Clay's Hope by Melissa Haag Read Free Book Online Page A

until she’s back, and I’m sure she’d
be happy to help you.”
    She really thought I smelled? I’d thought
she’d said it just because I’d annoyed her. Embarrassed, I stood
and left the kitchen. As soon as I cleared the arch, I shifted into
a man and walked into the bathroom. I knew how to shower. I’d used
a bathroom at the Compound.
    A startled yelp told me Gabby had followed
me. My lips twitched. Serves her right. A bar of soap and
toothbrush clattered to the floor a second before the door slammed
shut.
    “You could have waited until I put the stuff
in there,” her muffled voice came through the door.
    I bent, picked up the soap, and set the
toothbrush on the counter. Then I turned on the shower. I knew
better than to step right in, so I waited a minute for it to heat
up. It only took one cold spray for a guy to learn his lesson.
    Standing under the water, I went to work
with the soap. I bathed regularly but always as a wolf. Perhaps
that made a difference? It hurt a little to know she didn’t like my
natural scent, and I reminded myself I wasn’t dealing with one of
my kind. The rules changed with a human. I knew that. All of us
knew the rules.
    A knock at the door pulled me from my
thoughts.
    “I have a towel for you,” she said, her
words muffled by the door. “If you’re still in the shower, I can
open the door and toss it on the toilet seat. Okay?”
    The water was still running, where else
would I be?
    “Okay, I’m coming in.”
    The door slowly opened. I listened to her
throw the towel on the toilet and waited for the door to close
again.
    “My toothpaste is the one marked with the
pink nail polish on the cap. I’ll let you use it as long as you
promise not to squeeze the tube from the middle.”
    I was already taking a shower, and she was
setting rules about squeezing from the middle of the tube? Cupping
my hands together, I gathered a good amount of water and tossed it
over the curtain. The woman was cold, cruel, and picky. And I still
wanted her.
    She squeaked.
    “You’re cleaning that up.”
    Finally, the door closed.
    I sighed and went back to scrubbing. I
washed my hair twice and sniffed myself. I reeked like the soap
she’d given me. Hopefully she liked the smell. I turned off the
water, pulled back the curtain, and reached for the towel.
    After drying, I picked up her tube of paste
and correctly squeezed it from the end. Then, I scrubbed my teeth
until I foamed like a rabid dog. Rinsing, I wondered what she’d
have me doing next.
    I set the toothbrush back on the counter,
tossed the towel to the floor, opened the door, and shifted to my
fur.
    She sat on the couch with a book raised high
enough to block her view. I couldn’t help but laugh. What was she
so afraid of?
    Padding across the room, I waited for her to
look at me. She didn’t. I hopped up on the couch.
    “Don’t get too comfortable,” she said,
relaxing her hold on the book. “I don’t know Rachel’s rules about
pets on the furniture.”
    She shifted her position, curling her legs
under her, then leaned over to sniff me.
    My heart stopped, and I held myself still.
She’d moved toward me. She’d wanted to sniff me. The embarrassment
over her request that I bathe left, and I waited for her
reaction.
    “Much better,” she said, straightening.
    Approval. I wanted to laugh and hug her.
Instead, I watched her. Did she realize what she’d just done?
    She turned back to her book, oblivious, and
I wanted to growl in frustration. After a while, I calmed down and
started reading over her shoulder. That was one human thing my
father had insisted I learn. Their words. I needed to know them,
speak them, and read them to keep myself safe.
    So I sat beside her for hours, reading until
her stomach rumbled.
    She stood, and I hoped like hell she
wouldn’t pour me a bowl of dog food. If she did, I’d change in
front of her again and raid the fridge for myself. As she walked
past the bathroom, she paused and stared down at my