The wolf starts full-on growling.
"Eliah. What is happening?" Demetri asks me and I shoot him a confused look.
"I just arrived. How am I supposed to know?" I look at the rest. Linda is also a vet along with Demetri and Zack is an assistant. They all shrug while Linda looks scared.
The wolf moves and I avert my attention away from Demetri.
"No, wait! Don't move or you'll hurt yourself," I crouch down, but still keep a distance.
He whimpers and his piercing green eyes catch my golden brown ones. His fur is pitch black and his size is just bigger than a Dire wolf and he has more fur than a Samoyed dog.
I offer a soft smile to see if he will see me as a threat, but he starts crying and whining.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I know you're hurt, that's why I want to help," I keep my voice soft while holding the emotions in my eyes.
"No, seriously. What is happening? I thought I was going to die at this rate, but as soon as you arrive he turns into a puppy," Demetri tries to joke, but I just gaze at the wolf. I hear snickering from Zack, though.
The wolf continues crying and lowers his head, almost like he is cowering.
I cock my head to the side and give my eyes a gentle glint with kindness. Shifting a bit closer, like a baby crouching, I lower my own head but don't break eye contact. Communication is key, especially through the eyes in my opinion.
"Are you crazy? Stop," Zack tries to intervene, and before I have to start the whole process over again, Demetri silences him with a 'shh'.
Luckily, Demetri has the brain to know that if I do anything too sudden, the wolf can hurt me while being this close.
Ignoring Zack, I shuffle a little closer, leaving a good meter between me and the wolf. He releases a loud sigh and slumps into a lying position. I refrain from gasping upon seeing the large wound taking up his whole side.
"Hand me the calming injection, please," I whisper as softly as I can and the next moment I feel the piece in my outstretched hand.
I desperately search for a good weak spot. My eyes land on his hind legs, which are conveniently close to me. It's far away from the injury to not cause sudden pain and injections are unnoticeable if you do it the right way.
With my left hand, I pet the spot, the wolf jerking away, but relaxing again under my touch. With my right hand, I inject him while still petting him, making it seem like I'm not poking him with a needle. My hands move quickly and gently, to get it over and done with.
I back away slowly, but I'm stopped in my tracks by a grumbling noise. My eyes shoot up and connect with the wolf's ones. He has lifted his head and is busy growling at me, staring me down.
"Step away, Eliah," Demetri whispers from somewhere behind me. I nod my head in understanding but take my sweet time backing up to avoid frightening the wolf with sudden movements.
"He should feel drowsy in a minute," I whisper as I reach the group of vets. We all stare at each other, thinking about the next move.
"Zack, get the car," Demetri fires in Zack's direction and the wolf is starting to bare his teeth.
Zack doesn't argue and launches himself in the direction of the Jeep. Linda is frozen to the spot and I drag her back behind me. My right arm is pulling Demetri back, while my left is pushing Linda behind me.
My eyes never leave the wolf's green ones as he is trying to move closer. I give him a pleading look, trying to hide the small fear in my eyes.
I stop moving and relax my muscles, holding the gaze. He starts crying again, almost like a puppy looking for attention.
Before I could do anything about it, I hear the struggle of the Jeep trying to catch some speed on the rocky ground.
Linda yelps and jumps into shotgun while Zack is still parking the car in reverse. It takes him a minute to get the right angle in front of the wolf.
The wolf's eyes start drooping along with his body and we take this as our chance to carry him into the back of the Jeep that's caged off. Zack opens the door to the side and gets ready behind the wolf.
"I'll take his head to prevent snapping or straining. Zack, you take the shoulders and the chest. Demetri, you take the behind and stomach. Linda is freaking out, rightfully so, so be careful not to swing his legs too much, since she isn't here to help," I inform the two men as we each take our position. I wiggle my hands under his head and cradle the wolf, the other two get in their positions as well.
"It's okay, buddy. In thirty minutes you will be sleeping on a comfy bed, okay," I reassured the whining wolf in my arms. His head is taking the space in my arms like a lion's head, but with thinner features. I held a lion's head once when I had the privilege to help the sanctuary transfer an injured lion.
"Okay. Ready?" Demetri checks with us.
"One, two, three," Zack rushes the count and we stumble a bit with the wolf's weight and size. He doesn't stop crying, the pain only gets worse even with the shot I gave him.
Demetri turns with Zack's guidance and places the back half of the wolf in the car. Zack grunts as he shoves the wolf's entire weight into the back. I lay his head to the side and get ready to jump in.
"Are you crazy?" Zack repeats himself from a few minutes ago, this time I catch his expression.
