by J. C. Diem
Slinking away from the road, I retreated back to my lair. As I neared my cave, I picked up the strangely familiar scent of a dog and my territorial instincts kicked in. I could hardly believe it when the tracks led straight to my home.
Growling low in my throat, I stepped inside the cave to confront the intruder. My growl died before it could turn into a roar of challenge. Now I could see why the scent had been so familiar. The Rottweiler that I thought I’d left behind for good had somehow managed to track me down. His ears drooped at my unwelcoming glare. Sensing that I was close to violence, he did what any lesser dog would do and rolled onto his back to show me his belly.
Stalking closer, I felt a faint connection to him that baffled me. Looming over him, I spoke into his mind. I do not want you here! Go home! His mind was more primitive than mine and he couldn’t form actual words. He communicated with emotion instead and his response astonished me. According to him, I was home. He’d left his comfortable life behind because he loved me far more than food, shelter or his favorite game of fetch.
Sitting back on my haunches in surprise, I didn’t try to stop him when he scrambled to his feet. Moving cautiously, he sidled up to me and leaned his head against my chest. My claws could easily have swiped his head from his shoulders and my teeth could have snapped him in half with no effort at all. Despite this, he trusted me unconditionally. I in no way resembled the human that I used to be, yet he was willing to accept me as I was.
To my utter astonishment, I found myself stroking his head. I noticed that he now wore a collar. It was black and had metal spikes on it that were designed to stop other dogs from savaging his throat. It had a familiar if faded human scent on it. For a moment, I felt nostalgic for my old life.
Why are you here? I asked and he opened his mind to me. Just like with my mate, a barrage of images hit me. Through him, I saw myself as a human and was reminded of the people that I’d left behind. I thought I’d lost everything when my mate had chosen another, but the Rottweiler was proof that I hadn’t. He’d used the link between us to follow me and it had led him straight to my lair.
“Zeus,” I growled out loud, astonished that I could speak at all. Only my mate had been able to form human words before. Pain washed through me at being reminded of him. My human half had allowed me to take over because she thought our suffering would be less. She’d been wrong. In some respects, I hurt even worse now. At least when I’d been human I had people who loved me. Now I was an outcast.
Now that Zeus had found me, he wasn’t going to let me go again. I’d have to either kill him or somehow force him to leave if I wanted to remain alone. I didn’t want him dead and I couldn’t find it in myself to abandon him for a second time. Instead of being a lone creature that was doomed to be exiled forever, I now had an unlikely companion.
With a deep sigh, I realized I would now have to provide for him as if he was a helpless puppy. He’d only been in the wild for a couple of weeks and he was already scrawny from lack of food. Used to being fed by humans, he didn’t have the necessary skills to survive out here.
Sensing my thoughts, Zeus looked up at me worshipfully. Even though I was now a monster, he still loved me. I wasn’t capable of smiling, but if I had been able to, it would have been bitter. He could accept me as I was, but my mate couldn’t.
Come on, I told him. Let’s find something to eat. He sent me a hopeful picture of a can of food. Do I look like I’m carrying any dog food? He looked at my furry body doubtfully. We’ll be eating raw meat, I told him. First, I had to catch it.
Maintaining a pace that Zeus could keep up with, I followed my nose to prey. The Rottweiler didn’t have the required levels of stealth, so I ordered him to wait for me downwind. Closing in on a small herd of deer, I watched them as they slumbered. There was a thrill to creeping up on my food and being able to choose from among them. If I hadn’t had a hungry companion depending on me, I’d have startled them into running. The hunt was the only thing that gave me any pleasure now and even that was fleeting.
Choosing a young doe, I crept up on her until I was within touching distance. One swipe of my claws across her throat ended her life. She died without a sound and her herd remained unaware of their loss as I carried her lifeless corpse away.
Dropping the deer carcass in front of Zeus, I ripped her stomach open with my claws and proceeded to feed. The Rottweiler watched me for a few moments then nudged his way in beside me. There was plenty for us both and we ate until we were gorged.
