Wolf's Soul (4 page)

kept him inside until he was strong enough to go back to the woods. “God, what do you eat? Bricks?” Grunting, she pulled the towel until she reached the clinic.

The wolf was dead to the world. The amount of blood he lost must have weakened him. Too bad Dad wasn"t here to fix his wound. And, it was equally bad that she didn"t learn her father"s profession. Poor thing came to the wrong person for help. “Sorry, buddy. Dad"s not here to help.” Marisol ran her hands on the soft wet fur. Lithe, tall and long, she"d never seen a wolf this big. What a beautiful creature. “Well, buddy. You"ll just have to stay here on the floor. I can"t lift you up on the bed. Besides, I don"t want to move you again. You might wake up and eat me for your next meal.”

She should call Sheriff Davis. He mentioned at the town meeting that if a wolf had been sighted it should be reported. For the wolves and residents protection, he said. He was right. Maybe Sheriff Davis would help her take this wolf to a nearby vet.

Marisol peered at the wound. Unbelievable, blood wasn"t gushing out of his cut anymore. Still, he probably needed stitches otherwise it would take forever for the wound to heal. An open wound this big could get infected if remained open.

He should be in a real doggy hospital. Besides, she couldn"t keep him here.

Tomorrow, Mrs. Bode"s preschool kids would be here at noon to look at her pottery barn. Cancelling their field trip would only disappoint the kids. She 33

wouldn"t want that. Marisol sighed. She"d met Mrs. Bode"s kids before. They were a rowdy, excited bunch. It wouldn"t be good to have a wolf around, contained or not.

She witnessed how this wolf could change from one cuddly looking animal to a feral one. She shouldn"t" take a chance. If her dad were here, he"d know what to do to keep the wolf sedated. Not her. She had no clue whatsoever on how to fix animals. As much as she wanted to keep him, he needed proper care. Yeah. She would call Sheriff Davis.

34

Sheriff Davis, a man in his sixties with a belly as round as her kiln and sausage shaped fingers walked in the barn. Smith Smithers, the trigger happy deputy, limped behind him. Both men were soaked. Marisol noticed none of them removed their plastic covered hats and mud splattered boots. They tracked dirt and water all over her floor.

“Glad you both came.”

“We have to respond to any calls about wolves right away, Marisol.”

Smithers grinned then patted his holster.

Marisol took a quick look at the deputy"s gun. Sure enough, it was cocked and ready. Lordy, he never learned. When someone asked him why his gun was always at a ready, he simply said.
“You never know when someone’s going to jump at you.”

Sadly, for Smithers, the only time he pulled his gun out of its holster was to shoot a garden snake foolish enough to wander in his wife"s yard.

Marisol stepped away from Smithers when he walked by her. He"d already shot his own foot twice, which he claimed to be an accident. It would be wise to stay away from the man. Just to be on the safe side.

35

“You said the animal is in your bedroom?” Sheriff Davis asked in his commanding tone.

“Not my bedroom, Sheriff. He"s in Dad"s clinic,” she pointed at the second door at the far end of the barn.

“How did he get in?”

“I, uhm, left my front door open.”

“Stupid beast can get in anywhere.”

“He"s in there asleep. He"s wounded so be careful.”

Smithers, who stood beside her, snickered. “Careful. One of them beasts killed John"s horse last week. I won"t be gentle with this one „cause I"ll bet my other foot this wolf won"t be gentle either when he tears my carotid artery.”

“John"s horse was old. He died from natural causes.” Marisol knew how and when John"s horse died. She"d been there when it happened. The poor thing had his snout in the trough and then he just dropped dead. The horse died of old age.

“Not what I heard.”

Marisol decided not to push the issue.

“I don"t know what made them come down from the Cascades. More and more of them had been spotted recently.” Sheriff Davis pursed his lips as if he was looking at the dinner menu and couldn"t decide what to order.

36

“You know, Sheriff. This could be the one that killed and sucked Doctor Saint James—”

Sheriff Davis coughed. He speared his deputy with a look that could only mean shut up. “Okay then. Open that door, Smithers.”

“What if the beast wakes up, Sheriff?”

“Shoot it.”

