re young and pretty, so I’m sure it’s not unusual for men to be attracted to you, dear.” He settled back with a laugh.

He’d said it easily and without inflection as if he’d made an observation and stated a fact, reaffirming the pull I had on men didn’t seem to affect him. Did that mean he didn’t know about my gift and might not understand? Part of me deflated a little. Should I try to explain it? If I smelled different to his kind, it might still relate to my gifts. Confiding in him might be worth the risk. Besides, he could hardly run around telling people that I had special abilities when he’d just turned into a wolf in front of me.

I took a step closer, partially forgetting caution.

“No, it’s more than that... A boy in school, extremely shy, picked on by jocks to the point of physical cruelty, nudged past those same jocks to wait by my locker to ask me on a date. A man shopping with two kids stopped me in the grocery store to ask if I’d consider dating an older man once I turned eighteen. The eighteen bit he threw in after my foster mom gasped in shock.” I inched closer, becoming more animated as I spoke, trying to make him understand. “When I turned him down, he went back by his kids, red-faced and told them that he’d just been asking for grandpa who wanted to date again. I knew that wasn’t true.” I paused a moment then added, “Those are just examples of what happens to me every day.”

Sam studied me for a moment.

“What’s your name, dear?”

“Gabrielle Winters. I prefer Gabby.”

“Well, Gabby, I don’t know why men act the way they do around you, but I’d like to help you figure it out. Few people would believe what I’ve shown you tonight, and I ask that you not try talking anyone into believing. I revealed myself to you because you’re special and worth the risk.”

He stood and approached me. With the pond reflecting dimly behind him and the warm breeze ruffling our hair, I knew that memories of this night would stay with me for a long time.

“There is so much about werewolves that you need to know. The first is that I’m not the only one.”

My heart sank. I didn’t like the sound of that.

“I’d like to meet your foster parents, and I’d like to get to know you better. I want to be there for you if you ever need anything.” He stuffed his hands into his pockets and rocked back on the heels of his brown-laced shoes while I considered his words.

“You said that I smelled good to your kind. Does that mean I’m going to be run down by other werewolves?” The prospect scared me, but I managed to keep any tremor from my voice.

“It’s unlikely, but precisely why I would like to be involved in your life. I can help guide your introduction to our world, so it’s not as scary as tonight.”

He waited quietly while I thought it over. I watched him closely. I liked that he maintained eye contact. It was a refreshing change since the majority of conversations with men occurred while they tried to discover, visually, what about me attracted them.

He offered me an opportunity. With his help, maybe I could find out the reason behind my abilities. And given his condition, I felt certain he’d be able to keep my secret if I decided to tell him about the lights. Could I trust him? Not blindly, but I could start small.

“I’m willing to get to know you better, but I’m not ready for you to meet my foster parents.” I wasn’t sure if I ever would be.

I wanted to protect Tim and Barb Newton from what could be a monster. They were the first set of foster parents I actually liked. But, if I wasn’t willing to bring him home, then just where would we get to know each other better? Dark nights in the park were out, and I had more brains than to suggest his place. He still scared me. Did I think he was going to hurt me? No...he had plenty of time to try to hurt me tonight and hadn’t, but I barely knew the man so anything was possible. Safety in numbers. Somewhere public. Then, I remembered he already knew I volunteered at the hospital thanks to our run in.