Three Wild Werewolf Tales (13 page)

“On the bright side, his wounds seem to be pretty shallow, whoever bit him didn’t mean to kill or do serious harm, but there are a lot of them. If I want to clean this properly, I need to shave off some of his fur -” Nathan was interrupted by a loud whine from Daniel. “I’m guessing he doesn’t like that?”

Daniel whined again. “He can’t shave me!”

Stephen shared the werewolf’s shock. “I know,” he replied quietly. “But you have got a lot of dried blood in your fur.”

“He doesn’t,” Richard said on Daniel’s behalf. “Are you sure? I mean, he’s gonna become human again in the morning, the fur’ll go away.”

Nathan gave Richard a stern expression. “You asked me to check him thoroughly, and if you want me to clean those wounds and treat them properly, I will have to shave some of his fur off. Besides, won’t it just grow back tomorrow night when he transforms again?”

“I don’t know,” Richard replied, looking down at Daniel. “I guess we’re gonna find out.”

“And we’re going to have to move him,” Nathan said. “I can’t do this in the middle of the forest; the flashlight isn’t giving me enough light. Your cabin’d be better.”

“I can walk,” Daniel offered, just as Stephen said that he shouldn’t move. “I can!” It was a struggle, but eventually Daniel managed to stand on his own four paws. “Lead the way.” He looked at Richard while Nathan packed up his bag.

“You’re never going to make it all the way,” Stephen warned him, watching Daniel take a few slow steps.

“I might surprise you,” Daniel replied and he waited for Richard to start walking, then followed him.

~*~

They were both right, in the end. Daniel surprised Stephen by how far he got, but a little over halfway he couldn’t walk anymore and Richard had to carry him the rest of the way. Stephen stayed by Richard’s side while Alex was walking alongside Nathan, his tail wagging happily.

When they arrived at Richard’s small cabin, Richard went in first to put Daniel on the floor of his living room, Nathan following him in. Stephen and Alex followed him as well, but Richard quickly sent them back out. “You two wait outside,” he said, and then turned to Nathan. “I’m guessing you need some space?”

The vet nodded. “It’d be nice, yes.” He smiled apologetically at Alex, and leaned down to run his fingers through the fur on his back. “Nothing personal.” He spluttered in surprise when Alex licked his face, then went outside.

Stephen was more interested in Daniel’s opinion. “You’re okay with that as well?” He didn’t want to leave the other wolf, feeling responsible for his well-being and safety as he had been the one to find him.

“It’s fine,” Daniel replied quietly. “Thanks for worrying.”

Stephen turned to join Alex. “You want to stay here and wait?”

“Of course,” Alex said, lying down on the forest floor. “Don’t you?”

Stephen looked up at the sky. The clock inside Richard’s cabin had told him it was about half past two. There were hours of night left, and he had no idea how long Nathan would take. He could run off, do a bit of hunting, and know that Daniel was safe. “Yes,” he said, “I do want to wait. No point in heading out now, my bag with my clothes, wallet and keys are here.” The pack frequently used Richard’s cabin to meet up, as it was outside the rest of the town. They didn’t use it every month, since Karen and Lily had warned them against always using the same meeting point for sunset and sunrise, but tonight they had all gathered here.

Alex wagged his tail again. “So that’s why you’re staying?”

He sat down next to Alex. “Yes. And stop wagging your tail like some puppy.” He still couldn’t believe Alex had actually licked Nathan’s face.

“You like him.”

“What?” Stephen looked at Alex, who was looking far too pleased with himself.

“Daniel. You like him.”

Stephen bristled at that. He wasn’t going to have this kind of conversation with Alex, especially not if he kept talking like some high school girl teasing a friend about their first crush. “I found him and he needed help. I want him to be fine. I want to make sure he doesn’t go back to that alpha and gets hurt again.”

“I can’t believe the werewolf who bit him did that to him.” Alex’ tail lay flat on the ground, his demeanour more serious now. “I guess I got lucky.”

“Oh yes, very lucky,” Stephen grumbled, feeling the usual stab of guilt. Fortunately, ever since that night when Alex had chased down the lost hiker and had met Nathan, the two of them had reached an understanding and made peace.

