Page 25 of Big Bad Wolf

Or the police.

Or…

Or…

How would she ever explain to them that one of the wolves was a problem, but the other had kindly escorted her home? She would sound just as crazy as every other wolf-tale-telling person in this town. And while those stories were a big hit over a pint, she was sure local law enforcement wouldn’t find it as amusing.

Ruby knew what happened to animals that were deemed a threat to humans.

They were neutralized.

Euthanized.

Killed.

How could Ruby let that happen?

The wolves stirred up grass and dirt, their fur and blood flying as well as Ruby stood in anguished silence. Eventually, her wolf tore at the other wolf, leaving another gaping wound on his front leg. The wolf yelped and backed off, limping. Blood streaked his mostly white fur, staining it red.

Her wolf growled a low warning, placing his body between the white wolf and Ruby. The other wolf’s eyes narrowed, as if assessing if she was worth the trouble. Apparently deciding she wasn’t, the other wolf backed down. Tail between his legs, he slunk off into the woods.

With the distinct feeling that she was hallucinating and that nothing about this evening had been real, Ruby turned to the remaining wolf. His fur was matted with blood, and he clearly couldn’t put weight on his front leg, but he was sniffing her as though searching for damage.

He took a step and stumbled.

“You’re hurt.” Ruby’s voice was shaky. It sounded far away. The wolf tried to back up like he was emerging from the same dream Ruby had been trapped in, but stumbled again, his front leg giving out beneath him. His face hit the dirt.

Ruby dropped to the ground beside him. “Oh no, no, no,” she whispered, stroking between his ears. “I’m going to help you. It’s going to be all right.” She couldn’t just leave him here like this, injured and alone. She still couldn’t make sense of what had just happened, but she knew for certain this wolf had been protecting her.

He nudged her hand with his head, and his breath skated across the delicate skin of her wrist. She smiled a little at the sensation.

“You saved me,” she whispered. “But don’t tell anyone. You’ll ruin my reputation.”

The wolf peered up at her pitifully, his silver eyes dim with pain. There was something about them that was so familiar.

“And now I’m going to save you,” she said with much more determination than she felt. The wolf nuzzled her hand.

Somehow, she would help him.

But first she needed backup.

Chapter Eleven

“Well, I’m not going to lie, Ruby. This is not what I was expecting.”

The women were standing under a full moon in Ruby’s backyard. It was somewhere around 2am and Ruby couldn’t help but think that her aunt had been right. Nothing good happened after two. The clouds had cleared and now the moon provided a spotlight on Ruby’s predicament.

“And what were you expecting?” Ruby asked, looking down at the wolf she’d attempted to roll up in an old rug. In the end, he’d rolled himself onto the rug, seemingly trusting that Ruby was trying to help him, but now his eyes were closed and he was breathing softly. Sleeping or passed out from the pain, she wasn’t sure which, but the poor guy was out cold.

Callie shrugged. “I figured we’d be burying a body, not rescuing a wolf.”

“It’s your first week back. I was trying to ease you in.”

Her friend laughed softly. “I appreciate that. Does Lena know?”

“That I’m attempting to drag an injured wolf into our garage? Um … no. I didn’t want to wake her.”

Or tell her at all. Ruby had been operating under a strict don’t stress Lena out plan, and giant, bleeding predators were pretty stressful. Thankfully, this was one of the few nights Lena had managed to fall asleep, and she’d stayed that way even with the commotion in the backyard.