“Gladly.” Smithers gun appeared in his hand in a matter of seconds.

Impressive, Marisol thought. She bet he"d empty his chamber on her wolf if given the chance. The thought made her heart drop all the way down to her toes.

“Wait. Sheriff, you didn"t say anything about shooting the wolf. I thought…maybe we should wait for the Animal Control. They can keep him until he"s well enough to go back where ever he came from.”

“That is the most stupid thing to do, if you ask me. Don"t get it why we have to return these beasts back in the wild when we know they"d be coming back to eat our pets and wild deer. You know how the tourists like to see the deer. Did you hear the news the other day about a black bear that wandered inside a store? Them animals are trying to invade us.”

“I beg to differ, Deputy Smithers. I think it"s
us
invading their homes by mowing down the trees to built new houses.
They
were here first.
We
moved-in into their territories. That bear was just coming back to see his old home that 37

developers must have destroyed.” Marisol lifted her chin a fraction a bit. Those were her father"s words. Her dad always told her the animals had lived in this area long before them.

“You defend the animals? Isn"t it obvious one of them killed both of your—”

“Smithers will shoot only if it attacks us, Marisol. You said he"s asleep, so no don"t worry. But if he suddenly wakes up, I"m sure he"s gonna be as mad as Old Ben whenever he runs out of Cortisone for his knees.”

Deputy Smithers snorted. Marisol knew it wouldn"t do her any good if she shoved the bat in between the deputy"s legs so she imagined she was grounding the tip of it against his groin instead. Satisfied, she looked at Sheriff Davis. He was right. The wolf might wake up mad. Unlike Old Ben, though, her wolf wouldn"t use a stick to whack people when in a cantankerous mood. Marisol thought about the wolf"s lethal fangs. He could hurt Sheriff Davis or Smithers. Still, shooting him seemed barbaric. “I have a baseball bat. If he tries anything, you could hit his legs.”

“Don"t go soft on the beast, Marisol. It probably has rabies.”

“Rabies?” God, she didn"t think about rabies or diseases. She touched the wolf"s blood and wound without wearing a glove.

“Wolves are wild. They eat god knows what.”

“Smithers is right. We"ll take care of the wolf. I suggest you step back, though. It"s better if you"re not standing behind me. Just in case.”

38

Marisol took one step back. Her eyes focused on the closed door.
Stay asleep,
buddy.
She nodded at the officers then turned her back.

She only had taken a couple steps when a loud crash rang in her ears. She turned around. Smithers kicked the clinic door and now hung from its lower hinge. Jesus, if the wolf was asleep, he"d be awake by now, she thought.

Gun drawn with the barrel pointing inside the room, Smithers took a step inside. “Holy carmudgeon!”

“Is it dead, Smithers?”

“Come take a look, Sheriff.”

Sheriff Davis stood beside his deputy and peered inside the room. “Lord almighty.”

“He"s big. I wonder if that"s real.”

“Real or not, it should be covered.”

“I had a hard time with him and was in a hurry to call you. Covering him was the last time I had in mind.” Marisol piped in.
Please, please, let him be okay.
“Is he still asleep?” She asked with hope burning inside her chest.

“Yeah. Looks like he had a work out. Must be awful tired. He didn"t even wake up. Jesus, I didn"t think that size really exists. Is that real?”

“Oh, believe me Deputy Smithers. He is real.”

39

“What kind of a sick joke is this, Marisol?” Sheriff Davis turned to look at her. With his eyebrows deeply furrowed, Marisol bet the wrinkles would be permanent. And his puckered lips, they looked like a chicken butt. Marisol bit her lower lip to stop the beginning of a smile. “We are short handed and there are always important calls coming in everyday. A joke like this is not appreciated.”

Marisol sobered up in a hurry. “What? Why would I joke about this, Sheriff?”

Smithers cleared his throat. “Sir, must be the effect of Mark"s death. She wants attention.” Smithers whispered but loud enough for her to hear.

Aghast, Marisol couldn"t believe what she was hearing. “Smithers, I am still in mourning, but definitely not starving for attention.”

