Three Wild Werewolf Tales (12 page)

Werewolf.

Stephen turned, taking a few steps in the direction of the scent. It wasn’t an animal, certainly not a regular wolf. Werewolves always retained something of their human smell, but Stephen didn’t recognise it. He howled, letting the newcomer know they had been scented and that Stephen was going to approach them. At the same time, the howl would also alert the others that a new werewolf was in the area. If Stephen remained quiet for long, they’d investigate.

He ran, and heard an answering howl. That was Richard, letting him know he’d heard and would remain alert. Then there was a third howl, from the new wolf, saying that they meant no harm and would be out of their territory soon. Stephen kept running, because he was curious now. It wasn’t often that werewolves left their pack’s territory, and he wondered why this one had.

Eventually, he padded up a slope and stood still on top of it. A few yards below stood the other werewolf. This close, it was easy to smell the fear, and Stephen sat down. The other wolf was a bit smaller than he was, and Stephen didn’t want to look threatening. Not yet.

“I mean you no harm,” he informed the werewolf, who took a few steps back and Stephen saw him struggle with one of his hind legs. What had happened here? What was this werewolf running from?

“Please,” the wolf replied, his tail low and between his legs. “I’ll leave, I didn’t know there was a pack living here, honest, I haven’t killed anything. Don’t hurt me.”

Wounded and scared of other werewolves… not on the run from a human, then. “I mean you no harm. Nor does the rest of my pack.” Stephen stood up, and slowly walked closer. “I’m curious why you’re here, that’s all.” Stephen guessed the other werewolf definitely hadn’t been one for long. It was clear he wasn’t used yet to his wolf body and how it moved.

The other werewolf remained wary, backing away from Stephen. “I’m only passing through, I thought this would be a safe place to rest. I’ll find another place, don’t worry.”

Stephen stayed where he was, although on the inside he was getting more and more annoyed that this werewolf was so scared of him. “You can rest here while you’re wounded. How did that happen?” Stephen could see there was dried blood in the werewolf’s fur. Judging from the way the other wolf was moving, it hadn’t healed. There was only one reason Stephen could think of. “Did another werewolf hurt you?” That explained why the werewolf was desperate to get away from something. “A nearby pack?”

“How did you know?” the werewolf asked, and as he took another step, he collapsed on the forest floor.

“Don’t get up,” Stephen said, walking closer as the other werewolf failed to stand again. “You’re badly wounded.” Now that the other wolf had stopped trying to get away from him, Stephen could see there were more wounds than he had first spotted. There were bites along the thighs of both hind legs and the left front leg, and dried blood covered most of the other wolf’s side, with some dark streaks in its tail. “How did it happen?” If there was a violent werewolf nearby, he and his pack needed to know so they could be prepared.

“The wolf who made me,” the wolf replied, his eyes wide as Stephen sniffed the wounds, his fear growing stronger. “He did it.”

Stephen raised his head. The dried blood was about a day old, but there were fresh wounds underneath. “Why?” Peter had told him stories of newly changed werewolves trying to kill the werewolf who had bitten them in an attempt to reverse the change, but the other way around didn’t make much sense to him.

“Because he made me,” the werewolf said. “He’s my alpha and I’m not very good at being a werewolf yet.” His tone was so casual, so accepting that it made Stephen angry. Alphas? What a load of bullshit. They were human most of the time, a pack didn’t need an alpha to function. Sure, he listened to Holly and Peter, they had lived as werewolves before Stephen had even been born, and Alex as the youngest werewolf still had a lot to learn, but that didn’t mean Holly and Peter were alphas while Alex was treated like crap. They listened to each other. Maybe if their pack was bigger they’d need more of a hierarchal structure, but there was no need for that with seven werewolves. A pack of two definitely didn’t need an alpha, although Stephen figured that the older werewolf in that situation would automatically take the lead so the younger could learn from them. But learning didn’t involve vicious bites.

“Where did you come from?” he asked, slightly growling. He hoped it wasn’t some werewolf he knew.

Stephen’s anger made the other werewolf crawl away, flattening his ears. “Sixty miles west of here, he’s called McClanahan. Do you know him?”

