Gods and Mortals: Fourteen Free Urban Fantasy & Paranormal Novels Featuring Thor, Loki, Greek Gods, Native American Spirits, Vampires, Werewolves, & More (319 page)

I reached over to pat Clay reassuringly, but stopped when I noticed Scott’s gaze drop to my chest. The cowl neck had dipped away and revealed a little glimpse of the shadows within. Scott’s eyes went from glassy fixation to glazed obsession. This was getting ridiculous.

Turning back to my dinner, I stuffed a few bites in my mouth to prevent me from needing to converse. Unfortunately, Scott took the opportunity to try to slide his chair a little closer. Thankfully, Clay didn’t give an inch.

“What’s your dog’s name?” Scott asked, looking down at Clay.

“Clay,” Rachel answered after seeing my mouth full.

Clay, I noticed, didn’t look up at the sound of his name. Instead, he tensed and laid his ears back. Time to go.

“Nice name,” Scott said, but I could tell he didn’t care. “Let’s bring him home after this and go out to a new club that opened downtown.”

“Rachel?” I looked at her pleadingly, hoping she’d know that I wasn’t begging to go out dancing. Her perceptive gaze locked on Scott.

“I see it,” she said with a serious expression.

“See what?” Peter said. His gaze bounced between the three of us.

“Exhaustion. She’s been studying like crazy.” She waved over the waitress and asked for boxes and the check for the two of us.

“And she needs rest, not a night out. Although, I am really glad we came.” She looked at Peter with a smile.

My weak smile didn’t cover my gratitude at her diplomacy.

I reached for my purse which I’d hung on the back of the chair. Desperate, Scott moved to grab my hand. Clay stood abruptly. He successfully knocked Scott’s hand out of the way but also bumped the table in the process. Peter reached out to steady his and Rachel’s drinks, and I hurried to pull a twenty from my purse.

The waitress returned with the bill and the wrapped up leftovers. Since Rachel was still digging in her purse, I just handed the waitress the twenty after a quick glance at the bill. I was willing to pay for Rachel if it helped us leave faster.

“I better drive her home,” Rachel said to Peter. “You have my number. Give me a call if you want to do something next weekend.”

I stood, and Rachel shadowed me, ready to go. Clay bumped into me, knocking me off balance so I had to grab Rachel for support. I looked down at him and noticed Scott stand and hand the waitress his portion of the bill.

“Rachel, you can stay with Peter. I don’t mind taking Gabby home,” Scott said. Oily enthusiasm dripped with each word, and I didn’t even need to look at Rachel for her to decline.

“No, Scott, I think we’re done for tonight.” She waved to Peter and grabbed my hand.

Poor Peter looked at us all, bewildered. His night out with Rachel had fallen apart fast, and I truly felt bad about it.

I went with Rachel, relieved to escape before Scott’s recklessness grew. An “oof” sounded behind us, and I panicked, realizing I’d forgotten Clay. I spun around in time to see Scott hit the ground. He’d tripped over Clay in his hurry to catch me. I suspected Clay had done it purposely to slow Scott down.

Clay wasted no time. He ran to me and bumped his head against my back to get me moving before Scott could pick himself up again. There wasn’t yet enough distance between the table and us to mute Peter’s next words.

“What the hell is wrong with you, man? You come on too...” What he still had to say faded as we quickly walked away.

“I’m sorry,” Rachel said. “You told me, but I didn’t really get it. Even the men sitting around us were eyeing you.”

I’d been too busy keeping an eye on Scott and Clay to notice. We continued to speed walk to the car.

“No big deal. You should see me in some of my classes. ‘No’ is the most common word in my vocabulary. Scott’s reaction was worse than most because he already considered me his date. If you say ‘no’, consistently and to everyone, it doesn’t get so bad.” I handed Rachel the keys when we reached the car. “You really can drive.”

She nodded, and we got in. Clay climbed into the back and stretched out so his head lay on the console between the two front seats. Rachel wasted no time backing out and leaving.

Halfway home, she pulled into a gas station. “Tonight’s an ice cream night. Be right back.” She jumped out and strode into the convenience station with the determination of a girl on a shopping spree.

Laying my head back, I sighed, and my hand found its way to Clay’s soft fur. I pet his head and ears. He exhaled loudly, but stayed still so I figured he didn’t mind. I was just glad he wasn’t rubbing in that it’d been a disaster of a night out.

I looked out the window, watched traffic zip past, and allowed myself just a small amount of self-pity. I’d wanted normal so badly. No werewolves. No second sight. No weird pull on men. Yet, I
knew
I would never be normal. I would never have a normal date. I kept trying to mold myself into something I could never be. Why?

Clay lifted his head under my hand, and I reigned in my emotions, knowing he could sense my melancholy.

