Page 18 of Collar Me Crazy
"Anyone injured?"
"Sarah's ankle is messed up, and we're all freezing!"
Ryker assessed the situation quickly. The ravine wasn't too deep, but the sides were steep and slippery with snow. Getting four hypothermic people out would require careful planning.
"There's an emergency cache about fifty yards east," he told Sonya, pulling out his phone. "Thermal blankets and hot packs. Can you get them while I figure out how to get down there?"
"On it." She headed off without question, and Ryker was grudgingly grateful for her efficiency.
While she was gone, he made a decision that went against every instinct he'd developed over the years. He stripped quickly, folding his clothes and hiding them behind a boulder before shifting to his wolf form. The transformation flowedthrough him, auburn fur rippling over muscle as his frame expanded.
He made his way carefully down into the ravine, approaching the huddled students. They shrank back initially, eyes wide with fear and confusion.
"Easy, boy," one of them whispered. "Where did you come from?"
Ryker lay down beside them, sharing his body heat while being careful to act like a well-trained but ordinary wolf. He whined softly, nudging them closer together, his higher body temperature beginning to warm them.
"He's so warm," Sarah murmured, the girl with the injured ankle. "Good boy. Did someone send you to find us?"
Above, he heard Sonya return and call down. "I've got the supplies! How are they doing?"
"There's a wolf down here," one of the students called back. "Friendly one. He's keeping us warm."
"A wolf?" Sonya's voice carried surprise. "Is he bothering you?"
"No, he's helping. Acts like he's trained or something."
Ryker helped guide the students as Sonya lowered the rope system, using his wolf form to provide stability without being too obvious about his intelligence. When the last student reached the top, he bounded up the ravine slope and disappeared behind the boulder where he'd left his clothes.
The shift back left him slightly winded, but he dressed quickly and emerged as if he'd been securing equipment.
"Where did the wolf go?" one of the kids asked, scanning the area.
"Probably headed back toward town," Ryker said, shouldering his pack. "Wild animals don't usually stick around humans longer than necessary."
But he caught Sonya looking at him, like she knew what he was, what he had done, but wasn’t sure enough to be confident about it.
The trip back to the trailhead was treacherous, snow falling heavy enough now to make the path slippery and visibility poor. Twice Ryker had to steady students who slipped on hidden rocks, and before they reached the parking area, all of them were exhausted and cold and almost hypothermic again.
Ryker looked at Sonya, who was shivering despite her heavy jacket.
"There's a ranger cabin not even a quarter mile to the right," he said reluctantly. "Basic shelter, wood stove. We can wait out the storm there."
"That sounds good." Sonya's teeth were chattering now, adrenaline from the rescue wearing off and leaving her body to deal with the cold.
They fought against wind that cut through their clothes like ice. The cabin, when they reached it, was small but solid, with a stone fireplace and basic supplies.
"Get out of those wet clothes if you can," Ryker said to the kids, including Sonya, already building a fire in the stove. "There are emergency blankets in the supply closet. You kids warm by the fireplace. I’ll try to radio in our location from the back room.”
He focused on the fire to warm the cabin, trying not to think about the fact that him and Sonya were now about to be trapped together in a space barely larger than a single room, with others or not. The storm howled outside, and he realized this night was going to test every bit of his self-control.
His wolf was already stirring with interest, and something told him this was going to be a very long few hours.
11
SONYA
The cabin warmed slowly, wood smoke from the stone fireplace mixing with the scent of wet clothing and nervous energy. The four college students huddled near the flames, wrapped in emergency blankets that made them look like oversized burritos. Their chatter filled the small space as hypothermia gave way to relief and exhaustion.
