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, scraping 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.

“We’re okay,” I said as I stood. I kept a hand on Clay’s 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.

I picked up Clay’s loose leash and nudged him to get him moving.

“Nah. I think we’re fine,” I said taking a step back. Too late. The man had gotten close enough that the pull had him. I saw the interest in his eyes.

After a few moments reassuring him that neither of us had suffered injuries and that police involvement was no longer necessary, I grudgingly gave him my phone number just in case anyone had called the cops and they showed up. Clay remained quiet and unusually calm throughout the conversation.

Crisis averted, we hurried home. I didn’t talk. Instead, I concentrated on scanning with my second sight. I pushed to see further than ever before, and it drained me. My legs grew heavier with each step. I tried not to let it show.