“I’m fine,” I said as I met his gaze. “How are you doing?” He scooted forward to lay his head on my lap in response. Yeah, that was pretty much how I felt.

The door opened, startling us both.

“I got double fudge brownie for each of us,” Rachel said as she slid in behind the wheel and handed me the bag. “Sorry, Clay. Chocolate’s poison for dogs. None for you.”

She made me smile.

When we got home, I went straight to my room to change. Clay stayed with Rachel as she praised his good behavior and good sense to trip Scott when he’d started to follow us. No doubt, he’d get the other half of her burger before I finished. Tossing the shirt into the closet, I vowed never to wear it again and pulled on the comfortable clothes I slept in.

Shaking off my mood, I walked into the kitchen.

“Where’s my chocolate?”

Clay moved to my side, and I patted him again. I’d asked a lot of him tonight, and he deserved a real reward. He’d been surviving on sandwiches and leftovers from Rachel. Tomorrow, we’d go to the store, and I’d buy him a big steak.

Rachel handed me my pint with a spoon standing in it. She’d already dug into hers. After eating another spoonful with a blissful groan, she set her container of ice cream on the table.

“I’m going to go change. Want to watch a movie or something?” Rachel stripped out of her shirt on her way to her bedroom.

I looked at the wall clock and savored another spoonful of ice cream. It was only seven, but I was tired. I put the lid back on and tucked my container in the near empty freezer.

“What do you think?” I asked Clay, noting he watched me and not the striptease Rachel had unknowingly put on or the chocolate ice cream she’d left unguarded. “Stay up and watch a movie, or go to bed early? Lead the way.” I waved him forward, and he trotted through the living room to my room.

“Rach, we’re just going to go to bed early. ‘K?” I leaned against the wall in the living room, waiting for her answer.

“It’s okay. Go ahead,” she said, appearing again. She wore short shorts and a tank top for bed. “I won’t keep you up with a movie, will I?” She glided past me and flopped on the couch.

“I’m so tired I doubt anything will keep me from sleeping.”

“‘K. Night, Hun. Thanks for going with me even if it did suck,” she said, giving me a smile.

“Don’t worry about it. Night.” I walked into my room and closed the door behind me as she turned on the TV.

Clay lay on the foot of the bed, his usual spot. His head rested on his paws. He still had his eyes open.

“Thanks, Clay.” As I passed him, I stopped to kiss the top of his furry head. He made a funny grunt noise that made me smile. Probably his wolf version of “no problem.” I crawled under the covers and wiggled my feet under his body to the spot he already warmed.

I felt Clay relax a moment before he let out a gusty breath. He started to breathe deeply, and I tried to unwind as well. Going on a double date hadn’t turned out as badly as it could have.

I
t was still
dark when I woke. Not only dark, but also colder. The mild weather we’d enjoyed last night while eating outside had apparently fled with the sun. I nestled under the covers, trying to avoid the chill in the air. When I stretched my legs searching for Clay’s weighted warmth, I felt nothing. His spot was cool.

“Clay?”

My bedroom door creaked open, and he jumped up on the mattress, causing it to bounce. He settled on my feet, and his heat immediately warmed me.

“Thanks.”

Laying my head back down on the pillow, I burrowed deeper. The warm nights of summer, of sleeping with the window open, had retired for the year. Soon, going outside during the day would require a jacket. The thought was a little depressing. I didn’t really care for the cold.

I wanted to sleep a little longer and tried to close my eyes again but they popped back open on their own. Clearly awake, I knew I should really get out of bed and do something. Yet, the thought made me cringe...until I remembered I owed Clay for last night. This early, there’d be no one around outside, especially with this first cold snap. We needed to take advantage of the still above freezing weather and do something together. He’d like that.

“Hey, Clay. Wanna go get breakfast with me?”

With a sigh, he jumped back down off the bed.

“You could have said no,” I said with a soft laugh as I rolled out from under the covers.

Grabbing my clothes, I tiptoed to the bathroom. When I reemerged, Clay sat next to the back door, waiting patiently. I glanced at the car keys. Drive or walk? Walking would save money, and I enjoyed it.

“You up for a walk?” I kept my voice low since I didn’t want to wake Rachel.

The idea of walking outside with Clay before dawn made me smile. He looked like a beast. Any sane man would keep his distance. It would be vastly different from the heckling first walk I took to campus.

When he didn’t move away, I took that as affirmation and clipped on his leash, loosely looping it around his collar so I wouldn’t need to hold it. He turned to me with a questioning look.

“What? I’m following the law...you’re on a leash. Let’s go.”

I opened the door, and we soundlessly slipped outside. As expected, crisp air engulfed us, but the lack of wind made it tolerable. After pulling the hood up over my loose hair, I tucked my hands into the pockets of my hoodie and stepped off the porch, suspiciously testing the air to see if my breath clouded. Clay trudged next to me, still looking a little tired.

