Chapter 1

The wolf starts full-on growling.

"Eliah. What is happening?" Demetri asks me, and I shoot him a 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 the wolf and me. 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 sedation, please," I whisper as softly as I can, and the next moment I feel the syringe 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 so as not to 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 can 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 back 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 on 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 size of the operating room. 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 to fling his body 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.