Page 80 of Only Human in Strangeville

Having got the werewolf’s attention, Nimbus crouched in front of us and growled, the sound reverberating through my chest as if a much larger animal had made the noise. His hackles were up, practically doubling his size with how long his fluffy coat was, and the number of teeth he showed was impressive.

The werewolf growled back, a sound that didn’t normally come out of a human throat. He still managed to make it sound intimidating, but Nimbus didn’t back down.

A shift in the shadows caught my attention, and I glanced over to my side. Oliver leaned against one of the walls, arms crossed but not interfering. Taking my cue from the shade, I waited and let Nimbus cow the werewolf. I had no doubt the cloud dog would win this confrontation, though I pulled on my magic in case I was wrong. If Davin even attempted to hurt my dog, he’d learn I had a whole level of crazy he’d never even come close to seeing.

The eye contact went on for a small eternity, and I could feel something going on between the two of them. As if they were pushing on each other with a magic I could barely sense.

Finally, Nimbus took a step forward, snarling.

Davin finally backed down. He didn’t exactly submit, but he turned his head and relaxed his shoulders.

Nimbus stopped his growl, smoothed his hackles, and sat, wagging his fluffy tail.

I took a breath, and so did Bridger. When I checked, Oliver was gone.

“I was just coming to check on you. I see you’re doing fine.”

I raised my eyebrows, deliberately mimicking the eye contact Nimbus had used on Davin.

The werewolf tightened his jaw. “Right. So. You’re okay?”

I took that as him backing off even more. “I’m fine, Davin. Do you want to come in? Rinse off your pants?”

Maybe I should have left the last bit off. A flash of anger passed across Davin’s features before he schooled them into neutrality.

“I’ll swing by my house,” he muttered.

“I’m glad you came over to check on me.” I stepped away from Bridger and came out into the hallway within touching distance of Davin.

The werewolf took a deep breath. “I apologize for my behavior. As Nimbus has rightly pointed out, it was uncalled for. We have clearly discussed this exact situation and said it was okay. I was simply surprised. The mark was unexpected.” His voice was stiff, but not grudging.

“To be fair, Davin, we didn’t expect it either. My magic apparently had a mind of its own.”

Davin tilted his head and raised his eyebrows. “Both of you are coming to the meeting?” Though he phrased it as a question, it wasn’t, and we all knew it.

“Yes, of course.”

“Good. The five of us.”

Nimbus grumbled.

“Six,” Davin amended. “Need to have that conversation that keeps getting interrupted.”

“We do. I just hope we don’t get attacked tonight so we can actually have it.”

That pulled a chuckle from Davin’s lips. “Yes. Agreed.” He took another deep breath and his energy settled completely. “Again, I apologize.” He held out his hand to me, and I took it. Then he offered his hand to Bridger. The hunter took it after a slight hesitation.

“Accepted,” Bridger replied.

Davin left. As soon as the werewolf was out of the building, Oliver stepped out of the shadows, laughing his ass off.

“It does a person good to see the werewolf get his tail pulled now and again,” Oliver managed to get out between laughs. He wiped at his eye as if brushing away a tear.

Nimbus grumbled at Oliver.

“Of course, Nimbus. It was warranted.” He rubbed the dog’s fluffy ears.

“How can you understand what he’s saying?”

---