Clay's Hope

by Melissa Haag

  * * * *

  When Gabby woke Monday morning and started to dress for school, I tried to stop her. She was still weak. However, since Rachel had returned home late Sunday, I'd reverted to my fur. So my efforts were limited to what a dog would do and were easy for Gabby to ignore.

  On her way out the door, she patted me on my head and softly said, "Don't worry so much."

  How could I not? The rules had changed, and she still didn't know. Frustrated, I sat beside the door and listened to her car pull away. She had no idea just how much I did worry. Not only would she need to contend with human men but, possibly, werewolves, too.

  Thankfully, Rachel left soon after. I let myself out and ran my route to campus, scenting as I went.

  Though there were no signs of werewolves in the area, it didn't mean it would stay that way. I knew, as wolves, they wouldn't get too close, thanks to the security guards. But, what about as men?

  I watched the students walking around campus for several minutes then turned away. Gabby was right. I was worrying too much. The men who wanted to meet her didn't want to hurt her. They wanted to talk to her, convince her that they were a better match for her. It was the Mating challenges that were the danger to her. As long as the challengers approached me when she wasn't near, she would be fine.

  Back at the house, I dressed for work as usual and set out on the long walk. I expected someone to approach me then, but I arrived at the shop without incident.

  Dale had the orders laid out on his desk so I could choose what to work on. He no longer regulated me to general maintenance orders. Anything he had on his desk was up for grabs. I'd noticed he usually left the heavy jobs on the top. I didn't mind. He paid me more when I did those.

  I took the top order, found the keys for the car on the rack, then went to the lot to pull it into the right bay. Outside, a hint of something in the air made me pause. I inhaled deeply. Werewolf. It was faint which meant the challenger was watching me from a distance, sizing me up.

  The tension I'd held since Sam contacted me, eased. It was a bit of a relief to know someone was out there. If he was watching me, he wasn't watching Gabby. It also meant that Sam had spread the news that I wasn't giving up my Claim. Anyone wanting to meet Gabby would challenge me first. It wasn't required, but we had our pride. Though Gabby had technically rejected me by not completing the Claim within the six months, she was still allowing me to live in her house. Any man hoping to approach her wouldn't tolerate that remaining sign of her acceptance for me. Thus, the challenges. They wanted to prove to her that they were better in every way that mattered to a wolf.

  I drove the car into the right bay and set to work as I normally would. No one approached the shop and the scent never grew stronger throughout the day. But I hadn't expected it would. Challenges weren't something we did out in the open. There was too much risk that humans would see what they shouldn't. When werewolves fought, we didn't always shift completely. Instead, we used the best of both our forms.

  Near four, I cleaned up and went to the current order to make notes. It was early enough that I could settle up with Dale, face whoever challenged me, and still arrive home before Gabby so I could start dinner.

  Dale stopped his work and came over when he saw me.

  "Thanks for another day," he said, handing me money as he read my notes. "You see everything," he said, pointing to my comment about a few pinholes in the exhaust.

  I shrugged. Some of the stuff was hard to miss when I had the car jacked in the air.

  "See you tomorrow?"

  With a nod, I tucked the cash in my wallet and left for the day. I didn't get very far.

  The challenger's scent grew heavy near a vacant building at the edge of the business district. After a quick glance around, I veered off the sidewalk to track the scent around the building.

  The cement block structure had a flat roof, and all of its windows were painted black from the inside. The faint scent of oil and exhaust still clung to it. Some kind of manufacturing plant, perhaps. Most likely insulated to help prevent sound from carrying to the homes not far away. Whomever I faced was smart to pick this location. No witnesses.

  Around the back, I found the rear metal door ripped open and hanging at an angle. A blatant invitation. I stepped into the shadowed interior and pulled the door shut behind me. The large empty space made it easy to see my challenger. He waited in his fur in the center of the room.

  I unzipped my coveralls and pulled off my shirt. He remained where he was as I stripped and shifted.

  Moving toward him, I already knew the outcome of the fight. I saw in his eyes that he did, too. One on one, very few of my kind would be able to overcome me.