Nic (3 page)

Mindy ignored her sarcasm. “I don’t have the instruments or equipment with me to tend its wounds and I don’t have pain meds to ease its suffering.”

“I know,” Celina said. “Help me get it into the car.”

Mindy glanced at the animal and then at her compact car. “There’s no way it’s going to fit,” she said.

“It’ll fit.” Celina sounded so confident.

Too bad Mindy didn’t feel the same. She hesitated.

“If we can get it to the clinic, then Dr. Fields might be able to save it or at least make sure it doesn’t suffer more,” Celina said.

Her friend was determined to save the animal. Mindy appreciated her tenacity, but found it odd since Celina had always kept her distance from all the animals that were brought into the clinic.

Up until tonight, Mindy was the only one who’d regularly rallied to save the animal kingdom. Maybe her passion was finally rubbing off on Celina.

Mindy approached cautiously. The animal was larger up close. Celina had to be wrong about the species. A quick cursory examination proved otherwise. What kind of canine grew to this size?

“Celina, I really don’t think he’s going to fit.”

“He’ll fit. Trust me.”

She didn’t think so, but Celina was right—they couldn’t leave the creature here for someone to hit. Who knows how long it had been suffering. Mindy couldn’t bear to see any animal injured and in pain.

“I’ll move the seats forward.” Celina raced to the car and adjusted the seats.

Mindy stared at the animal. She’d never seen anything quite like it. Its head was wide, wider than a typical canine, and it had a mouthful of sharp teeth. Sable fur covered its broad body. She glanced at its paws. They were canine in shape, but its claws looked like something more suited for a grizzly bear.

“I’m embarrassed to admit this, but I can’t identify this animal.” Mindy hadn’t grown up in the area, so she wasn’t familiar with every species, but thanks to school she had a pretty good grasp of the natural habitats of predators. “It sort of looks like a wolf, but it’s too big and its head isn’t the right shape.”

The biggest wolf Mindy had ever seen had weighed 175 pounds. This one was
much
larger.

“Have you ever seen anything like it?” she asked.

Celina’s gaze skittered away. “You grab the back end, I’ll lift its head.”

Mindy watched in horror as Celina whispered something in the creature’s ear. The animal shuddered.

“Seriously, be careful,” Mindy said. “I know you’re trying to soothe it, but an injured animal this size can do a lot of damage.” She glanced at her car. “I wish I would’ve thought to carry a muzzle.”

“I doubt it would fit, even if you had brought one,” Celina said.

Mindy glanced at the creature’s mouth.
No
, she thought.
Probably not.

After thirty minutes of grunting, dragging, and shoving, they got the injured canine in the backseat of Mindy’s car. Surprisingly, it fit, when everything about its body said it shouldn’t have. Maybe its size was deceptive due to the thick fur? At one point, Mindy could’ve sworn the animal was helping them, but it was just wishful thinking on her part.

Celina’s knees touched the dash and the cold pizza box was crushed to her chest, as Mindy raced to the animal clinic in Breakbend, Oregon. Fifteen minutes outside of town, she dug her phone out of her purse and tossed it to Celina.

“Call Dr. Fields and tell him we’re on our way,” she said.

Celina punched in the number. “You know he’s going to ask you to assist,” she said.

Mindy glanced at her, afraid to take her eyes off the road for long at this speed. “Of course, that’s my job. It’s what I’m training to do.”

Breakbend’s lights twinkled in the darkness, illuminating the western facades covering the businesses on the main drag.

Mindy slowed when they came into town, but they still reached the clinic in record time. Celina pried herself out of the car and tossed the pizza onto her vacated seat. She was digging for the keys to the front door when Dr. Fields showed up.

“What do we have, Mindy?” he asked.

“Canine of some kind,” she said. “Looks like it’s been hit by a car, but it could’ve been shot. I haven’t located any entrance or exit wounds, but won’t know for sure until it’s been X-rayed. We found him lying on the side of the road. We got out to move it and discovered he was still alive.”

Dr. Fields poked his head into the car to take a look. His brow slowly furrowed. “Not a lot of visible blood, but no doubt there are internal injuries. Where did you say you were when you found it?”

