AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Taking a fresh pail of water, she entered her bedroom and her nose twitched at the disgusting odor emanating from the pen. “You smell more like a pig than a hound, you know that?”
Quiet now, the pup had edged away from her side of the cage, knowing the water changing procedure and no doubt waiting for any opportunity to strike.
As she leaned over, she felt the kitty shifting and moved quicker to reach for the latest poop dump. Glen had fashioned her a long-handled spoon-like utensil that could scoop up the mess, and she used it religiously.
Sure as shit, once she’d leaned in too far, the bastard came at her, growling about her invading his space.
She awkwardly whipped her arm back just in time. “Shut up, you little prick. You missed this time, so there. Ha. Ha.”
Feeling silly, like a child sneering at another child, she quickly backed away and dumped her load in the container used for that purpose and then carried it outside to the place they’d designated as the dump spot.
Suddenly, a chattering on the porch railing caught her attention and she hurried toward the sound. “Chubbs. You’re back. How have you been buddy?”
When the squirrel leapt to her shoulder, she automatically angled her body to accommodate him. “How are you old friend? It’s been a long time.” She picked him up carefully and checked his paw. “You’ve pretty much healed now. Good boy.”
She headed inside the house, set Chubbs on the windowsill that he preferred and began gathering the things she’d need to make the shepherd’s pie she’d planned for dinner. Listening to Chubbs chatter, she went to get a bottle of formula from the fridge. That’s when she remembered Glen’s warning about the squirrel being jealous of her new charge.
Going to the shed, she retrieved Chubb’s old bird cage and brought it back to the kitchen, thinking it would keep her kitty safe from the squirrel’s jealousy.
Surreptitiously, she reached into her sling for the baby thinking to feed it and store it safely, but her hand came away empty. Horrified, she took off the sling and sure enough, the kitten was no longer there.
Her first thought had her running outside back to the shed where she’d last gone to get the cage. From the corner of her eye, she saw Chubbs running off also. Guess seeing his old home scared him into getting his furry ass outta there.
After searching high and low, she knew the kitten must still be in the house. Suddenly it dawned on her that the last time she’d felt it move had been when she’d been feeding the wolf.God, no!She bent over, clutching her forehead with anxiety. Had the kitten slipped out? Horrified, she ran into the bedroom only to have the wolf lurch at her with so much fury that she backed away.
Just then Glen arrived and rushed in when he heard her screaming, “You filthy bastard. You ate my baby.”
She pushed her way past him as he entered the bedroom and went to the kitchen to pound her hands on the counter. Thinking to get her gun, she bit her lip to stop the tears and knew she couldn’t shoot the wild beast for doing what came naturally. After all, it had been her fault for being so careless.
“Demi. Come here and see this.”
Glen’s voice sounded strange and caught her attention.
Moving back to where he still stood by the cage, she instantly saw what she’d missed. The kitty now sat between the front paws of the wolf pup, leaning against one of its legs, totally unharmed. In fact, if she could believe what her eyes were telling her, the pup seemed to be protecting the feline baby.
Her heart lurched when she saw the miracle. It was Glen’s voice that brought her back to earth. “Get back, Demi.” He pushed her just in time as the wolf made a gigantic effort, leaping at the sides of the cage and clearing it by using the top rail to force itself forward. Then it headed out of the room and straight for the open front door.
Both Demi and Glen chased after him with the thought of stopping his escape. But by the time he got past the light from the windows and into the trees, darkness swallowed the dog, and she couldn’t see it anymore.
“Oh my God. He’s gone.” Her heart flipflopped in sorrow. She couldn’t believe how badly she felt. “He’s too small to survive. Doc said so.”
“Not really. He’s almost doubled in size from what Norrie told me he looked like when you first saved him. According to what she said, you were able to pick him up then. Now, I’d have a hard time doing it myself. He must be all of forty pounds.”
***
Dinner that night with Rudy turned out to be scrumptious or so the boys commented. They all cleaned the kitchen and then had coffee while telling stories about Alaska. Demi even told them a few of the funnier incidents she’d seen happen at Fulton House. Eventually, they sat on the porch under the stars for a while but soon Demi stood to go back inside.
“You guys enjoy this warm weather. I need to go remove that cage from my bedroom. Get the place cleaned so I can sleep in my own bed tonight. Now that the little bastard’s gone, no need for me to use the couch.”
Rudy laughed. “You always refer to him as the little bastard. What did he do to earn such a name?”
Demi ignored the comical warning signal Glen sent to Rudy and then ignored his groan when he saw she was going to answer. “Look at these.” Demi lifted her sleeve to show the number of bite and claw marks on her arms. “And these.” She lifted her braid off her left shoulder and leaned over so he could see her neck.
“These are his thanks for the food I gave him at feeding time. The scars from when I rescued him out of the lake are basically healed now. Well, except for this on my wrist. Figure I’ll be wearing that thank you insignia for life.”
Rudy laughed. “You do know that puppies’ teeth are razor sharp, right? And like a baby, they need to gnaw at stuff. Usually, the mama canine teaches them to behave if they forget and use their full strength when they bite. She’ll give them a dose of their own medicine and they learn to control themselves.”
Demi grinned. “So, you think I should have bit him back when he was attacking me?”
