Page 19 of Father of the Wolf

The willpower that drove him forward was not his own, and it quickly became one of the enemies. One more thing to fight, to hate. It forced him to move when he wanted to stop. Forced him to flee when he would fight. His body and mind rebelled. His abused muscles fought back against the foreign will. For endless miles the ground fell behind him, until he could no longer hear those in pursuit.

Gradually, feeling returned to his body. Aches from his wounds sharpened his mind. He could tell. Soon he’d be free of that foreign control.

They couldn't control him forever. Soon enough he'd be able to fight back. So, for now, he'd let himself be driven forward. For now, he'd run.

* * *

Slowly, Hope opened her eyes and tried to focus on what Steve was saying.

“I really think that little spaniel is going to need to stay in the clinic for a while. Its blood work is just not improving like we had hoped.” He glanced in her direction, and seemed surprised to see she was at least listening to his prattle.

To pacify and reward his efforts, she said, “I think you’re right.”

Encouraged, he went onto another topic. “Did you see the new Mel Gibson movie yet?”

“Not yet,”

“I’m taking Julie to see it this weekend.” Steve smiled. She’d finally agreed to go out with him. Hopefully this would go better than the last time Steve jumped into a romance. At first, Hope thought they had the chance of becoming an item. But after only a couple dates, the girl had become someone for him just to hang out with. “Julie said yes. I can’t believe it. When I asked, sh—oh, damn!”

Steve slammed on the brakes. The car slid slightly, and Hope saw a flash of gray as a large animal darted before the car. With a solid thud, the animal was thrown ahead of them and landed in the flood of their headlights.

“Oh no,” Hope said. The animal was a motionless gray mountain.

“I’m so sorry, Hope. I didn’t see it. It was moving so fast.” Steve understood that the death would affect her deeply. She could never stand to see animals suffer and HBC’s, hit by cars, were the worst for her to face.

“I have to move it from the road. Stay here.” Steve got out of the car and rounded the hood.

Hope hadn’t taken her eyes off the animal. It looked like a large wolf. Very large. The poor thing deserved better than this. As she watched Steve approach it, Hope saw what he couldn’t. Two pale, glowing eyes, blinking open.

Her head continued to throb as she moved from the safety of the car into the steady rain. The drenching rain and her weight on her left leg added to her discomfort.

Steve hesitated when he saw her skirting the wolf. “What are you doing?”

“He opened his eyes. He’s not dead.”

Steve reached the wolf’s head, and it emitted a low, threatening rumble. He pulled back and shrugged his shoulders. “We can call the game commission from your house.”

He went to the driver’s side door, but turned back when she didn’t move. The storm had lessened, but not stopped. Rain continued to fall, soaking them and the wolf. Hope figured it had gone into shock and would be killed by the elements even if its wounds weren’t fatal.

“We can’t just leave him. We have to help him.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” Despite his objection, Steve continued to stand there.

“He’ll die without our help.” She said in desperation, pushing her slight edge against Steve’s animal-loving heart. “We can’t just leave him.

“He’ll probably die anyhow.” Despite his pessimistic words, a new quality in Steve’s voice lifted Hope’s expectations. “He’s hurt pretty badly if he’s just lying there making no effort to get away.”

“I know, but we need to try,” she pleaded. As always, it felt like a chance for redemption, a chance to steal back and restore a life that might be lost to the road.

“I think we should leave him for people with more experience with wild animals.” Steve was grumbling, but she already knew he would give in. “I can see this going very wrong.”

“Your objection is duly noted.” She almost smiled at his grudging understanding. “How do you think we should start?”

“How about a way to contain his enormous teeth?”

“A muzzle of some kind. Good idea. Do you have any rope in your car?”

“I’ll look, but I don’t think so.” He turned back to the station wagon to begin his search.

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