Declan
I didn't know what to do as the wolf tried to stand but let out a howl in agitation when it fell back down. The size of it had me frozen as I assessed it. If it stood on its hind legs it could easily match my own which had me gulping down my spit.
The headlights were the only source of light we had as well as the full moon which luckily tonight was shining brightly enough that I could see the wolf in detail. I realized it's back leg was bleeding slightly due to the collision with the bumper.
It's face contorted in pain as it let out low growls. I sucked in my breath when its eyes met mine. It's right eye a bright red that sucked you in with just one gaze, the left completely contrasting the other. A cloudy cornea staring back at me that I gasped when I saw the scar running down the left side of its upper face.
"Declan," Malachi warned me as I took a step forward feeling my legs move on their own accord. My hand reached out for it to assess its injury. "Just give me a second to call the game rangers. They can come and help us out."
"You're a vet," I answered, my eyes still glued to the wolf. "Isn't this what you do?"
"For domestic animals, yes!" He stressed as he fully climbed out of the truck. "Not gigantic wolves. Declan, this isn't a cop thing you can just handle by showing off your badge," he sounded desperate but I completely dismissed him.
"I hit it, the least we can do is help it," I took a step closer. I could feel the hot breath of the wolf as it laid down on the ground. Exhausted from trying to stand up and constantly getting defeated. I knew in any other situation I wouldn't have even been doing this but within seconds my hands touched the top of its head.
It was warm to the touch and ridiculously soft that I blinked in surprise. I thought it would feel like straw, hard and weathered from the natural conditions. However it felt more like that of a puppy. Its eyes snapped up to look at the general direction of my arm and its growls lessened to a placid quiet.
My fingers massaged into its scalp as I distracted it whilst assessing the wound. The skin was ragged and bleeding. There was no way it could stand without some care and game rangers might just scare it away. For a feral wolf it seemed awfully calm, probably needing the help as much as I was willing to offer it.
"Help me pick it up," I looked at Malachi whose eyes nearly fell out of his scalp.
"Declan. It's a wolf," he ran his hands down his face. The sobriety entered his body faster by the second. "It won't even fit in my practice."
"The table is big enough. Stop making excuses. I'll pick up its shoulders. You can be gentle with its hind legs," I didn't give him a chance to debate as I moved behind the wolf and very gently showed it my intentions. It seemed to understand as it rolled onto its side to make it easier for me. "Come on Malachi we don't have the entire night."
"Let me turn the truck around to make it easier then," he grumbled as he quickly ran to the driver's side and climbed in. He did a u-turn on the road so that the bucket was closer to the wolf so we didn't have to walk with it.
My hands gently massaged its side in efforts to calm it down as it shifted and stretched out its leg only to growl again when the pain must have started intensifying.
"I'm sorry. Bear with me," I said to it as if it even understood a word I had said.
Malachi, despite his complaints, picked up its hind legs whilst I picked up the upper half. The wolf weighed a lot more than I would have thought and for a second I doubted if we could do it. However with much struggle we managed and the bucket of the truck drastically weighed down once the wolf was safely inside.
I jumped out and closed the back of it before we both climbed back in. This time Malachi was driving as I kept an eye to make sure the wolf didn't jump out.
"It's staring at us," I chuckled as I looked through the rear window to connect with its eyes again. The intensity of it made a shiver run down my spine.
"I would too if I was a two hundred pound wolf who was being driven on the back of a vets truck to the universe knows where," he frowned. "You just love dabbling around danger don't you. If anything, this morning with Riley should have taught you more."
"I can't ignore a wounded animal, you should know that and the game rangers were going to take forever. This is faster. It's just a giant husky," I shrugged my shoulders and looked forward. Stealing glances at the wolf that stared at the back of my head.
Malachi chose to take a vow of silence as he gave me small glares which made me chuckle.
When we arrived at the ranch, Malachi was quick to head into his practice to bring out a rolling bed whilst I went to the back. This time however when I reached for the wolf, it pulled its lips back to reveal its long viscous canines.
Before I could get a chance to blink, it snapped towards my forearm and locked it in between its strong jaws. I let out a scream as it bit down, drawing blood from my skin and coating the sleeve of my button up shirt. The pain radiated through my body as my eyes rolled back forcing me to look up to the sky and within seconds the pain subsided as quickly as it had set in, to a warmth I could never explain that consumed me before the wolf let go of me, then licked over the bleeding bite as I caught my breath.