Chapter 3: Your Dog's New Vet

Gabriel POV

The Sedona heat hadn't yet affected the Dry Creek trail, since it was still early this bright Friday morning. Gabriel was enjoying a jog through the underbrush of a variety of plants and cacti as he trudged through the sand on the pathway. He was happy to let off some steam after feeling frustrated the day before.

He paused by the dry creek bed at the bottom of a small hill, taking a moment to quench his thirst. The air was just starting to begin to feel dry on his throat, and the sunshine was peaking over the red rocks over the horizon, causing him to work up a sweat. The thing about the Sedona blue sky was its extreme beauty overturned any previous views of the sky one had ever seen.

A sound of a lizard scurrying by brought Gabriel back to reality. The lizards and birds were still active around him in the quiet ambiance of the desert environment. He looked at the ground around him taking in the various stones and red dirt, happy to let his mind drift and wander off before his work day started.

Suddenly, the smell of cinnamon mixed with roses reached his keen nose. This time the scent was stronger and even more intoxicating. The scent overpowered Gabriel and he felt an incredibly strong desire to find the owner of the smell. His stomach felt like his heart had just dropped five inches from its current position and it was beating so fast it was as if he was having his first kiss all over again.

What was this? Am I having a stroke?

His wolf started to take control over his mind and he realized there was only one thing that could be affecting his body and mind this way.

His mate was in very close proximity to him, and she was almost upon him. He smiled the goofiest smile he had ever made, for it was in anticipation of finally seeing his own true love… his mate.

Unlike the Moonlight Pack that deserted him at a young age, Gabriel never took the idea of a mate for granted. Ever since he was a boy, he desired for his true love to be with him because he believed his mate would be his companion for life. He wanted more than anything to have his own pack and family.

But above all of that, he just wanted a companion who would understand him and accept him for who he was.

He froze as he sniffed deeply. She was almost upon him and he could smell a faint dew of sweat on her brow. He suddenly hesitated because he could smell the lack of a wolf in his mate.

She was human.

He would have to reign in his enthusiasm when meeting her so as to not frighten her off. He imagined how that would look to a young female human walking alone on a trail - hi, you're my mate. Let's go bang, get married, and live together!

Yeah, sounds like a recipe for disaster! Gabriel winced thinking of how any sane woman would run for the hills.

No, he would do this the human way, the right way.

Reigning in his wolf meant he could keep this relationship off to a good start and perhaps eventually tell his mate what he actually was. This would be all in due time of course.

She was almost upon him and he looked up to see a green baseball cap pulled low over a head of strawberry blond hair quickly making her way to the edge of the hill. Perhaps she did not know it was there? Before he could call out to her, she was already stepping over the hill above him.

She started sliding down the hill dangerously, letting out a slight screech as she lost her footing and slid on her butt down the sandy hill. She must have been walking her own dog because she lost her hold on the leash, causing the dog to speed off into the distance after a jackrabbit, barking happily.

Gabriel sped to her rescue as she slid to a halt at the bottom of the hill in a dusty red cloud.

"Excuse me ma'am are you alright?" he asked hoping his nerves would not be noticeable.

She looked up in shock, meeting his gaze. Her cream-colored skin gleamed in the sunlight, and her sparkling green eyes looked at him with caution. Gabriel noticed that her strawberry blond hair was held in place only by the scruffy green hat he saw pulled over her eyes before and she wore a turquoise athletic tee along with white and teal capri leggings.

She was breathtaking with her alluring face and her aesthetically pleasing figure.

Comparatively, Gabriel had dark flowing hair falling over the top of his ears and was wearing Adidas shorts that paired well with his gray tee. Gabriel offered her his arm to help her stand.

He snuck in a deep breath as her hair accidentally brushed against his nose while he helped her up.

"Whew, how embarrassing! I must not have been looking where I was going and just had a major klutz moment. I am so ashamed I was seen!" she huffed before chuckling softly, straightening her hat.

"Don't be! I am glad I was here to assist. Your dog just ran off though… I am hoping we can catch up to him," Gabriel added hastily trying to distract himself from her overpowering mate scent. The pull of your mate's scent is like the call of the wild to a shifter. Gabriel was dismissing his call, and nature did not approve.

"Oh gosh, my dog Frank… yes, he's newly mine. Thank you so much for your help, my name is Lucy Carrigan." She stretched her hand over to him, and he carefully wrapped his own large hand around hers. The initial feeling of skin-to-skin touching caused Gabriel to take a sharp breath of air.

