Angelina

I scanned the area to see if anyone would notice a girl and a dog. I looked at the restaurant on the other side, the busy road, and the people who walked by, but no one seemed to care about our presence.

“You should relax,” he spoke with his mind. “If anyone shows up, we will run."

I chuckled. “We shouldn't be looking for trouble.”

“We are not. Look at us. We are just eating ice cream, sitting down, falling in love all over again.”

I looked at him and nodded. So we continued to talk and laugh. He told me jokes and demonstrated things by standing up or raising his paws.

Thirty minutes went by too quickly, and we didn't do more than eat ice cream, talk or watch the street.

Walking home was different from how I came out tonight. It felt like a relief, like a cold shower on a tiring day. I smiled as if I had gotten some wraps of chocolate in my folded palms. We walked slowly like we were both reluctant to go home.

The night sky had only a few stars. The weather was mild, and everything was decorated to meet my mood, the way dessert beautifies a dining table. As we strolled down the street, we continued our lovers' conversations about things — random things — how he would like his next birthday celebrated. Private party. Loud party or a mix of both.

I'd forgotten I was working on a street with a "dog." To me, I was walking with my boyfriend. But to the police officer who saw us on our way home, a woman was walking with a dog without a leash.

I would have stopped and apologized. I would have explained what happened, how Colins ran off, and I was trying to get him home. I would let the officer understand that Collins wouldn't harm anyone.

“Hey, maam,” the officer called.

I'd stopped walking, expecting the officer to come along. But I felt a pull on my pants. Collins was pulling me along. He growled at me and stared at my face. I got the idea and obeyed. We followed in opposite directions.

“Stop, ma’am. You have to stop,” the officer shouted.

We turned a corner and ran through a quiet street. Collins led the way, and I followed, both of us using our inhumane abilities to navigate the dark. His eyes glowed when he glanced at me. I slowed down for a minute, and then I transformed into a wolf. We ran now, side by side. As we ran, I deliberately bumped into him, so he staggered to the side and got his footing back quickly. And then we both laughed.

Nothing in the world mattered at this moment. Two wolves were enjoying an evening along the streets in California, running, jumping, and enjoying the night. When one looked at the orangery eyes of the other, love was evident. Pure. The excitement of being extraordinary beings.

We ran and made our way to someone's lawn. There, we rested, lay side by side as if the land was ours — as if we used to come here every day to chill. My back on the ground next to him, I laid my head on the side of his arm and gently rubbed the side of his cheek on my head. We understood each other. All we had to do was look into each other's eyes or follow the other's actions.

Later, when we stepped out of the lawn, I was a full human again. Collins glanced at me with the same expression that said, “you did enjoy yourself, right?”

“Yeah, right. We shouldn't do that often,” I said, laughing. I knew he wouldn't promise me that. I didn't want him to promise that either. I could sense it. We would have a good time here in California. We were meant to be. And all I had to do was find a way to make him become a hybrid like me.

We walked home with a little more energy in our feet, like the soles of our shoes had recoiling springs, like we bounced as we walked. We laughed as we headed home. I would look at the sky and then Collin's face and smile. This was better than sitting down at home.

But I didn't lock the door of the house before we left home.

This, I realized when we got back to the house. The power was kept on. I wouldn't have kept the light on and gone out. It was wasteful, and it could attract attackers to the house.

But… the house was not empty when I opened the front door and peeped into the living room. We could hear movement, noise, the clattering of plates, and the footprint of someone's shoes on the rug.

The sounds were from the kitchen. Collins matched in like an army general at the sight of a familiar and weak enemy. He growled, and I pulled him closer. If the person inside was here to steal, he must be ready to fight two wolves. I cracked my first and closed the door behind us.

That was when I saw the coat hung on the arm of the couch. I knew who it was.

My boss.

“Hey,” I called Collins to stop growling. I eyed him with the expression that I got this. “I want you to keep calm, okay? I will handle this and explain later," I said with my mind.

He stopped growling, and I sighed. "Thank you.”

Although he stopped, he was still looking at me, uncertain. I glanced at his feet on the floor. I understood that stance. He was still ready to fight this if there was a need, and I hoped there wouldn't be any need. I watched Collins for a while and glanced toward the kitchen.

My boss… to-be-ex-boyfriend… Eric walked out of the kitchen, holding two paper bags in one hand and a liquor bottle in the other.

“Angie, hi!” he said, smiling at me. “I know you will be coming back today. So I am here to welcome you,” he said, raising his hands up for me to see what he'd gotten.

I had been avoiding him since the night when Collins and I officially became girlfriend and boyfriend. "Hi… urm," I said, holding both hands in front of me and rubbing the nail of my thumbs against the other. Then I looked back at Collins.

He was growling again, and — from what I heard his mind saying — he was ready to attack.