We walked in the direction of the campus, toward a small diner that was open all day, six days a week, closed Sundays. Wellknown on campus, Ma’s Kitchen served good, cheap food for the perpetually broke college kid. With ten dollars in my pocket, I figured we could stuff ourselves before walking back home.

The sidewalks remained empty. Streetlights buzzed overhead. The soft scrape of Clay’s nails on the pavement comforted me, and I filled my lungs, relaxing. Very few cars passed us as we made our way from one pool of light to the next.

The walk to campus offered an eclectic array of buildings. Businesses jumbled in with residences. Some so close together their shadows merged, creating perfect places for hiding. But Clay’s calm presence allowed me to enjoy the walk without using my sight.

We strolled in companionable silence for a few minutes before I spoke up.

“So what do you like for breakfast? Oatmeal?” He laughed, and I smiled back. “Yeah, I was thinking you’re more a steak and eggs kinda guy.”

“Who you talking to dar’lin?” a man called as he stepped out from the shadows across the narrow street. His sudden appearance made my heart race.

“My dog.” Even though I considered this area safe, it paid to be smart. So I whispered to Clay, asking him to bark. He obliged with a deep “woof” that almost scared me. The sound bounced off the surrounding buildings. I hoped it wouldn’t wake anyone.

“Damn,” the man called back, keeping pace with us on the opposite sidewalk. “That thing on a leash?”

“Yep, but there’s no holding him back. I’m safer letting him go or he’d just drag me along.”

The man laughed. “I bet. Have a good morning,” he called before turning at the next corner to walk around the block.

“You trust that?” I asked Clay, watching the man’s retreating form. Clay harrumphed.

“Me neither. And thanks for warning me there was someone close by,” I said. He made a noise I interpreted between a snort and a laugh.

“Brat.” I smiled down at him.

Night sounds began to fade, and I heard the occasional bird call out, though dawn was still an hour away. Clay continued to pace alertly by my side until we reached the diner. Judging from the empty parking lot, they didn’t get much business this early. Still, the air outside smelled like frying breakfast sausage. Delicious. Beside me, Clay’s stomach rumbled.

“Since they don’t allow dogs, I’ll go in and get our food for carryout,” I said, pulling open the door. He obediently sat just outside, the position enabling him to watch me through the glass.

When I entered, the waitress set down the basket of jellies she’d been using to refill the jelly holders on the tables and moved to the register.

“Good morning,” she said with a chipper smile. “How are you this morning?”

Wow. A people-person and a morning-person. I weakly smiled back and ordered.

As soon as I had our breakfast, I brought it out to Clay. We sat together on one of the cement parking blocks in front of the building. The early-morning traffic crept along quietly, keeping the illusion of solitude.

I opened his container and started to cut up his steak. He laughed at me again, and I shushed him. He could laugh all he wanted. He usually ate so fast I worried he’d choke. I set his container on the ground for him when I finished. He dug in, making it hard to think of him as a man.

“I hope you’re a slower eater when you’re in your skin,” I commented.

He stopped eating and looked at me. Too late, I realized how critical my comment had sounded. I tried to soften it.

“It’s just that you eat faster than me. That’s all.” It sounded lame.

I felt worse when he made an effort to eat slower. He still finished first. In an attempt to make up for my thoughtless comment, I offered him the rest of my breakfast, too. When he finished, I threw our containers away in the parking lot trash can.

We began the long walk back, with each of us lost in our own thoughts. Well, I was lost in mine, anyway. I didn’t know what to say to take away the sting from my words. Why didn’t I think before I spoke to him? I sometimes forgot about the man beneath the fur and tended just to talk, letting anything flow from my mouth without much thought. Sure, I may have meant what I said, but I could have found a better, nicer, way to say it. Maybe.

Distracted and dwelling on my own thoughts, I paid no attention to my surroundings until Clay began to growl. My head snapped up in surprise at the soft, menacing sound. Clay stopped walking. His head turned so he watched the space between two houses on our left. Dawn still hadn’t lightened the sky, so I saw nothing but shadows.

I closed my eyes and focused, depending on my other sight—something I’d mostly ignored since coming to school—to see what my eyes couldn’t. The yellow-green sparks of the people in the houses around us glowed softly. To the left, closing in fast, a blue-grey light surged. Stunned, I blinked at it and glanced at Clay’s spark. Blue-grey compared to his blue-green. Another color variation?

“What is it, Clay?” I whispered, taking a cautious step back. The colors I saw classified into werewolves, humans, and anomalies like Charlene and I. This new color moved too fast for a human.

Clay remained alert to the other werewolf’s advance.

“What should I do, Clay?” I tried not to panic, but I could think of only one reason a werewolf would run at us like that. It wanted to challenge Clay.

If I walked away, it would think I was rejecting Clay’s Claim. As much as I didn’t want to Claim Clay, I didn’t want a tie to anyone else.