“Off the highway. On the back road between Breakbend and Carson, not far from Telegraph Road. We were headed to my house.”

“I’m surprised it fit in the car,” he said.

“You and me both,” Mindy said.

Celina came out of the clinic with a gurney.

“Help me get it on the table,” Dr. Fields said. “Be careful. We don’t want to do more damage.”

Once again Celina and Mindy grabbed a section of the canine and lifted, then helped the doctor wheel it into the operating room.

After a quick set of X-rays ruled out a gunshot wound, Mindy pulled scrubs on over her clothes and administered the anesthetic under the vet’s supervision.

“He’s under,” she said, monitoring its vitals, before making sure the animal received enough oxygen.

The doctor’s frown deepened as he analyzed the X-rays for other injuries. “That’s odd. Only one bone appears to be broken. Given its lethargic state, I expected the damage to be much worse.”

“That’s good, right?” Mindy asked.

“No, that means it’s in shock. That can kill it just as effectively as an untreated injury. I’ll have to open him up to be sure we’re not missing anything vital.”

Dr. Fields made the incision, then carefully repaired a couple of minor tears on one of the organs. After a thorough search to make sure he hadn’t missed any other trauma, he closed the animal up and aligned the bone, then put a cast on the leg.

“Is he going to be okay?” Mindy asked.

“He should be, but I simply cannot explain his condition. With these minor injuries, the animal should’ve been up and moving around,” he said, his expression troubled. “Albeit slowly.”

“Do you know what it is?” Mindy asked.

“A mystery,” he said.

“I mean, do you know what kind of animal it is?” she asked.

He pulled his bloody gloves off and tossed them into the HAZMAT container. “I’m not entirely certain,” he said. “I’ve never seen anything quite like him, especially in the lupine family. It’s almost as if someone bred a Russian wolf with a Caucasian Mountain dog, which would be hard to do without the wolf trying to kill the dog. But then again, those dogs are tough.”

“I’m not familiar with that breed,” Mindy said.

“It’s also known as the Russian Bear dog for obvious reasons. The males can grow to be over two hundred pounds. They make perfect guard dogs.”

“I can see why. I wouldn’t want to take one on,” Mindy said. “But this isn’t Russia.”

“No, but people have all kinds of exotic pets that they shouldn’t own,” he said. “I’ve pulled some of its blood for a DNA check. We’ll know more once we get the results. In the meantime, let’s get him into recovery. I think we have one cage big enough in the back.”

“If he fit in my backseat, we can get him into the bear cage,” Mindy said.

* * * * *

Celina watched through the small window in the door as Mindy and Dr. Fields wheeled the massive wolf toward the back room. She’d been eavesdropping on their conversation, so she’d heard the doctor order the DNA test.

She couldn’t let them see the results when they came in. Celina had to get to them first, so she could switch them out with another canine. Since she received all the paperwork and documentation coming into the office, it should be simple enough to do.

The doctor and Mindy were baffled by the unique discovery, but Celina wasn’t. She’d immediately identified the creature they’d found on the side of the road.

Sure, the animal looked a little different from the others. Less wolf, more monster, perhaps. Celina hadn’t recognized it immediately, but once she’d gotten closer, she’d known.

She peered at it one last time before it disappeared into the recovery room. Its body was bigger and its head a few inches wider than the others of its kind. Its teeth looked longer and sharper, too. The only really surprising thing about the whole situation was that the animal was injured at all.

Celina had seen them in their other form many times. Watched them fight until they were bloody and almost unrecognizable. Each and every time they’d risen like nothing had happened. She’d always assumed they were invincible or close to it. The news that they weren’t came as a relief.

No, there was no mistaking the massive animal lying on the table, but Celina couldn’t exactly go in and tell them that they’d found a werewolf. A real, honest-to-goodness werewolf.

A thrill shot through her and Celina clasped her hands together. Today was her lucky day. She had prayed for an opportunity like this. Hoped it would occur. But deep down, never thought it would happen. Yet here it was laid out in front of her like a gift from above. It was a sign. The sign she’d been waiting for.

Izzy’s warning floated in her head.
If you don’t stay away from the monsters, they’re going to end up killing you.

