I backed another step away.

“You can’t expect to regain given ground,” his words echoed in my memory.

Tegra-Gale advanced again, causing my claws to scrape the wall. I was not sure what he would do next. When he strayed too close again, a growl grew deep in my chest. I held my stance now, he paused, then shifted toward me again. My growl increased in volume, I tried to quell it, but it felt entwined with my trepidation. I could not separate my reaction from how I felt.

As though he had been waiting for me to understand this, Tegra stopped, and though my growl – now somehow foreign to me – quieted, I felt it ready to revive at any hint of threat. His hand rose very slowly. Wariness kept my eyes roving, looking for trouble. The soft touch of his hand on the side of my muzzle was not what I was expecting. The fingers lightly caressed beneath my ear.