"You really want to leave him in here, in a cage while feeling a little woozy and in a bumpy ride? You're mental if you think you can get away with it a wolf his size," I raise my eyebrow, completing the look with a grimacing smile. To be honest, yes, it was an excuse for me to avoid Zack's complaining and the cramped space. The Jeep doesn't have backseats to make the cage bigger, so only three people can fit in the front.
"Fine, your funeral," Zack scoffs and stomps away. Demetri helps me hoist myself up into the boot of the large Jeep.
"Our animal whisperer did it again," Demetri winks and chuckles at his own words.
I roll my eyes at the nickname and let a smile slip. Demetri closes the door and I get into a sitting position by the wolf's stomach, the only open space.
His entire body barely fits in this place and I start to worry about the operation room's size. Yes, we rescue the bears that are hunted, Brown bears, decent-sized ones. It feels like he noticed my panic because he begins to stare me down.
He whimpers again and I'm lost.
"What do you want me to do, huh? Does it hurt that bad?" I inspect the injury and my eyes grow wide when I see his condition.
The light in the back lights up when the Jeep starts moving, making me realise what I saw in the dark woods didn't show anything.
Blood is still gushing out, resulting in a pool of blood surrounding me. There are three clear slashes that ripped his skin, and the form is paw-like. I also see some sort of Aconitum in between his hair and blood.
I reach out and slide the small metal window open.
"Hurry!" I warn the others.
"What's wrong?" Linda has horror written all over her face.
"We're gonna lose him. Why didn't you even think to mention the state he is in?" I question Demetri directly.
"I did-" I cut him off.
"No. All you said was 'he is hurt'. What happened to 'he is dying'? To top it off, he is covered in wolfsbane!"
"Well, if you're not so slow-paced, maybe you could've been here earlier," he mocks back at me and I grow furious.
"Well, if you weren't so vague about the situation, maybe I would've known to hurl my ass over here!" I don't let him respond and slam the window shut. I see the latch moving, so I lock the window from my side.
"Oh, come on," Demetri pounds on the window a few times, but then stops.
That's when I feel a rumbling from beside me and I turn around in confusion.
I catch the wolf's eyes and almost scream when he tries flying himself at me.
His size obviously got rid of the calming shot, now he's a mixture of cries and whimpers while simultaneously trying to get on top of me. It's been no more than ten minutes and he is already up and moving around.
Now I'm completely lost. That was supposed to be a strong shot, a shot to make him calm and sleepy for at least a few hours. A shot that knocked the bears out for an hour or two.
When I notice we are slowing down, I know Linda will jump out at the reception to handle the owner of the property. And maybe a few extra cops.
The jeep speeds up again turning onto a paved road. The ride isn't as shaky anymore and I notice the wolf is getting into a stance.
Before I can calm him down or protect myself, he leaps.
He leaps. He leaps straight into me. The air escapes my lungs and I fall with the wolf on the metal platform. I groan as I duck away from the black wolf, but his massive body takes most of the space in the rather large boot. It's a metal box and is only one and a half by two meters long, big enough to keep a Brown bear and this wolf close in size, so not much space for me to move, let alone this wolf. The wolf plops down, crushing me with his weight. He snuggles a bit to get more comfortable. The pain long forgotten, he sniffs me, only moving his head. I shift under him to turn and face him. He starts panting and wagging his tail, his tail hitting the metal walls with a rhythm. I throw him a questioning look and didn't it expect when he suddenly starts licking my face. I squeal and giggle as he slobs me all over my face. "So that's what you were trying to do," I continue squealing after talking to him through a fit of giggles. I burst with laughter when he licks my ear, never
"I called the sanctuary. They don't want him," Linda sighs, starting the meeting. Zack and Demetri groan, along with Grace and Jonathan, also vet assistances. Jonathan plumages his head on the table and dangles his limbs. Together, along with our secretary, we are known as Team 2. "I also called the sanctuary two cities over. They also refused," Linda looks down and the sixty-three-year-old secretary speaks up. "So, we have no choice but to keep him?" Eleanor adjusts her glasses that have a chain that lies around her neck. "Yes," Linda nods and sits down. "It will only be for a week because with the rate he is currently recovering, he will heal pretty quickly," Demetri informs. I nod in understanding and look at Jonathan who is currently still shaking his body like a frustrated toddler. Grace is clicking her pen on the table. Everyone sighs and turns on their thinking face. Not long after much thinking, the owner of the animal hospital storms into the meeting room. "I will not