Full to bursting, Zeus tottered away and fell onto his side with a groan. A light snow had been falling, but clouds were gathering. They were an indication that it was going to start coming down harder soon. He’d freeze if I left him outside. We had to get back to the cave where we’d be safe from the storm. I scooped him up into my arms and loped away.
We reached the cave shortly before dawn. I carried Zeus inside and put him down gently. He opened his eyes long enough to look around then promptly shut them again and succumbed to sleep. He was full, dry and safe from the elements and he was content. I wished I could be as easily pleased, but that was the price I had to pay for retaining my human intelligence.
When dawn came a short while later, I waited for the pain that inevitably occurred with my transformation back to a human. Minutes passed, light filtered inside the cave and nothing happened. Astonished and disturbed that I still remained in my wolf form, I reached out to my mate to find he’d changed back to a human. His mind was now clear and the thirst for blood that had haunted him for the past three nights was gone.
Lexi? Is that you? His thought was a mere whisper that I could barely understand. Then it faded and was gone. While he had resumed his normal form, I was still a monster.
Lying on my side next to my canine companion, I was in a state that was close to panic. Had I been a werewolf too long to change back now? Was I destined to be in this form forever?
Waking a couple of hours later, Zeus was unaware of my inner turmoil and trotted outside to take care of his pressing needs. It was snowing heavily now and I felt him shiver from the cold through our link.
I felt a sudden sense of alarm coming from him when he was on his way back and I surged to my feet. He could hear two humans approaching. Through him, I caught their scent. They were unfamiliar to him, but not to me.
Knowing he was in danger, I nudged my way into my companion’s mind and saw through his eyes. The same two humans I’d almost had a collision with a few hours ago emerged from the trees. They’d sobered up and were intent on hunting me down. One of them spied Zeus and shouted. Both raised their rifles and a shot rang out before my companion could scramble to safety.
Yelping at the pain that thundered through his left hind leg, he bared his teeth in preparation to attack. No! He faltered at the command in my tone. Lead them to me, I instructed. They’d wanted to find me and I was going to fulfil their wish.
Zeus fled back to the cave before the second man could take a shot at him. Limping on three legs, he left a trail of blood that would bring them straight to me.
My rage flared as I crossed to stand beside the mouth of the cave. Zeus sent me a frightened look as he scurried past me and huddled against the far wall. He knew I was murderously angry and that I was ready to tear the men apart.
As I’d hoped, the two humans blundered into the cave without bothering to use caution. To their eyes, the cavern would be almost lightless. Zeus’ dark fur helped to hide him from their frantic search.
My first instinct was to leap on the intruders then tear them apart and eat their entrails. Zeus whined in my mind, reminding me that harming humans was taboo. If I were to succumb to my rage, I would be hunted by the people that I’d left behind. Neither of us wanted that to happen.
It took all of my willpower to control my anger as I crept up on the hunters. Instead of tearing their heads off, I grabbed them by the hair and gently clashed their heads together. With a sickening thud, they collapsed to the ground. For a moment I
thought I’d killed them despite my restraint. Then I heard the thud of their heartbeats and knew that they would survive.
Collapsing onto his side, Zeus whined out loud this time. The poor dog was in agony. I crossed to him and hunkered down to examine his wound. The bullet was still lodged in his upper leg. He needed treatment and I couldn’t help him in my current form. Feeling helpless and ineffectual, I stroked his head, offering him the only comfort I could. He humbly licked my hand and stared up at me, trusting that I could fix this and that everything would be okay.
Pain lanced through my chest at the thought of losing him. I’d forsaken him, but he hadn’t given up on me. If I lost him, I knew I would eventually forget that I’d ever been human at all. Soon, there would be no trace of my former self left.
In desperation, I reached deep inside my mind and spoke directly to my human half. She was hiding in the depths of our consciousness, cowering from the avalanche of pain that she knew would return if she were to emerge. Zeus is going to bleed to death if you don’t help him, I told her.