“I told you, stop beating yourself up over it,” Alex said, glancing up at him. “Would I change things if I could? Yes. But it happened, and I get it. I get why you chased me.”

“I wish one of the others had stopped me from biting you.” He had said it before, but he felt it needed repeating.

“So do I,” Alex told him. “But you know what? If you hadn’t bit me and if I hadn’t chased Sean, I probably would never have met Nathan.” He looked at the cabin, and his tail thumped against the forest floor.

Stephen snorted, although part of him thought it was nice that Alex had found happiness. “You’re lucky he didn’t neuter you, I’m pretty sure vets are supposed to do that to any stray dog they find.”

“In that case, you better hope he doesn’t neuter Daniel,” Alex replied, managing a filthy snigger even as a wolf. “I bet that would ruin your plans, wouldn’t it?”

Stephen pointedly ignored the other werewolf. Yes, he liked Daniel and wanted to help him, but it was nothing more than that. He had only known the other werewolf for one, maybe two hours at most. He didn’t even know what Daniel looked like as a human, or if he was even into men or - Stephen firmly stopped his train of thought. He wasn’t interested in Daniel, so none of that mattered. The only thing that mattered was making sure that the other werewolf was all right.

~*~

Stephen and Alex were outside for a long time, and Stephen kept a close eye on the cabin while Alex napped next to him. Richard’s windows were closed and had wooden shutters on the inside. Only a little bit of light came through. The wolf inside of him was worried for Daniel’s health and keen to do something, anything but sit around here and wait. Stephen had wandered around the cabin once or twice to alleviate the boredom, but he hadn’t strayed far.

Eventually, the door opened and Stephen stood up, anxious for news. Alex woke up as well, his jaws stretching in a loud yawn before he slowly got up. Richard stood in the doorway and smiled. “You’re still here?”

“Of course!” Alex replied, taking a few steps forward eagerly.

“Nathan’s done, Daniel’ll be fine. Come in, you two.” Richard stepped aside as Alex ran in. Stephen followed him at a more sedate pace, but still eager to see how Daniel was. The wolf hadn’t seemed close to dying when Stephen had first come across him, but wounds could get infected, or maybe Nathan had been wrong in saying the wounds were shallow.

Daniel was lying in front of Richard’s fireplace where a fire was burning merrily. His fur was clean, and there were a few damp patches where the blood had been, and the wolf was visibly sulking. As Stephen approached him, it became obvious why: Nathan really had shaved off some patches off fur to inspect the wounds properly.

“Don’t laugh,” the other wolf said, before lowering his head back onto his paws.

“I won’t,” Stephen replied, although it did look ridiculous, those patches of pink skin amongst the clean fur, a slightly lighter shade of grey than Stephen’s was. “What did Nathan do?” He didn’t need to sniff the wounds to smell the chemicals Nathan had used.

“First he and Richard cleaned and shaved me where necessary, then Nathan inspected the wounds and cleaned those. He wants me to go see a doctor back home for antibiotics to be on the safe side,” Daniel explained.

“Good,” Stephen said, shifting to look at the other three. Nathan was sitting on the couch, looking tired, and Alex’ head was in his lap, with the vet stroking him. “Lapdog,” Stephen muttered.

Richard looked at him and nodded briefly. “Nathan, if you want, you can sleep on the couch. I have an extra pillow and some blankets,” he told the vet. “And yes, Alex, you can stay too,” he added, when Alex glanced up at him. Then he turned to Stephen and Daniel. “Well, you’re obviously staying,” he told Daniel. “Stephen? Can you go out and tell the others what happened?”

His first reaction was to say no, he wasn’t going anywhere. But he knew that Holly, Peter, Karen and Lily should be told about this, and Alex wasn’t going anywhere without Nathan. “Sure.” He looked down at Daniel, who seemed disappointed. “I’ll come back once I have.” Even though there wouldn’t be a need to, because Stephen knew Daniel was safe with the others to look out for him.

“Good luck,” Daniel replied.

Stephen stood up and when Richard opened the door for him, he ran out into the night.

~*~

Fortunately, Karen and Lily ran together, as did Holly and Peter. All were shocked when Stephen explained to them what happened, and relieved when Stephen added that Daniel would be fine.

