Page 38 of A Wolf's Wound
Frustrated, I quickly stand up and move so I’m near his feet.I grab his ankles and hold on tightly, willing them to stay still.But that doesn’t work either.
The man flips over as if tossed by an unseen hand.“Aaarrrgggg!” he cries.
“I know, man,” I mutter, backing away so I don’t get kicked.“This looks really unpleasant.I want to help you.I do.But I’m not sure how.”
His body continues to flail, his limbs moving so fast now that they’re almost a blur.I circle him quickly, trying to figure out how to help without making anything worse.But before I can decide on a new course of action, he goes still.
“Oh, hey, that’s good,” I say encouragingly, crouching down near his head.“Do you have some medicine I can give you, man?Or someone you want me to call?I can try and carry you to a hospital, maybe.”
I look at the man for a response, but his eyes are closed.Maybe he’s unconscious?Well, that could make it easier to move him.I get closer to him, getting ready to slide one hand under his neck and the other under his back.
That’s when I see it: a large bite mark on his chest.I don’t know how I missed it before.This thing is big and nasty, and blood has soaked into his shirt.
Oh, shit.This guy wasn’t having a seizure.He doesn’t have any medical condition I can help with.Or that any doctor can treat.
That’s a wolf bite.Which means this guy was in the middle of a shift just now—a shift that clearly was not going well.
His breathing is shallow, his chest barely rising and falling.Blood is still oozing out of the bite, thick and dark.
I look around the grove as it occurs to me that this shifter could still be there.Is he watching us?Is he planning on coming back and finishing this guy off?
The man moans softly, almost like a cry.I put my fingers on his neck and feel his pulse.It’s faint but steady, and that gives me hope.Maybe I can get help for this man.Maybe it’s not too late to save him.
But even as I think that, he moans again, and the blood begins flowing out faster.I look at him helplessly, not sure what to do now.
Chapter 22
Hannah
“Hannah!”Melindacalls.“Weneed you up here!”
“Excuse me,” I say to the owner of the cat I’m examining.“I’ll be right back.”I rush to the front and get there in time to see two women bracing a wild deer.
“We found her in our backyard,” one of the women says, tears in her eyes.“She just staggered in, bleeding.”
“We hope we’re not too late,” the other says, her voice high and panicked.
“You did the right thing,” I reassure them, kneeling down to examine the animal.“Melinda, help me bring him to Exam Room 3.”
In our largest exam room, we carefully lay the deer down on the table.“What can I do?”Melinda asks, her eyes wide.
“Tell the owner of the cat in Exam Room 1 that they’re good to go,” I tell her, making sure to keep my voice calm.“It was just an annual exam, and I was almost done.Let the women who brought this guy in know that I’m going to be a while.If they don’t want to wait, they can leave their contact info and I’ll call them later with an update.”
“Okay,” she says.“No problem, Dr.Kelly.”
Once Melinda has gone, I put my hand on the deer’s neck.I can feel its heart racing.“I’m sorry, poor guy,” I murmur, picking up some iodine and turning to the large gash on its side.“This is going to hurt.”
But the deer hardly flinches as I clean its wounds.At first I thought the deer had snagged its side on a branch or maybe a fence, but now I can clearly see these are all teeth and claw marks.This animal was attacked.
When I’m done cleaning, I begin stitching up the cuts.As I do, I think about the other animals that were brought in from the forest.We’d been afraid that they were attacked, but their wounds could have been from other causes.Some looked like they’d come from territorial pissing matches, and others might have been caused by cars hitting the animals.
But there’s no question this deer was maimed by a creature.And faced with such conclusive evidence, I have to admit that maybe the other animals were too.
Melinda comes back as I’m finishing up the stitches.“Whoa,” she breathes softly.“Poor guy.Is he going to make it?”
“I hope so,” I say, snipping off the end of the surgical thread.“I’m going to bandage and sedate him, and start him on antibiotics.Then we just have to wait and see.”
Melinda stares at the jagged marks.“Those look like wolf claws,” she says.“Did a wolf attack him?”
