Page 6 of Midlife Animal Rescuer Wolf

To be honest, Miranda was surprised she hadn’t just run away. It was what she wanted to do since she ended up in this clearing, but she seemed rooted to the spot.

At least, until the man asked for her help.

“First aid?” She blinked at him. “Yeah, I know first aid.”

And despite a voice in the back of her head, screaming at her to make a run for it, she stepped toward him, glancing between his face and his bleeding foot. The man didn’t look much older than her. He had a rugged face, with deep brown eyes and brown hair that fell to his shoulders.

He was, of course, nude, and in the sunlight streaking through the treetops, she caught a clear glimpse of his muscular frame, shadows cast along the contours of his torso. One large arm was crossed over his chest, his other hand covering his crotch. Miranda’s gaze lingered a second too long, and she gulped. That hand was barely covering anything.

“Um...” She sucked in a breath, trying to ignore the delicious heat creeping along her skin at the sight of him. “I’ll help you.”

Without another word, she dropped to her knees before him, examining his foot. The glass shard glinted, embedded in his sole, the area red with his blood. She must’ve grimaced, because he suddenly got a dismayed look on his face.

“It’s bad, isn’t it?”

She pressed her lips together. “Uh, I can try to treat it, but I’m not sure I’ll be much help. I haven’t got any antiseptics or bandages. I can take out the shard. You’ll need to get it checked by a professional.”

What was she even doing? Hadn’t she just seen this man transform from a wolf moments ago? She shook her head as if it would rid her of the bizarreness of her current situation. Maybe she had imagined that he’d been a wolf. She was lost in the woods, her mind addled with fear at the prospect of Jerry discovering her. Maybe her mind was playing tricks on her.

Then again, maybe not.

Sucking in a breath, she lifted his foot, propping it on her knee. The injury definitely looked bad, but she could at least try to stop the bleeding for now. That glass shard needed to come out, though. Steeling herself against a sudden shudder, she reached for it, pulling it out of the man’s foot without warning.

He gave only a muffled grunt, but from the way his eyes bulged in their sockets, she could tell he was holding back a scream.

“You could’ve at least given me a warning,” he said through gritted teeth, pain in his eyes.

“Sorry. I figured you’d tense up if I did.” She held up the shard, which was mostly covered in blood. “Christ.”

“Today is not my lucky day,” she heard him mutter.

She could say the same about herself. She’d been woken up by her lunatic ex-boyfriend and had gotten lost in the woods in her bid to escape from him. And now, here she was, tending to some sort of werewolf’s injuries like it was a perfectly normal thing to do.

A wave of fear ripped through her. Why was she even helping him? By now, she should’ve run for her life. What were the odds that he wouldn’t hurt her?

“You’re some kind of werewolf, aren’t you?” she blurted.

The man’s brown eyes glinted with something she couldn’t quite read. Miranda saw his jaw tighten. She immediately dropped her gaze, then felt her cheeks burn as it landed on his crotch. Swallowing, she looked away again.

“I told you; I’m not going to hurt you,” came his gruff reply.

“Pretty sure that’s what the Big Bad Wolf said.”

“What?”

“Nothing.” Miranda returned her focus to his injury, pulling out the sash of her bathrobe and wrapping it around his foot before the bleeding could worsen. Blood soaked through the cloth, and she winced at the sight. She’d managed to slow the bleeding, but right now, that was all she could do. He had to get his foot looked at before it could get infected, and they were deep in the woods.

“Thank you,” the man said, his face still tight with pain. “What’s your name?”

She stared at him for a few seconds. “I’m Miranda. Miranda McHarris.”

“Bryon Sanders. Wish we’d met under better circumstances. You’re not from Sylva, are you? I’ve never seen you around town.”

Miranda shook her head. “I’m from Everland.” A part of her found it strange, conversing with this man like the past couple of minutes hadn’t occurred.

Bryon’s eyebrows furrowed slightly. His gaze dropped momentarily from her face. “What are you doing in the woods dressed like that and so early in the morning?”

“Says the naked guy,” she retorted.