Page 2 of Moonlighting with the Werewolf

“Wait. Dung fires?” I pulled the guidebook closer, suspecting the author was messing with me. I’d rather eat forest roots raw than catch a cute squirrel or bunny and roast them with eau de pew.

Speaking of burning, my eyes were telling me they were done for the day, so I went ahead and let my lids drift closed. Only for a minute or two, and then I’d close up shop and head back to my stark, malevolent cabin.

A strange scraping noise jerked me awake, and I jumped as the heavy book in my lap crashed to the floor. I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes and worked to recover my bearings. The clock showed seven fifteen, so forty-five minutes past closing time.

Scratching. At the back door. Followed by a whimper and a loudthud.

That jolted me into motion, my heart racing as I rushed across the room. I flung open the door and gaped at the giant gray and brown...wolf? Its chocolate-colored eyes lifted, the light in them weak enough my stomach bottomed out, and what I originally thought were patches of wet fur dripped crimson onto the cement step.

“Shit, shit, shit. Hold on, buddy.” I sprinted over to the cabinets, glass vials rattling together as I sorted through them, and snagged the dexmedetomidine and butorphanol. Only someone with a death wish handled wild animals without sedation. Especially one the size of a compact car.

That’s probably the adrenaline talking. Wolves of that size only live in Alaska and Canada. Right?

After filling a syringe, I cautiously approached the beast. “I’m going to help you, okay? Please,pleasedon’t bite me.” With the hind leg in my sights, I quickly jabbed the needle into the gluteal region, depressed the syringe, and retreated a few steps.

Within five minutes, the wolf would be putty in my hands, but the gaping hole that exposed several ribs made me pray theanimal would last that long. Its enormous head sagged and then fell into the burgeoning pool of blood, and I decided to risk it.

A grunt escaped as I tugged the wolf toward the exam table. “I should’ve done all that weightlifting I vowed to do to get in shape, becauseunnn, you’re heavy.” Between the creature’s weight and size, I figured it’d be safe to refer to the creature as male, although I’d have to confirm later.

Sweat beaded my forehead, and my hammering heart relocated to my throat, doing a bang-up job of restricting my air supply. “Deadweight takes on a new meaning with you, dude. Just...don’t die, okay?”

Well on his way to sleepy land, he responded with a lolled tongue. After managing to get the animal halfway onto the table, I circled him and gasped at his torn-open cheek. Heavy breaths caused the flayed skin to flap, which drew my gaze to the row of long, razor-sharp teeth.

The wounds weren’t consistent with teeth or claws, like I expected them to be. My blood ran cold as I took a closer look. Bullet holes. At least four of them that’d entered through his backside and exited the front. Despite all the blood, pus, and exposed organs I’d seen during countless procedures, I’d never once vomited, but bile rose now.

Who would shoot such a magnificent creature? Rage and resolve counteracted my nausea, and I shoved the wolf the rest of the way onto the table, which appeared Barbie-sized compared to the injured canine.

The gears loudly ground together and complained as I hit the button to raise the table, but within a handful of seconds, the wolf rested at counter height. Telling myself not to fixate on the oozing streams of blood, I grabbed my tools and got to work.

CHAPTER TWO

The wolf’smuscles twitched as I used the forceps to retrieve the last bullet, something uncommon with this level of sedation. Then again, the projectile was lodged deep in the center of the chest, where it’d missed the heart and lungs by a mere inch. “We’re so close to done, buddy. I promise.”

If the bastard who shot the wolf hadn’t used hollow points, the process would be a hell of a lot easier. They’d mushroomed on impact, causing severe organ damage and turning the tips into garish silver flowers drenched in scarlet.

At long last, I maneuvered the warped shell free and dropped it into the tray, where it clinked against the five others I’d removed. I swiped my forearm across my forehead, undoubtedly leaving a trail of blood, but there wasn’t much of me left unsmeared anyway. Red splatters covered my formerly white lab coat, and my cushy shoes with the cartoon cats and dogs would never be the same again. But if Mr. Wolfie survived, none of that mattered.

Not that I was any expert, but the bullets seemed strange.

A snore echoed through the exam room, and the wolf’s hind leg twitched. Perhaps Mr. Wolfie was chasing a bunny in his dreams.

The idea made me happy for all of two seconds before I experienced a pinch of sadness for the bunny, who didn’t stand a chance. Since my beastly patient still wasn’t out of the woods—metaphorically, anyway—I shook away that thought so I could focus on flushing and stitching the wounds.

His other leg twitched, enough to rattle the table.

“Whoa. Down, boy.” After a quick internal debate, I decided I’d rather be safe than maimed and turned to grab more anesthetic. No matter how good of a job I’d done treating the wounds, most animals instinctively lashed out once they came to and felt the aftereffects of the pain. I didn’t want the wolf to injure himself further, just like I didn’t want to end up shredded by his claws for my efforts.

“Let’s see. I don’t want to give him too much. Then again, he’s huge.” Numbers tumbled through my brain, dosage versus guesstimated weight as I calculated how much to administer.

The tip of the needle gleamed in the overhead operating light as I spun around, elbow cocked at the ready. My heart lurched, and I stumbled backward, slamming my butt into the counter and dropping the syringe in the process.

The sight in front of me didn’t make sense. My mind whirred, trying to force it to, even as pain throbbed through my backside.

Had I accidentally stabbed myself in the leg?

That was the only logical explanation for the naked man on my operating table.

Then again, I’d seen him before dropping the needle so... A steady throb formed behind my temples, and I squeezed my eyes shut and then opened them, hoping that’d be enough to correct my vision.

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