I was playing fetch with Derek. Except I was the stick, which can be a little dangerous with a werewolf. That’s why we did it—training him so he wouldn’t see a fleeing human as dinner. Which can be somewhat disconcerting when playing the role of the fleeing human. We’ve been doing it for over a year, though, starting slow and working up, and he’s never so much as spooked me. They say that werewolves chase by instinct, but Derek doesn’t seem to have any of that. Maybe it’s the genetic modification; maybe it’s just him. The point of the game is simply to reassure him that he’s not going to accidentally devour his girlfriend. Which would be inconvenient, especially for that girlfriend.

“Okay, boy,” I said, crouching in front of him. “Are you ready?”

He snorted. I don’t need to crouch very far to get on his level. I’ve shot up a couple of inches in the last eighteen months. At sixteen, I’m a whopping five-foot-three. Derek, luckily, seems to have topped out at six-three. With conservation of mass, that still makes him a huge wolf. That’s what he looks like, too—a wolf not a wolfman. He’s a two-hundred-pound black wolf with green eyes. Those green eyes were currently giving me his best get on with it look.

“Hmm,” I said. “I don’t know about you, but I’m kind of tired. Maybe you can chase your tail instead.”

He growled.

“Or I can throw a stick. As long as you promise to bring it back.”

Another growl.

“What’s that? I think you’re saying that you’re tired of playing with me, and you just want to take off on your own and chase squirrels. Speaking of which…squirrel!”

I pointed at one, and he actually took off. I stood there, straining to see what was behind the squirrel, clearly some serious threat because Derek would never run after an actual…

The squirrel saw a giant wolf bearing down, and it ran, and Derek went after it, leaving me staring after him.

“Okay,” I murmured. “That’s new.”

I turned to find a place to sit. There was a fallen log nearby. I was lowering myself onto it when I heard a dry leaf crunch and turned just in time to see a blur of black fur. I tried to scramble out of the way, but I was too slow. He sent me toppling and pinned me on the ground as he loomed over me with his canine equivalent of a grin and a gotcha.

“I really shouldn’t have fallen for that,” I said with a sigh.