"Lucy?" he asked, covering his reaction quickly, but not fast enough as she raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, um, yes it's Lucy. And your name?"

He shook his head as he reminded himself to let go of her hand. "I am Gabriel Herman. Your dog's new vet." Before she could protest or even process his bold response, he charged up the hill Lucy had just fallen down. "Come on, I hear him barking in this distance." Gabriel beckoned toward the direction the dog ran off in and Lucy's puzzled expression quickly faded as he helped her back up the hill.

"Are you sure you are all right? You took quite a tumble," Gabriel asked with worry in his voice as they started heading in the direction of the dog barking in the near distance.

"Oh yes, thank you for your help. You were in the right place at the right time. And of course Frank just runs off on me when he should be keeping me safe," she said exasperatedly.

"Who's Frank?" Gabriel's gruff response was apparent as he stiffened at the mention of a male's name. He already had a jealous side to his personality, but in typical wolf shifter fashion, this can be heightened, especially when a mate is involved.

"Oh! Frank is my dog," she chuckled as she walked faster. Soon they came upon the large dog barking into a hole in the ground with an overhang created by stones, but as his owner approached, he sat down and wagged his tail triumphantly as if to say how proud he was of his work. Gabriel stood back as he watched Lucy go up to the dog and chastise it for running off. The dog's look of guilt made Gabriel smile to himself.

"Well! I have had more than enough adventure for one day." Lucy sighed, picking up her dog's leash and walking over to Gabriel. "Did I hear you mention that you are a vet?" She smiled at him kindly, a bit of bashfulness coloring her cheeks red.

"Yes, yes I am. Happy to assist a newcomer to our neck of the woods," Gabriel added as he knelt down to pet Frank. The dog reciprocated the pets happily with his tongue hanging out the side of his mouth.

"Is it that obvious that I am not originally from here?" Lucy asked, taken aback.

"Well, I haven't seen you around yet, unless you are a tourist?" Gabriel ruffled Frank's long fur coat, looking up longingly at Lucy.

"My aunt actually has a homestead off this road, and I just moved in with her. Dry Creek has become one of my favorite trails to frequent every morning. I moved here from Colorado. The weather is quite different," Lucy energetically answered.

"Ah, so three feet of snow is typical weather for you," Gabriel teased, side-eyeing her to see her reaction.

"Oh pfft," she answered as she waved her hand dismissively.

The two of them started to subconsciously walk the rest of the trail together and banter in some small talk. Her scent was intoxicating, and he frequently took sips of water to distract himself.

"What made you move from Colorado to Arizona? It's such a big difference," Gabriel continued.

"Well… lots of reasons... but the main one, in particular, is to be a companion to my aunt since she's getting older." Her voice broke off, and he could hear her heart start to beat faster in a flight or fright response. He instantly knew there was more to the story. He also knew if he ever found out what she had run from, he would kill for her.... his beautiful mate.

"Is your aunt's name Gertrude Eudora by any chance?" Gabriel asked hesitantly.

"Oh yes, that's her name. Do you know her?" Lucy asked, looking at Gabriel again as they came to the end of the trail.

"I've known her my whole life growing up in this town… she's a gem. You two look a lot alike," Gabriel nodded as he scratched his head. How was he going to smoothly ask her out?

"We get that a lot. I hope that my moving in is helpful rather than detrimental. I've been looking to meet people my age around here, and I was wondering if I could get your number?" She smiled bashfully up at him, and after hearing her heart skip a beat Gabriel realized there was a mutual attraction.

Perhaps even though she was human, she could feel the call of the mate bond?

Gabriel smiled back triumphantly as he handed his phone to her. "Yes, please add your number to my phone. Let's meet up for coffee later, my treat. If you are free?"

Lucy nodded quickly, adding her number to his phone and handing the phone back to him. "I'm free around 1 pm after my shift ends."

"Great, let's meet at the Holy Grounds Cafe… it's this cute Bohemian coffee place in town," Gabriel suggested brushing her fingers as she handed his phone back. Shivers went down his spine at the skin-on-skin contact, and even Lucy seemed to be affected.

The idea that she could she sense the mate bond solidified more in Gabriel's mind.

They parted ways and Gabriel rushed home to take a very cold shower before he opened his veterinarian clinic for the day. He was going to need it, especially since it took his all not to claim Lucy right then and there.

He reminded himself that these things take time in the human world and turned his shower on all the way to the coldest setting.

"Sh*t!" He shivered.