“He should stay here during this month’s full moon,” Holly said, “if that’s possible for him.”

Stephen shared her opinion. “Agreed. And if that other wolf carries on like he has, we should take care of that.” He bared his teeth and growled, wishing he could do that right now.

“Did he mention any names?” Peter demanded, also looking impatient.

Stephen had to think for a moment. “Yes, he mentioned an alpha named McClanahan,” he replied, and Peter scoffed at the name.

Holly shared a glance with her husband. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah,” Stephen said, feeling curious. “Have you heard of him?”

“We have. He’s done this sort of thing before, lurk in parks or near cities to prey on the vulnerable,” Holly explained, as both she and her husband looked glum. “He bites people on purpose, sometimes he abandons them, sometimes he stays and helps.”

“I wouldn’t call it ‘help’,” Peter grumbled.

“But why?” Stephen asked. He wasn’t entirely surprised there were werewolves who liked to give humans a scare, but biting and then abandoning them was terrible. He couldn’t imagine what he’d do if none of the other werewolves had slowly explained things to him after his bite.

“Because he can,” Peter said, and snarled. “We don’t exactly have laws or police, do we? Just some packs scattered across the country, trying to keep the peace.”

“And we keep our existence a secret as much as possible,” Holly added. “McClanahan’s not the only werewolf who takes advantage of that.”

“And of gullible new werewolves,” Stephen mused. Well, that explained why Daniel had thought his treatment was completely normal. He shuddered as he considered what other things a werewolf without a conscience or a pack to guide them might do.

“Exactly,” Holly replied.

Stephen itched to get back to Richard’s cabin and explain what he had learned. “Thanks, thanks for telling me,” he said. “You can meet him in the morning.”

~*~

Nathan was sound asleep by the time Stephen got back. Alex was lying on the floor in front of the couch, also dozing. Daniel and Richard were still awake, and listened with interest to Stephen telling him what Peter and Holly had told him.

“So it’s not the first time he’s done this,” Richard muttered. He ran a hand through his shaggy hair. “Look, we’ll discuss this in the morning when everyone’s here and awake. For now, let’s get some sleep. Unless you’d rather go out again?”

“I’ll stay,” Stephen replied, walking over to Daniel. “We’ll be fine here.”

Richard nodded. “Good night.” With that, he went into his bedroom, closing the door behind him.

Stephen lay down next to Daniel, making sure he wasn’t too close or pressing against any wounds.

“Thanks,” the other wolf said, staring at Stephen with wide, yellow eyes. “I’m just – I can’t believe you’ve gone through this much trouble for me. All of you.”

“It’s no problem,” Stephen replied, warmed by Daniel’s gratitude. “If you’d run into another pack, they would’ve helped you too.” He wanted Daniel to know that most other werewolves weren’t like McClanahan.

“I’m still glad I ran into this one.” Daniel yawned. “I’m sorry, I’m exhausted.”

“You ran, what, sixty miles? And you were wounded. It’s fine,” Stephen told him. He was feeling pretty tired himself.

Daniel closed his eyes. “Sleep well, Stephen.”

“Sleep well,” Stephen replied, watching as Daniel shifted to get more comfortable. The other wolf’s breathing slowed and Stephen knew he’d fallen asleep. After a quick glance to make sure Nathan and Alex were also sleeping soundly, Stephen closed his own eyes, wondering what effect the transformation would have on Daniel and his wounds. Would old wounds re-open and hurt all over again?

And then there was the question of what Daniel looked like as a human. Stephen told himself that it didn’t matter, not one bit, but he was very, very curious.

~*~

Stephen woke up from a sharp stab of pain running down his leg, and whined quietly. The transformation was never pleasant. He moved away from Daniel, not wanting to kick him or hurt him. He heard Alex whimper in discomfort as well, and Stephen’s eyes were screwed shut when he felt his body change and shift. At least the pain wasn’t as bad as during the first couple of months anymore. His limbs were cramping up and his skin tingled all over as fur turned into finer hairs. Stephen was panting, curled into a corner by the time he was done. He ran his hands over his face, relieved to feel his usual nose, ears, mouth again, relieved that his hands had fingers rather than claws.