Chapter 16

Alanza’s POV

“Sorry, she isn’t normally like this,” I mumbled, pulling Sombra back from the man.

“Such a pretty dog,” he said. He was squinting at me from under a wide-brimmed hat.

Something about him made my paranoia radar spike, but I didn’t catch any weird scents. He looked dirty. His brown pants were stained. His shoes had seen better days.

Maybe he was homeless.

I felt uneasy. I shifted to the side, tugging Sombra away as she kept up a low growl. “Sorry,” I apologized again, wondering why he didn’t just leave.

He turned his head and looked me over. “Pretty girl, too,” he said. He smiled, showing yellow, gapped teeth. His breath was thick. I swear it could have knocked out a wolf shifter from a distance.

My stomach rolled. I fought the nausea building up. “Thanks,” I muttered. I didn’t know how to respond. He was blocking the dog food aisle. I definitely didn’t want to get closer. Sombra seemed ready to tear his face off, anyway.

“Come on, girl, let’s go this way.” This way led toward the bird cages, but I’d rather be near chirping than near this strange man.

I ducked down the side aisle, choosing rudeness over another second in his weird presence. I put distance between us. When I risked a glance back, he was still standing there. His eyes felt like they were drilling into me.

Even from far away, his gaze was intense. I realized I didn’t even know what color his eyes were. It was like the pressure in his stare was too much for my brain to notice a minor detail like eye color.

A shiver raced down my spine.

A store employee walked up to the man. Relief washed over me. I took the chance to slip away, rounding the corner into the next aisle. Sombra trotted beside me. Her agitation from before was gone. At least one of us had calmed down.

I found the dog food after a few twists and turns, having taken the long way around.

The man was nowhere.

I scanned the colorful bags. What did a stray husky even eat? I had no idea.

“What do you think, Sombra? Beef or chicken?” I mused out loud, grabbing a bright blue bag of kibble.

Sombra looked up. Her ice blue eyes seemed to dim. Her fluffy tail drooped. She let out a tiny whine. I blinked, staring at her. Was she disappointed in my choice? Could a dog even be disappointed? It wasn’t like she knew the brand.

I guess she could smell it.

But still.

I shook my head and grabbed the bag anyway. I was probably imagining things. It had been a weird day. That creepy guy had me on edge.

I walked toward the checkout counter, watching for the man in the brown hat. He was still out of sight. I let out a sigh of relief as I set my items on the conveyor belt: the tags for the leash and collar, and the big bag of dog food.

The cashier scanned the items. I waited for the total, trying to guess the cost. Leash, probably twenty dollars. Collar, maybe fifteen. The food might be a bit pricey, so say forty dollars.

Normally, I checked prices. Today, I was completely off-kilter.

“That’ll be $110.67,” the cashier announced.

My jaw dropped. “What? Over a hundred dollars?” I sputtered, staring at the small pile of stuff in disbelief.

The cashier nodded, completely unfazed. “Yep. The dog food alone is seventy-five dollars. It’s a great brand, though.”

It was only a thirty-pound bag!

I looked down at Sombra. She almost seemed to be smirking at me. “You better appreciate this,” I muttered, handing over my debit card. So much for my budget this month.

Outside the store, I couldn’t shake the feeling of being watched. I scanned the parking lot but saw no sign of the strange man.

I could never carry a bag of dog food this heavy all the way home. I called a rideshare. I stared down at my new moneysink, who looked back with a loving expression. Her tail wagged.

Sombra hated the dog food.

The way her blue eyes stared up at me as I pushed the bowl under her nose made me feel like I was feeding her something awful. Like a dead mouse or something.

“Come on. The lady said it’s a good brand.”

I waved the bowl around. It was one of mine, since I didn’t think to buy one for the dog. Sombra turned her head away with a little huff.

Great. I had not expected this.

What do you do when your stray dog refuses to eat?

I set the bowl on the floor. I grabbed my phone and browsed the internet, finding some facts.

Fact One: Huskies are notoriously picky. Great.

Fact Two: Huskies have a lot of personality and aren’t a good choice for first-time dog owners. I looked at the dog in front of me. She nudged the bowl toward me with her paw. Yep, that sounds right.

Fact Three: I’m screwed.

“Okay, Sombra. I’ve never owned a dog, but I know one thing. You have to eat.”

I shoved the bowl closer to her. She put a paw up to stop it. She let out a little rumble of noises, ending with a few yips.

I had read about husky noises, too. I definitely hadn't thought that through.

I pointed at her bowl. “This is your food. You have to eat it. It cost me a lot of money. Got it?”

Her ears flattened.

I wasn’t sure if that was a good sign or a bad sign. I went to the kitchen and heated a bowl of soup for myself. I felt pretty good, aside from an occasional chill and the way sweat kept beading on my neck. Energy was buzzing in my body. I felt almost hyper.

After I scarfed down my soup, I glanced at Sombra. She was hovering over her dog bowl, looking disgruntled.

Fine.

Someone online said they mixed human food with kibble to entice their dog. Sombra might need that.

Eggs were simple, and I needed to burn off some of this energy anyway.

I quickly scrambled eggs in the skillet. The sizzle of the pan filled the small kitchen. Sombra watched me closely. Her tail gave a slow wag.

Once the eggs were done, I scooped them into her bowl and mixed them with the dry kibble. “Here you go, girl. A little something extra.”

Sombra pranced around the bowl. She let out excited yelps and whines. She pawed at the bowl, pushed it around a little, then finally stuck her nose into the mixture and started eating.

I smiled, relieved. The eggs seemed to have worked.

My relief didn’t last long. Sombra started picking through the food, dropping pieces of kibble onto the floor as she ate only the scrambled eggs.

“Hey, none of that,” I scolded softly. “You need to eat the kibble, too, not just the eggs.”

Sombra ignored me. She kept nosing around the bowl, leaving a trail of discarded kibble pieces. I frowned. This wouldn't work if she refused her actual dog food. I couldn't afford to keep trying new food until she found one she liked.

“Listen up, Sombra,” I said firmly. “If you can’t eat the kibble properly, I will have to take you back to Animal Control. I can’t have a dog who won’t eat her food.”

Sombra whined at my words. Her ears flattened against her head. She looked up with those piercing blue eyes. For a second, I swore she understood me. Slowly, she put her head back down and started crunching the kibble.

I nodded in approval. “That’s better. Good girl.”

As Sombra continued eating, a knock on the door interrupted us. I looked over, surprised. I wasn’t expecting anyone.

I opened the door. Two men stood outside.

“Who are you people?”