"Koray-" before I can finish the wolf jumps up. "Wow, that took forever," my smile shows my exhaustion as I shut my laptop closed. "Koray, meaning ember moon," I throw another tired smile, noticing the sun has completely set. The wolf, or now Koray, is trotting in one spot as I say his name. "You like me saying your name? Huh, Koray?" he hops with his front legs and I'm glad I don't have to search for longer. It's also a bonus he loves the name. "It's long past dinner time, so I'll get the food for you boys," I drag myself towards the box-like cabin and hobble through the entrance. Walking straight towards the kitchen, I pass the couch with uncountable pillows on my right and the large desk on my left. As I don't like coffee tables, there lies a fluffy mat. I collect Python's food and fill his bowl, picking it up so he can join dinner, and grab myself some leftovers. I run upstairs to my bedroom hanging over the kitchen and grab a sweater before getting all the food. I stroll pas
Fear is beginning to cloud my vision. In front of me, there are currently six large wolves of different colours. Smaller than Koray, but still big. This morning was a repetition of two days ago. I woke up, heard howling, stormed outside and instead of just seeing Koray, I came face to face with his pack. Or a part of his pack. That, I figured out. "Koray," I whisper and the wolves lower their head. Now I'm in total confusion. "The wolves in these woods are weird," I broadcast fear as I see the wolves not moving from their position. Are they submitting? Why? Koray snarls at them and they all stand tall again. Okay? What now? As if reading my mind again, Koray growls and the pack takes off into the trees. One grey wolf turns back for a second, but Koray growls again, making the wolf dart into the shadows. My eyes, as big as they can be, look at Koray, the rest of my body frozen. Koray cries and I snap out of my phase. "So you trust me," is the only words I can manage at th
I scream so hard that I start choking on my own breath. While starting up the screaming again, I yield the pan in front of me like the lady I am. "Hey, wait! WAIT!!" the handsome man surrenders with his arms in the air and stands up. Not moving, I close my eyes as he is fully butt naked, but I keep my fighting stance. "It's okay," he whispers in his ruff voice and I can hear he is coming closer. "No, it's not. You're naked," I state with uncertainty and bring the pan closer to me, the 'weapon' making me feel safe. "Why are eating my food in the middle of the night with the fridge's light shining on you like a banshee!" I franticly swing the pan by my side. The man places his hands on my shoulders and before I can whack him across the face, he stops me. Damn, he's strong. Stop thinking about what he looks like and concentrate on the situation! The man chuckles under his breath as if knowing a secret. "It's me, Koray," he tries to reassure me for some reason. "You think I'm
It's been two weeks. Maybe that whole encounter with that dream guy wasn't real. First of all, I was way too calm in that situation, maybe I really am going crazy. Secondly, he disappeared into thin air after walking out my door. Lastly, Koray was lying in his cage when I snapped back to reality and followed the guy outside. Most importantly, Python was sleeping through everything, so he isn't freaking out to confirm what happened. Also also, I can't seem to get him off my mind. Why did he have to be so good-looking? "You wanna kill the plants?" Zack drags me out of my thoughts and I shake my head. "Then concentrate," I can see this is all one big joke to him as I stop watering the flowers in the waiting room. "I have worked hard keeping those plants alive, sweetie," Eleanor joins the conversation with a protective tone. "I know, I'm sorry. I've been out of it lately," I sigh as my feet drag behind me. "Some tea would cheer you up. What flavour do you want?" Eleanor shoos Zac
Is that Koray? The wolf nods and I know. I still haven't moved from my spot and was searching through them when I spotted a familiar large black wolf with green eyes. He steps up from the group and his body changes. He winces as his body shifts from a wolf to a human being. I gawk at the naked sight in front of me. I'm drunk without drinking! Koray, no, Xavion is chuckling again at my thoughts and I scowl. Every wolf looks at the naked man with confusion, probably wondering why he is laughing to himself. "It's okay. You're okay," he leaps to my side while whispering. My eyelids fly shut when he lurks closer. "Royce, give me pants," he speaks with so much power I didn't expect it, so I unconsciously back away. I feel Xavion holding me in his arms and I can feel he already is wearing his pants. "Shift," his power continues and I can feel his alpha radiating off of him. "I'm sorry. It's over," he whispers in my ear and I slightly jolt. I weave my eyes open and see all the wol
"Get a shirt," I advise Xavion while hopping down the stairs, Python following. I jump over a few sleeping bodies to pour Python's food. He slips through everything and hops onto the counter. I pet my cat while he is eating and search for the biggest breakfast. I'll have to go to the supermarket. Grabbing my purse, I make my way for the front door, but someone stops me from behind. "Where are you going, sugar?" he whispers while snaking his arms around my waist and laying his head on my shoulder. "We need food," I whisper back to not wake the others up. "They're wolves," I try to make a point, but Xavion doesn't respond. It looks like he fell asleep on my shoulder. He yawns and nods his head after a while. "Didn't I tell you to get a shirt?" His only response was to shrug his shoulders. He mumbles something I can't hear, so I wriggle out of his grasp. "If you get a shirt, we can go grocery shopping toget