“The name doesn’t ring a bell,” Stephen replied, trying to remember. He had never headed out that far. Maybe Peter or Holly knew something.

There was a howl in the distance and Stephen’s heart fell when he saw the way the other werewolf flinched. “That’s just Richard, he won’t hurt you either.” He answered back, calling for Richard and any other wolf of his pack in the vicinity. He needed to talk to some of the others.

“You called him over,” the werewolf replied. “Why?”

“Because you’re wounded and I want to help you, but I can’t make that decision by myself,” Stephen said kindly. “I’ve never had to deal with a werewolf wounded by another werewolf. Richard has been a werewolf longer than I have, he might know something.” A voice at the back of his head reminded him he knew a person who would be more than capable of taking care of the wounds, but he ignored it. They weren’t so desperate that they needed Nathan’s help. “I’m Stephen, what’s your name?” he asked, sitting down next to the other wolf.

“Daniel,” the werewolf replied, staring up at him.

“Nice to meet you, Daniel,” Stephen told him. He wished it had been under different circumstances. “There’s no need to be scared of Richard or any other werewolf who joins him. We won’t hurt you. We’re - we’re not like McClanahan.”

“What do you mean?” Daniel asked. The worst of his fear had eased, but he remained wary.

“I mean we don’t go around biting each other. I’m guessing you’ve not been a werewolf for long?”

“About six months ago,” Daniel admitted. “McClanahan bit me when I was out at night, walking my dog.”

“You walk your dog near the woods often?” Stephen asked, surprised. That seemed pretty dangerous even without werewolves around.

Daniel huffed. “No, I walked him in the park, of course. McClanahan likes lurking around there, scaring anyone who passes through at night. The homeless, drunkards on their way home… and me.”

What kind of idiot werewolf hung around a park? Stephen was surprised McClanahan hadn’t been shot by someone yet. Or maybe he had, but not by someone hunting for werewolves. “Sorry to hear that. How’s your dog?”

Daniel let out a soft whine. “McClanahan killed him when he tried to defend me. Rex wasn’t even half his size.”

“Why did you stay with him so long?” Stephen asked, surprised and sad for Daniel. He couldn’t imagine staying with a fellow werewolf like that more than one full moon, never mind several. “You should’ve left sooner.”

“He made me; he’s the only werewolf I know,” Daniel explained. “Besides, I live there, what am I supposed to do, move to another city to find other werewolves?”

Of course Daniel didn’t know other werewolves, Stephen should’ve realised that. His slight guilt led Stephen to inspect Daniel’s wounds a bit more. They needed cleaning and care. “Just trust me,” he said, nuzzling Daniel’s side. “Not all werewolves are like that.”

He raised his head when he smelled Richard and Alex, and he was glad for their arrival. “His name is Daniel, and he’s wounded,” he said, nodding at Daniel, who eyed the other two suspiciously. Stephen placed himself between Richard, Alex and Daniel. “And scared.”

“Why?” Alex asked, and he came down to meet them while Richard stayed where he was. “What’s wrong? Why isn’t he healing?”

“Because another werewolf bit him,” Stephen said, and walked to stand in front of Alex until the other wolf got the message. “We don’t heal as fast from that.” He wasn’t sure why he was being this protective of a werewolf he had never met before; he would’ve expected the wolf inside to be angry with a stranger, but instead the wolf shared Stephen’s desire to help.

Alex’s eyes went from Daniel back to Stephen. “For what, crossing their territory?” He looked at Daniel again. “Those aren’t warning nips.”

Stephen went back to Daniel’s side. “No,” he said, giving Daniel a reassuring glance. “The werewolf that bit him believes it’s normal to keep biting new werewolves. Calls himself an alpha”

“Holy shit,” Alex muttered, and Richard walked over as well. “There’s werewolves who do that?”

“Some,” Richard said, looking at Stephen. “How bad are the bites?”

“Pretty bad,” Stephen replied, with Daniel whining in agreement.

“Please, if you give me some time to rest, I can be gone in a few hours,” he promised.

“You think he needs stitches?” Alex asked, a smug edge to his voice.

Stephen huffed, glancing at the bigger wounds. “Maybe.”