Clay’s growl increased in volume. I looked at the darkened houses around us. Perhaps I could use them to our advantage.

Clay tensed in front of me. I retreated a few more paces until I stepped into the road, no more than five feet from Clay. The faint, rapid thud of the werewolf’s paws hitting the ground resonated from the darkness ahead. I tracked its spark. It sped forward. Suddenly, the rhythmic sound of its approach stopped even though its spark continued toward us.

Clay braced himself. In that moment, an enormous object soared at us from the darkness. I scrambled back. Its large body rivaled Clay for size. But, it was the newcomer’s dark grey fur and bright blue eyes that forever burned into my memory.

The flying mass hit Clay hard. Clay let loose an aggressive snarl as he twisted, and worked to keep his back legs under him. His claws dug into the asphalt, scrapping and scrabbling to slow the skid toward me. The two werewolves grappled, swiping claws and snapping jaws.

Eyes wide, I continued to maintain my view of the human sparks while watching the fight before me. Focused on each other, neither looked my way.

The challenger scuttled out of Clay’s reach and regained his own footing. Clay lunged forward and snapped down on the other’s muzzle. His sharp teeth ripped into tender flesh. I wanted to cheer when the other werewolf yelped in pain. They broke apart. Clay continued to growl. The low rumble made my heart beat even faster. The challenger responded with his own snarl but didn’t attempt another attack. Instead, he sidestepped, looking for an opening.

I moved with them and maintained a small distance from both.

The noise escalated as they stalked each other. The challenger feinted toward Clay, lips drawn back and teeth parted. My heart beat harder with fear. Clay gave no ground, carefully keeping himself between the newcomer and me, while I tried to stay out of the way. The dogs in the neighborhood started to bark. The continued use of my sight began to strain me, but I saw a spark moving in a nearby house.

Time to take the offensive.

“Hey!” I yelled loudly.

Clay didn’t jump, but the other werewolf did. His bright blue gaze flicked to me. A light turned on in the house.

“Whose dog is this? Someone help me get him off my dog!” Another light went on in the house.

Clay took advantage of his opponent’s momentary distraction and went for its throat. The other wolf dodged the attack, but just barely. Bleeding freely from Clay’s first strike, red began to color its muzzle.

With a deep-throated bark, it lunged again at Clay, refocusing its efforts. The lunge caught Clay in the shoulders and almost knocked him off balance. I forgot to breathe for a moment. Clay exposed his neck in an attempt to bite his opponent’s front leg rather than to spin away and leave me unprotected.

The other wolf grunted in pain as Clay’s teeth clamped down. Still, he went for the opening. His teeth clicked against the metal that studded Clay’s collar. The wolf growled, pulled back, and made to try again. Clay quickly released his hold on the wolf’s leg and backed away, as did his limping adversary.

Clay’s leash unraveled from its coiled pile under his collar and trailed in his wake. The other werewolf noticed it, moved forward, and attempted to step on it. Brown fur ruffled as Clay twisted sharply to flip the leash out of the way.

I looked around, trying to figure out how to stop this. In the houses closest to the fight, more lights burst on. In the house across the street, someone pushed back a curtain to peer out.

Behind me, I heard a shrill whistle. “Duke! Come here, Duke.”

The neighborhood was waking.

This time, the sudden interruption didn’t distract either of them. Both maintained focus on their opponent. This had to stop now before Clay got hurt.

“The noise has everyone waking up, whoever you are,” I said. “You don’t have enough time to finish this. It’d be better to leave now when Clay won’t be able to chase you. 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.”

The challenger continued his circling attack as if I hadn’t spoken.

The front door of the house closest to us opened and a man shined a flashlight at the fighting dogs, then at me.

“Can you help me?” I called, my voice purposely coming out high-pitched and fearful. “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.

I didn’t get a chance to answer. The grey werewolf broke away from the fight and bolted back into the darkness from where he’d come. Apparently, he had heard my warning.

Clay, panting heavily, stayed close to me and watched the other wolf retreat. The challenger conceded with his withdrawal. 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.

I let out a shaky, thankful laugh, knelt beside Clay, and wrapped my arms around his neck. My hands shook, the strain and fear taking their toll, as I ran my hands over the area around his collar. I didn’t find any injuries. Relieved, I leaned against him. He really was growing on me.

“Ma’am? You okay?”

The man pointed his flashlight at us but stayed near his house. Any closer and he’d feel the pull. I didn’t need to deal with any more problems. Across the street, a door opened, distracting the man.

“They okay, Mike?”

I lifted my head from Clay. “You okay?” I whispered.

He turned his head and licked my cheek, reassuring me.

“Next time I’ll just carry the leash,” I promised. My eyes watered. It had been too close. It would have only been a matter of time before the other wolf would have pinned him because of it.