He’s going to leave me eventually, she thought back. Maybe it’s better to lose him now so it won’t hurt so much later.
Enraged by her overwhelming self-pity, I shook her with mental hands. Grow up! She was taken aback by the ferocity of my snarl. Take responsibility and stop acting like a spoiled child! You’re stronger than this.
Am I? Her question was pitiful and forlorn. How am I going to survive without Reece? Our bond with him was so strong that the thought of not being with him was devastating. It almost didn’t seem natural, as if some other force was deliberately putting us through as much misery as it possibly could.
I don’t know, I replied truthfully. I felt the same sense of agony and loss that she did at being discarded by our mate. All I know is that Zeus is depending on us and we can’t let him down. I forced her to look into the Rottweiler’s mind and to sense the love that he felt for us both.
With a teary mental sigh, she finally capitulated. She loved Zeus just as much as she did the humans she’d left behind. Seeing him in peril was the only thing that could have forced her to set aside her need to wallow in self-pity.
I knew it was necessary for me to relinquish my control, but it wasn’t in my nature to give up without a fight. After a long mental wrestling match, her innate human stubbornness eventually won. It helped that I was weakened by daylight and the loss of power from the now waning moon.
The change was rapid, but it was far from painless. With a last wistful sigh of regret, I subsided back into the human’s subconscious where I would rest until the moon became full again.
₪₪₪
Chapter Three
Shuddering in the aftermath of turning back into a human, I was glad my wolf hadn’t put up more of a fight. I knew that I’d never be able to wrest control from her while the moon was full. She would be far too powerful then.
Ignoring the two unconscious hunters, I knelt beside Zeus. He lifted his head slightly and tried to wag his stump of a tail at seeing me back in my normal form. He loved both versions of me, but preferred this one. As a human, I was far more willing to play fetch.
“Hey, Zeus,” I said softly and stroked his ears. “Thanks for finding me.”
He licked my hand then closed his eyes as a wave of dizziness washed over him. He’d already lost a lot of blood and he was in no shape to respond enthusiastically.
I only vaguely remembered what had happened to me during the past three nights and not much at all before that. I knew I’d had a close encounter while hunting last night. The two men had apparently followed my trail at least part of the way to this cave. Snow must have obscured my tracks or they’d have found us sooner. When they’d spotted Zeus, they must have thought he’d been the animal they’d almost hit with their truck.
Currently buck naked, I didn’t have anything to stem the blood that was leaking from Zeus’ wound. I turned to the two men to see they were both deeply unconscious. My wolf had done an excellent job of knocking them out without causing any lasting damage. They’d wake up with the mother of all headaches, but hopefully without any brain damage. They deserved to suffer for what they’d done to my companion, but I didn’t want their deaths on my conscience.
Searching their pockets, apart from the keys to their truck, I didn’t find anything useful. Desperate for something I could use as a bandage, I stripped the smaller of the two men down to his underwear then put his boots back on his feet. They were far too large for me and would be more of a hindrance than a help. I tore his t-shirt into strips and tied it around Zeus’ wound.
With that task done, I donned the man’s jacket and pants. Wearing only an undershirt and grimy tighty-whities, he’d be in danger of hypothermia. I couldn’t leave him like that, so I left the cave to search for some wood. A deadfall a short distance away caught my eye. I smelled the carcass of a bear long before I reached it.
Smelling my own scent all over the branches, I realized I’d created a pantry and that the bear had been my food. That explained why the cave smelled so strongly of bear. I shook my head when I realized I’d evicted the animal from his home and had eaten him.
I gathered an armful of dry sticks from the bottom of the deadfall then returned to the cave. Placing the sticks in a pile in the center of the cavern, I used a lighter that I found in the hunter’s pocket to start a fire.
Showing a rare streak of vindictiveness, I dragged the men over and arranged them so they were spooning each other. When I was done, the nearly naked guy was facing the fire and his friend was wrapped around him from behind. They would no doubt be highly embarrassed when they woke, but that was their problem, not mine.
