All Chapters of I Picked Up a Wolf in the Apocalypse: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

I picked up that wolf on a supply run.I was pretty sure I'd gone out for canned food and medicine. Instead, I dragged a giant silver-gray wolf out from under a collapsed shelf.A rusted length of rebar had gone straight through his hind leg, and blood had matted the silver-gray fur into clumps. He looked wretched.Three zombie corpses lay around him, every skull crushed.I crouched and weighed the facts. He had killed three zombies, so he was a formidable fighter. He was still alive, so he was tough. If I saved him, he could kill more zombies for me.Worth it.I hauled him onto a cart and dragged him back to the base. Smuggling him into my cramped cubicle nearly killed me.The base rated every survivor's ability from F to S. F was the bottom tier. Most F-ranks never awakened a useful power, weren't much stronger than ordinary people, held little status, received smaller rations, and were easy to overlook.I happened to be one of those F-rank rejects, so everyone assumed I'd dragged ho

The day he left, the weather was fine.For once, no zombies pressed against the walls. Sunlight spilled through a jagged window and settled on his silver-gray hair like snow.He stood in the doorway looking at me, his expression complicated, as though he had a great deal to say, and in the end all he got out was "...That human male who brought you canned food yesterday. Stay away from him from now on.""Why? The cans he gave me weren't expired.""You!"He drew a deep breath, as though holding something down.In the end he said nothing, shifted to wolf form, and vanished into the far end of the ruins without looking back.I stood in the doorway for a while. His retreating figure quickly vanished behind collapsed concrete and rusted steel.I went back into my cubicle and sat on the bed.His smell was still on it. Cedar and something wild.I lay down and pulled his pillow into my arms.It was a little cold.Then I got up and went to the supply depot for a new blanket.Blankets don't run a

Doofus barked for the first time a month later.He wasn't actually brave. He hid behind me when he saw zombies and tucked his tail between his legs around other superpowered survivors. But that evening, he suddenly started barking furiously toward the base's outer perimeter.I'd never heard him make that sound.It wasn't fear or excitement, but an aggressive warning, his hackles raised, his tail rigid, a low growl rumbling in his throat.I went out to look. There was nothing out there. In the distance there lay only the collapsed concrete labyrinth and rusted steel frames, and the setting sun had dyed all of it the color of blood. Utterly devoid of life."What are you barking at?" I patted Doofus's head.He stopped barking, but his eyes stayed fixed in that direction, a growl still rumbling in his throat.I stood in the doorway a long time.I saw nothing.Only later did I learn there really had been something out there that day.A giant silver-gray wolf had stood deep in the ruins, wat

Silas moved into my cubicle for good.Not because I relented. Because he had no shame at all.After the zombie wave receded, he followed me back to the base. The moment he stepped inside, he shifted to wolf form, curled into a ball at the foot of the bed, and rested his chin on his paws. His gray eyes shone up at me, his entire posture insisting, See? I'm good. I barely take up any room.I said, "Don't you still have pack business to handle?"His ears twitched. "Already handled.""That fast?""My brother can handle the rest.""...Aren't you the Alpha?""Even Alphas get vacation time."Doofus perched on the bed, staring down at the giant wolf. His tail had stopped wagging, and his expression said, Why is this guy back?Silas looked up at him and narrowed his gray eyes. Then he extended his tail and swept it squarely across Doofus's face.Doofus sneezed, then barked at him in outrage.Silas closed his eyes and pretended nothing had happened.I rubbed my temples.Keeping one wolf was stra

Doofus and Silas finally came to blows.More accurately, Doofus declared war on Silas, Silas flattened him, and then I punished Silas. Every part of the fight was one-sided.The cause was a strip of dried meat.I gave one to Doofus and not to Silas.It wasn't favoritism. Silas didn't eat dog treats. The last time I put one in his mouth, he chewed twice, swallowed, then frowned. "Too bland. Not enough chewiness. Don't give me junk like this again." I'd said, "Fine. I won't."So that day, I really didn't give him one.And he got angry.Not because I'd withheld a treat from him, but because I'd given one to Doofus."You gave that stupid dog a treat." He sat on the bed with his arms folded, glowering."You said last time you didn't want it.""And you took me at my word?""...What else?"He choked on that. His lips moved as he tried and failed to find a comeback. Then he turned and fixed his gaze on the piece of dried meat still in Doofus's mouth."If you dare take the dog's food I'm throwi