Her best friend was wrong. Unlike Izzy, Celina wasn’t afraid of these creatures. She understood them. They weren’t all that different from humans. There were both good and bad ones. It was a distinction Izzy rarely made. She loved her best friend, but Celina wasn’t about to pass up this chance.

It was the perfect opportunity to spend more than a single night with one of the Moonlight Kin. Be more than a chew toy that they nibbled on, rutted in, then passed around for others to sample.

Contrary to what those
Weres
believed, Celina wasn’t anyone’s plaything.

She tugged her shirt down to cover the scratches she’d received last week from her
date
. Marco had been a particularly energetic lover, but like the others, he hadn’t bothered to call her after she’d gotten him off.

Celina had really thought that he liked her, until she saw him around town with another woman. Their eyes met, but Marco hadn’t acknowledged her. She’d thought about confronting him, but Weres never responded well to aggression. Celina wouldn’t have to worry about Marco after tonight.

A plan formulated in her head as she waited for Mindy to finish up. She’d nurse this one back to health and imprint her scent on it. All Celina needed to do was prove to the Were that she could care for it, make the creature feel indebted to her, then she would get him to claim her as his mate.

* * * * *

Mindy helped Dr. Fields get the animal into the cage. She stroked its head and cooed softly to it, to reassure the canine that it was safe.

“It won’t wake up for a while,” Dr. Fields said.

“I know,” she said. “I just like to believe that it can hear me and knows that we’re taking care of it.”

He gave her a tired smile. “You have a good heart, Mindy, but I do worry about this job being too hard on you.”

“I’m tougher than I look,” Mindy said. A tongue brushed against the back of her hand. “He licked me.”

Dr. Fields looked in the cage. “He couldn’t have. He’s still asleep and will be for a few more hours. You probably just brushed against his mouth.”

Mindy frowned and looked at the snoring canine. She knew the difference between a lick and a brush. It had definitely been a lick. But since that type of thing wasn’t worth arguing over, she let it go.

“I’m going to head home now.”

Dr. Fields yawned. “Me too. See you in the afternoon.”

Mindy glanced at her watch and winced. She was going to be a zombie in class tomorrow if she didn’t get some sleep. The Ryans would have to wait for another girls’ night. She looked at the animal and gave him one last pet, then turned off the lights.

“Goodnight, puppy,” she murmured and left the room.

* * * * *

Mindy didn’t see the black wolf raise its head. She didn’t see its eyes begin to glow. She didn’t see it lick its lips so it could taste her skin again. And she didn’t hear it sniff the air, locking in her scent, so it would be able to find her again.

* * * * *

Gravel crunched under Nic La Croix’s truck tires as he turned onto the long driveway. Trees and dense underbrush lined the road, leading him deeper into the woods. He ran his hand through his shaggy hair and the tension in his muscles released as wilderness surrounded him.

Nic didn’t have long to enjoy the feeling. The tightness came right back as a steady thump, thump, thump reached his ears. So much for convening with nature. After a quarter-mile, the trees parted to reveal a crude gravel parking lot.

On the far side of the lot, a large wooden structure squatted like a toad against the tree-line. The roof slanted to the left and looked to be under imminent threat of collapse. Chipped red paint covered the front of the building, while ignoring the sides. The splash of color did little to disguise the building’s deteriorated condition.

A flashing pink neon sign hung above the entrance to the bar. The first “T” and the last “S” of its name were burned out. Instead of spelling “Sticks”, the sign now read “Sick.”

The new name is more fitting for the shifter bar
, Nic thought.

He stared at the crowded lot, debating whether to leave. The only parking spots left bordered the trees and were nowhere near the entrance. Not that it was a problem. The position would make it easier to get out when the time came. Nic looked at his watch. Not yet six o'clock and already packed. It would only get worse.

After a hard day’s work, he wanted a beer, but Nic wasn’t sure fighting the crowd would be worth it this close to the full moon. He glanced up at the sky. The sun hadn’t set yet and the moon was already rising. Its pregnant appearance made all wolves anxious, but was especially difficult for the younger ones, who thought they had something to prove.