Scooping Zeus into my arms, I took off at a sprint. A storm had just begun and the snow was falling harder than ever. Despite the snow, I was able to follow the hunters’ scent down the mountain to their truck. I laid Zeus on the front seat and climbed in. The truck lurched into motion and I followed a badly rutted dirt road to a highway.
Vaguely remembering there was a town nestled in a nearby valley, I turned left and drove as fast as I dared to on the slick road. Half an hour later, I entered the town. It was tiny enough to take in with a single glance. Spying a sign for a veterinary clinic, I drove towards the edge of the town and nudged the truck into the small parking lot.
Pretending to struggle under the weight, I carried Zeus inside. A bell jingled and the receptionist looked up with an automatic smile. Her smile froze and her eyes widened when she took in my disheveled state. I’d glanced into the rearview mirror to see my face was dirty and my hair was wild and unwashed. Take in the fact that I was barefoot and wore clothes that obviously didn’t belong to me and I could understand her alarm.
Only a few years older than me, she had long honey blond hair that fell around her shoulders in shiny waves. She wore jeans and a bright red sweater that matched her lipstick. Compared to me, her appearance was impeccable. I wasn’t surprised when her hand strayed towards the phone on her desk.
“Someone shot my dog,” I said before she could call the sheriff and have me hauled away. “He’s lost a lot of blood.”
“Shauna!” she called out without taking her eyes from me. “You have a customer!”
There was an edge of worry to her voice and the vet responded immediately. A woman in her fifties hurried out from her office. Her face was weathered and her long curly black hair was turning gray. Laugh lines accentuated her eyes. Stopping dead in her tracks when she saw me, she quickly masked her shock at my appearance. Seeing the crude bloodstained bandage on Zeus’ leg, she gestured towards the examination room next to her office. “Bring him in here,” she ordered.
I pretended to almost buckle under Zeus’ weight and she helped me to carry him into the room. We heaved him onto the examination table and I stroked his ears to keep him calm when his eyes rolled in fear. He didn’t like the antiseptic smell that overwhelmed the clinic. It’s okay, I told him. You’re safe here. She’s going to fix
your leg.
Casting a look at the veterinarian, he slid his gaze to me then put his head down on the table and sighed. He knew he had no choice but to trust the stranger. I couldn’t heal him, but she could.
Removing the bandage, Shauna gently probed the wound, making Zeus wince. “The bullet is still inside,” she said more to herself than to me. “He’ll need an operation.” She turned to me and assessed my apparent homeless state. “This isn’t going to be cheap.”
I knew she wouldn’t believe me if I told her I was a federal agent, so I fabricated a lie. “I’ll call my guardian. He’ll pay the bill when he comes to pick me up.”
“You’re a runaway?”
“You could say that,” I responded vaguely. It was exactly like that, actually. My wolf had been right, I had been acting like a spoiled child. I’d run away instead of facing my problems and Zeus had almost died as a result.
“I’m going to call an assistant to help me,” she said and pulled her cell phone out of her pocket. She stepped into her office to make the call. “Hi, Cindy. A Rottweiler was just brought in and he needs emergency surgery. Are you free?” I couldn’t hear the response, but it must have been in the affirmative. “Great. I’ll see you in a few minutes.”
She returned and allowed me to stay while she prepared the equipment that she’d need for the operation. The bell jingled a couple of minutes later and her assistant hurried inside. Around twenty, her skin was a few shades darker than Flynn’s and she had beautiful chocolate brown eyes. Her mouth dropped open when she saw me, but her boss sent her a warning look before she could say anything.
“You’ll have to wait outside now,” the vet said and urged me towards the door.
Both women were wearing white lab coats over their sweaters and jeans. I had to trust that they knew what they were doing. I nodded and Zeus sent me a panicked look when he realized I was about to leave. You’ll be fine, I said soothingly. They’re going to put you into a deep sleep. You’ll feel a lot better when you wake up. I didn’t promise him that I’d be there when he woke. In a town this small, word would have already begun to spread about the vagabond girl and her wounded dog.
