“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! Get him off my dog! Someone help me!” 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 refocusing its efforts. The lunge caught Clay in the shoulders almost knocking him off balance. Clay exposed his neck to bite his opponent’s front leg rather than spin away leaving me unprotected. The other wolf grunted in pain and went for Clay’s neck. Seeking to sink his teeth into flesh, he instead clicked against the metal studding of Clay’s collar. Letting loose his hold, Clay backed away as did his limping adversary.
Clay’s leash unraveled from its coiled pile under his collar and trailed behind him. The other werewolf noticed it and moved forward attempting to step on it and pin Clay in place. 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.
“The noise has everyone waking up, whoever you are,” I hissed. “You don’t have enough time to finish this. 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 purposefully coming out high-pitched and fearful. This had to stop now before Clay got hurt. “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 back to me 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.
“Did you see what kind of dog it was?” the man called leaving the safety of his house to look at his side yard where the wolf had disappeared. He cautiously shined his flashlight searching for it.
In the relative quiet, the bird song increased as the sky lightened from midnight blue.
I moved to Clay and knelt beside him on the sidewalk, wrapping my arms around him. My hands shook, the strain and fear taking their toll. The challenger conceded with his withdrawal. For now.
Running my hands over his neck, which had the most potential for injury, I found nothing. Relieved, I leaned against him. He really was growing on me.
“Ma’am? You okay?” The man shined his flashlight at us staying 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 and a voice called out, “They okay, Mike?”
With the man distracted, 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 standing, keeping 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?” He started walking toward us.
I picked up Clay’s loose leash and nudged him to turn toward home.
“Nah. If no one’s done it already, I think we’re fine,” I said taking a step back getting ready to walk away. Too late. The man had gotten close enough that the pull had him. I could see the interest in his eyes.
After a few moments of reassuring him that neither of us suffered injuries and that police involvement was no longer necessary, I grudgingly gave him my phone number just in case any did show up. Clay remained quiet and unusually calm throughout the conversation.