Page 8 of Cursed Wolf

“You’re keeping weight off this leg, that’s good.” She traced the hard cast on my rear thigh. My fur had been shaved there and her fingers rasped over my bare skin.

I wanted to reach back and lick those fingers, but she might be afraid I’d bite her. I would not have my mate afraid of me, so I continued to sit still, tail wagging at her touch.

All too soon, she pulled her arm back and closed up the panel. “Very good boy. I’m almost done. Can I check your head now?”

My head stayed right where it was, on my front paws, as she clicked on a pen light. I even flattened my ears back to give her easier access.

“Careful,” said the other doctor from across the room.

“I know.” Her tone held a tinge of annoyance as she shined the light on top of my head, her gloved finger gently prodding a tender spot. I fought the urge to press up toward her hand, maybe guide those fingers to scratch behind my ears.

“Huh, wow.” She kept prodding at my head, fingers smoothing over the short fur on my skull.

“What’s up?” Dr. Marcus asked.

“His head injury looks to be completely healed. There was swelling and contusions here last night, now there’s...nothing.” Her hand pulled away and the light clicked off. “You’re a very lucky wolf, aren’t you?”

Now that I’ve found you, yes.

Shifter healing was apparently unusual in this world, and I wondered how that would affect my captivity. In all likelihood, my leg didn’t need a cast anymore either.

Emmaline moved away from my cage and I wanted to whine at the distance between us.

“So, how’s he look?” Dr. Marcus asked in a flat tone.

“Good. Extremely healthy.” She peeled off her gloves and dropped them into a trash can. “I expect the standard six weeks of limited mobility before the cast comes off.”

Six weeks?! Oh, fuck no.

“You know I’m going to have to tell Dr. Stone about your little stunt there.” Dr. Marcus made himself sound reluctant but I could smell that he was delighted. “You realize what kind of liability it is to touch a wild animal that hasn’t been properly sedated? What if a vet tech gets the same idea and they lose a hand?”

“I’m doing what’s best for the patient,” Emmaline fired back. “If we keep sedating him, he’ll never trust us and just become more aggressive.”

“He’s a wild animal, he’s not supposed to trust us. Humans and wolves are never supposed to interact. You get him to trust you, we release him, and then what happens? He approaches a human for food and gets shot in the face.”

“I’m not trying to tame him, I just...” Emmaline was flustered, and I would’ve given anything to shift into a man that could hold her, calm her as she had calmed me.

“Whatever. It doesn’t matter,” she grumbled. “Tell Dr. Stone whatever you want. It makes no difference to me.”

She left the room, and the other doctor followed soon after, but not before I caught the smug smirk on his face. What an asshole. I obviously didn’t know the whole story but he seemed like little more than a workplace bully.

Once alone, I turned my attention to the cast on my leg, sniffing it out and testing my teeth against the hard plaster.

I had to get out of here way sooner than six weeks. And for that, I would have to get creative.

Pulling back my lips, I scraped my teeth over the cast and got to work.

Chapter 4

Emmaline

Iwanted to visit my wolf as often as I could, especially on my days off, but after Marcus’s thinly veiled threat, I thought it might be better to keep my distance.

He wasn’t wrong that there were serious liability issues surrounding contact with a wild animal, an apex predator no less, especially if they weren’t sedated or under anesthesia. I knew the policy. So did he and everyone else on staff.

Marcus had never cared about following the rules before throwing it in my face. So what’d changed? It didn’t take long for me to reach a conclusion.

That asshole wanted me gone.

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