“Marisol, I lost someone dear to me two years ago. I understand what loneliness can do to a person. If you need someone to talk to, call my missus. Or attend the prayer healing every Sunday at the chapel. Please don"t do this.”

“Don"t do what?”

Sheriff Davis shook his head. His eyes registered pity and disbelief. “I"ve known you since you were just a tot, Marisol, and I have respect for your parents—may their souls rest in peace—that"s why what happened here will not show up in my report. Is that right, Smithers?”

40

Deputy Smithers" looked down at his boots. “Right you are, sir. No paperwork on this one. Fine with me. Time to clock out anyway. Shelli is cooking pot roast tonight.”

“Sheriff, I don"t understand. Why—”

“Marisol, please. Enough.”

Smithers covered his mouth with his fist and cleared his throat again. “Well, we should roll, Sheriff. My wife is always available Marisol. That is if you need a shoulder to cry on.” He glanced at the door he just kicked open then shook his head. “Sorry about the door.”

What in the world? I don’t need a freaking shoulder.
“I don"t care about the door.

Aren"t you going to take him away?”

“Do you want us to?”Smithers asked with a surprised look on his face.

“Well, isn"t that what you"re supposed to do?”

Sheriff Davis shook his head. “I do like to play games, Marisol. But not this kind. Make sure you lock your door. A real wolf might come in this time.”

Now, what the hell is that supposed to mean?

“Sheriff, I don"t understand. There"s a wounded wolf in there and you should—”

“Enough. Good day, Marisol. Call when you need us.”

“But…”

41

Sheriff Davis shook his head at her then walked out in the rain. Smithers following behind him. Through the glass window, Marisol watched the officers run, their boots stomping on the wet ground splashing mud and water. Hurriedly, they got in the police car. Minutes later, the car"s siren made two short wailing sounds and then it pulled away.

Marisol watched the car disappeared around the bend. What in the world did just happen? A sick joke? Why would she joke about calling to report about a wolf? She turned to look at the clinic"s door leaning against the wall. Damn it.
Just
what I need. Another broken thing to fix.
Well, that could wait. For now, she had a wolf to take care of. If Sheriff Davis and his fervid sidekick wouldn"t help this poor wolf then she"d do it alone. But first, she needed to arm herself. Where the heck did she put her bat? If this wolf woke up and decided to eat her for dessert, she"d whack him hard. She liked him but not enough to let him eat her. Ending up like her father and mother wasn"t in her book—both died with holes on their necks.

Marisol spotted her bat. She picked it up in a hurry and gripped the handle as if her life depended on it.

Sheriff Davis was the number one advocate for rounding up every wild animal spotted in the area. Now, here was an opportunity to take a wild huge wolf away. Instead, he just looked at Wolf and accused her of pulling a joke. Was he out of his mind?

42

“Well, there is only one way to find out.” Swallowing hard, she held her bat and pointed the tip toward the room. Heart thumping hard against her ribs, she walked toward the wide open door and inside. Marisol"s gaze was on the floor where she left the wolf, but to her surprise he wasn"t there. She looked at the bed and then her jaw dropped.

Holy bananas! She wasn"t sure if the officers saw what she was looking at right now. She hoped to god they didn"t see this. There, on the cot was a man.

A naked man.

43

“Where in heavens name did you come from?” Good god! How did he get in here? She looked around the room. “And where the hell is the wolf?” Maybe the wolf woke up, heard the officers, got scared and took off. Okay, so the wolf left and in came Mister Delicious Body here. When and how? Was he here when she brought the wolf in? No. Of course not. She would be blind to miss someone this huge. She"d bet her pottery wheel the bed was empty when she dragged the wolf in here.

Lordy, this is insane.

The man with a body only a great sculptor could create—whoever he was—

made the single bed looked tiny. His legs dangled at the foot of the bed with his toes touching the floor. He must be over six feet tall, with long and thick legs made for running, and long arms sprinkled with silky golden hairs. With broad and muscular chests, he looked powerful. Marisol"s gaze lowered. Oh god. She bit her lower lip and stared at the penis resting on a thatch of hair. She thought men were smaller when relaxed. Hard to imagine how big he would be when aroused. In all her life, she"d never seen a man with such perfectly sculpted body she wanted to 44