Alex looked at Richard. “We should help him.”

“We should,” Richard agreed.

Stephen sat down next to Daniel. “Go on. Go get him, then.” As much as he hated involving Nathan in this, he also hated leaving Daniel wounded when help was available.

“Him?” Daniel asked.

“Alex’ boyfriend is a vet. He knows about us and has offered to help out if we need it,” Stephen explained, looking at Alex who was definitely radiating smugness now.

“Boyfriend’s a big word, but yeah,” Alex replied. He turned to Richard. “Can you get him? You’re the only one of us three who can turn into a human and someone has to explain to him what’s going on.”

Richard nodded. “Daniel?”

Daniel looked from Richard to Stephen, clearly surprised he was being asked for his opinion. “You don’t need to drag a vet into this, I’ll leave soon.”

“You were limping when I found you,” Stephen said, his mind made up. Daniel needed to learn how a proper werewolf pack worked. They took care of each other. And Nathan had been the one to offer his services. Let him prove how sincere that offer was. He looked at Richard and nodded. “Get Nathan. Alex and I will stay with Daniel.”

Richard nodded back, then ran off. Alex walked closer to the two of them, and sat down a few yards from Daniel, keeping his distance. “Don’t worry,” he said, “it’s gonna be fine.”

~*~

They smelled Richard and Nathan before they saw them, and Alex stood up, his tail wagging slightly when he picked up Nathan’s scent. Stephen snorted, and looked at Daniel. “Nathan isn’t a werewolf and he can’t understand us. When he looks you over, don’t make any sudden or threatening movements.”

Daniel nodded. He had stopped insisting he would be gone soon, and his fear had decreased. “I won’t, don’t worry.”

Richard arrived first, now looking mostly human and wearing a thick coat over his clothes. His eyes were yellow in the moonlight and his nails were sharp claws. “Sorry we took so long, my nose isn’t as good when I’m like this.”

Alex ran past him to greet Nathan, who was carrying a sports bag. “Alex?” the vet asked, stopping to look at the wolf in front of him. “Is that you?”

“I think he’s happy to see you,” Richard said, then walked over to kneel by Daniel’s side. “How are you?”

“I can’t believe you’re doing this for me,” Daniel admitted. He looked over at Nathan, who was stroking Alex’ head while the werewolf was still wagging his tail furiously.

“Alex!” Stephen growled. As amusing as it was to see Alex acting like some Golden Retriever eager to see his owner, Daniel needed Nathan’s attention. Stephen’s wolf side wanted to snarl at the newcomer who smelled strange and unfamiliar, but Stephen resisted that urge. He told himself firmly that Nathan was here only to help.

Alex froze, slowly moving away from Nathan and hanging his head.

“Here’s our patient,” Richard told Nathan, who was looking surprised by Alex backing off.

Nathan nodded, walking forward. Stephen could smell his fear as he came closer, and he didn’t blame the vet. Nathan didn’t know them very well and while Alex had welcomed him warmly, there was no telling what Daniel might do. “The middle of the forest isn’t the best place for that,” he muttered, kneeling down next to Richard, pushing his glasses back up his nose. “What’s his name?”

“Daniel,” Richard replied, shifting away to give Nathan more room.

“Okay, Daniel, I’m Nathan, and I’m going to see how wounded you are,” the vet explained, his tone now soft and assuring. He opened his sports bag and gave Richard a flashlight. “Can you hold this for me? It’s pretty bright,” he said, turning to the other wolves, “but I need it to see properly.”

Richard turned the flashlight on, and Stephen immediately closed his eyes, whining at the sudden brightness. Nathan hadn’t been exaggerating.

“Daniel, I’m going to touch you now, including the wounds, and that may hurt,” Nathan told Daniel, pulling on some surgical gloves.

Daniel whined when Nathan brushed his fingers over a wound, but he didn’t move.

Stephen remained quiet as the vet worked, reluctantly impressed. Nathan checked Daniel methodically and constantly told the werewolf what he was doing in that soothing voice of his. No wonder Alex was so happy to see the guy. His wolf side remained very suspicious, as it was of all non-werewolves.